ROCHESTER, N.Y. – RIT junior forward Boris Skalos scored a career-high four points on a goal and three assists to lead the Tigers to a 7-3 Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) victory over visiting Air Force, Saturday.
 
First-year forward Caleb Elfering (1G/2A) and sophomore defenseman Tristan Allen (3A) each notched a career-best three points while sophomore forward Mathieu Cobetto-Roy added a goal and an assist to lead seven Tiger goal scorers and 11 players with at least a point.
 
Sophomore goaltender Jakub Krbecek was credited with 39 saves, including 15 in the second period, to backstop his second victory of the weekend over Air Force. He also stopped 21 shots in Friday's 5-1 victory over the Falcons.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Air Force opened the scoring at 10:39 of the first off a rush created by a Tiger turnover in the Falcon zone. Oliver Genest fed a trailing Cris Hedden in the slot for a wrist shot over Krbecek's glove.
RIT responded 57 seconds later after Skalos fed Cobetto-Roy in the slot for a short finish inside the left post at the end of a rush.

The Falcons bounced back 24 seconds later after winning a defensive zone faceoff and creating a rush the other way. Will Dawson completed a diving pass across the slot to Sam Stitz, who scored on a tough angle shot from deep in the right corner that scored behind Krbecek, near post.   
The Tigers retied the game 44 seconds later after junior defenseman Crossley Stewart tipped a puck out of the Tiger zone to create a rush the other way. First-year forward Evan Konyen had a centering pass knocked down by a Falcon defender but collected the loose puck and found first-year forward Zach Wigle all alone in the slot for a goal inside a wide-open left post.

Junior forward Christian Catalano made it a 3-2 game at 14:01, collecting a loose puck in the neutral zone and skating all the way around the Air Force zone to wrap a shot around the left post and under Carter Clafton's pads.

Air Force retied the game at 5:32 of the second after Dawson stole a puck along the left half boards in the Tiger zone and fed Nick Sajevic in front, who fed Stitz for a one timer.
RIT scored in the final minute of the second period, scoring 14 seconds into a power play following a Falcon hooking call. Allen cycled a puck into the right faceoff circle to first-year forward William Moore, who sent a puck toward the slot that deflected off an Air Force defender to Skalos. Skalos sent a quick return pass to Moore, who scored on a wrist shot under goaltender Dominik Wasik's pads with 49.1 on the clock for a 4-3 Tiger lead.

RIT took a two-goal lead at 2:45 of the third. Cobetto-Roy grabbed a loose puck along the left boards and skated around the Air Force goal to hit Allen with a pass in the right faceoff circle for a wrist shot that was redirected by Elfering inside the right post.  

RIT made it a 6-3 game at 16:36 of the third after senior defenseman Austin Brimmer sent a long pass out of the left corner to Allen at the right point before Skalos tipped a drive by Allen inside the right post.

Senior forward Tyler Mahan closed the game with an empty-net goal with 27 seconds remaining for his third goal of the weekend.

COACH THOMAS SAID
"I just liked how we kept finding a way. They aren't always Picassos; sometimes they are finger paintings, and that was a little bit of what it was tonight. We dug in when we needed to, and that shows some of the maturity coming through.
 
"I think our guys know exactly what we need to do, what creates offense, and how we need to defend. We certainly will slip in and out of that identity at times, and that 60-minute work ethic to get to that identity needs some fine tuning. But I think the guys have a real clear understanding of what we are trying to accomplish and right now they are doing it enough.  
 
"I really liked the way we showed up in the third period, which is an important skill to have on a Saturday when you are trying to sweep a team, which is a difficult thing to do."

GAME NOTES

• Cobetto-Roy, Wigle, Moore and Skalos all scored their first RIT goals during the game.
• Air Force out-shot RIT, 42-37.
• Krbecek registered his 15th career game with at least 30 saves while compiling the third-highest save total of his career.
• Junior defenseman Kevin Scott blocked a career-high six shots as the Tigers knocked down 19 Falcons shots during the contest.
• RIT went 1-for-4 on the power play, logging its second-straight game with an extra-man goal after going scoreless the first three games of the season.
• The Tigers killed four Air Force power plays and have only allowed one power-play goal in 17 chances this season.
• First-year RIT Head Coach Matt Thomas celebrated his 50th birthday on Saturday. 

WHAT'S NEXT
RIT heads to Colgate for two games next Friday and Saturday (Oct. 31-Nov. 1). Faceoff is set for 7:05 p.m. both nights.