Men's Hockey earns 3-2 win at Holy Cross; sweeps AHA series

WORCESTER, Mass. – RIT junior goaltender Tommy Scarfone totaled a season-high 40 saves to preserve a 3-2 win at Holy Cross in Atlantic Hockey action, Saturday.
 
Senior forward Cody Laskosky, junior forward Grady Hobbs and first-year forward Christian Catalano each added a goal as the Tigers took five out of six points from the Crusaders after also earning a 3-2 OT win in Friday's opener.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Holy Cross got the scoring going 30 seconds into the game. Tyle Gagno pushed a puck forward on a rush through the neutral zone to Tyler Ghirardosi, who evaded a Tiger defender to beat Scarfone, stick-side.
• RIT was whistled for a five-minute boarding major at 3:16, but Holy Cross was later hit with a hooking penalty at 6:28 with 1:48 remaining in the major.
•  RIT evened the score during the ensuing four-on-four. Andrew started a rush down the right boards and centered a pass to first-year defenseman Crossley Stewart, who took a shot from the top of the slot. Crusader goaltender Jason Grande made the pad save at the top of his crease, but the rebound went directly to the left face-off circle where Hobbs snapped a shot inside the near post past a diving Grande with 12:20 left in the period.
• RIT took a 2-1 lead with 3:56 left in the first period after Holy Cross was whistled for boarding with 4:22 on the clock. Grande saved a one-timer by Tiger senior defenseman Aiden Hansen-Bukata from the point, but first-year forward Matthew Wilde collected the rebound in the low slot and put two shots off Grande's pads – the second which Lasksosky cleaned up inside the left post.  
• RIT scored with 49.8 left in the second period to carry a 3-1 lead into the second intermission. The Tigers cycled a puck around to the top of the Crusader zone where first-year forward Tyler Fukakusa crossed a feed to senior defenseman Gianfranco Cassaro at the right point. Cassaro took a long wrist shot that dribbled behind Grande's right pad where Catalano tucked the loose puck inside the left post.   
• Holy Cross got one back on the power play with 12:58 left in regulation after a one-timer by Jack Stockton from the left faceoff circle beat Scarfone to the left post.    

GAME NOTES

• Scarfone put together his 24^th career game with at least 30 saves and finished one stop short of the career-high 41 saves he made in the 6-1 loss at Penn State last season (Dec. 30).
• Holy Cross finished the game with a 42-21 shot advantage.
• RIT killed four of the five penalties it faced while scoring one power play goal on five chances.
• Laskosky scored a point in his fifth-consecutive game and his team-best fifth goal of the season.
• Catalano notched his first goal in a Tiger uniform.
• Hobbs logged a point in his third-consecutive game after also assisting the game-tying goal on Friday.
• Holy Cross knocked the top-seeded Tigers out of last year's Atlantic Hockey Tournament, winning two out of three games in the semifinals including a 5-1 victory in the deciding game-three at the Polissini Center. 

WHAT'S NEXT
RIT continues its Atlantic Hockey road swing with two games at Army next Friday and Saturday (Nov. 3-4) at 7:05 p.m. and 4:05 p.m., respectively.