Women's Hockey plays a home-and-home series against Syracuse

ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The RIT women's hockey team plays a home-and-home series against Atlantic Hockey American foe Syracuse this weekend. The Tigers play at Syracuse on Friday (Nov. 15) at 6:00 p.m. before returning home to face the Orange on Saturday (Nov. 16) at 3:00 p.m.

Follow Live
Watch: www.flohockey.tv/teams/6971052-rit-womens-hockey
Saturday PxP/Color: Matt Campbell, Rocky Perotta
Local Audio: WITR 89.7 FM
Web Audio: witr.rit.edu 
Live Stats:  ritathletics.com/sidearmstats/whockey
Twitter: @RITWHKY
 
Weekend Recap (RIT vs. Robert Morris)
RIT went 1-0-1 against Robert in Atlantic Hockey America action two weekends ago, tying 2-2 on Friday followed by a 5-1 win the following day.
 
Graduate student forward Nicole Ness tied the game at 2-2 on her power play goal with 3:07 remaining in the third period of Friday's game. Sophomore forward Addie Alvarez scored late in the first period to tie the game at 1-1 and senior forward Kylie Aquaro handed out a pair of assists. Senior goalie Sarah Coe made 24 saves in net for the Tigers.
 
First year forward Kailey Favro scored two goals in Saturday's win. She scored her first collegiate goal at 11:01 of the second period to give RIT the lead and again at 3:53 of the third period to extend the Tiger's lead to 2-0. Graduate student defensewoman Mia Tsilemos had two assists and Coe finished with 26 saves to improve to 5-1-1 on the season.
 
Atlantic Hockey America Weekly Honors
Favro was named the AHA Rookie of the Week, tallying two goals in RIT's 5-1 win over Robert Morris (Nov. 2).
 
Among the All-Time Netminders
Coe enters the weekend first in career saves (2,249), third in games played (74) and minutes played (4,125) and 11th with a career .905 save percentage. Bellina is tied for sixth all-time with a .930 save percentage, ninth in saves (822), tenth in games played (34) and minutes played (1,670) and 11th with a career 2.23 goals-against average.
 
Top 100 Scorers
Three Tigers are ranked in the top 100 in all-time scoring. Senior forward Kylie Aquaro enters the weekend tied for 44th all-time in scoring with 60 points (19g, 41a). Senior forward Athena Vasdani (15g, 22a) is tied for 75th with 37 points and senior defensewoman Kyla Bear (6g, 30a) is tied for 78th with 36 points.
 
Career Milestones
Senior defensewoman Bailey Kehl is one block shy of 155. Senior forward Athena Vasdani is three points (15g, 22a, 37p) shy of 40 for her career, while Aquaro is one goal shy of 20 for her career. Tsilemos needs three blocks to reach 230 and Alvarez is two points shy of 30. Kyla Bear (6g, 30a) is four points away from 40 for her career.
 
Century Mark
Eight Tigers have surpassed the 100 games-played plateau. Graduate students Mia Tsilemos (125) and Nicole Ness (120), senior forward Megan McCormick (112), Kehl and Vasdani (111), Kyla Bear (110) and Aquaro (105).
 
About RIT
RIT enters the weekend averaging 2.7 goals per game while allowing 2.16 goals per contest. The Tigers are 9-for-44 (20.5%) on the power play and 30-for-33 killing off penalties. RIT is 338-of-659 (51.3%) on face offs and have blocked 199 shots.
 
Eighteen Tigers have at tallied at least one point through 12 games. Aquaro leads the team with 11 points on four goals and a team-high seven assists. Alvarez and first-year forward Brac Kelley are tied for second with eight points apiece. Alvarez leads the Tigers with five goals, while Kelley is fourth on the team with five assists. Tsilemos, senior defensewoma Kyla Bear and sophomore defender Emma Pickering are tied for fourth with six points apiece. Bear and Tsilemos are tied for second with six assists and Pickering is tied with Aquaro and graduate student forward Nicole Ness for second with four goals.
 
Coe is 5-1-1 with a 1.78 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage, while Bellina is 1-2-2 with a 2.53 GAA and a .916 save percentage.
 
AHA Rankings
RIT leads Atlantic Hockey America in penalty-killing percentage (90.9%) and power play percentage (20.5%). The Tigers are second in goals per game (2.67) and goals allowed per contest (2.17) and third in assists (46), faceoff winning percentage (51.3%) and blocked shots per game (16.58).
 
