RIT Tigers men's ice hockey

The RIT Tigers men's ice hockey team is a collegiate ice hockey team representing the Rochester Institute of Technology in suburban Rochester, New York, United States. The school's men's team competes in the Division I Atlantic Hockey conference. The team has won two national championships, one each at the Division II and Division III levels. It lost in the semifinals of the Division I "Frozen Four" in 2010.

RIT Tigers
Current season
UniversityRochester Institute of Technology
ConferenceAHA
Head coachWayne Wilson
22nd season, 381–265–71 (.581)
Captain(s)Darren Brady
Adam Brubacher
ArenaGene Polisseni Center
Capacity: 4,300
Surface: 200' × 85'
LocationHenrietta, New York
Student sectionRIT Corner Crew
ColorsOrange, White, and Black[1]
              
NCAA Tournament championships
Division II: 1983, Division III: 1985
NCAA Tournament Frozen Four
Division I: 2010
Division II: 1983
Division III: 1984, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1996, 1999, 2001
NCAA Tournament appearances
Division I: 2010, 2015, 2016
Division II: 1983
Division III: 1985, 1986, 1989, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
Conference Tournament championships
Division III: (ECAC 2): 1984 (ECAC West): 1986, 1989, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
Division I: (Atlantic Hockey): 2010, 2015, 2016
Conference regular season championships
Division III: (ECAC West): 1985, 1986, 1989, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
Division II:(ECAC 2): 1984
Division I: (Atlantic Hockey): 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
Current uniform

History

Founding, Division II and Division III

In the fall of 1957, RIT student Jack Trickey founded the Monroe County Amateur Hockey (MCAHA) Association. A group of RIT students made up the majority of one of the teams. In 1958, the RIT Hockey Club was founded, and competed in the MCAHA until the league folded in 1960. The RIT hockey team continued to play against junior varsity and club teams. The RIT student council and athletic committee recommended that hockey be added to the athletic program, and men's hockey later became a varsity sport.[2] The team competed at the Division II and III level for several years, winning a national championship in Division II (1983) and another in Division III (1985), before moving up to Division I in 2005–2006.[3]

NCAA Division I

In their first year (2005–2006) in the Atlantic Hockey Association, the Tigers won the regular-season title, and went on to win two more in the next three years. They were ineligible to compete in the playoffs until the 2007–2008 season. In the 2007–2008 season, the Tigers played in the Mariucci classic in which they stunned the number-12-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers 4–3[4] but fell to number-14-ranked Boston College 6–0.[5] During the playoffs, they swept Holy Cross but were shut out in the first round of the AHA Tournament 5–0 by the Air Force Falcons, who were without their Hobey Baker finalist Eric Ehn.[6] In the 2008–2009 season, the Tigers played some of their best regular-season hockey (notably an 11-game win streak from December 6 to January 25). They met Holy Cross again in the playoffs and won the series 2–1 but fell in the AHA Tournament to the Mercyhurst Lakers 5–4 in overtime. Highlights of the game include Mercyhurst overcoming a 3–1 deficit and the Tigers tying the game with under a minute left. In the 2009–10 season, their most successful season to date, the Tigers made a historic run all the way to the 2010 NCAA Frozen Four, sweeping Connecticut in the first round and winning the AHA Tournament by beating the Canisius Golden Griffins as well as the Sacred Heart Pioneers to advance to the NCAA tournament as the conference's autobid. The Tigers stunned the Denver Pioneers 2–1 and then finished off the University of New Hampshire Wildcats 6–2 in the east regional in Albany, New York, where they advanced to the Frozen Four. The team's run came to an end in the national semifinals, where they fell to the University of Wisconsin Badgers, 8–1.[7]

