Fourth year Biomedical Sciences major Chris Haltigin brings the team's second place trophy to the bench after accepting it at the post-game ceremony Saturday, March 17.
Robert Shook

On Saturday, March 17, Men’s Hockey Head Coach Wayne Wilson summed up his team’s performance at a post-game press conference in Blue Cross Arena: “We didn’t get the goals we needed. It wasn’t a lack of effort.” Understandably, the 4-0 championship loss to the numberone seeded Air Force Falcons was frustrating, especially considering the Tigers’ 1-0 championship loss to the Falcons last season.

While a simultaneous game was being held for the women at Ritter Arena, the men fought hard but struggled to find their groove. In the opening period, The Tigers and Falcons spent the first 15 minutes of the fast-paced match in a stalemate, until the first RIT penalty kill. Third year Business Management major Shane Madolora briefly lost sight of the puck behind the net. It bounced off the back wall, and Falcons’ first year Cole Gunner made a tight loop around the post and scored a power-play goal at 15:15. The Tigers hoped to answer with a goal of their own, but never got the chance: At 16:25, Falcons third year John Kruse wove his way through the Tigers’ defense and scored. Reflecting on his players’ performance, Coach Wilson said, “Actually, not a bad first period. If you take away the score, I thought we played a pretty even first.” Shots on goal were 10-10 in the first.

In the second period, RIT seemed to take every opportunity for a goal: They dominated possession and took 15 shots on goal. So much for that; Falcons’ sophomore Jason Fabian scored off of a rebound at 9:23. “I thought we created a lot of chances in the second. I think we held them to maybe two flurries, but again they scored, another goal,” said Coach Wilson. “At 3-0, now it’s an uphill battle against a very good team.”

Robert Shook

In the final period, second year Business Management major Adam Mitchell received a game misconduct penalty which took him out of the game. Fans were somewhat consoled by positive updates from the women’s game at Ritter, but the situation at Blue Cross was bleak. Despite the disproportionate score, the two teams went all-out until the very end, and Madolora was pulled out for the last two minutes of the game to give the Tigers a man advantage. The Tigers sustained this until the final seven seconds, when Fabian scored his second goal of the game: an unobstructed goal from far away.

The results of the game did not go as the Tigers had planned, but they played exceptionally. When Coach Wilson suggested that, “Maybe last night took a little more out of us than what we thought,” he said. The seniors next to him nodded — the team was tired.

Coach Wilson is optimistic: “These guys [the seniors] have accomplished an awful lot over their four years, and there are better days ahead as well; we’ll win some more championships.” He added, “We’re disappointed, but that’s because of the bar [the seniors] have set for the program.”

RIT finished the season with a 20-12-6 record.