The Griffs and Tigers square off Friday in a 7:05 p.m. contest at the Gene Polisseni Center in Rochester before traveling to Buffalo the following evening for a 7:35 p.m. matchup at KeyBank Rink in HARBORCENTER.
Coming off a three-point weekend at league-leading Air Force, Canisius (8-10-5, 7-4-4 AHC) finds itself in fifth place in the Atlantic Hockey Conference standings, one point in front of sixth-place Mercyhurst.
RIT (10-12-1, 10-7-0 AHC), meanwhile, is tied with Robert Morris for third place. The Tigers split a road series at AIC last weekend.
Junior Ryan Schmelzer (5g, 7a) and freshman Nick Hutchison (7g, 5a) remain tied for the team lead in scoring. All but one of Schmelzer’s 12 points have come in league play while 10 of Huchinson’s 12 points have been against conference competition. Sophomore Dylan McLaughlin chipped in a pair of goals at Air Force last weekend to move into second place on the team’s scoring charts with 11 points (6g, 5a). Junior David Parrottino enters the weekend riding a career-best point-scoring streak of three games. Parrottino has tallied all four of his points (1g, 3a) this season in that span. Senior goaltender Charles Williams began the week for second in the nation in save percentage (.941). He also ranks 12th in goals against average (2.06) and tied for fifth in shutouts (3) nationally. He was named Atlantic Hockey Goalie of the Week for the fourth time this season on Tuesday. The first goal has been an important one for Canisius this season as the Griffs are a perfect 7-0-0 in Atlantic Hockey Conference action when recording the game’s opening marker.
Canisius returned to Atlantic Hockey competition by taking three of four points in a series at league-leading Air Force last weekend. In the series opener, the Griffs scored on four of its first five shots to build a comfortable cushion as they recorded a 4-1 victory over the Falcons. Junior David Bennett, sophomore Dylan McLaughlin, and freshmen Casey Jerry and Jesse Pereira all scored for Canisius during the first-period barrage. Senior goaltender Charles Williams recorded 38 saves, an effort that included stopping all 30 Air Force shots he faced over the final two periods. In the series finale, the Griffs rallied from a two-goal deficit midway through the contest to record a 2-2 tie. McLaughlin and fellow sophomore Cameron Heath provided the goals for Canisius while Williams was once again rock solid between the pipes for the Griffs, stopping a career-high 46 shots to preserve the tie.
Sophomore Erik Brown paces the Tigers in both goals (13) and points (21) while junior Myles Powell (10g, 7a) is second with 17. Junior defenseman Brady Norrish leads RIT with 15 assists while twin brother and fellow blueliner Chase has compiled 14 points on seven goals and seven assists. Senior Mike Rotolo has seen the majority of time in goal for the Tigers in 2016-17, compiling a 2.67 goals against average and a .895 save percentage in 23 contests. RIT is led by veteran coach Wayne Wilson, who is in his 18th season with the program. Wilson has guided the Tigers to four Atlantic Hockey Regular Season crowns and three Atlantic Hockey Tournament titles.
In a series that dates back to the Griffs’ inaugural season of 1980-81, RIT holds a 51-18-2 advantage in 71 all-time meetings between the two schools. Canisius has played only Mercyhurst (85) more than the Tigers during the program’s history. Since RIT moved to Division I prior to the 2005-06 season, the Tigers own a 21-12-1 edge in the series. The Series has been fairly balanced in recent matchups, with RIT owning a 5-4-1 advantage in that span. The Griffs swept the first home-and-home series between the two programs in November. Canisius posted a 1-0 victory on home ice Nov. 4 before recording a 2-1 triumph the following evening at the Gene Polisseni Center. The 1-0 victory in the series opener was the first shutout for the Griffs against the Tigers in the Division era of their series.
Due to Saturday’s Buffalo Bandits game at KeyBank Center, parking will be limited in the HARBORCENTER garage. Fans are encouraged to take the Buffalo Metro Rail to HARBORCENTER to avoid any issues.
Canisius renews acquaintances with longtime rival Niagara when the two teams met Jan. 24 in a 7:35 p.m. contest at KeyBank Rink in HARBORCENTER. The matchup, part of the Battle of the Bridge rivalry, is the first of four meetings between the Griffs and Purple Eagles over the final five weeks of the regular season.
from GoGriffs.com via IFTTT