Men's Hockey pushes past Bentley, 6-2

WALTHAM, Mass. – RIT sophomore forward Matthew Wilde totaled two goals and two assists while sophomore forward Tyler Fukakusa added a career-high four assists in a 6-2 Atlantic Hockey victory at Bentley, Saturday.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Bentley scored 25 seconds into the game and again two minutes later. Ethan Leyh scored on a one-timer from the slot to open the scoring before Chase Davis chipped a one-timer over Tiger first-year goaltender Jakub Krbecek's glove from close range at the end of a rush.
• RIT got one back late in the first period skating on the power play after Bentley was whistled for delay of game during a faceoff. Fukakusa took a pass from first-year defenseman Tristan Allen in the left faceoff circle and fired a pass onto the stick of sophomore forward Christian Catalano in front of the crease for a short finish inside the right post with 1:23 on the clock.
• RIT tied the score 2:30 into the second. Bentley cleared a puck from deep in their own zone all the way back to Krbecek in his crease, but Krbeck sprung Catalano with a long neutral-zone pass down the right boards for a two-on-one break. Catalano slipped a short pass through the slot to Wilde, who buried a one-timer, near post.
• RIT scored three more times in the final six minutes of the second to build a 5-2 lead. Fukakusa took a long breakout pass at the Bentley blue line and sent a cross-ice feed to a charging Wilde on the left wing. Wilde deked a Bentley player in the slot and backhanded a shot off Bentley goalie Connor Hasley's pads, but Mahan got a stick on the rebound that got pushed over the goal line in the ensuing pile-up on the crease with 5:43 on the clock.
• Less than a minute later, Wilde knocked a Falcon clearing attempt down in the top-left corner of the zone before Fukakusa dropped a short pass back to Wilde. Wilde skated on goal and slid a puck to the right faceoff circle for junior defenseman Gustav Blom, who buried a wrist shot over Hasley's blocker with 5:11 remaining.
• Less than two minutes later, the Tigers dug a puck off the right boards in their own zone and started a rush the other way. Sophomore defenseman Crossley Stewart centered a puck from the right faceoff circle to junior forward Philippe Jacques in the slot, who snapped a wrist shot over Hasley's glove to finish the rush with 3:33 remaining.
• RIT later tacked on an empty-net goal with 37.5 remaining. Fukakusa cleared a puck out of the middle of the Tiger zone that senior forward Grady Hobbs deflected forward into the neutral zone to Wilde, who out-skated the Falcon defense for the final goal of the night. 

GAME NOTES

• RIT bounced back from a 5-0 loss to the Falcons on Friday night to earn the Atlantic Hockey split while snapping its first five-game losing streak since the 2018-19 season.
• Playing his second game of the season after missing the Tigers' first eight due to injury, Wilde's four-point night was a career high.
• RIT killed all three Bentley power plays it faced while finishing 1-for-2 with the extra man.
• Krbecek finished the night with 33 saves for his sixth game in as many outings with at least 30 saves to start his Tiger career.
• Hobbs' assist was his 50th career point. He has totaled 26 goals and 24 assists the last four years. 
• Bentley finished with a 35-31 shot advantage. 

WHAT'S NEXT
RIT returns home to host Atlantic Hockey-rival Army next Friday and Saturday (Nov. 15-16). Game times are set for 7:05 p.m. both nights.