By: Zach Harnischfeger
ROCHESTER, N.Y. --- It was a packed crowd at the Gene Polisseni Center on Friday night as the RIT Tigers and Army Black Knights met for the 41st time in the Divison I era on Military Appreciation Night. Sloppy play by RIT led to a 5-1 loss which was only the seventh time the Tigers have been defeated by the Knights in the team's 41 meetings.
"We were not good from start to finish," RIT head coach Wayne Wilson said. "We are not even close to where we need to be and we've got to fix it or otherwise it's going to be a long first half. We've got to be much better."
The Black Knights took advantage of a turnover by RIT defenseman Tristan Allen to go up 1-0 just 2:06 into the game. Army forward Adam Marshall went top-shelf for his second goal of the season.
The Tigers answered right back two minutes later. Forward Tanner Andrew found Simon Isabelle who netted his team-leading sixth goal of the season, sneaking it just past the right pad of Black Knights goaltender JJ Cataldo, tying the game at one apiece.
Later in the period, Army added to their lead after forward Brent Keefer snuck the puck just past the left shoulder of RIT goaltender Jakub Krbecek from a pass by forward Nik Hong to make it a 2-1 game. The Black Knights took a 3-1 lead after the puck deflected off the skate of Allen and into the net. Black Knights defenseman Mac Gadowsky was given credit for the goal, his first of the season.
To begin the second period, the Tigers found themselves in a two-man disadvantage following back-to-back penalties. The Tigers were able to kill off the penalty. Entering the game, the Tigers ranked 18th nationally, killing off 86% of opponent power plays.
For most of the second period, both teams missed many scoring chances and both defenses stood strong to not allow any goals. Army padded their lead at 5:57 when forward Hunter McCoy found Marshall who lit the lamp for his second goal of the game and third of the season, giving Army a 4-1 lead.
At the 11:48 mark in the third period, McCoy scored his first goal of the season, redirecting a backhanded pass from Jon Bell. This made it 5-1, which was the final score of the game.
The Black Knights had 36 shots on goal compared to just 20 by RIT.
"We're not winning any battles, we're not making any plays, we're not catching passes, we're not making good passes, we're playing slow, you name it," Wilson said. "The penalty kill right now is the only bright spot with our team."
RIT will try and avenge the loss as they take on the Army Black Knights once again tomorrow night at the Gene Polisseni Center. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m.
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