Air Force Academy
RIT
RIT beat Air Force, 5-1
10/24/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - RIT scored four unanswered goals from the end of the first period to the beginning of third en route to a 5-1 win over Air Force in an Atlantic Hockey Association game, Friday, Oct. 24, at the Academy's Cadet Ice Arena. RIT improved to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in the league. Air Force fell to 1-4 overall and 1-2 in the AHA.
RIT opened the scoring just 1:48 into the game as Brandon Thompson scored from Andrew Miller on a 2-on-1. The Falcons answered at the 4:31 mark. Scott Holm won a scrum on boards and Cole Gunner made a no-look pass in front to Chad Demers. Demers netted his second of the season to tie the game at 1-1. With two seconds left in the first period, Tiger Matt Garbowsky scored from Matt Abt and Josh Mitchell. Abt made a cross-box pass to Garbowsky on the back door.
Late in the second period, Mitchell scored from Abt and Michael Holland on the power play. Mitchell won a faceoff in the offensive zone and the Tigers passed the puck around the horn. Abt's point shot was tipped in by Mitchell with 1:41 left in the period.
Early in the third period, RIT scored two goals in a span of 1:40. Garrett McMullen scored on the rush as he tipped in a centering pass from Brad Reid at 2:51. At the 4;31 mark, Andrew Miller scored from Thompson and Alex Perron-Fontaine.
RIT outshot Air Force, 31-21, in the game. AFA was 0-for-4 on the power play while RIT was 1-for-6. Mike Rotolo made 20 saves for the Tigers. Sophomore Chris Truehl made his fifth straight start in goal for the Falcons and made 20 saves in 43 minutes. Freshman Connor Girard came on in relief in the third period and made six saves in 17 minutes.
"We are not a very good team right now," head coach Frank Serratore said. "We are playing as individuals and not as a team and that is on me. We have to work on some things to simplify our game. We need to find a way to be more effective in a couple of areas."
The same two teams conclude the series on Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Cadet Ice Arena.
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