Taylor McReynolds of RIT fights for his goal against Mercyhurst goalie Matt Lundin on Saturday, December 13.
Josh Lehrer

They have a pep band that energizes the crowd, different nets for the warm-up and the game, and the boisterous Corner Crew whose name speaks for itself. They also boast streaming spotlights, the Canadian and American National Anthems, a spot on television, and an announcer who is so loud that the coach has to yell over, even if he is not angry. Who has these amenities? The RIT Men’s Hockey team does.

RIT forward Mark Cornacchia skates around Mercyhurst’s Cullen Eddy.
Josh Lehrer

The Tigers did not receive all of this fanfare just because they are Division I; they have earned an ornate presentation by attracting a sizable crowd to each game, even though there is an admission fee (five dollars for students, 10 for adults, and eight for faculty, staff, and alumni). The team showcases their talent with speed when dumping the puck into their offensive zone and chasing it to set up scoring chances. Their defense-to-defense passing in their zone is exceptional as it creates many breakout opportunities. With nine shorthanded goals, the Tigers lead Division I in penalty-kill goals. Finally, to top all off is an outstanding goalie. The Tigers’ goaltender, third year Business major Jared DeMichiel from Connecticut, has six wins, three of which were from the last three games. He has 27 goals against, with 297 shots.

Except for a win in Kalamazoo, Michigan, against Western Michigan University for their second game, the Men’s Hockey team were off to a slow start with four close losses and a tie at the beginning of the season. Since then, however, the Tigers have gained steam and are evening out their record to eight wins, nine losses, and a tie. An important three game winning streak started in Colorado Springs against the Air Force. The Tigers were able to hand the Falcons their first conference loss with 32 seconds left in overtime, 3-2. Matt Crowell, a third year Marketing major from British Columbia, was able to divert the Falcon defenseman as Andrew Favot, a second year Criminal Justice major from Ontario, shot the puck past the goalie’s glove. DeMichiel earned his fourth win with 39 saves.

Brennan Sarazin of RIT takes a shot against Mercyhurst goalie Ryan Zapolski.
Josh Lehrer

The Tigers brought their endurance to the Frank Ritter Ice Rink and overpowered the Mercyhurst Lakers in their last two games before the holiday break. The Friday night game started with a scare when the Lakers had a chance on an open net, but luckily failed to follow through. Play throughout the game was back-and-forth between the Tigers’ offensive and defensive ends. Both teams ended the game with 39 shots on goal. In net, DeMichiel led the Tigers to their 6-2 victory, as his teammates shot the puck past the Lakers’ goalie.

Many teammates contributed to the goal scoring, starting with a shorthanded goal by forward Brent Alexin, a third year Packaging Science major from New York. Justin Hofstetter, a fourth year Biology major from Ontario, tallied a power play goal. First year Business major from Alberta, Taylor McReynolds, slapped a rebound past the Lakers’ goalie for his first collegiate goal. Ontario native Tyler Brenner, also a first year Business major, quickly followed McReynolds’s goal with his own after a Lakers’ defensive fell inside his blue line and lost control of the puck. Fourth year Industrial Design major Jesse Newman from British Columbia wrapped up the Friday night by scoring his second goal of the game and 14th of the season.

Mercyhursts’s Phil Ginand goes airborne while RIT’s Sean Murphy looks on.
Josh Lehrer

Young Tigers dominated Saturday’s game against Mercyhurst. Defenseman Chris Haltigin, a first year Biomedical Science major from Ontario, scored his first two goals. Anton Kharin of Russia, a third year Business major, and Favot each had a goal and an assist. Point leader and playmaker Dan Ringwald, a third year Business major from Ontario, earned two assists. McReynolds scored his second goal in two games off a shot from Kharin. In net, DeMichiel stopped 32 shots as the Tiger outshot the Lakers 38-35. The two wins broke a seven game winning streak for Mercyhurst, which may have been a contributing factor to the immense tension between the two teams. The players seemed to have trouble holding back from fighting with each other.

In the upcoming year, the Tigers will face new teams as well as those teams they have already confronted. If they continue to work as relentlessly as they have, the team has a decent chance to go far this season. The Frank Ritter Ice Rink opens its doors for the first Men’s home hockey game of the season on January 9 for a game at 7:05 p.m. Their opponent, the University of Connecticut Huskies, have four wins and 11 losses. The Tigers met the Huskies in November 2008 in Connecticut, where they each took a win. The first game was close, but the Huskies beat the Tigers 2-1 with an unanswered goal on a Tiger penalty kill. The Tigers had plenty of chances, but the only goal they managed to make was from lead scorer Brennan Sarazin, a fourth year Finance major from Ontario.

Sean Murphy, RIT forward, and Patrick Goebel of Mercyhurst have the puck in their sights at Frank Ritter Arena December 12.
Josh Lehrer

What they did not do right in the first game, the players made up for in the second game against Connecticut. They made a comeback to win the game 5-4. Down by two, Mike Janda, a second year Marketing major from Illinois, was able to intercept a Husky pass and shoot the puck off a Huskies skate into the net. Three power play goals and a short-handed goal answered all of Connecticut’s goals. Crowell scored the first power play goal in the first period with a wrist shot past the Huskies’ goalie, Beau Erikson. Alexin started the scoring in the second period with a shorthanded goal past Erikson’s glove side, which tied the score 3-3. After the Huskies managed to score their own power play goal, Favot tipped the puck in on a Tiger power play and tied the game yet again. Brenner scored the winning goal on another power play in the third period.

Now the Tigers will have to prove to their fans at home that they can sweep Connecticut to gain a winning overall record and keep their winning record at home. After all, the team has fans for a reason; that much can be seen at any one of their intense games.