Men's Hockey ties AIC, 3-3; wins shootout, 2-1

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – RIT sophomore forward Matthew Wilde scored two goals in the Tigers' 3-3 Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) tie with visiting American International, Saturday.
 
Following a scoreless overtime, RIT won the penalty shootout, 2-1, to earn the extra point in the AHA standings and complete a five-point weekend.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• RIT got on the board 29 seconds into the game after junior defenseman Xavier Lapointe intercepted an AIC outlet pass in the neutral zone and threw a cross-ice pass to Wilde from the right point. Wilde scored on a sharp angle wrist shot from the left faceoff circle that scored inside the near post over Yellow Jacket goaltender Chase Clark's glove.
• AIC answered with a pair of goals by Dario Beljo in a two-minute stretch to take a 2-1 lead at 6:33. Beljo's cleaned up a rebound on the crease for a power play goal at 4:33 after the Tigers were whistled for interference. He then intercepted a pass in the left faceoff circle and scored on a wrist shot under the bar over RIT first-year goaltender Ethan David's glove.
• Wilde retied the game at 12:05 after grabbing a loose puck in the neutral zone and whipping a wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle over Clark, far post.
• RIT retook a 3-2 lead at 2:39 of the second after junior forward Philippe Jacques stole a puck at the top of the AIC zone to setup a two-on-one opportunity with first-year forward Ty Whyte. Whyte slid a puck across the slot to Jacques for a shot from in front of the left post. Clark made the initial save, but Whyte was able to tip the loose puck from under Clark across the goal line.
• AIC retied the game 40 seconds later after Josh Barnes took a centering pass from Timofei Khokhlachev at the Tiger blue line and split two defenders to snap a wrist shot from the slot inside the left post.   

GAME NOTES

• Wilde scored his team-leading 15th and 16th goals of the season while notching his seventh multi-point game this winter.
• David finished with 24 saves and also stopped two attempts in the penalty shootout. He also made 22 saves to preserve a 3-0 shutout in Friday's opener.
• Mikrogiannakis blocked a team-high three shots after knocking down a career-high seven in Friday night's decision. He entered the day leading the nation in blocked shots and has 78 to date.
• RIT killed three of four AIC power play chances, but finished 0-for-2 with the extra man.
• Whyte logged his second goal of the season while Lapointe tacked on his ninth point this year.
• Sophomore forward Christian Catalano scored during the penalty shootout, while senior forward Tanner Andrew also tallied what proved to be the deciding attempt.  
• Sitting eighth in the latest AHA standings with two games remaining, RIT is still in the mix for as high as an eighth-place finish. The sixth, seventh and eighth seeds host the 11th, 10th and ninth-place finishers in the first round of the AHA playoffs on March 1st. 

WHAT'S NEXT
RIT closes the regular season hosting AHA-rival Mercyhurst next Friday and Saturday (Feb. 21-22). Faceoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. both nights.