Men’s hockey looks to extend winning streak this weekend against Connecticut

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Jesse Newman and the Tigers look to keep winning this weekend at home against Connecticut.

The RIT Tigers men’s hockey team takes on the University of Connecticut Huskies at 7:05 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 9–10, in Ritter Arena, in a pair of exciting Atlantic Hockey contests. The Tigers hold sole possession of second place in the AHA standings with 19 points.

RIT (10-9-1, 9-4-1 AHA) is riding a five-game winning streak and is outscoring its foes 21-12 over that span. Last weekend, the Tigers opened 2009 by sweeping a road series at Bentley, 3-2 and 4-2. The line of Matt Crowell, Andrew Favot and Jesse Newman each had four points over the weekend. Goaltenders Jared DeMichiel and Louis Menard earned wins. DeMichiel stopped 28 shots on Friday, while Menard made 27 saves in Saturday’s victory.

The Tigers lead all of Division I with seven shorthanded goals.

Connecticut (4-14-1, 3-7-1 AHA) is looking to snap a five-game winless streak. Jason Krispel leads the team in scoring with 14 assists and 15 points. Andrew Olson has seven goals. Goaltender Beau Erickson has played 16 games in net, recording a 3.73 goals against average and .886 save percentage.

RIT leads the all-time series between the two schools 7-5-1, and the Tigers are 2-3-1 against Connecticut since moving to Division I in 2005. Earlier in the year, the two teams split a pair of games in Storr. Connecticut won 2-1 Nov. 21, while RIT battled back to win 5-4 the following evening. The Tigers scored two third-period goals to rally from a 4-3 deficit and earn the win.

This weekend’s contests will be the first meetings between the two schools in Rochester since Jan. 19-20, 2007. Tickets are available at the Gordon Field House and Activities Center Box Office or by phone at (585) 475-4121. Fans can also purchase tickets via ticketmaster.com. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for RIT faculty, staff and alumni and $5 for students with ID.

Both games will be aired live on Time Warner Cable Sports channel 26, with Gene Battaglia and John Ditullio bringing you the action.

Games also can be heard on WITR-FM (89.7). For more, visit RIT Athletics.