Men’s hockey looks for first win of season this weekend at Air Force
Freshman Chris Tanev and the Tigers look to win their first game of the season this weekend at Air Force.
The RIT Tigers men’s hockey team ventures west, across two times zones, to play the three-time defending Atlantic Hockey Association champions, Air Force, in the first of two AHA regular-season contests at 9:05 p.m. (Eastern) tonight and Saturday.
Last season, the two clubs shared the AHA regular season crown with identical 20-6-2 records in league play.
RIT (0-3-0) is looking for its first win of the season after losing road contests at St. Lawrence and Clarkson last weekend. The Tigers played well, out-shooting St. Lawrence 43-20 and Clarkson 45-29—but they were unable to convert on their chances. Freshman Adam Hartley scored his first collegiate goal in Friday’s 3-1 loss. On Saturday, Tigers freshman Chris Tanev scored his first collegiate goal, while sophomore Cameron Burt tallied two third-period goals in a 5-3 loss.
Like RIT, Air Force (0-4-0) is looking for its first win of the season after losing a pair of home contests, by consecutive 4-2 scores, against Alabama-Huntsville last weekend. Forwards Jeff Hajner, Jacques Lamoureux, and Derrick Burnett each have four points apiece to lead the squad.
This weekend’s games will be the 18th and 19th meetings between the two squads since 2005. The all-time series between the two teams is even at 10-10-2. Last season, the two teams split the season series 2-2-0, with each team winning at home and on the road. In Colorado Springs last year, Air Force defeated RIT 2-0 on Dec. 5, and RIT claimed a 3-2 overtime victory the next night.
Both games can be heard on WITR-FM (89.7). For more, visit RIT Athletics.
NOTE: Read RIT co-sports information director Joe Venniro’s preview of this weekend’s games on the RIT News blog, The Tiger Beat Blog: Streaking Tigers look to continue successful runs