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ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Yellow Jackets sophomore Austin Orszulak scored his league-leading 15th goal of the season, but it was not enough for American International, which fell to RIT 3-2 on Saturday night.
Orszulak tallied two goals against RIT this weekend, despite being the focal point of RIT’s defense.
“We concentrated on 17 again tonight — a little bit more but probably still not enough,” said RIT coach Wayne Wilson.
However, where the Tigers failed in containing Orszulak, they succeeded in stifling the majority of the Yellow Jackets scorers, following the old adage that the best defense is a good offense.
American International spent much of the game hemmed in their own zone by a tenacious RIT forecheck. The problem was a “combination of things” according to Yellow Jackets coach Gary Wright. Not executing their breakout and losing puck battles in the defensive zone were issues, he said, “but credit to RIT,” he added, acknowledging the effectiveness of their forecheck.
Wilson attributed the energy level of his team in part to his line-up changes. Wilson inserted freshman forwards Max Mikowski and Myles Powell, as well as freshman defenseman Matt Abt, into the line-up in order to inject life into his team and give his rookie players some ice time.
His plan appeared to work, as the first half of the game for the Tigers was a marked difference compared to the previous night. RIT opened the scoring just 17 seconds into the game when captain Matt Garbowsky found linemate Josh Mitchell on a two-on-one rush. Less than two minutes later, the Tigers scored again when junior Andrew Miller found a loose rebound, as RIT continued to bombard the Yellow Jackets early.
American International got on the board later in the first period when Orszulak fired a shot from the slot past Tigers goaltender Mike Rotolo. Just a few minutes later, Rotolo robbed Orszulak with a remarkable glove save as the Yellow Jackets continued to look for Orszulak in the offensive zone.
A last-minute flurry for RIT saw Mitchell and Garbowsky denied on several close shots as Yellow Jackets goaltender Alex Murray again shone in net. According to Wright, there is no set rotation of goaltenders for his team, and tonight was all about Murray “deserving” to play after his 42-save effort the night before.
RIT scored again early in the second period when a shot from forward Garrett McMullen found its way in through several bodies in front of the Yellow Jackets net.
American International seemed poised to complete its second late-game comeback in two nights when senior Matt Cassidy scored at 16:58 of the third period, but the Yellow Jackets were unable to beat Rotolo again before time expired.
Both teams will hit the road next weekend to face-off against Atlantic hockey opponents. RIT will visit Sacred Heart, and American International will visit Robert Morris University.
