Women's Hockey hosts No. 6 St. Lawrence

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The RIT women's hockey team hosts No. 6 St. Lawrence for a pair of non-conference game this Friday and Saturday at the Gene Polisseni Center.

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Friday PxP/Color: Scott Biggar, Rocky Perotta
Saturday PxP/Color: Matt Campbell, Rocky Perotta
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Twitter: @RITWHKY
 
Weekend Recap (RIT vs. RPI)
RIT went 1-0-1 against RPI in con-conference action last week. The Tigers tied the Engineers 3-3, Thursday and picked up a 2-0 win the following day.
 
Sophomore defensewoman Emma Pickering scored a career-high two goals and sophomore forward Linda Rulle recorded a career-best two points (1g, 1a) in Thursday's tie. Junior goalie Sophia Bellina made 28 saves in net for the Tigers.  
 
First year forward Brac Kelley scored midway through the first period, Friday and senior forward Jordyn Bear tallied a shorthanded empty-net goal in the third to make it a 2-0 final. Senior goalie Sarah Coe made 23 saves for her second shutout of the and season, improving to 4-0.
 
Receiving Votes
RIT is one of five teams to receive votes in this week's United States College Hockey Online (USCHO) Division I poll, receiving one vote in this week's poll.
 
Tigers Off and Running
RIT is 5-2-1 through its first eight games. That is the best start to a season since the Tigers began 5-2-1 to begin the 2014-15 season.
 
Atlantic Hockey America Weekly Honors
Pickering was named the AHA Defensemen of the Week on Monday.
 
Among the All-Time Netminders
Coe enters the weekend first all-time in career saves (2,175), third in games played (71) and minutes played (3,961) and 11th with a career .905 save percentage. Bellina is seventh all-time with a .929 save percentage, tenth in games played (29), minutes played (1,606) and saves (782) and 11th with a career 2.24 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 48th all-time in scoring with 56 points (18g, 38a). Senior forward Athena Vasdani is tied for 77th with 36 points (14g, 22a) and senior defensewoman Kyla Bear is tied for 81st with 35 points (6g, 29a).
 
Milestones
Senior defensewoman Bailey Kehl is one block shy of 150 for her career. Senior defensewoman Kyla Bear blocked her 180th career shot last weekend against RPI. Senior forward Athena Vasdani is four points (14g, 22a, 36p) shy of 40 for her career, Bear needs one assist for 30, and Aquaro is two goals shy of 20.
 
Century Mark
Eight Tigers have surpassed the 100 games-played plateau. Graduate students Mia Tsilemos (121) and Nicole Ness (116), senior forward Megan McCormick (108), Kehl and Vasdani (107), Kyla Bear (106) and senior forward Kylie Aquaro (101).
 
About RIT
RIT enters the weekend averaging 2.8 goals per game while allowing 2.1 goals per contest. The Tigers are 7-for-34 (20.6%) on the power play and 19-for-22 killing off penalties. RIT is 233-of-441 (52.8%) on face offs and have blocked 116 shots.
 
Eighteen Tigers have at tallied at least one point through eight games. Aquaro leads the team with seven points on three goals and four assists. Sophomore forward Addie Alvarez and first-year forward Brac Kelley are tied for second with six points apiece. Alvarez is tied for first on the team with four goals, while Kelley is tied for second with four assists. Pickering and senior defensewoman Kyla Bear are tied for fourth with five points each. Bear leads the Tigers with five assists and Pickering is tied with Alvarez with four goals.
 
Coe is 4-0-0 with a 1.25 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage, while Bellina is 1-2-1 with a 2.72 GAA and a .903 save percentage.
 
AHA Rankings
RIT leads Atlantic Hockey America in penalty-killing percentage (86.4%). The Tigers are second in the league in scoring (2.75 GPG), goals (22), assists per game (4.13), power play percentage (20.6%) and faceoff winning percentage (52.8%) and third is goals allowed (2.13).  
 
Alvarez is tied for first in the AHA with four goals, while Aquaro is tied for third with three goals. Pickering and first year forward Ireland Stein are tied for ninth with two goals apiece. Kyla Bear is tied for first with five assists and Kelley and Tsilemos are tied for third with four helpers. Aquaro is tied for seventh with three assists and third in points.
 
Kelley is fifth in the league with 50 face-off wins and senior forward Jordyn Bear is seventh in the league with 34 face wins. Pickering is tied for eighth in the AHA with 11 blocked shots.
 