Aquaro is tied for fourth in the league in points (11) and points per game (0.92) and third with three power play tallies. She is fourth in assists (7) and assists per game (0.58) and tied for seventh in goals (4). Alvarez is tied for third in the league in goals (5) and tied for fourth averaging 0.45 goals per game. Aquaro, Pickering and Ness are tied for seventh with four goals.
 
Kelley is second in the league winning 63.0 percent of her faceoffs and fourth with 104 faceoff wins. Senior forward Jordyn Bear is eighth in the league with 89 wins and ninth winning 45.9 percent of her draws. Pickering sixth in the AHA with 26 blocked shots and Kyla Bear is tied for ninth with 20 blocks.
 
Coe is second in Atlantic Hockey America with a 1.78 goals-against average, while Bellina is fifth with a 2.53 GAA. Coe is second in the league with a .931 save percentage and Bellina is fifth with a .916 save percentage.
 
About Syracuse
Syracuse enters the weekend with a 2-9-0 record. The Orange are 0-2 in AHA play after being swept at No. 12 Penn State last weekend, losing 3-2 in overtime Thursday and suffering a 5-2 loss the following day.
 
Graduate student forward Tatum White and sophomore forward Nea Tervonen each scored in Thursday's loss and graduate student goalie Allie Kelley made 34 saves in net for the Orange. Redshirt sophomore forward Mik Todd and graduate student defender Charli Kettyle each scored in Friday's game and Kelley made 32 stops in net.
 
Syracuse enters the weekend fifth in Atlantic Hockey America averaging 1.82 goals per game and fourth allowing 2.82 goals per contest. The Orange are second in the AHA converting 20.0 percent of its power play chances and fourth killing off 25-of-35 of their opponent's power plays.
 
Kettyle, White and graduate student forward Bryn Saarela are tied for first on the team with six points apiece. Kettyle, White and sophomore forward Jackson Kinsler lead the Orange with three goals, while Saarela has a team-high five assists. White is third in the AHA with 113 faceoff wins, while Tervonen is fifth with 97.
 
Kelley is seventh in Atlantic Hockey America with a 3.02 goals against average and sixth with a .913 save percentage. She is second in the league averaging 31.60 saves per game.
 
RIT vs. Syracuse
Syracuse is 33-14-4 all-time versus RIT. The Tigers were 2-2-0 versus the Orange last season, including a 1-0 win on February 9. Jordyn Bear netted the game-winner 5:17 into the first period. Sophia Bellina made 19 saves in net for her first shutout victory.
 
Kyla Bear has six points (2g, 4a) in 13 career games against Syracuse, while Vasdani has four points (1g, 3a). Coe has a .912 career save percentage against the Orange to go along with a 3.28 GAA.
 
National Rankings
RIT is tied for sixth in Division I in penalty killing percentage (90.9%) and power play goals (9). The Tigers are 13th in goals (32) and 17th in assists (46), scoring offense (2.67) and power play percentage (20.5%). RIT is 18th allowing 2.17 goals per game and team saves (309).
 
Aquaro is tied for eighth in Division I with three power play goals, while Kelley is 33rd with 104 faceoff wins. Coe is 17th in save percentage (.931) and 18th in GAA (1.78).
 
They Come from Far and Wide
The 26 Tigers hail from 11 states, two Canadian provinces and one country in Europe, with the largest groups coming from Ontario (6), Saskatchewan (4), Pennsylvania (3) and Illinois (3). Players hail from as close as Rochester, NY to as far away as Pale, Latvia (4,192 miles).
 
Ranked Opponents
RIT plays four teams ranked in this week's USCHO Division I Women's Poll. RIT is 1-2-1 versus ranked opponents. The Tigers split against No. 7 Colgate (Oct. 11-12) and went 0-1-1 versus No. 6 St. Lawrence (Oct. 25-26). The Tigers plays No. 10 Cornell in a home-and-home series (Nov. 26 and Dec. 31) and plays No. 12 Penn State (Jan. 10-11, Feb. 14-15).
 
Atlantic Hockey America
Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) embarks on its first season in 2024-25 after the merger between the Atlantic Hockey Association and College Hockey America. The conference fields 11 men's teams (American International College, Bentley University, Canisius College, The College of Holy Cross, Mercyhurst University, Niagara University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Robert Morris University, Sacred Heart University, the United States Air Force Academy, and the United States Military Academy), and six women's teams (Lindenwood University, Mercyhurst University, Penn State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, Robert Morris University, and Syracuse University). In 2025-26, Delaware University will join the women's league.