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.
==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. 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.
=== 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 but fell to number-14-ranked Boston College 6–0. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. In their final game at Ritter Arena, the Tigers defeated their long time AHA rival, the Canisius College Golden Griffins 3–1. 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.
The Tigers moved into the 4,300-seat Gene Polisseni Center for the 2014–15 season. 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. 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. 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.http://www.uscho.com/recaps/2016/03/19/powell-rit-topple-robert-morris-for-second-straight-atlantic-hockey-title/ 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.http://www.uscho.com/recaps/2016/03/26/quinnipiac-gets-three-third-period-goals-garteig-shutout-to-advance-past-rit/ 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==
== 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
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
School	Team	Away Arena	Overall Record	Win %	Last Result
 	 	 	21–32–4 	 	0-3 L
 	 	 	34–6–3 	 	3-2 W
 	 	 	21–3–6 	 	4-2 W
 	 	 	21–16–3 	 	2-5 L
 	 	 	61–26–2 	 	1-2 L
 	 	 	27–16–7 	 	3-4 L
 	 	 	40–24–7 	 	2-2 T
 	 	 	12–19–11 	 	0-1 L (OT)
 	 	 	15–13–5 	 	2-2 T
 	 	 	27–13–2 	 	3-1 W
==Head coaches==
As of the completion of 2019–20 season
Tenure 	Coach 	Years 	Record 	Pct.
1964–1968 	Jim Heffer 	4 	46–24–1 	
1968–1980 	Daryl Sullivan 	12 	131–136–3 	
1980–1984 	Brian Mason 	4 	86–35–1 	
1984–1988 	Bruce Delventhal	4 	87–39–2 	
1988–1989 	Buddy Powers 	1 	26–8–2 	
1989–1999 	Eric Hoffberg 	10 	188–82–22 	
1999–Present	Wayne Wilson 	21 	381–265–71 	
Totals 	7 coaches 	56 seasons	945–589–102	
===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 	Denver 	W 2–1
2010	East Regional 	Times Union Center 	New Hampshire 	W 6–2
2010	Frozen Four 	Ford Field 	Wisconsin 	L 1–8
2015	Midwest Regional	Compton Family Ice Arena	Minnesota State	W 2–1
2015	Midwest Regional	Compton Family Ice Arena	Omaha 	L 0–4
2016	East Regional 	Times Union Center 	Quinnipiac 	L 0–4
==Statistical Leaders</small>==
===Career points leaders===
Player	Years 	GP 	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
 	1981–1985	129	114	136	250	
 	1997–2001	116	100	129	229	
 	1985–1989	130	103	122	225	
 	1999–2003	111	70 	144	214	
 	1996–2000	121	76 	134	210	
 	1992–1996	106	82 	126	208	
 	1965–1970	79 	111	92 	203	
 	1983–1987	102	88 	114	202	
 	1966–1970	 	94 	102	196	
 	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
 	2009–2012 	65 	3827	36	14	12	126	13	.932	1.98
 	1999–2003 	106	5975	83	 	 	242	12	.918	2.43
 	2006–2010 	66 	3774	41	19	2 	156	7 	.909	2.48
 	2013–2017 	94 	5503	40	44	7 	245	6 	.906	2.67
 	2017–Present	86 	5073	38	37	10	240	4 	.901	2.84
Statistics current through the start of the 2020-21 season.
==Players==
===Current roster===
As of September 15, 2020.
