ROCHESTER, N.Y. - A new era in RIT Men's Hockey kicks off this weekend when the Tigers host Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) rival Sacred Heart this Friday (7:05 p.m.) and Saturday (5:05 p.m.) to open the 64th season in program history. 

For the first time since 1998, a coach not named Wayne Wilson will be behind the RIT bench when the puck is dropped. The winningest coach in program history, Wilson announced his retirement in April following a 26-year run with the Tigers, including all 20 seasons at the Division I level following the program's ascension from the Division III ranks in 2005-06.

Former RIT captain Matt Thomas '98 was tabbed his replacement, returning to his alma mater to become only the eighth head coach in program history dating back to 1962-63.

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TIGER REWIND
RIT defeated visiting Western (Ontario), 6-1, last Saturday in an exhibition game. First-year Alex Christopoulos logged three goals while junior Christian Catalano added a goal and three assists. Senior Simon Isabelle and sophomore Tristan Allen each had a goal and two assists in the victory. Tied, 1-1, after the first period, Allen and Christopoulos tallies pushed the Tiger lead to 3-1 after two periods. Christopoulos netted a power play goal early in the third and, following a Catalano goal five minutes later, completed the hat trick at 8:49 with another extra man strike as the Tigers finished 2-for-6 with the extra man. 

All three RIT goaltenders played a period. Senior Trent Burnham was credited with seven saves in the first, before sophomore Jakub Krbecek tallied six in the second. First-year Collin Mackenzie stopped all 10 shots he saw in the third as RIT finished with a 38-24 shot advantage.

IN MEMORY
Prior to Friday's faceoff, a moment of silence will be observed in honor of longtime RIT employee, Stu Hughes, who succumbed to his battle with cancer this summer. The Henrietta native began working on the university grounds crew at the age of 18 where he would spend 20 before transitioning to become the Ice Operations Manager of Frank Ritter Arena as well as the Gene Polisseni Center when it opened in 2014. A favorite during home hockey games for nearly three decades, fans would chant "Stu!" during pregame introductions. He will also be remembered for maneuvering donuts in the Zamboni after every Tiger playoff series victory.

SPARE CHANGE 
RIT was one of a record 11 Division I men's hockey teams that made a coaching change this offseason – the most in the 78-year history of NCAA Division I men's hockey. 

THE POOL GOT DEEPER
Due to new NIL rules, players from the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) are eligible to play NCAA hockey for the first time in 2025-26, which has dramatically altered recruiting and roster construction across the country. Of the 11 new players on RIT's 2025-26 roster, five have OHL playing experience, while two others came via the transfer portal.

OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT
RIT looks to snap a string of four losses in its season-opener. Starting the season with a conference game for the first time in the D1 era, the Tigers will also look to win its first AHA game of the season for the fourth time in the last five years after falling to Mercyhurst, 3-2, on the road last year to break a streak of three consecutive seasons with a win in the conference opener. 

DON'T LOOK BACK IN ANGER
RIT looks to bounce back from a 10-23-2 finish as season ago - the fewest wins in a non-COVID shortened season since 2005-06 (RIT's first at the D1 level). 

Sixteen players return from last year's squad, including junior forward Christian Catalano who finished third on the squad with 23 points (7G/16A). Senior defenseman Xavier Lapointe (5G/10A) and sophomore defenseman Tristan Allen (2G/13A) also return after tying for fifth on the squad with 15 points apiece.

RETURN TO GLORY
Nine returners (6 seniors, 3 juniors) also saw action two years ago during the Tigers' run to a 27-11-2 record that included the program's fourth Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) Championship and appearance in the NCAA Tournament.   

CAPTAIN, OH CAPTAIN
A captain and four alternate captains were announced prior to Saturday's exhibition. Senior forward Tyler Mahan was voted captain, while senior forward Austin Brimmer, senior forward Simon Isabelle, senior forward Adam Jeffery and junior defenseman Kevin Scott were tabbed assistants. 

RIT SELECTED TO PLAY IN 2025 FRIENDSHIP FOUR
The RIT Men's Hockey team will take part in the 2025 Friendship Four in Belfast, Northern Ireland month. The Tigers will join fellow Atlantic Hockey member Sacred Heart, along with Miami-Ohio and Union for a four-game tournament at the SSE Arena - home of the Belfast Giants – with the coveted Belpot going to the winner. RIT and Sacred Heart will be the first two Atlantic Hockey teams to play in the event. The only NCAA intercollegiate ice hockey tournament to take place outside of the United States, The Friendship Four men's tournament has been played six times since the inaugural event in 2015.

HEAD FOR THE HILLS
The 2025-26 season will also mark the first in 20 years without Associate Head Coach Brian Hills behind the bench. Announcing his retirement in May, Hills joined Wayne Wilson's staff prior to RIT's inaugural NCAA Division I season and was a driving force behind the program that won 10 Atlantic Hockey Championships, including four tournament titles and six regular-season crowns. He was named the 2011 Terry Flanagan Award winner by the American Hockey Coaches of America (AHCA), which annually honors an outstanding assistant coach's body of work.

A SORT OF HOMECOMING
When Matt Thomas looked to fill out his coach staff alongside returning Associate Head Coach Dave Insalaco, he welcomed back former RIT standouts Shane Madolora '12 and Josh Mitchell '16 over the summer. 

