Men’s hockey continues Atlantic Hockey play at Bentley

ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men’s hockey team opens the New Year with an Atlantic Hockey doubleheader in Bentley on Friday (19:05) and Saturday (16:05). The Tigers look to bounce back from a two-game sweep at the hands of No. 5 Penn State last week, while Bentley opened the new semester with a 3-1 win over visiting Northeastern last Saturday.

RIT finished the fall semester atop Atlantic Hockey with a 10-2-0 mark, while Bentley looks to move up from 10th after compiling a 2-8-0 league record.

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TIGER TRACKS
RIT dropped both ends of a home-and-home series at No. 5/5 Penn State last week, falling 6-1 at home on Friday and 3-1 on the road on Saturday. First year forward Tyler Mahan was responsible for both Tiger goals and scored on a shortstop both nights. Sophomore goaltender Tommy Scarfone had a career-high 41 saves Friday night before stopping 37 shots Saturday to tie his fourth-highest single-game total.

IN FRANCE
The Tigers currently lead Atlantic Hockey and rank 11th nationally with 3.50 goals per game, including the nation’s second-ranked power play (.297). The Tigers’ penalty kill also ranks second in the conference and 10th nationally at .851.

THE SILKY WILKIE
Fast forward to another year Carter Wilkie currently leads Atlantic Hockey and ranks 19th in the nation with 1.22 points per game. Ranked 22nd in the nation with 22 points, his nine goals are tied for second in the conference, while his 13 assists are tied for fourth. His five power play goals are tied for the 10th highest total in the country.

Wilkie, the Atlantic Hockey November Player of the Month and two-time Player of the Week, had a career-high four points with two goals and two assists in the Tigers’ 10-4 win at Canisius (Dec. 3). He also led all of Atlantic Hockey with eight points in November, including two goals and an assist in a 5-3 win over Princeton (Nov. 25) and a goal and two assists in a 3-1 win over Sacred Heart (Nov.). 12).

Wilkie finished the week tied for 15th with 220 wins and fifth among skaters with at least 400 draws with a 54.9 winning percentage.

THE BEST DEFENSE IS A GOOD OFFENSE
Senior Gianfranco Cassaro and junior Aiden Hansen-Bukata form this season’s scoring defense pair in the country.
Cassaro ranks 26th nationally and second in Atlantic Hockey with 1.11 points per game, while his 20 points are third in Atlantic Hockey. The Atlantic Hockey October Player of the Month and three-time Player of the Week had a career-high four points and three assists in the Tigers’ 10-4 win at Canisius (Dec. 3). He also had two goals twice, including a three-point night in a 5-2 win over Holy Cross (Oct. 28).
Hansen-Bukata is seventh in the country with 0.94 assists and tied for eighth with 16 assists. She recorded three assists three times to start the season, including an 8-5 win over Union (Oct. 15), a 4-3 win over AIC (Nov. 5) and a 10-4 win over Canisius (Dec. 3). .

REALLY POWERFUL
Six graduate students ahead Kobe Walker’s seven goals this season are power-play matchups — third-most in the nation. Fast forward to another year Carter Wilkie was also tied for 10th with five power play goals, while the senior defenseman Gianfranco Cassaro was tied for 24th over the past four weekends.

BLOCK PARTIES
Graduate student defender Spencer Berry ranks 11th nationally and first in Atlantic Hockey with 37 saves this season. She dropped a career-high seven shots in a 5-3 win over Princeton (Nov. 25) and has recorded at least one block in all but two games this season.

ROOKIE Cookies
First year forward Tyler Mahan ranks 12th among first-year players with eight goals, while his two shorthanded wins are tied for third among all skaters.

20-20 VISION
RIT was ranked No. 20 in the USCHO national poll in the first semester and also cracked the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine rankings on Dec. 19. The Tigers earned their first USCHO ranking since being ranked No. 20 in the final poll of 2016 after winning their second consecutive Atlantic Hockey Championship. RIT also hadn’t appeared in USA Today’s poll since finishing 10th in the final 2010 rankings after winning the first Atlantic Hockey Championship and advancing to the Frozen Four. RIT received votes in both elections this week.

WE LAUNCH!
RIT finished the fall semester with a 12-4-0 record, the first time the Tigers had won 12 of their first 16 games in the Division I era. RIT also won eight in a row from Oct. 21 (W, 4-2 at Air Force) to Nov. 25 (W, 5-3 vs. Princeton) for the second longest streak in the Division I era. RIT won its first eight home games of the season for its longest home hitting streak in the Division I era, snapping a seven-game streak in 2008-09.

SAINT TOM
Sophomore goaltender Tommy Scarfone stopped a career-high 41 shots in last Friday’s setback to Penn State before tying his fourth-highest total with 37 the following night. A two-time Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week this season, he has 30 or more saves in eight games this season. Scarfone is currently eighth nationally with a .733 hitting percentage and sixth in wins with an 11-4-0 record.

Oh, what a night
RIT closed out the first semester with a 10-4 win at Canisius (Dec. 3). The Tigers fell behind 2-0 in the first period but bombed seven goals, including three on an extended 5-3 power play to start the third period. Junior striker Cody Laskosky scored three goals while a second grade forward Carter Wilkie added two goals and two assists.
RIT’s 10 goals tied for the most in a single game in the Division I era, matching a 10-0 win at Sacred Heart on Jan. 14, 2012.
RIT’s six-goal third period was a single-period Division I record, eclipsing the five goals scored in the third period of RIT’s 8-5 win over Clarkson on 11/27/2020.
RIT’s four power-play goals were the second-highest single-season total in the Division I era and the most since scoring six in a 7-1 win at Niagara on Dec. 12, 2016.
The Tigers’ three third-period power play kills tied for the highest single-period mark in the Division I era. RIT also had three extras in the second period in a 5-4 win at Princeton last season (Nov. 26, 2022).
RIT’s 10 goals tied for the fourth-highest single-game total in Atlantic Hockey history and were the most by an Atlantic Hockey team since beating AIC bracket host Mercyhurst, 12-0, on 11/15/19.
RIT snapped a seven-game losing streak to Canisius.

NATIONAL RANKING ON BOTH BENCHES
When then-No. 20/20 RIT hosted 5/5 Penn State on Dec. 30, it was the first-ever game at the Gene Polisseni Center between the two ranked teams and just the second time in the Division I era that RIT met. ranked team during the regular season while also being nationally. Previously ranked No. 18 in the USCHO poll to begin the 2011-12 season, the Tigers opened the campaign with a 3-1 loss to the No. 4 St. Cloud State Mutual of Omaha Stamped hosted by Nebraska Omaha.

ABOUT BENTLEY
Bentley is 3-7-0 in its last 10 games, but snapped a three-game skid with a 3-1 win against Northeastern last Friday. Junior guard Nick Bochen leads the Falcons with 12 points and eight assists, while sophomore forward Harrison Scott and sophomore forward Dylan Pitera are tied for second with nine points and lead with six and five goals apiece. Junior goaltender Nicholas Grabko has a 3.83 goals-against average and .885 save percentage in 11 starts, while first-year Connor Hasley owns a 3.34 GAA and .897 save percentage in seven starts and nine games.