==Awards and honors==
===NCAA===
====Individual Awards====
Edward Jeremiah Award
* Wayne Wilson: 2001
Spencer Penrose Award
* Wayne Wilson: 2010
====Division I All-Americans====
AHCA Second Team All-Americans
*2014–15: Matt Garbowsky, F
====Division II All-Americans====
First Team All-Americans
*1983–84: Dave Burkholder, G; Chris Johnstone, F
Second Team All-Americans
*1983–84: B. J. Hull, D
====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
===ECAC 2===
====Individual Awards====
Rookie of the Year
*Ron Kerr: 1979
*Chris Johnstone: 1982
*B. J. Hull: 1983
*Ritchie Herbert: 1984
====All-Conference Teams====
First Team All-ECAC 2
*1981–82: Dave Burkholder, G; Jim Larouche, D
*1982–83: Dave Burkholder, G; Chris Johnstone, F
*1983–84: Dave Burkholder, G; B. J. Hull, D; Chris Johnstone, F
Second Team All-ECAC 2
*1981–82: Chris Johnstone, F
===ECAC West===
====Individual Awards====
Player of the Year
*John Hawkins: 1986
*Scott McNair: 1993
*Jay Murphy: 1994
*Pat Staerker: 1999, 2000
*Jerry Galway: 2002
*Mike Tarantino: 2004
Rookie of the Year
*Scott Brown: 1986
*Fred Abraham: 1988
*Steve Toll: 1995
*Jamie Morris: 1996
*Pete Bournazakis: 1998
*Mike Bournazakis: 2000
*Mike Tarantino: 2001
*Tristan Fairbarn: 2004
Goaltender of the Year
*Tyler Euverman: 2001
Coach of the Year
*Wayne Wilson: 2000, 2001, 2002
====All-Conference Teams====
First Team All-ECAC West
*1984–85: Blaise MacDonald, D; Chris Johnstone, F
*1985–86: John Hawkins, D; Ritchie Herbert, F
*1986–87: Ritchie Herbert, F
*1987–88: Scott Brown, F
*1988–89: Scott Brown, F
*1989–90: Tim Cordick, D; Chris Palmer, F
*1990–91: Bill Gall, D
*1993–94: Kyle O'Brien, D
*1995–96: Jamie Morris, G; Adam French, D; Chris Maybury, F
*1996–97: Jamie Morris, G; Kelly Morel, D; Steve Toll, F
*1997–98: Jamie Morris, G; Pete Bournazakis, F; Pat Staerker, F
*1998–99: Jerry Galway, D; Luke Murphy, F
*2000–01: Tyler Euverman, G; Jerry Galway, D; Pete Bournazakis, F; Mike Bournazakis, F; Derek Hahn, F
*2001–02: Jerry Galway, D; Mike Bournazakis, F
*2002–03: Ryan Francke, D; Mike Bournazakis, F
*2003–04: Ryan Francke, D; Mike Tarantino, F
*2004–05: Marc Hyman, D
Second Team All-ECAC West
*1987–88: Tim Cordick, D
*1988–89: Fred Abraham, G; Tim Cordick, D
*1990–91: Steve Mirabile, F
*1991–92: Tom Masaschi, F
*2000–01: Ryan Fairbarn, D
*2001–02: Tyler Euverman, G; Ryan Fairbarn, D; Mike Tarantino, F
*2002–03: Tyler Euverman, G; Ryan Fairbarn, D; Mike Tarantino, F
*2003–04: George Eliopolous, G; Ryan Fairbarn, D; Darren Doherty, F
*2004–05: Jason Chafe, F
All-ECAC West Rookie Team
*2000–01: Rob Boope, G; Ryan Fairbarn, D; Matt Moore, D; Mike Tarantino, F
*2001–02: Roberto Orofiamma, F
*2002–03: Darren Doherty, F
*2003–04: Brad Harris, F; Tristan Fairbarn, F
*2004–05: Simon Lambert, F
===Atlantic Hockey===
====Individual Awards====
Player of the Year
*Matt Garbowsky: 2015
Rookie of the Year
*Al Mazur: 2007
*Christopher Tanev: 2010
*Adam Brubacher: 2017
Best Defensive Forward
*Matt Garbowsky: 2015
Best Defenseman
*Dan Ringwald: 2010
*Chase Norrish: 2016
*Joseph Duszak: 2019
Individual Sportsmanship Award
*Mark Cornacchia: 2012
