Men's Hockey falls at Sacred Heart, 3-2

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – RIT sophomore forward Tyler Fukakusa notched a goal and an assist in the Tigers' 3-2 setback at Sacred Heart in Atlantic Hockey America play, Friday.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Sacred Heart scored the lone goal of the first after Charles Tardif stole a puck behind the Tiger net and dropped sort pass to Reid Pabich, who skated around the left post and snapped a wrist shot over RIT goaltender Trent Burnham's stick at 14:59.
• The Pioneers scored twice during a 1:30 stretch of the second for a 3-0 lead. Marcus Joughin took a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle that was blocked down by a Tiger defender. Cole Galata collected the loose puck and crossed a pass to a trailing Daniel Ebrahim, who scored on a wrist shot, far post, at 16:01.
• Tardif later dropped a pass from the point to Hunter Sansbury in the left faceoff circle, who scored on a wrist shot over Burnham's blocker at 17:31.
• RIT got on the board 37 seconds later. Sophomore forward Matthew Wilde backhanded a pass from the left faceoff circle to sophomore defenseman Kevin Scott at the top of the slot. Scott took a shot that deflected off a Sacred Heart player to Fukakusa outside the right post for a short finish, near post.  
• The Tigers made it a one-goal game at 11:50 of the third. Fukakusa fought through two Pioneer defenders in the left faceoff circle and dropped a pass back to sophomore forward Christian Catalano trailing the play. Catalano toe dragged a puck through the slot around a defender and beat Sacred Heart goaltender Ajeet Gundarah with a forehand inside the right post. 

GAME NOTES

• RIT finished with a 29-25 shot advantage, including a 59-41 edge in shot attempts.
• RIT finished 5-for-5 on the penalty kill and hasn't allowed an opponent power play goal in over five games and 22-straight attempts.
• Wilde notched a pair of assists for seven points (3G/4A) over the last five games since returning from a preseason injury.
• Fukakusa leads the Tigers with 13 points and 11 assists.
• Burnham finished with 12 saves in 37:31 of work. First-year Ethan David stopped all 10 shots he faced over the final 22:29. 

WHAT'S NEXT
RIT and Sacred Heart square off on Saturday (Nov. 23) in a rematch slated for a 7:00 p.m. faceoff.