Coe leads the AHA with a 1.66 goals-against average, while Bellina is sixth with a 2.70 GAA. Coe is third in the league with a .929 save percentage and Bellina is fourth with a .902 save percentage.
 
About St. Lawrence
St. Lawrence enters the weekend with a 5-3-0 record after a split at Vermont last weekend, losing 1-0 Friday and rebounding with a 5-0 win the following day. Junior goalie Emma-Sofie Nordstrom made 20 saves in Friday's loss.
 
Senior forward Abby Hustler led St. Lawrence with a goal and three assists in Saturday's win, while Graduate student forward Aly McLeod tallied a goal and two assists. Graduate student forward Anna Segedi had a goal, and an assist and Nordstrom made 18 saves in net.
 
St. Lawrence enters the weekend averaging 2.8 goals per game while allowing 1.5 goals per contest. The Saints are tied for eighth in Division I in assists (36), goals (22) and penalty-killing percentage (90.9%). St. Lawrence is tied for ninth in scoring defense (1.50) and 12th in scoring offense (2.75).  
 
McLeod leads the team in scoring with 10 points on a team-high four goals and six assists. Hustler is second in scoring with nine points, including a team-best seven assists and Segedi is third with seven points (3g, 4a). Hustler is tied for eighth in Division I in assists and McLeod is tied for 12th.
 
Nordstrom enters the weekend with a 4-3-0 record. She is tenth in Division I with a .951 save percentage and 18th with a 1.34 goals against average. 2-2-0 and ninth in Division I with a 1.24 goals-against average and 17th with a .938 save percentage.
 
RIT vs. St. Lawrence
St. Lawrence is 25-14-2 all time against RIT. The Saints won 2-1 last season in Canton, NY. Suyeon Eom and Hustler each scored for the Saints, while graduate student forward Nicole Ness tallied the Tiger's goal. Nordstrom made 18 saves in net for St. Lawrence, while Coe made 37 stops for RIT. The Tiger's last win over the Saints was a 2-1 victory on Jan. 17, 2023. Senior defensewoman Addie Carr scored the game-winner late in the third period.
 
National Rankings
RIT is tied for eighth in Division I in goals (22) and tied for tenth in assists (33). The Tigers are tied for fifth with seven power play goals and 17th, converting 7-of-34 (20.6%) of their power play chances. RIT is tied for 12th in scoring offense (2.75 goals per game), tied for 20th in scoring defense (2.12) and tied for 16th killing off 19-of-22 (86.4%) of its penalties.
 
Kyla Bear is tied for 24th with five assists. Kelley is 15th with 74 face-off wins and Pickering is tied for fourth with three power play goals and Aquaro is tied for eighth with two power play tallies. Sophomore forward Addie Alvarez is tied for 18th with four goals and tied for 30th averaging 0.57 goals per game. Coe is tenth with a .951 save percentage and 18th with a 1.34 goals-against average.
 
They Come from Far and Wide
The 26 Tigers hail from 11 states, two Canadian provinces and one country in Europe, with the largest groups coming from Ontario (6), Saskatchewan (4), Pennsylvania (3) and Illinois (3). Players hail from as close as Rochester, NY to as far away as Pale, Latvia (4,192 miles).
 
Ranked Opponents
RIT plays five teams ranked in this week's USCHO Division I Women's Poll. RIT is 1-1 versus ranked opponents after a split against No. 7 Colgate (Oct. 11-12). The Tigers host No. 6 St. Lawrence for a weekend series (Oct. 25-26) and plays No. 11 Cornell in a home-and-home series (Nov. 26 and Dec. 31). RIT plays No. 12 Penn State (Jan. 10-11, Feb. 14-15) and No. 15 Mercyhurst (Nov. 22-23, Jan. 31-Feb. 1)
 
Atlantic Hockey America
Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) embarks on its first season in 2024-25 after the merger between the Atlantic Hockey Association and College Hockey America. The conference fields 11 men's teams (American International College, Bentley University, Canisius College, The College of Holy Cross, Mercyhurst University, Niagara University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Robert Morris University, Sacred Heart University, the United States Air Force Academy, and the United States Military Academy), and six women's teams (Lindenwood University, Mercyhurst University, Penn State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Robert Morris University, and Syracuse University). In 2025-26, Delaware University will join the women's league.