By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
Erik Brown and his linemates, Gabe Valenzuela and Abbott Girduckis, are going to produce goals for Rochester Institute of Technology.
There’s no disputing that, and the trio proved it Saturday night. Brown scored three times and Valenzuela once as the Tigers routed Colgate University 6-1 in the annual Brick City Homecoming game at Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.
Even more encouraging than their production, however, were the steps forward taken by junior right winger Shawn Cameron and goalie Logan Drackett.
Cameron, with just eight goals in his career (four each year), scored twice on Saturday. His first goal came at 19:37 of the first period and extended the Tigers lead to 3-0. His fourth came after the Tigers killed two full minutes of five-on-three Colgate power play and pushed the lead to 4-0.
“My first two years didn’t go quite as I would have liked but I think I’ll contribute a lot more,” Cameron said. “I think the coaches chose me and got me here because I can score goals.”
He’s out to reward their faith in Year No. 3 at RIT. His first goal against Colgate showed basic hockey smarts. As left winger Jake Hamacher circled around behind the net and up the right wing boards, Cameron slithered toward the goal crease. Hamacher flung the puck toward the net and Cameron redirected it in.
His second showed puck skills. Hamacher again set him up, this time between the hash marks in the slot, and he then veered to the right of the crease before roofing a shot on the short side.
That second line now has produced three goals in three games, a nice complement to the Tigers top line. And the center on the line, Alden Dupuis, was at the center of a great deal of action as a shot-blocker.
“He stopped as many shots as anyone,” coach Wayne Wilson said.
Anyone except Drackett. The sophomore goaltender made 41 saves as the Tigers were outshot 42-26, in large part because they were short-handed eight times. Wilson was perturbed by the foolish penalties.
“I think the team has a lot of potential and can have a very good future if we can correct some things,” he said.
Drackett was just so-so as a freshman. He was given a chance to win the starting job but didn’t really make a major impact. He has started his sophomore season strong, stopping 98 of 105 shots (.933 save percentage) while going 2-1. His goals-against average is 2.33.
Last year he was 8-11-2 with an .873 save percentage and 3.40 GAA.
“Obviously I didn’t have the year I wanted last year,” Drackett said. “I want to start proving not only to myself but to everyone else that I can be a top goalie in this league.”
His best saves came when the game was tight. With RIT ahead 1-0, Drackett denied a short-handed chance by Ben Sharf at 12:01 and then robbed Griffin Lunn off a three-on-two fast break at 17:30 to preserve the RIT lead.
Valenzuela and Cameron then scored 25 seconds apart in the final minute of the period as the Tigers moved ahead 3-0.
“The goals at the end of the first period were really deflating for them,” Wilson said of the Raiders.
Notes: Brown’s three goals moved him into a tie for the school’s all-time career record (55). Simon Lambert and Tyler Brenner each scored 55 during their time at RIT.
RIT is now 3-5-4 in the Brick City Homecoming game. The victory ended a string of three consecutive ties, and it was also the Tigers’ first win over Colgate as a Division I program (1-6). Wilson said that while scheduling an soft opponent for homecoming is the norm for football programs, he prefers to have a high-quality team come to town so he can measure how his program stacks up. “It’s good for us and it’s also good for the community.”
The Tigers play weekend sets at Robert Morris and Mercyhurst the next two weeks before finally play at the Gene Polisseni Center on Nov. 9-10 vs. American International.
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