By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA
The Wayne Wilson Era for Rochester Institute of Technology hockey is over and the Matt Thomas era has begun.
If wins and losses are the measuring stick, then weekend No. 1 under the new coach wasn’t good. The Tigers dropped their season opener 1-0 on Friday to Sacred Heart and lost again on Saturday night in the rematch 6-1.
But there are far more ways to measure progress and ability than just the scoreboard. Thomas believes the Tigers, playing with a revamped roster and with a whole new playbook of systems, have already taken significant strides in the right direction.
“Our breakouts, our neutral zone play, the rush for were really good,” Thomas said.
In fact, despite losing 6-1, there weren’t many parts of their game on Saturday that Thomas said needed vast improvement. They need to defend the rush better and they get key saves, something first-year goalie Collin MacKenzie didn’t provide enough of.
But he liked the overall body of work. Late in the second period RIT was outshooting Sacred Heart 18-11 yet trailed 3-1. The Tigers ended up with a 28-21 shot advantage.
“I think we outplayed them but we lost,” Thomas said. “I’m definitely more excited about where we’re going than pessimistic about where we’re at. I could care less that we’re 0-2, I like that we got better this weekend.”
The viewpoint is understandable. Sacred Heart was preseason choice by Atlantic Hockey coaches to win the conference. They’re experienced, their top line is explosive, they have a big, mobile defense and goalie Ajeet Gundarah is terrific.
“They play a mature brand of hockey,” Thomas said.
Meanwhile, his team is very much in the maturation process.
“We’re trying to find our identity,” Thomas said. “Never mind the six freshmen we have playing; we have a bunch of transfers in there, so there’s a lot of new. And it’s all new for the entire team (because) I’ve changed a lot of things with how we’re going to play from what Wayne had done.”
They’re learning quickly, senior captain Tyler Mahan said.
“We did the systems well, we just couldn’t get guys and pucks to the net,” Mahan said.
The Pioneers opened a 1-0 lead 6:58 into the first period when defenseman Mikey Adamson scored on his own rebound.
RIT retaliated quickly, tying the score at 10:12 on the first career goal by sophomore defenseman Mason Croucher.
But Felix Trudeau put Sacred Heart back on top 3:41 later, converting a pass from Stephane Huard off a two-on-one fastbreak, then Vitaly Levyy scored 3:37 into the second period for a 3-1 lead.
A disputed goal by Noah Ellis with just 1:34 remaining in the second period extended the margin to 4-1. Thomas challenged, believing there was goaltender interference, but the referees reviewed the play and allowed the goal to stand.
“It’s a different game if it’s still 3-1,” Thomas said.
The Pioneers lead ballooned to 6-1 when Huard and Ray Fust scored in the first 5:28 of the third period.
Despite the lopsided score, and being swept on home ice, the Tigers said there was plenty of reason for optimism.
“We see what the bar is in our conference and now we know we can skate with them,” Mahan said.
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