By: Victor Menendez
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Tigers men's hockey team fell in a back-and-forth affair to the Niagara Purple Eagles by a score of 6-3 on Saturday. The Tigers took six penalties on the game and were outshot 43-37.
"We just kept taking penalties, and those were when we would lose momentum," Tigers head coach Wayne Wilson said. "Although our penalty killing was very good, they scored on that last one. You can't just keep giving them two minute momentum swings."
RIT went on the power play just over a minute into the game. The Tigers unit that came into the game ranked ninth out of 11 teams in the AHA converting on power plays (13-78/.167), put a few shots on goal but couldn't find the back of the net during the man advantage.
Six minutes later it was Niagara's turn to go on the power play as Tigers winger Christian Catalano got called for hooking. The Purple Eagles came into the game ranked fifth in the AHA in converting (17-86/.198), but they also couldn't cash in, keeping the game scoreless.
With just over five minutes remaining in the first period, it looked like Niagara would draw first blood as they scored following a skirmish in front of the net. However, RIT challenged the goal claiming the puck was kicked. They won the challenge, taking the goal off the board, and keeping the game tied at zero.
RIT took another penalty with just over two minutes remaining in the first frame as winger Nick Cafarelli got two minutes for tripping. The Tigers penalty kill who ranked fifth in the AHA (80-99/.808) killed off another one to round out the first 20 minutes of play.
The Purple Eagles outshot the Tigers 13-11 in the period, but RIT first-year goalie Jakub Krbecek kept the puck out of the net.
Krbecek, a Czech Republic native, made his 15th start of the season. Krbecek came into the game ranked second in the AHA in saves per game (31.21), and 12th in save percentage (.897). He made 37 saves on the day and had an .881 save percentage.
"I've been very happy with him," Wilson said. "I just think we've got to be better in front of him. People may be thinking 'Hey does he [Wilson] know who he wants to put in net yet?' But I think you just have to be careful not to sink a freshman goalie when your team is struggling."
The penalties continued for the Tigers just over five minutes into the second period as center Mathieu Cobetto-Roy was called for hooking.
Just over a minute into the Niagara power play, Purple Eagles defenseman Alex Murray went to the penalty box for holding, which created about 45 seconds of 4-on-4 hockey. Nothing came of the penalties however, as both defenses held strong.
After almost exactly 10 minutes of play in the period, Tigers winger Tanner Andrew broke free from the Niagara defense off a pass from Simon Isabelle. His fifth goal of the year gave RIT a 1-0 lead. That lead lasted about two minutes as Purple Eagles defenseman Ray Murakami scored his first collegiate goal to tie the game at one.
With about five minutes to play in the frame, RIT drew yet another penalty right before committing one of its own to give us more 4-on-4 hockey. Niagara took advantage of the opportunity as defenseman Ross Roloson scored his third goal of the year to put the Purple Eagles up by one.
The Tigers once again were outshot 14-11 in the period to bring the deficit to 27-22 on the game.
Just under four minutes into the final frame, Catalano got called for his second penalty of the game for interference, putting Niagara on the power play once again.
RIT stayed a perfect 5-for-5 on the penalty kill as they didn't allow Niagara to get any solid chances. As soon as the two minutes expired, the Tigers got the puck up ice to Catalano fresh out of the box on the breakaway. Catalano beat Niagara goalie Pierce Charleson glove-side for his fifth goal of the year to tie the game at two.
Niagara wasted no time getting the lead right back. With just under 11 minutes remaining, winger Johnny Wescoe was able to get his stick on the puck in front of the net to redirect it past Krbecek and into the goal.
A little over three minutes later, Tigers winger Matthew Wilde broke free on the breakaway. The sophomore beat Charleson blocker-side this time for his team-leading 11th goal of the season to tie the game at three.
The Purple Eagles, as they did in their 7-0 win over RIT the previous night, continued to find holes in the Tigers defense. With just over four minutes remaining, defenseman Ethan Lund got an open look at the net from the left side and beat Krbecek for his second goal of the year.
Niagara put this one to bed two minutes later. After Andrew got called for tripping, giving the Purple Eagles their sixth power play, Niagara finally broke the Tigers penalty kill. This time it was winger Noah Hackett, as he found the back of the net to put the Purple Eagles up two.
Winger Jay Ahearn added his team-leading 15th goal of the year with the RIT net empty to bring the score to 6-3.
With the loss, RIT falls to 5-20-1 and 4-13-1 in conference play and 10th in the AHA. With the win, Niagara improves to 14-10-3 and 12-5-2 in conference play, second in the AHA.
With only eight games remaining in the Tigers regular season, they have already been eliminated from getting a top three seed in the AHA. RIT is also two losses away from not being able to get a first-round bye, which requires being a top five seed.
The Tigers next game will be at Air Force on Friday, Jan. 31. Puck drop is scheduled for 9:05 p.m.
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