R.I.T 3, NIAGARA 3 (OT)

Courtesy of R.I.T. Sports Information

ROCHESTER, NY - Brennan Sarazin's (Nepean, ON) goal of the game with 1:04 remaining in regulation lifted the RIT men's hockey team (14-11-5) to a 3-3 tie against #20 Niagara University (16-8-4) before a sellout crowd at the Ritter Arena on Saturday evening.

Sarazin tipped in a shot from Matt Smith (Toronto, ON) for his third goal of the season.  Smith took a feed from Dan Ringwald (Oakville, ON), and ripped a one-timer off Sarazin from the right face-off circle.  The Tigers were on a power-play and the net was pulled for an extra skater.

Niagara took a 3-2 lead with 7:37 left in regulation, as Egor Mironov ripped a shot from about 40-feet out that found its way into the net.

In overtime, Smith had RIT's best chance, as he received a pass from Simon Lambert (Ste. Therese, PQ) on a 2-on-1 with an open side.  Unfortunately, the puck bounced over Smith's stick and fluttered into the Niagara corner.

Both teams fired 33 shots on net.  Sophomore goaltender Jared DeMichiel (Avon, CT) made his second straight start in goal for the Tigers, stopping 30 shots.  It was his first collegiate start at the Ritter Arena.  Juliano Pagliero stopped 30 shots for Niagara.

It was RIT's final non-conference game of the season.  RIT went 2-3-1 out of conference.  In addition, the Tigers are 2-1-1 against teams that were ranked in the top-20.

RIT Head Coach Wayne Wilson thought tonight's game was well played by both teams.

"That was a good college hockey game," said Wilson.  "Tying it up late feels better than losing and it feels go to be able to have done that.  We want to keep playing better.  The power-play has picked up.  It's just taking it game-by-game.  Heading into the playoffs, anything can happen."

RIT was 2-for-4 with the man-advantage on Saturday and has 10 power-play goals in the last five games.

Both had teams had good chances over the opening 20 minutes of play, but RIT scored the only goal.

Just 1:24 in, Mike Janda (Winfield, IL) found himself alone in the slot with an open net after a Tiger dump in took an odd bounce off the back boards.  Janda's shot just missed the net.

DeMichiel made a big save on a Niagara partial breakaway, poking the puck away to Andrew Favot (King City, ON).  Favot fed Simon Lambert (Ste. Therese, PQ) with a full head of steam in the neutral zone.  Lambert was able to out-sprint the Niagara defenseman into the zone, went behind the net and scored on a wrap-around at the 5:05 mark to give RIT a 1-0 lead.

Niagara out-shot RIT 9-7 in the first period.

Smith became the first Tiger to reach the 20-goal plateau since the team moved to Division I in 2005, as he ripped a wrist shot under the crossbar on the power-play 5:07 into the second period.  Dan Ringwald (Ottawa, ON) and Al Mazur (Burnaby, BC) assisted on the goal that made the score 2-0 Tigers.

Ringwald now has a five-game point scoring streak, with a goal and 10 assists during that span.

Niagara struck back with two goals in 1:12 later in the period to knot the contest at 2.

Ted Cook slid a shot from a tough angle off a skate, past DeMichiel at the 15:43 mark.  Bryan Haczyk tipped a point shot by Derek Foam past DeMichiel at the 16:55 mark to tie it at 2.

Just a minute later, DeMichiel made a great save on a breakaway attempt by Egor Mironov.  Going back the other, Smith found himself on a clear-cut breakaway.  Smith ripped a wrist shot headed for the top corner, but Niagara's Juliano Pagliero made a tremendous glove save to keep the score tied at 2.

RIT out-shot Niagara 13-12 in the second period.

Niagara leads the all-time series between the two clubs, 4-3-3.  Last season, Niagara defeated RIT by a score of 5-3 before a sell-out crowd at the Ritter Arena on Jan. 6.  The Tigers out-shot Niagara 41-26, but allowed two short-handed goals.

The Tigers are back in action on Friday and Saturday, as they travel to play AHA rival Mercyhurst in a crucial two-game series.