Chris Langer

The RIT Men’s Hockey team (11-8-1) faced off for the second day in a row against the Holy Cross Crusaders at the Ritter Arena. With an as-to-be-expected full crowd of supporters decked out in orange and brown armor, the 2-0 home game win for RIT is no surprise. The night before, the Tigers not-so-narrowly stole the win against the Crusaders with a final score of 5-2. Friday and Saturday’s victories brought RIT to 12-8-1 this season.

In the first period, the teams took to the ice with a great strength and visible determination. Just over 16 minutes in, the Tigers slapped in their first goal. Second year Business major Cameron Burt forced the goal with an agile assist from fellow second year Business major Tyler Brenner. This play upped Burt’s goals this season to seven, making him the highest scoring Tiger on the team; no easy feat.

Less than a minute later, following the first goal, the Tigers pushed the puck in again to a massive orange and brown fanatic response; this time led by second year Biomedical Sciences major Taylor McReynolds. The assist wizard behind the bedlam was fourth year Packaging Science major Brent Alexin. This was a good few minutes for RIT as goaltender Jared DeMichiel, a fourth year Business major, denied what was almost surely a goal.

Frustrated by poor luck and a tougher resistance, one of the Crusaders tried taking it out on the team; but before he could get his jersey off, he found himself thrown in the box with a 10 minute penalty for misconduct, much to his indignation. The first period wrapped up with the score of 2-0 in favor of RIT. The Crusaders were getting anxious, and the roar and raucous of the Corner Crew aimed at their back wasn’t helping.

In the second period, the Holy Cross men came back with gusto and renewed vitality, determined to put a hurt on the unbreakable RIT defense, but it wasn’t quite enough as both teams went scoreless for the half. With quick reflexes and a keen eye, DeMichiel continued to skillfully keep the goal clear of any shots the Crusaders attempted to take. Try as they might, the Holy Cross offense just couldn’t pull it together in time, and they were continuously neutralized by RIT’s solid all-around performance.

The tension rose as the third period rolled around. RIT started to slow down, giving Holy Cross a window of opportunity and a slight momentum gain over the Tigers. The clock was winding down, penalties were at an unusual minimum, and the count was still 2-0 Tigers.

Chris Langer

Holy Cross, as one might expect, started feel the first tinges of desperation. A time out from Holy Cross was called with a few minutes left in the game, and then at just over a minute, the Crusaders pulled their goalie out in a last ditch effort to try and overpower RIT.

The time wound down and for the second night in a row, Holy Cross suffered yet another defeat against the Tigers, bringing their all-time record against the Crusaders to 19-6-1. DeMichiel chalked up his second season shutout, blocking all 22 shots taken on him, while Coach Wayne Wilson looked forward to earning his 200th career win, Holy Cross being 199.

Wilson earned his 200th win against the University of Connecticut in a 4-0 decision on January 15. The Tigers are now 12-9-1 overall for the season.