Rochester Institute of Technology defeated American International 3-1 on Friday night at Ritter Arena.
RIT got the scoring started midway through the first period with Adam Mitchell hitting the back of the net on a power play. Mike Colavecchia sent a pass to Cameron Burt, who found Mitchell streaking past the slot for the goal.
RIT coach Wayne Wilson was happy with the way his team played early on.
“We played a very good first period,” said Wilson. “One of our best of the year.”
The Tigers (7-5-2, 6-3-2 Atlantic Hockey) started the second period with the same intensity and tallied another goal less than two minutes in. Chris Saracino took a stab at the puck near center ice, sending it straight up. The puck caromed off of Matt Garbowski into the AIC zone, where Adam Hartley found it and slotted it in past AIC goalie Ben Meisner.
The Yellow Jackets (3-13-2, 2-8-2) weren’t without chances. Midway through the second period, while on a power play, AIC’s Adam Pleskach took a shot from the slot that was saved by Shane Madolora. The rebound came out to Nick Sandor, who had two attempts at the net, but huge saves by Madolora kept the Yellow Jackets scoreless.
RIT scored its third and final goal of the game early in the third period. Colavecchia was the beneficiary of a great pass from Hartley right in front of the net.
AIC’s big chance came with less than six minutes remaining in the game, with two Tigers in the penalty box. Nielsson Arcibal fired in a shot that was saved by Madolora, but the rebound came out to Pleskach, who buried it for the Yellow Jackets’ only goal of the night. AIC pulled Meisner late, but to no avail, as RIT went on to win 3-1.
AIC coach Gary Wright was happy with his team’s effort, but suggested there’s more to come tomorrow.
“We competed pretty hard,” said Wright. “They’re a very good team. When you have goal-scoring opportunities, you need to convert.”
According to RIT’s Mark Cornacchia, special teams were the key.
“It was a special teams game tonight,” Cornacchia said. “Our special teams performed well. They (the special teams) generated a lot of chances.”
Both teams had long five-on-three chances in the game. RIT’s came early in the second period, while AIC’s came late in the third. RIT was unsuccessful in its 90 seconds with two extra men, while AIC needed just 42 seconds to tally the power-play goal
RIT was 1-for-5 on the power play, while AIC was 1-for-7. The Tigers outshot the Yellow Jackets 42-28.