An All-American goaltender during his time in Rochester, Madolora graduated as RIT's Division I-era career leader with a .932 save percentage, which is still tied for 11th in NCAA history. He is also tops with a 1.97 goals against average, which remains tied for 20th in the NCAA record book.

One of only five D1-era RIT players to eclipse 120 career points, Mitchell remains fifth all-time with 121 points. He also graduated with 90 career assists—one of only two Tigers who have ever hit the milestone.

LONG STORY SHORT 
Senior forward Tyler Mahan returns with five career shorthanded goals to his name -- tied for the most in the nation entering the season. Totaling 20 career goals and 38 career points entering the season, Mahan scored three shorties during his first year in a Tiger uniform and has scored one each of the last two seasons. Union's Carter Korpi also returns with five shorthanded goals to his name.  

SIMON SAYS DROP THE PUCK
Senior forward Simon Isabelle returns after finishing 18th nationally with 390 faceoff victories and among the nation's leaders with a .570 faceoff winning percentage. He is also is the Tigers top returner with 44 career points on 21 goals and 23 assists. 

A BIT DRAFTY IN HERE
For the third time in program history, RIT has a player on the roster that was taken in the NHL Entry Draft. Junior defenseman Ben Roger was picked in the second round (49th overall) of the 2021 draft by the Ottawa Senators. Anthony Hamburg, who was taken in the seventh round (193rd overall) by the Minnesota Wild in 2009, played two seasons (2012-14) at RIT after transferring from Colgate. Tiger All-American Bill Gall was taken in the fifth round (104th overall) by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1987 before playing four seasons with the Division III Tigers from 1987-91.

TRISTAN THE NIGHT AWAY
Sophomore defenseman Tristan Allen returns after finishing fourth on the squad with 13 assists and tying for fifth with 15 points. He scored his first goal in a Tiger sweater and added an assist in the home setback to Canisius (Dec. 3) before logging an assist in both ends of the home doubleheader versus Robert Morris (Dec. 6-7) en route to Atlantic Hockey America Rookie of the Week Honors. 

SAVINGS ACCOUNT
Sophomore Jakub Krbecek returns after totaling at least 30 saves in 14 of the 18 games he has started last season. A three-time AHA Rookie of the Week honoree, he won the award following back-to-back victories at Air Force (Jan. 31-Feb. 1), including 34 saves to backstop a 2-1 opening win. Krbecek was credited with a career-high 44 stops in the 2-1 loss at Bowling Green (Dec. 29) and also made 43 saves in the 2-1 OT loss to the visiting Falcons (Oct. 19) during the Brick City Homecoming game at Blue Cross Arena. He won the first of two-straight AHA Rookie of the Week honors after making 32 saves in a 3-2 win over Clarkson (Oct. 6) to win his first collegiate start. He logged his first career point with an assist to go along with 33 saves in the 6-2 win over Bentley (Nov. 9). Mike Rotolo '17 previously held the mark for the most 30-save games by a RIT first-year in D1-era program history with eight. 

ROAD TO THE NATTY WILL GO THROUGH ROCHESTER
RIT was selected to host one of four regional championships to start the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament in 2028. RIT will host two opening-round contests as well as second-round game at the Blue Cross Arena in downtown Rochester, N.Y. The games will either be played on Thursday, March 23rd and Saturday, March 25th or on Friday, March 24th and Sunday, March 26th, to be announced the Sunday prior to the tournament. The winner of the regional championship will advance to the Frozen Four, to be played at the United Center in Chicago.

TIGERS IN THE NHL
Former RIT standout defenseman Chris Tanev enters his 17th season in the NHL. He spent his first 11 with the Vancouver Canucks before signing a free agent contract with the Calgary Flames prior to the 2020-21 season. Traded to the Dallas Stars for the 2024 playoffs, he then signed a free-agent contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs during the offseason. Voted the 2010 AHA Rookie of the Year, Tanev made his NHL debut on Jan. 18, 2011, becoming the first RIT player to appear in an NHL contest. Entering the 2025-26 season, he has played in 867 NHL games with 36 goals and 172 assists for 208 career points along with a career +/- of plus-153. He won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2016 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships and later was named a finalist for the NHL's Masterton Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey in 2022. Tanev tallied 28 points (10-18-28) and was plus-33 in 41 games for RIT in 2009-10. He and another former Tiger, Steve Pinizzotto (2005-07), were teammates with Vancouver in 2012-13. Pinizzotto tallied 57 points (20-37-57) in 54 career games for the Tigers and appeared in 36 NHL games with two goals and four assists. 

RIT's NCAA DIVISION II/III HISTORY
RIT has made 16 NCAA Tournament appearances since 1983. RIT won the 1983 Division II National Championship before winning the Division III National Championship in 1985. The Tigers also finished as Division III runner-up in 1989, 1996 and 2001 while making semifinal appearances in 1984, 1986, 1999, and 2010. Overall, RIT was 26-15-4 in NCAA contests at the DII/III level and is 3-2 in five Division I tournament showings. The Tigers made the NCAA Tournament in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2010, 2015, and 2016.

FINAL FOUR FRENZY
RIT was the first team in NCAA history to reach the Frozen Four in its first postseason appearance in 2010 and was also the first Atlantic Hockey team to reach the national semifinals. RIT was one win away from duplicating that feat in 2014-15 after upsetting overall top-seed Minnesota State, 1-0, in the Midwest Region Semifinals.