ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The RIT Men's Hockey team takes on visiting Air Force this Friday (7:05 PM) and Saturday (5:05 PM) in an Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) doubleheader to finish five-straight home games to start the 2025-26 season.
 
The Tigers look to continue their momentum following a 6-2 victory over Clarkson in front of a sellout crowd of 10,556 at Blue Cross Arena last Saturday for a Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend victory. The Falcons head east for the first time this season after splitting a two-game home set opposite St. Thomas last weekend, earning a 6-2 win on Saturday after falling, 11-2, in Friday's opener. 
 
FOLLOW LIVE
Pregame LIve: Friday | Saturday
Watch: FloHockey.tv/watch
PxP/Color: Gene Battaglia, John DiTullio
Local Audio: WITR 89.7 FM or FOX Sports 1280 AM
Web Audio: witr.rit.edu or foxsports1280.iheart.com
PxP/Color: Ed Trefzger, Scott Biggar, Matt Campbell
Live Stats: ritathletics.com/sidearmstats/mhockey
 
TIGER REWIND
RIT bounced back from a pair of season-opening losses to Sacred Heart with a 6-2 victory over Clarkson last Saturday in downtown Rochester.
 
Senior forward Simon Isabelle notched a career-high three points on a goal and two assists to lead six goal scorers and 10 players with at least one point. Sophomore goaltender Jakub Krbecek made 28 saves, including 13 in the first period, to backstop the decision. Junior defenseman Crossley Stewart earned his first career AHA Defenseman of the Week honor after scoring what proved to be the game-winning goal, breaking a 2-2 tie at 14:02 of the second period on a long shot from the left point off a return pass from junior forward Christian Catalano.
 
YOU ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR FIRST
Senior Austin Brimmer (1G),  junior Ben Roger (1A) and first-years Caleb Elfering (1G), Camden Bajzer (1G), Evan Konyen (1G) and William Moore (1A) all scored the first points of their Tiger careers during last Saturday's win over Clarkson.
 
TIGERS VS. AIR FORCE
RIT trails the all-time series opposite Air Force, 26-35-4, but has won six of the last 10 meetings including a sweep in Colorado last winter. The Tigers opened the series with a 2-1 victory (Jan. 31) before winning 3-2 in overtime (Feb. 1) for the first of only two AHA doubleheader sweeps of the season. Simon Isabelle assisted the game-tying goal in game-one before setting up Tyler Mahan's short-handed game-tying tally during the rematch.  Jakub Krbecek won both ends of the weekend, totaling 34 saves (16 in the third period) on Friday and 27 more on Saturday en route to his third AHA Goaltender of the Week honor of the season.
 
MEET THE NEW BOSS
First-year RIT Head Coach Matt Thomas won his first career game behind the RIT bench last Saturday. The former RIT captain was named head coach at his alma mater last spring, becoming only the eighth head coach in program history dating back to 1962-63. Thomas jumped right into coaching after graduating in 1998 and has over 26 years of experience at both the NCAA Division I and professional ranks, including the last four seasons as an assistant coach with the Providence Bruins – the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the NHL Boston Bruins. RIT was one of a record 11 Division I men's hockey teams that made a coaching change this offseason – the most in the 78-year history of NCAA Division I men's hockey.
 
GOOD BY TENSION, HELLO PENSION
For the first time since 1998, a coach not named Wayne Wilson was behind the RIT bench when the puck dropped on the 2025-26 season. The winningest coach in program history, Wilson announced his retirement in April following a 26-year run with the Tigers, including all 20 seasons at the Division I level following the program's ascension from the Division III ranks in 2005-06. Inducted into the RIT Sports Hall of Fame during last weekend's Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend festivities, Wilson is the winningest coach in program history, finishing his career 33rd in NCAA Men's Hockey history with a 471-337-82 record.
 
STANDING IN THE HALL OF FAME
Former All-American defenseman Matt Garbowsky '15, was also inducted into the RIT Sports Hall of Fame last weekend. Garbowsky was RIT's first AHCA All-American in 2015 after capping a standout career with Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year accolades while also leading the league in points to win the scoring title. He also led the Tigers to the 2015 Atlantic Hockey Championship before RIT upset Minnesota State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, marking the first time a 16-seed upset a No. 1 seed in tournament history.