ERIE, Pa. - Greg Noyes and Tyler Brenner scored back-to-back goals in the third period to break a 2-2 tie and lift RIT to a 4-2 victory over the Mercyhurst College men's hockey team Friday evening in an Atlantic Hockey Association matchup at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.
The Tigers extended their unbeaten streak to seven games (6-0-1) when playing in Erie thanks to Noyes' shot from the blueline that took an unexpected bounce and found its way into the back of the net with under 14 minutes to play. RIT added an insurance goal just over six minutes later when Brenner scored his team-leading 11th goal of the season on a wrap-around attempt.
Mercyhurst (5-8-1, 5-6-0 AHA) found itself playing from behind for the first 25 minutes of the game as the Tigers built a 2-0 lead on a first-period goal by Adam Mitchell and a short-handed strike by Cameron Burt to begin the second.
Shortly after the Burt score, the Lakers gained some momentum with a pair of goals less than six minutes apart. Redshirt sophomore
Phil Ginand made it a one-goal deficit when he beat Shane Madolora on the doorstep thanks to a long feed from senior
Ryan Raven at 5:58.
Raven then got in on the scoring action and cleared the slate with a power-play goal at 11:41. Set up on the right circle, freshman
Nate Jensen relayed the puck to senior
Jeff Terminesi, who then sent it to Raven on the opposite side for a quick one-timer.
RIT controlled the pace of the game by outshooting the Lakers 43-25 and taking advantage of four power-play opportunities, including a four-minute man-advantage that led to its third goal in the final period. The Lakers also converted on special teams, going 1-for-5 with a Tiger in the penalty box.
Senior
Ryan Zapolski suffered the loss in goal despite making 30-plus saves for the second straight game, finishing the evening with 39. He is now 5-5-0 on the season. Madolora, meanwhile, stopped 23 shots to move to 5-0-1.
Both teams close out the two-game series on Saturday, Dec. 11 at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m.
