ROCHESTER, N.Y. –Not to be undone by linemate Brad McGowan’s hat trick in their previous game, RIT senior and captain Matt Garbowsky tallied a hat trick of his own and added an assist in the Tigers’ 8-0 victory over Mercyhurst.
The three-goal performance from Garbowsky moves him into second place for goal scoring and third place for total points league-wide in Atlantic Hockey. McGowan added two goals and an assist, putting him up to 100 career points. Josh Mitchell, who plays with Garbowsky and McGowan, added four assists as the Tigers’ top line continues to be red-hot.
It was a game in which everything seemed to go RIT’s way.
“It bounced our way every time,” said RIT coach Wayne Wilson. “It was great to have, but it’s over and done with. We can only control tomorrow night and tomorrow night is the one that’s gonna solve home ice.”
RIT and Mercyhurst sit tied in points with 31 each, although Mercyhurst has one more win than RIT. Mercyhurst can preserve their home ice going into the playoffs with a tie, but they’ll have to find a way to rebound after tonight’s loss.
“We’re gonna have to come back tomorrow and just find a way,” said Lakers’ coach Rick Gotkin. “And take some baby steps. Do a couple of good things in a row and if that happens, maybe we’ll get some momentum.”
It was a shorthanded goal from Garbowsky at 3:01 of the second period that Wilson thought stifled the Lakers’ hopes of generating momentum for a comeback in this game. Garbowsky received the puck from Brady Norrish and made a slick deke around the Lakers’ defender on his way to the net.
A few minutes later, Andrew Miller emulated Garbowsky with a similar deke and put a backhander past Lakers’ freshman goaltender Brandon Wildung. Spencer Bacon was brought in as relief for Wildung following Miller’s goal, which had put the Tigers’ lead up to five.
Wildung has had to step into a big role for the Lakers, taking over as the starting goaltender for last year’s Atlantic Hockey player of the year Jimmy Sarjeant, who had been playing through a sports hernia since August and decided to have season-ending surgery earlier this month.
Matt Abt scored the first goal of his collegiate career in the win, while Brandon Thompson and Danny Smith each notched a pair of assists.
Wilson, although happy with his team’s performance, remained cautious about Saturday night’s rematch.
“We had to recover from a real disappointing loss,” he said, referencing their loss in the dying seconds against Robert Morris last Friday. “Now the trick is, can we handle a big win? Are we gonna be full of ourselves or are we gonna be refocused and determined?”
Gotkin and his team will go into tomorrow night looking for a good start in order to preserve their chances at home ice in the playoffs.
“You go down 3-0 to anybody and it’s a long way back,” he said. “The best news is that we get a chance tomorrow and hopefully, we can play better.”