In the 2010–2011 season, the Tigers played in the Maverick stampede but lost both their games against number-4-ranked St. Cloud State and the University of Nebraska–Omaha. The Tigers won yet another regular season title and made it all the way to the AHA championship game, where they fell to the Air Force Falcons by a score of 1–0. Air Force goaltender Jason Torf made 40 saves in the contest.[8] In the 2011–2012 season, the Tigers struggled early on, but bounced back in the second half of the season, eliminating the Bentley Falcons after falling behind 1–0 in the first round series of the Atlantic Hockey playoffs, but prevailing in their next two games. They advanced again to the AHA championship game where they eliminated Niagara in overtime but fell, yet again, to the Air Force Falcons, getting shut out 4–0.[9] The Tigers struggled over the next two seasons, as they finished 2012–2013 with a record of 15–18–5, their first losing record since joining Atlantic Hockey.[10] This was also the first time they were unable to advance to the Atlantic Hockey semifinals at Blue Cross Arena, as they defeated American International College in the first round, but were swept by the Niagara Purple Eagles in the second round, losing in overtime in the second game.[11] The following year (2013–2014), the Tigers played their final season at their home ice rink, Frank Ritter Memorial Ice Arena. The Tigers only won 6 out of 16 games at their home arena.[12] Although they struggled that season, the Tigers participated in the "Frozen Frontier," a 10-day hockey festival at Rochester's Frontier Field outdoor baseball stadium.[13] The Tigers took on their AHA rivals, the Niagara University Purple Eagles on December 14. The teams skated to a 2–2 tie in a snow storm and 16-degree temperatures.[14] In their final game at Ritter Arena, the Tigers defeated their long time AHA rival, the Canisius College Golden Griffins 3–1.[15] In the playoffs, the Tigers won the first game in overtime against Holy Cross before getting blown away in game two by a score of 5–1. In the deciding game, The Tigers led 2–0 but Holy Cross came from behind to tie the game in the second period, forcing overtime where they completed the comeback.[16]

RIT men's hockey in action against Robert Morris University at the Gene Polisseni Center in 2019.

The Tigers moved into the 4,300-seat Gene Polisseni Center for the 2014–15 season.[17] Their first season in the Polisseni Center saw the Tigers finish with a 20–15–5 overall record. They played in the Mariucci classic, losing both games against number-9-ranked Massachusetts–Lowell and number-8-ranked Minnesota. In the playoffs, they swept the Air Force Falcons in the second round after receiving a bye in the first round. The Tigers went on to defeat Canisius in the semifinals of the AHA Tournament by a score of 2–1 and the Meryhurst Lakers in the championship game by a score of 5–1 to win the Atlantic Hockey championship and advance to the NCAA Division I tournament for the second time in program history. The Tigers knocked off the Minnesota State Mavericks in the first round of the NCAA tournament 2–1, becoming the first #16 seed to defeat the top overall seed since the 16-team format was implemented in 2003.[18] There would be no repeat, however, of the 2009–2010 run to the Frozen Four as the Tigers fell to the University of Nebraska Omaha Mavericks in the following round by a score of 4–0, ending their playoff run.[19] In the 2015–16 season, the Tigers lost home ice in the first round to Mercyhurst as they were swept in their last two games of the regular season on home ice; however, the Tigers returned the favor in the postseason by sweeping the Lakers on the road. The Tigers once again were in the AHA tournament and faced the Air Force Falcons once again. The Tigers trailed 1–0 heading into the third and it would appear that they were headed to another shutout loss, but Andrew Miller scored with under 3 minutes left in the third to even the score. In overtime, the Tigers completed their comeback winning 2–1. The Tigers would then claim the Atlantic Hockey championship once again, convincingly defeating the Robert Morris Colonials by a score of 7–4, to advance to the NCAA Division 1 tournament for the second consecutive season.[20] The team's playoff run ended in the first round of the east regional in Albany, New York by the first-ranked Quinnipiac Bobcats by a score of 4–0.[21] The 2016–2017 season was a down year for the Tigers as they flirted with the .500 mark within their conference and were unable to defeat any non-conference teams. They faced Niagara in the first round of the playoffs losing a close one 5–4 in game 1 but shutting them out 5–0 in game 2 setting the stage for the deciding game 3. They were unable to complete the comeback as the Purple Eagles ended the Tigers' season winning 4–1.

In the 2017–2018 season, the Tigers started the season with their first game at Blue Cross Arena for Brick City weekend against the number-14th-ranked Northeastern University. It was the first meeting between these two schools. RIT jumped out to a 3–0 lead only to see Northeastern comeback and tie it. The Tigers performed well during the first half of the season but slumped during the second half. The Tigers finished with an overall record of 14–18–2 and a 13–14–1 for 27 points within their conference. Junior Erik Brown set a new school record with 28 goals during the season (including exhibition games) and also led the entire Atlantic Hockey Conference. His 28 goals was also 2nd overall in Division I hockey. In the playoffs, the Tigers faced the Sacred Heart Pioneers. Both teams split the first two games with both games heading to overtime. The Tigers prevailed in Game 1 scoring quickly in overtime to take a 1–0 series lead. The Pioneers prevailed in Game 2 after tying the game late in the third and finally ending it during triple overtime (the longest game in program history). In the deciding game, the Pioneers jumped out to a 2–0 lead early in the first and held the fort the rest of the way to clinch the series concluding the Tigers' season.

