Walton's Penalty Shot Goal Lifts R.I.T to Win Over Canisius

Courtesy of R.I.T. Sports Information

ROCHESTER, NY - Ricky Walton's (Hamilton, ON) penalty shot goal with 8:25 left in regulation broke a 3-3 tie and lifted the RIT men's hockey team (2-2-0, 1-0-0 Atlantic Hockey Association) to a 4-3 win over Canisius College in front of 2,049 fans at Ritter Arena on Friday evening.  

Walton was hauled down on a breakaway and was awarded the penalty shot. Walton strode in and deked Canisius goaltender Bryce Luker to his right and flipped a shot into the open side of the net for the deciding goal.

"It was a big lift for the team," stated Walton. "I didn't think, just reacted and put the puck in the back of the net."  

Down 3-2 early in the third period, the Tigers evened the score on a blast from Matt Crowell (Kelowna, BC) with the man-advantage. Sean Murphy (Owatonna, MN) dug the puck out of the corner and found Crowell in the high slot. His shot went through a screen and found the back of the net.  

Canisius (0-4-2, 0-2-1 AHA) went up 3-2 just 1:51 into the period, as David Kasch wheeled around the RIT net and whistled a backhander past RIT goaltender Louis Menard (Chicoutimi, PQ).  

The Tiger special teams was stout once again, scoring two power-play goals in just four attempts, while holding Canisius scoreless on all six attempts with the man-advantage.   RIT out-shot Canisius 32-26. Menard made 23 saves to improve to 2-2 this season. He has never lost an Atlantic Hockey regular season contest (12-0).  

RIT Head Coach Wayne Wilson thought both teams played well, but once again, the special teams proved to be the difference.  

"The power-play worked great tonight, and our penalty-kill was very effective," said Wilson. "Canisius did a good job not allowing many quality chances in the middle of the ice, but we were able to keep pushing through and earn a big win."  

RIT got on the board first at the 7:41 mark of the opening period, as Matt Smith (Toronto, ON) was left all alone in front of the Canisius net on the power-play. Smith took a feed from Simon Lambert (Ste. Therese, PQ), who out-fought two Golden Griffins to the puck in the corner. Smith slipped a shot between the legs of Luker for his fourth goal of the season.  

Canisius seemed to pick up its play soon after and got the equalizer at the 12:11 mark. Derek Dankowski fed a wide open Josh Heidinger in front of the Tiger net. Heidinger patiently waited for Menard to go down and put the into the open top corner for his first tally of the year.  

Darrell Draper (Tigard, OR) saved a Canisius goal earlier in the period, as a shot by David Kasch went off Menard's shoulder and headed towards the goal line. Draper swept the puck off the goal line and out of trouble, as the Canisius forwards thought they had a goal.  

Both teams fired 11 shots on goal during the opening 20 minutes of play.  

Canisius took its first lead of the game 3:20 into the second period, as David Cianfrini redirected a centering pass from Spencer Churchill on the rush past Menard.  

Justin Hofstetter (Bright, ON) tied the game at 2 with 11:31 left in the period, as he slammed a carom off the back boards off a shot from Bobby Raymond (Lucknow, ON) home for his first tally of the year.  

The goal came after RIT buckled down and put some major pressure on Canisius.  

Both teams had golden opportunities in the first minute of the period. Raymond ripped a shot from the right point off a rebound that eluded a screened Luker, but went off the inside of the crossbar, but bounced back out in a blink of an eye. The referees conferred with the goal judge and it was ruled no goal.  

Brandon Cummings found himself all alone in front of Menard a minute later, but his shot clanged off the crossbar and off the netting.  

RIT killed off just under six straight minutes of Canisius power-play time midway through the period, allowing just three shots on goal.  

The Tigers held a 20-19 edge in shots after two periods of play.  

Smith had a goal and two assists in the win for RIT and was named the game's first star.   

RIT now leads the all-time series between the two clubs 45-12-1 and are 5-2-0 against the Golden Griffins since RIT moved to Division I in 2005.  

The Tigers picked up their first victory of the 2007-08 season over then #18 Cornell last Saturday in front of 5,142 fans at the Blue Cross Arena in downtown Rochester. The crowd of 5,142 was the largest the RIT men's hockey team has played in front of since the team moved to Division I in 2005 and the most since December 13, 1998, when the Tigers defeated the University of Nebraska-Omaha 5-3 in front of 8,314 fans at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.  

Last season, RIT went 3-1 against Canisius, winning both games at the Pepsi Arena in Buffalo and splitting a pair of games at the Ritter Arena. RIT out-scored Canisius 15-11 in the four match-ups a year ago.  

The two teams meet once again on Saturday night, this time at the Buffalo State Sports Arena in downtown Buffalo at 7:05 p.m.