Tigers head north to challenge St. Lawrence, Clarkson this weekend

RIT drew a record 7,421 fans to Blue Cross Arena Oct. 10 for the 2009–2010 season opener against Colgate.

The RIT Tigers men’s hockey team plays its first road games of the 2009-2010 season this weekend, traveling to northern New York to play ECAC foes St. Lawrence on Friday and Clarkson on Saturday.

RIT opened the season Saturday, losing to Colgate 3-2 before a record crowd of 7,421 fans at Blue Cross Arena. The crowd eclipsed the previous RIT home record of 5,124 fans set Oct. 27, 2007, in a contest against Cornell at Blue Cross Arena. It is also a record for a home game involving an Atlantic Hockey Association team.

RIT held a 21-6 advantage in shots over Colgate during the first 26 minutes of the game. Taylor McReynolds and Stevan Matic scored for RIT. Freshman defenseman Chris Saracino recorded his first collegiate point, an assist on Matic’s goal. Senior goaltender Jared DeMichiel made 29 saves.

RIT Head Coach Wayne Wilson (188-92-24) needs one win to become the all-time leader in coaching victories at RIT. He is tied with Eric Hoffberg.

St. Lawrence comes into this weekend with a 1-1 record. Last weekend, the Saints finished third at the Mutual of Omaha Icebreaker Tournament, hosted by the University of Omaha-Nebraska. On Friday, the Saints fell to number 11 UMass-Lowell, 3-0, but rebounded to defeat Army 5-2 on Saturday. The Saints are picked to finish 10th in the ECAC Hockey standings by the league’s preseason coaches’ poll.

St. Lawrence leads the all-time series between the two schools 6-1-0. Last season, the Saints defeated RIT 2-1 at Blue Cross Arena.

Clarkson dropped its first two games of the season last weekend, 6-1 and 4-3 at Michigan State. The Golden Knights are picked to finish 11th in the ECAC Hockey standings by the league’s preseason coaches’ poll.

Clarkson leads the all-time series between the two clubs 9-2-1. The Golden Knights defeated RIT 6-4 in the Tigers' home opener last season.

This weekend’s games, at 7 p.m. Friday and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, can be heard on WITR-FM (89.7).

For more, visit RIT Athletics.