Season-by-season results
Main article: List of RIT Tigers men's ice hockey seasons

Brick City Homecoming Game Results

The Brick City Homecoming game is RIT's annual homecoming game that takes place at the Blue Cross Arena in downtown Rochester. The game is part of Brick City Homecoming and Family Weekend, and typically draws at or near a sellout crowd.

Year-to-Year Results[22]
Date Home Goals For Away Goals Against Results
Oct. 27, 2007 RIT 4 (18) Cornell 1 W
Oct. 18, 2008 RIT 1 St. Lawrence 2 L
Oct. 10, 2009 RIT 2 Colgate 3 L
Oct. 16, 2010 RIT 4 UMass Lowell 4 T/OT
Oct. 15, 2011 RIT 6 St. Lawrence 5 W/OT
Oct. 20, 2012 RIT 2 Penn State 3 L
Oct. 12, 2013 RIT 4 (11) Michigan 7 L
Oct. 18, 2014 RIT 2 (7) Boston College 6 L
Oct. 17, 2015 RIT 2 (10) Bowling Green 2 T/OT
Oct. 15, 2016 RIT 1 Connecticut 1 T/OT
Oct. 14, 2017 RIT 3 (14) Northeastern 3 T/OT
Oct. 20, 2018 RIT 6 Colgate 1 W
Oct. 19, 2019 RIT 4 Merrimack 0 W
Oct. 24, 2020 RIT — Notre Dame — Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
TOTALS 41 38 4-5-4

Records vs. Current Atlantic Hockey Teams

As of the completion of 2018–19 season[23]

School Team Away Arena Overall Record Win % Last Result
Air Force Academy Falcons Cadet Ice Arena 21–32–4 .404 0-3 L
American International College Yellow Jackets MassMutual Center 34–6–3 .826 3-2 W
Army West Point Black Knights Tate Rink 21–3–6 .800 4-2 W
Bentley University Falcons Bentley Arena 21–16–3 .563 2-5 L
Canisius College Golden Griffins LECOM Harborcenter 61–26–2 .697 1-2 L
College of the Holy Cross Crusaders Hart Center 27–16–7 .610 3-4 L
Mercyhurst University Lakers Mercyhurst Ice Center 40–24–7 .613 2-2 T
Niagara University Purple Eagles Dwyer Arena 12–19–11 .417 0-1 L (OT)
Robert Morris University Colonials Colonials Arena 15–13–5 .530 2-2 T
Sacred Heart University Pioneers Webster Bank Arena 27–13–2 .667 3-1 W

Head coaches

As of the completion of 2019–20 season[23]

Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
1964–1968Jim Heffer446–24–1.655
1968–1980Daryl Sullivan12131–136–3.491
1980–1984Brian Mason486–35–1.709
1984–1988Bruce Delventhal487–39–2.688
1988–1989Buddy Powers126–8–2.750
1989–1999Eric Hoffberg10188–82–22.682
1999–PresentWayne Wilson21381–265–71.581
Totals 7 coaches 56 seasons 945–589–102 .609

Current Staff
  • Head Coach: Wayne Wilson
  • Associate Head Coach: Brian Hills
  • Assistant Coach: Dave Insalaco
  • Hockey Operations Director: Bethany Schlegel
  • Equipment Manager: Stephen Henchen
  • Student Manager: Ryan Stadtlander
  • Strength Coach: Nate VanKouwenberg

NCAA Tournament appearances

Division I
Year Bracket Location Opponent Result
2010 East Regional Times Union Center DenverW 2–1
New HampshireW 6–2
Frozen FourFord FieldWisconsinL 1–8
2015 Midwest Regional Compton Family Ice Arena Minnesota StateW 2–1
OmahaL 0–4
2016East RegionalTimes Union CenterQuinnipiacL 0–4

Statistical Leaders[23]

Career points leaders
Player Years GP G A Pts PIM
Chris Johnstone 1981–1985 129 114 136 250
Pete Bournazakis 1997–2001 116 100 129 229
Scott Brown 1985–1989 130 103 122 225
Mike Bournazakis 1999–2003 111 70 144 214
Pat Staerker 1996–2000 121 76 134 210
Chris Maybury 1992–1996 106 82 126 208
Dennis Lepley 1965–1970 79 111 92 203
Ritchie Herbert 1983–1987 102 88 114 202
Ken Vokac 1966–1970 94 102 196
Bobby Trowell 1981–1985 122 96 90 186

Career Goaltending Leaders

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Minimum 500 minutes

Player Years GP Min W L T GA SO SV% GAA
Shane Madolora2009–201265382736141212613.9321.98
Tyler Euverman1999–200310659758324212.9182.43
Jared DeMichiel2006–2010663774411921567.9092.48
Mike Rotolo2013–2017945503404472456.9062.67
Logan Drackett2017–Present8650733837102404.9012.84

Statistics current through the start of the 2020-21 season.

