RIT tallied three goals in the first period, while holding Lebanon Valley scoreless, and never looked back. The second period was closely played, but the floodgates opened in the third and a 12-2 rout favoring RIT was the result
“This was a little bit of a feel-good game for us,” said RIT coach Wayne Wilson. “It was important for us to get off to a quick start to see where we were mentally after last weekend.”
RIT jumped on Lebanon Valley from the opening faceoff, and opened the scoring 2:40 in to the contest. Simon Lambert was digging along the boards behind the Flying Dutchmen net with two Lebanon Valley players. Lambert won the battle, and sent the puck out to Darren Doherty in front of the net. Doherty launched a quick wrist shot over Lebanon Valley goaltender Sonny Holding’s shoulder for the goal.
Play continued relatively even after the goal, with both teams mounting a little pressure before play headed back down the ice in the other direction.
The Tigers scored again mid period, on another goal set up by Lambert. He sent the puck out of the RIT zone and found linemate Darrell Draper moving through center ice. Draper carried the puck down the right side of the Lebanon Valley zone, and lifted a pretty backhand shot over Holding’s shoulder to give RIT the 2-0 lead at 10:35.
RIT extended its lead to 3-0 with a power play goal just over five minutes later. Right off a faceoff deep in the Flying Dutchmen zone, a Tigers shot landed in the crease. Matt Smith was there to poke the puck in to the back of the net for the goal at 15:43.
Lebanon Valley had two great scoring opportunities as the period ended, but were unable to solve RIT netminder David Wrisley.
“The team played unbelievable tonight,” said Wrisley. “We have been in a little bit of a slump the last few games, but they played their hearts out tonight.”
The Flying Dutchmen cracked the scoreboard in the opening moments of the second period. Chris Finnerty wristed a shot from the inside hash mark of the right faceoff circle that beat Wrisley low on the stick side for the goal at fifty five seconds in to the period.
RIT carried play mid period, working in several first class scoring opportunities. But like he has done most of this season, Holding held his team in the contest by making the critical saves.
But the Tigers scored a freak goal at 15:33 to end the period with a 5-1 lead. Rob Tarantino dug the puck out of the corner and flipped it high towards the top of the crease. The puck bounced off both a Tiger and a Flying Dutchmen player who were jostling in front of the crease and in to the back of the net. The goal was credited to Ricky Walton for RIT, but the redirection certainly was not a conscious effort.
Sonny Holding made 21 saves in the second period, being called on to for extra work to keep Lebanon Valley from being in a deeper hole.
For the second straight period, Lebanon Valley scored a goal in the opening moments of a period, this time in the third stanza. While skating on the power play, Jeff Smith controlled the puck at the left point. Smith had time to take a look, and then sent a slapshot towards the RIT net. Alex Beatrice had setup a screen at the edge of the faceoff circle, and redirected the puck past Wrisley for the goal at 1:44. This goal narrowed RIT’s lead to 5-2.
RIT chipped in two goals midway through the third period, one by Brent Patry and another by Smith, to extend its lead to 7-2. This turned what had been a steady game in to a route, and RIT poured in the goals.
The Tigers added five more goals before the final buzzer sounded, and the final score was 12-2.
