Women's Hockey heads to Mercyhurst for a weekend series

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The RIT women's hockey team hits the road for a pair of Atlantic Hockey America contests at Mercyhurst on Friday (Nov. 22) and Saturday (Nov. 23) at 3:00 and 1:00 p.m.

Weekend Recap (RIT vs. Syracuse)
RIT dropped a pair of Atlantic Hockey America games to Syracuse last weekend, losing 4-2 at Syracuse Friday followed by a 1-0 home-defeat, Saturday.
 
Senior forward Kylie Aquaro and first year forward Kailey Favro each scored in Friday's loss. Aquaro scored 11:57 into the first period off an assist from senior defensewoman Kyla Bear to give the Tigers the lead. Favro gave RIT a 2-0 lead on her goal at 6:18 of the second period. The Orange scored four straight goals, including three in the third period. Senior goalie Sarah Coe made 22 saves in net.
 
RIT outshot Syracuse 33-13 in Saturday's 1-0 loss. Junior goalie Sophia Bellina made 12 saves in net and Bear blocked five shots.
 
Lost the Lead
Friday's 4-2 loss at Syracuse was the first loss for the Tigers when leading after two periods since a loss at Mercyhurst in 2020.
 
Among the All-Time Netminders
Coe enters the weekend first in career saves (2,271), third in games played (75) and minutes played (4,183) and 11th with a career .905 save percentage. Bellina is seventh all-time with a .930 save percentage, ninth in saves (834) and tenth in games played (35), minutes played (1,730) and a career 2.18 goals-against average.
 
Top 100 Scorers
Three Tigers are ranked in the top 100 in all-time scoring. Senior forward Kylie Aquaro enters the weekend tied for 42nd all-time in scoring with 61 points (20g, 41a). Senior forward Athena Vasdani (15g, 22a) senior defensewoman Kyla Bear (6g, 31a) are tied for 75th with 37 points.
 
Career Milestones
Senior defensewoman Bailey Kehl blocked her 155th career shot this past weekend against Syracuse. Senior forward Athena Vasdani is three points (15g, 22a, 37p) shy of 40 for her career, while Aquaro scored her 20th career goal against Syracuse. Graduate student defender Mia Tsilemos had three blocks against Syracuse to reach 230 and Alvarez is two points shy of 30. Kyla Bear (6g, 31a) is three points away from 40 for her career.
 
Century Mark
Eight Tigers have surpassed the 100 games-played plateau. Graduate students Mia Tsilemos (127) and Nicole Ness (122), senior forward Megan McCormick (114), Kehl and Vasdani (113), Kyla Bear (112) and Aquaro (107).
 
About RIT
RIT enters the weekend averaging 2.4 goals per game while allowing 2.2 goals per contest. The Tigers are 9-for-50 (18. %) on the power play and 34-for-38 killing off penalties. RIT is 390-of-761 (51.2%) on face offs and have blocked 222 shots.
 
Eighteen Tigers have at tallied at least one point through 14 games. Aquaro leads the team with 12 points on five goals and seven assists. Sophomore forward Addie Alvarez and first-year forward Brac Kelley are tied for second with eight points apiece. Aquaro is tied with Alvarez for first with five goals, while Kelley is fourth on the team with five assists. Kyla Bear is fourth on the team with seven points and is tied with Aquaro for first with seven assists.
 
Coe is 5-2-1 with a 2.08 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage, while Bellina is 1-3-2 with a 2.29 GAA and a .917 save percentage.
 
AHA Rankings
RIT leads Atlantic Hockey America in penalty-killing percentage (89.5%) and is second in goals per game (2.43) and points per game (5.79). percentage (20.5%). The Tigers are third in goals allowed per game (2.21), assists per game (3.36), power play percentage (18.0%) and faceoff winning percentage (51.2%) and fourth blocking 15.86 shots per contest.
 
Aquaro is tied for third in Atlantic Hockey America with three power play goals. She is tied for fourth in points and tied for sixth in goals and assists. Alvarez is tied for first with two game-winning goals and tied for sixth in the league in goals. Kyla Bear is tied for sixth in assists and seventh with 29 blocked shots.
 
Kelley is second in the league winning 61.5 percent of her faceoffs and fifth with 120 faceoff wins. Senior forward Jordyn Bear is eighth in the league with 104 wins and ninth winning 47.7 percent of her draws. Sophomore defensewoman Emma Pickering is tied for fifth in the AHA with 30 blocked shots and tied for third with three power play goals.
 
Coe is second in Atlantic Hockey America with a 2.08 goals-against average, while Bellina is fourth with a 2.29 GAA. Coe and Bellina are tied for fourth in the league with a .920 save percentage, while Bellina is fifth averaging 25.67 saves per game.
 
About Mercyhurst
Mercyhurst enters the weekend with a 5-7-1 record after a weekend sweep at Robert Morris, winning 2-0 and 5-0.
 
Redshirt junior forward Tristana Tatur and first year forward Regina Metzler each scored and graduate student goalie Jorden Mattison made 19 saves in the Lakers 2-0 win, Friday. First year forward Julia Schalin tallied three goals and an assist in Saturday's win. Senior forward Vanessa Upson had a goal and two assists, junior defender Megan McKay had a pair of helpers and Mattison made 12 saves in net.
 
Mercyhurst enters the weekend sixth in Atlantic Hockey America averaging 1.69 goals per game and second allowing 1.85 goals per contest. The Lakers are third in the AHA killing off 21-of-26 penalties (80.8%) and fourth converting 5-of-29 (17.2%) of their power play chances.
 
Upson and junior forward Thea Johansson are tied for first on the team with nine points apiece. Johansson is tied for third in the league with six goals, while Upson is fifth in the league with eight assists. Schalin (3g, 3a), McKay (2g, 4a) and sophomore forward Sofia Nuutinen (32g, 4a) are tied for third in scoring with six points apiece.
 
Mattison leads Atlantic Hockey America with a .936 save percentage and is second in the league with a 1.60 goals against average. She is seventh in AHA averaging 22.78 saves per game.
 
RIT vs. Mercyhurst
Mercyhurst is 43-7-1 all-time versus RIT. The Tigers were 1-3-0 versus the Lakers last season, including a 3-2 overtime win on November 4. Emma Roland scored two goals including the game-winner 42 seconds into overtime. Sophia Bellina made 28 saves in net for the Tigers.
 
National Rankings
RIT is seventh in Division I in penalty killing percentage (89.5%) and tied for ninth in power play goals (9). The Tigers are 14th in goals (34) and tied for 19th in assists (47). RIT is tied for 21st in scoring offense (2.43), scoring defense (2.21) and power play percentage (18.0%).
 
Aquaro is tied for tenth along with Pickering in Division I with three power play goals. Kelley is 32nd with 120 faceoff wins and Coe is 25th in goals against average, 28th in save percentage (.920) and tied for 13th with two shutouts. Bellina is 30th nationally with a .917 save percentage.