ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The last time the Rochester Institute of Technology and Holy Cross played each other was at Holy Cross on Nov. 11, 2012 where the game ended in a 3-3 tie.
Friday night’s game produced the same result as the Frank Ritter Arena hosted a competitive offensive game where the two Atlantic Hockey teams had a combined 80 shots on goal through three periods and overtime, ending with a 3-3 tie.
Both teams combined averaged a total of precisely 60 shots on goal a game entering tonight’s game.
RIT senior forward Mike Colavecchia scored a power-play goal with 13:36 remaining in regulation to tie the game 3-3 and is now third all-time at RIT at the Division I level with 25 total power-play goals.
Both teams started the game off with determination as they scored two goals apiece by the end of the first period.
Holy Cross’ Logan Smith and Sean Gustin were the beneficiary of these goals in the first, while RIT’s Dan Schuler and Todd Skirving also put the puck in the net.
Skirving successfully executed on a power-play opportunity as the Tigers went 2-for-4 on power-play opportunities on the night with a total of five shots.
The Tigers have been great all season on the man-advantage with 24 goals in 108 attempts entering tonight’s game. That’s a 22.2 percent conversion rate, which ranks seventh nationally.
Unfortunately for the Crusaders, they were 0-for-5 with six total shots on power-play opportunities.
However, the strong performance by Holy Cross’ stud goaltender kept them afloat the entire night as Matt Ginn recorded 35 saves tonight. Ginn entered tonight’s game as the D-I leader in saves this season. Additionally, Ginn entered tonight’s game playing in 46 consecutive games, which ranks 20th on the D-I career list for consecutive games played by a goalie. This streak is currently the longest in Holy Cross’ D-I history.
“The positive is you know we went in and lost the special teams battle and still got a point on the road,” said Holy Cross coach Paul Pearl. “And the other positive I think is really that we just really competed right ’till that last whistle.”
“I thought we battled to when down to get the tie and had chances to win the game,” RIT coach Wayne Wilson added. “Tonight’s tie makes tomorrow’s game that much more important. Obviously, we would like to peak at the right time heading into the postseason and we have time to do that.”
