Courtesy of RITAthletics.com
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Col. – RIT freshman goaltender Tommy Scarfone totaled 33 saves, but it was host Air Force earning a 1-0 OT victory, Saturday, in the regular-season finale.
RIT clinched the fourth seed for the upcoming Atlantic Hockey Tournament along with a bye to a best-of-three home quarterfinal series versus fifth-seeded Sacred Heart, March 11-13. Face-off times are TBA.
Air Force broke the scoreless tie with 40.2 left in overtime. The Falcons threw a long shot on net that rebounded off Scarfone’s pads. The Tigers had two chances to clear the zone, but Brandon Koch came up with a loose puck in the right face-off circle and got Scarfone to bite on quick fake, before feeding Nate Horn in front of the left post for short finish.
Scarfone logged his sixth 30-plus save effort of the season, narrowly missing his first shutout in a Tiger sweater.
RIT held Air Force scoreless on three power play attempts, including a five-minute major early in the second period. The Tigers also killed three power plays in Friday night’s 3-2 OT victory over the Falcons.
RIT defeated Sacred Heart twice during the regular season, 3-2 at home on Jan. 11 and 5-1 on Feb. 1 in a game played at Army.
RIT has met Sacred Heart three times in Atlantic Hockey Tournament history. Sacred Heart upset the Tigers in three games during the first round of the 2018 postseason before RIT returned the favor in the quarterfinals of the 2019 tournament. RIT also defeated the Pioneers, 6-1, in the 2010 championship game for its first Atlantic Hockey title on the way to and eventual Frozen Four appearance.
RIT owns a 10-2 record in Atlantic Hockey Tournament Quarterfinal games played at home.
RIT tied for third with Army in the final Atlantic Hockey standings, but the Black Knights earned the third seed over the Tigers based on winning the head-to-head series during the regular season, 2-1-1, with a shoot-out win.
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