Men's Hockey falls 5-2 at Canisius

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The RIT men's hockey team dropped a 5-2 decision at Canisius in Atlantic Hockey America play, Saturday.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Canisius opened the scoring at 3:30 of the first. Tiger first-year goaltender Ethan David made a pad save on a wrister by Grant Porter from low in the left faceoff circle, but the rebound deflected into the goal off the leg of a Tiger defender on the crease.
• The Golden Griffins took a 2-0 lead at 4:31 of the second, scoring just as the first penalty expired during an extended 5-on-3 opportunity. Killian Kiekcer-Olson tipped a shot on the crease inside the left post off an attempt by Jackson Decker from the point.
• RIT notched a power-play goal of its own at 15:10 to cut the deficit in half heading into the third. Sophomore forward Tyler Fukakusa settled a loose puck at the top of the slot and pushed it forward for senior defenseman Xavier Lapointe to whip a wrist shot inside the right post.  
• Canisius took a 3-1 lead at 4:57 with another power play goal on a one-timer by Alton McDermott from the top of the slot that scored through a crowd in front of David.
• The Golden Griffins notched their third power play goal of the night on a short backhanded shot by Tarr skating through the slot at 15:20
• Following a Canisius spearing penalty at 16:30, RIT pulled David for a 6-on-4 opportunity. After Canisius scored a short-handed empty-netter at 17:14, RIT tallied a power-play goal with 42.8 left in regulation. Sophomore forward Matthew Wilde cleaned up a loose puck in the crease following a long shot from the left point by first-year defenseman Tristan Allen. 

GAME NOTES

• Fukakusa scored his team-leading 24th point and 18th assist of the season. He has totaled 15 points over the Tigers' last 11 games.
• Wilde scored his team-best ninth goal of the season while Lapointe scored his fourth.
• Sophomore forward Christian Catalano was credited with his 13th assist of the season on the Tigers' second goal, while Allen logged his 11th.
• RIT ended the night 2-for-5 on the power play while Canisius ended 3-for-5 with the extra man.
• First-year goaltender Ethan David was credited with 20 saves as Canisius finished with a 25-24 shot advantage. 

WHAT'S NEXT
RIT stays on the road to take on Atlantic Hockey America foe Robert Morris next Friday and Saturday (Jan. 17-18). Faceoffs are set for 7:05 p.m. both nights.