By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
A year after their season ended with heartbreak on home ice, Rochester Institute of Technology’s men’s hockey team fulfilled a promise they made to themselves: to leave a lasting impression on the program.
They put the finishing touches on that self-imposed edict on Saturday night.
Driven from Day 1 to avenge the premature playoff ouster of last spring and bring the Jack Riley Trophy back to Henrietta, the Tigers defeated American International College 5-2 behind the scoring of Elijah Gonsalves and Matthew Wilde and the goaltending of Tommy Scarfone.
When Gonsalves fired a bullseye into an empty net for a 4-2 lead with 1:26 remaining, the Tigers knew they had Atlantic Hockey’s playoff championship locked up. And when the clock at the Gene Polisseni Center hit 0:00, sticks, gloves and helmets flew skyward, players and coaches mobbed Scarfone and each other, and a delirious sellout crowd of 4,233 erupted in an endless thundering ovation.
“Every August we meet and we talk about the standard, and the standard here is to win,” said Gonsalves, who also scored the second RIT goal and assisted on goals by Dimitri Mikrogiannakis and Wilde. “You see the pictures in the locker room of people hoisting the trophies and that’s what you all want to do.”
And now this 2023-24 version of the Tigers will forever have its place on that wall, joining the teams from 2009-10, 2014-15 and 2015-16.
Junior center Carter Wilkie led the Tigers (27-10-2) through the traditional handshake line with the Yellowjackets, then gleefully grabbed the official AHA championship T-shirt and knit hat before leaping into the glass in front of the Corner Crew to celebrate.
A good 30 minutes later, in the post-game media session, Wilkie was proudly wearing the hat.
“I’m gonna sleep in this,” he said with a huge smile, “and then I’m gonna rock it around campus all next week.”
Wilkie was the leader of the redemption brigade. The distressing memories of failure last March drove him every week this season. Winning Atlantic Hockey’s regular season title, which the Tigers accomplished, wasn’t enough. In fact, it wasn’t really their goal. This team needed to win the playoff title – the one everyone truly remembers – and earn an automatic spot in the NCAA tournament.
“We know our league is very difficult and contributions came from everyone,” Tigers coach Wayne Wilson said. “Now we’re looking forward to the next challenge.”
On Sunday evening at 6:30 the 18th-ranked Tigers learn who and where they play. The selection show will be live on ESPNU. Regionals will be played in Springfield, Mass., Providence, R.I., Sioux Falls, S.D., and Maryland Heights, Mo.
“That’s a really, really good hockey team,” AIC coach Eric Lang said of the Tigers. “They carried the flag from Day 1. I wouldn’t want to play RIT right now.”
Though tested but not thoroughly pushed to the limit in the best-of-three quarterfinals or semifinals, the Tigers showed their resiliency and resolve in Saturday’s winner-take-all title game. They fell behind 1-0 after a Jordan Biro goal 4:06 into the game but quickly rebounded to take a 2-1 lead on goals by Mikrogiannakis at 11:56 and Gonsalves at 16:06.
The Biro goal came after a Wilkie centering pass was intercepted in the high slot and turned into a breakaway goal at the other end.
“I had a bad turnover,” Wilkie said, “and I went to the bench and owned up for it and told the boys I’d get it back.”
He did indeed. After Mikrogiannakis tied the score, Wilkie created the go-ahead goal by Gonsalves. He attacked on left wing with speed, then stopped on a dime, spun away from defenseman Matt Richard, then fired a shot on goal. Nils Wallstrom made the save but the long rebound caromed into the right circle and Gonsalves drove it home.
Biro, however, scored again, this time with just 61 seconds remaining in the first period.
But the Tigers used a second-period power play – their first of just two in the game – to regain the lead, and they did so with a play they had perfected in practice.
All of Atlantic Hockey knows the Tigers try to set up Gianfranco Cassaro’s potent one-timer from the right circle when they’re on the power play. Why wouldn’t they? Cassaro leads all of college hockey in goals for defensemen with 17.
Aiden Hansen-Bukata looked to Cassaro, but defenseman Nico Somerville converged on Cassaro at the dot, nullifying any pass.
“They were really cheating up on Gianfranco,” Wilson said, “which we knew they would be.”
And that was just fine, because Hansen-Bukata ended up shooting on goal from along the left-wing half wall. Wallstrom made the save but Wilde buried the rebound at 1:48 for a 3-2 lead.
“It kind of fell into my lap,” said Wilde, the freshman winger who has four playoff goals and a 10-game point streak.
First power play opportunity of the night for @RITMHKY and Matthew Wilde converts. Tigers 3-2 pic.twitter.com/UroL0J2C4D
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 23, 2024
Elijah Gonsalves empty-netter. Matthew Wilde adds another. @RITMHKY 5-2 pic.twitter.com/IKUDX7KMLh
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) March 24, 2024
Said Gonsalves, who was named tournament MVP after producing 4 goals, 6 assists and 10 points in five games: “We worked on that play all week, trying to outnumber them in front of the net.”
The score didn’t change until Gonsalves hit the empty net, nearly two minutes after Lang pulled Wallstrom in favor of a sixth attacker.
As the puck sat in the net, Gonsalves glided to the corner and waited for his teammates to engulf him.
“I was just trying to take it all in,” he said. “Hobbsy (linemate Grady Hobbs) was coming in pretty hot so I didn’t want to get run over.”
Wilde then inflated the score with another empty-net goal with 52.6 seconds to play.
“We were a shot away with three minutes to play,” Lang said. “Sometimes you’re the bug, sometimes you’re the windshield.”
Notes: Over the four seasons that RIT has won Atlantic Hockey’s playoff championship, the Tigers are 17-0. … Two members of last year’s RIT team, Kolby Matthews (from British Columbia) and Calvon Boots (from Alaska), traveled to Rochester to attend Saturday’s game. “They wanted to be with these guys and root them on,” Wilson said. “You just don’t see that at a lot of programs.” … The Tigers outscored Robert Morris, Niagara and AIC 26-6 over five playoff games.
Leave a Reply