In a game which saw the storyline change constantly, American International College held on to defeat RIT, 5-4.<\/p>\n
The original storyline was the goaltending situation for RIT. With Mike Rotolo out with an injury since January 3 and Christian Short going down last weekend against Air Force, the Tigers were left with their third string “practice” goalie.<\/p>\n
Sophomore Nick Amato made his first collegiate start.<\/p>\n
“It’s not something I expected,” Amato said of the start. “But I’ve always been prepared for it. Obviously, I haven’t played in a game in 11 months.”<\/p>\n
The first goal against Amato would not have been stopped by any goalie. A defensive breakdown allowed Marc Dubeau to be wide open in the right slot. After receiving a pass from David Gandara, Dubeau easily lifted it over Amato’s glove.<\/p>\n
RIT tied it up at the end of the period one second after its power play expired when Erik Brown deflected a slap shot from Alex Kuqali.<\/p>\n
Another AIC goal where Amato could not be faulted gave the Yellow Jackets a 2-1 lead after two. It came on a two-on-one where Shawn McBride passed from left to right to Johno May. May delayed the shot ever so slightly before putting it in at 1:18.<\/p>\n
AIC scored two more open look goals in the third period. First, Debeau kept the puck on yet another two-on-one, firing a wrister past Amato.<\/p>\n
Then, Dudley was open on the left side, putting it in near side to take a 4-1 lead.<\/p>\n
Now the storyline was last place AIC looking to upset RIT.<\/p>\n
“There were parts of that game we were outplayed,” AIC coach Gary Wright said. “With that said, the two points are important to us.”<\/p>\n
“I thought in general five-on-five we did not play strong enough,” RIT coach Wayne Wilson said. “When we had a couple of chances, we were very lackadaisical around their net.”<\/p>\n
The teams traded goals to maintain a three-goal margin. Brad Shumway one-timed a shot past Alex Murray, only to have Johnny Mueller backhand a rebound in 33 seconds later.<\/p>\n
The storyline was becoming a third period scoring fest. That story quickly changed to one of a miracle comeback attempt.<\/p>\n
With about five minutes left, RIT pulled Amato, and the Tigers put tremendous pressure on AIC.<\/p>\n
“I thought we came to life five-on-four and six-on-five,” Wilson said.<\/p>\n
“They really pressed us when they pulled the goalie,” Wright said. “The fans were really getting into it. It was kind of a charged atmosphere. Our goalie was stalwart tonight and played extremely well.”<\/p>\n
Murray wound up with 45 saves and was named first star of the game.<\/p>\n
RIT scored twice with the extra attacker. Abbott Girduckis slapped it in after receiving a pass from behind the net, then, Todd Skirving slammed a rebound home.<\/p>\n
The goalie remained out, and RIT nearly tied it with just seconds left.<\/p>\n
The final storyline was simply an entertaining game.<\/p>\n
The two teams square off again Saturday night, and Amato will once again get a chance to go from practice goalie to Division I game-winning collegiate goalie.<\/p>\n
“We need a little more fire under us tomorrow night,” Wilson said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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