Regular Season Goaltending Award
*Louis Menard: 2007
*Jared DeMichiel: 2010
*Shane Madolora: 2011
Regular Season Scoring Trophy
*Simon Lambert: 2008
*Matt Garbowsky: 2015
Most Valuable Player in Tournament
*Cameron Burt: 2010
*Matt Garbowsky: 2015
*Myles Powell: 2016
====All-Conference Teams====
First Team All-Atlantic Hockey
*2007–08: Dan Ringwald, D; Simon Lambert, F
*2008–09: Dan Ringwald, D; Brennan Sarazin, F
*2009–10: Jared DeMichiel, G; Dan Ringwald, D
*2010–11: Shane Madolora, G
*2011–12: Shane Madolora, G
*2012–13: Chris Saracino, D
*2014–15: Matt Garbowsky, F
*2015–16: Chase Norrish, D
*2017–18: Erik Brown, F
*2018–19: Joseph Duszak, D; Derek Barach, F
Second Team All-Atlantic Hockey
*2006–07: Brent Patry, D; Simon Lambert, F
*2008–09: Bobby Raymond, F
*2009–10: Andrew Favot, F
*2010–11: Chris Saracino, D; Tyler Brenner, F
*2011–12: Chris Haltigin, D; Michael Colavecchia, F
*2014–15: Brady Norrish, D; Josh Mitchell, D
*2016–17: Brady Norrish, D
*2018–19: Abbott Girduckis, F
Third Team All-Atlantic Hockey
*2006–07: Louis Menard, G; Al Mazur, D
*2007–08: Bobby Raymond, D
*2008–09: Al Mazur, D
*2009–10: Christopher Tanev, D; Cameron Burt, F
*2010–11: Andrew Favot, F
*2014–15: Alexander Kuqali, D; Brad McGowan, F
*2015–16: Brady Norrish, D; Josh Mitchell, F
*2017–18: Chase Norrish, D
*2018–19: Adam Brubacher, D; Erik Brown, F
Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team
*2006–07: Louis Menard, G; Al Mazur, D; Anton Kharin, F
*2008–09: Tyler Brenner, F
*2009–10: Christopher Tanev, F
*2014–15: Brady Norrish, F
*2015–16: Gabriel Valenzuela, F
*2016–17: Adam Brubacher, D
== School records ==
==RIT Tigers Hall of Fame==
The following is a list of people associated with the RIT men's ice hockey program who were elected into the RIT Tigers Hall of Fame (induction date in parenthesis).
*1982–83 Team (2018)
*1984–85 Team (2018)
*William Bjorness (1999)
*Mike Bournazakis (2015)
*Scott Brown (1996)
*Stephen Burns (2016)
*Mark Dougherty (2016)
*Tyler Euverman (2011)
*Mark Gargiles (2015)
*Chet Hallice (2010)
*James Heffer (1991)
*Ritchie Herbert (2006)
*Simon Lambert (2014)
*Dennis Lepley (1983)
*Blaise MacDonald (1991)
*Tom Masaschi (2008)
*Chris Maybury (2007)
*Jay Murphy (2001)
*Chris Palmer (2005)
*Dan Ringwald (2016)
*Allan Shepard (2003)
*Daryl Sullivan (1992)
*Keith Vadas (1992)
*Al Vyverberg (2012)
*Len Williams (2004)
==Tigers in the NHL==
	= NHL All-Star Team		= NHL All-StarPlayers are identified as an All-Star if they were selected for the All-Star game at any time in their career.			= NHL All-Star and NHL All-Star Team
Player 	Position 	Team(s) 	Years 	 	Notes
Steve Pinizzotto 	Forward 	VAN, EDM	2012–2015 	0	
Christopher Tanev	Defenseman	VAN, CGY	2010–Present	0	
File:Steve Pinizzotto.jpg|Steve Pinizzotto
File:Chris Tanev 02-2015.JPG|Christopher Tanev
== See also ==
* :Category:RIT Tigers men's ice hockey players
* RIT Tigers women's ice hockey
==Notes==
==References==
* 
* : In the 2000s, school colors changed from Orange and Burnt Umber to Orange and Brown.
== External links ==
* 
 
Category:Ice hockey clubs established in 1958