Pete Bournazakis had two goals and two assists to lead RIT
over Oswego State 6-3 in the first semifinal of the Fredonia Invitational
Tournament. Both of Bournazakis’ tallies and four of RIT’s six goals came on
the power play.
Oswego also scored a pair of goals with the man advantage in the
penalty-filled contest, the first of the year for both teams.
The Lakers got on the board early when freshman Kevin Kleespies slammed home
a rebound during a five-on-three advantage just a minute into the game.
RIT responded at 9:10 of the first when Pete Bournazakis, parked at the
right post, tapped in a cross-crease pass from Sam Hill. Oswego
goaltender Joe Loftberg, who had come up big several times already in the
contest, had no chance on the play.
The Tigers took the lead at 12:06 when Jared Conlon poked a rebound under
Loftberg’s pads. Loftberg made the initial save on a shot from the point by
Mike Walling, but was unable to cover the puck in time.
RIT opened the scoring in the second period on Pete Bournazakis’ second goal
at 8:47. He deflected a pass from brother Mike just underneath the
crossbar to open a two-goal lead for the Tigers.
RIT made it 4-1 at 12:36 on another rebound goal, this one from Lanner Fayad.
Fayad took the puck from in front of the net after Loftberg had made a
sprawling save, then skated to the near post before lifting the puck into the
net.
Shots through two periods were 30-14 RIT.
Oswego staged a third-period rally beginning at 7:25. Joe Pecoraro scored
the prettiest goal of the game by using an RIT defenseman as a screen and
ripping a rocket past the stick side of RIT goalie Tyler Euverman.
The Lakers got to within one at 12:04 with John Sullivan’s power-play
goal, and the momentum had clearly shifted in Oswego’s favor.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, they took some late penalties, and RIT made
them pay with a pair of power-play goals in a 30-second span to put the
game away. Freshman Mike Tarantino got the first goal of his career at 14:26,
and Derek Hahn capped the scoring at 14:56 with a blazing shot from the high
slot.
There were 25 minors in all, 13 for Oswego and 12 for RIT.
“I was hoping not to have that much special-teams play in our first game,”
said RIT head coach Wayne Wilson. “I wasn’t happy with all the penalties.
Obstruction is going to be called a lot this season. I thought we made some
adjustments, but there were still too many mistakes.”
“I thought the defense played well, including the three freshmen.”
Loftberg made 33 saves on 39 shots; Euverman made 23 saves on 26 shots.
RIT was 4 for 13 on the power play; Oswego was 2 of 12.
RIT will now face the host Fredonia Blue Devils, who defeated Neumann 4-2 in
the other semifinal. Oswego plays Neumann in the consolation game.
