October 24, 2008
by Joe Venniro

Men’s Hockey Kicks Off Conference Play at Sacred Heart Friday and Saturday

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men's hockey player skating during a game.

First-year defenseman Trevor Eckenswiller and the Tigers look to get back in the win column this weekend at Sacred Heart.

The RIT men's hockey team opens Atlantic Hockey Association play this weekend, traveling to Milford, Conn., to play Sacred Heart in a two-game series. The Tigers and Pioneers play game one 7:05 p.m. Friday and conclude the weekend series at 7:05 p.m. Saturday at the Milford Ice Arena.

The Tigers were picked to finish third in the pre-season Atlantic Hockey poll. Sacred Heart was chosen to finish fourth.

RIT (1-3-0) dropped a pair of non-conference contests to ECAC foes last weekend. The Tigers opened up a 2-0 lead after one period of play on goals by Tyler Brenner and Jesse Newman, but could not hold on, falling to Clarkson University, 6-4, in front of a sellout crowd at Ritter Arena on Friday. Newman scored twice, while Stevan Matic also scored for the Tigers.

On Saturday, RIT pounded the St. Lawrence net in the third period, out-shooting the Saints 16-5, but could not rally from a 2-0 deficit, falling 2-1 before 3,296 fans at the Blue Cross Arena. Brent Alexin scored RIT's lone goal early in the third period, with assists going to Matic and Riley Clark. Junior goaltender Jared DeMichiel stopped 24 of 26 shots in the loss. Brennan Sarazin leads RIT with three points in four games.

Sacred Heart, comes into this weekend looking for its first win of the season. The Pioneers (0-4-0, 0-2-0) were shut-out in back-to-back games last weekend, falling 3-0 to Notre Dame on Friday and 7-0 on Saturday. Sacred Heart opened the season by dropping a pair of Atlantic Hockey Association contests to two-time defending champion Air Force, 4-1 and 4-3.

RIT leads the all-time series between the two clubs, 4-1-0.