Courtesy of RITAthletics.com
BUFFALO, N.Y. – RIT junior forward Cody Laskosky scored three goals while graduate student sophomore forward Carter Wilkie added two goals and two assists to lead the Tigers to a 10-4 Atlantic Hockey victory at Canisius, Saturday.
RIT fell behind, 2-0, in the first period, but rebounded with seven-straight goals, including three during a extended 5-on-3 power play to start the third period, en route to the win.
Canisius opened the scoring with 11:45 left in the first period after Simon Gravel skated into the slot and scored a power-play wrist shot over RIT sophomore goaltender Tommy Scarfone’s shoulder.
The Golden Griffins took a 2-0 lead with 4:42 on the clock after Stefano Bottini sped down the right wing and cut into the slot to snap a wrist shot over Scarfone’s glove.
RIT got on the board with 2:44 left in the period after senior defenseman Gianfranco Cassaro scored on a blast from the point through a crowd.
The Tigers scored three unanswered goals in the second period to build a 4-2 lead. Junior defenseman Aiden Hansen-Bukata played a puck behind the Canisius goal off the right corner boards to Laskosky, who skated into the slot and backhanded a shot, far post, to knot the score, 2-2, with 16:41 on the clock.
A minute and a half later, Laskosky pulled a loose puck off the left boards after a faceoff and shuffled a puck forward to Walker. Laskosky took a cross from Walker and flipped a shot inside the top-right corner of the goal for a 3-2 Tiger lead with 15:10 left in the second.
Cassaro later dropped a pass back to the left point for Wilkie, who skated into the faceoff circle and scored on a low wrist shot through a crowd with 6:26 remaining in the second.
Canisius was hit with two major penalties with 1:41 left in the second period, setting up a five-minute, 5-on-3 power play for the Tigers. Graduate student forward Kobe Walker scored 50 seconds into the third period before Laskosky completed his first career hat-trick with 17:17 on the clock. Wilkie scored 10 seconds later to forge a 7-2 lead.
Canisius scored a pair of goals in a 38-second stretch to make it a 7-4 game with 11:21 left in regulation.
RIT netted three more goals in the final seven minutes to put the game out of reach. First-year forward Tyler Mahan tallied with 6:48 on the clock, before junior defenseman Dimitri Mikrogiannakis scored into an empty net with 3:39 remaining and first-year forward Simon Isabelle scored with 2:32 remaining.
GAME NOTES
RIT’s 10 goals tied the highest single-game scoring output during the Division I era, matching the 10-0 victory it notched at Sacred Heart on Jan. 14, 2012.
RIT’s six-goal third was a single-period Division I-era record, eclipsing the five goals scored in the third period of its 8-5 victory over No. 9 Clarkson on Nov. 27, 2020.
RIT’s four power play goals were the second-highest single season total in the Division I-era and were the most since logging six in a 7-1 win at Niagara on Dec. 12, 2016.
The Tigers’ three power play goals in the third period tied the highest single-period mark in the Division I era. RIT also scored three extra-man tallies in the second period of its 5-4 win at Princeton last season (Nov. 26, 2022).
RIT’s 10 goals tied for the fourth-highest single game total in Atlantic Hockey history and were the most by an Atlantic Hockey team since AIC shutout host Mercyhurst, 12-0 on Nov. 15, 2019.
WHAT’S NEXT
RIT is off for the holidays until taking on current sixth-ranked Penn State in a home-and-home series, Dec. 30-31. The Tigers will host the Nittany Lions in the opener at 5:05 p.m. before heading to State College the following day for a faceoff at a time to be announced.
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