Players

Current roster

As of September 15, 2020.[24]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Ian Andriano Senior G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1996-08-11 Barrie, Ontario Ottawa (CCHL) —
2 Diarmad DiMurro Freshman D 5' 8" (1.73 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-05-02 Highland Mills, New York Trail (BCHL) —
3 Spencer Berry Junior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 1998-09-26 White Rock, British Columbia Langley (BCHL) —
4 Dimitri Mikrogiannakis Freshman D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 186 lb (84 kg) 1999-09-20 Aurora, Ontario Cowichan Valley (BCHL) —
5 Dan Willett (A) Senior D 5' 6" (1.68 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1996-02-23 Bayville, New York Bloomington (USHL) —
6 Calvon Boots Sophomore D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 1998-02-11 Fairbanks, Alaska American International (AHA) —
7 Ryan Nicholson Sophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 196 lb (89 kg) 1999-01-13 Mississauga, Ontario Oakville (OJHL) —
8 Will Calverley (A) Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 176 lb (80 kg) 1998-07-17 Scarborough, Ontario Chilliwack (BCHL) —
9 Jake Joffe Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1998-04-30 Toronto, Ontario Toronto Jr. Canadiens (OJHL) —
11 Colton Trumbla Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 1998-11-30 Winnipeg, Manitoba St. Michael's (OJHL) —
14 Jake Hamacher Senior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1997-04-20 Corona, California Dubuque (USHL) —
15 Andrew Rinaldi Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 1998-03-15 Pierrefonds, Quebec Wellington (OJHL) —
16 Elijah Gonsalves Sophomore F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 173 lb (78 kg) 2000-03-08 Scarborough, Ontario Wellington (OJHL) —
17 Bryson Traptow Senior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1997-04-17 Calgary, Alberta Camrose (AJHL) —
18 Kobe Walker Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 173 lb (78 kg) 1998-04-03 Lloydminster, Alberta Lloydminster (AJHL) —
19 Nick Bruce Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 1996-09-02 Fall River, Nova Scotia Johnstown (NAHL) —
20 Caleb Moretz Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 1998-07-14 Fairbanks, Alaska Flin Flon (SJHL) —
21 Alden Dupuis (C) Senior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1996-11-06 Edmonton, Alberta Bonnyville (AJHL) —
22 Regan Seiferling Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 1997-03-09 Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan Yorkton (SJHL) —
23 Aiden Hansen-Bukata Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 1999-06-29 Delta, British Columbia Nanaimo (BCHL) —
26 Cody Laskosky Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-06-21 New Norway, Alberta Camrose (AJHL) —
27 Andrew Petrucci Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 1997-05-21 Toronto, Ontario Toronto Patriots (OJHL) —
28 Merritt Oszytko Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 1998-02-21 Edmonton, Alberta Fort McMurray (AJHL) —
30 Logan Drackett Senior G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 1998-10-01 Calgary, Alberta Calgary Canucks (AJHL) —
32 Daniel Chenard Freshman G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 173 lb (78 kg) 1999-10-03 Waterloo, Ontario Wenatchee (BCHL) —
40 Kolby Matthews Sophomore G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1999-03-04 Coquitlam, British Columbia Coquitlam (BCHL) —

Awards and honors

Individual Awards

Division I All-Americans

AHCA Second Team All-Americans

Division II All-Americans

Division III All-Americans

First Team All-Americans

  • 1984–85: Blaise MacDonald, D
  • 1988–89: Scott Brown, F
  • 1990–91: Bill Gall, D
  • 1993–94: Jay Murphy, F
  • 1995–96: Chris Maybury, F
  • 1996–97: Steve Toll, F
  • 1998–99: Jerry Galway, D; Pat Staerker, F
  • 2000–01: Tyler Euverman, D; Jerry Galway, D; Derek Hahn, F; Pete Bournazakis, F
  • 2001–02: Jerry Galway, D
  • 2002–03: Mike Bournazakis, F

Second Team All-Americans

  • 1984–85: Chris Johnstone, F
  • 1985–86: John Hawkins, D
  • 1988–89: Tim Cordik, D
  • 1989–90: Chris Palmer, F
  • 1994–95: Chris Maybury, F
  • 1995–96: Adam French, D
  • 1996–97: Jamie Morris, G; Brian Cossette, D
  • 1997–98: Pat Staerker, F
  • 1999–00: Pat Staerker, F
  • 2003–04: Mike Tarantino, F

Individual Awards
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