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2022–23 RIT Tigers men's ice hockey season

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2022–23 RIT Tigers
men's ice hockey season
Atlantic Hockey, Champion
Conference1st Atlantic Hockey
Home iceGene Polisseni Center
Rankings
USCHONR
USA TodayNR
Record
Overall25–13–1
Conference18–7–1
Home14–7–1
Road10–6–0
Neutral1–0–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachWayne Wilson
Assistant coachesBrian Hills
David Insalaco
Shane Madolora
Captain(s)Andrew Petrucci
Kobe Walker
Alternate captain(s)Spencer Berry
Elijiah Gonsalves
Caleb Moretz
RIT Tigers men's ice hockey seasons
« 2021–22 2023–24 »

The 2022–23 RIT Tigers men's ice hockey season was the 59th season of play for the program, the 18th at the Division I level, and the 17th in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Tigers represented the Rochester Institute of Technology and were coached by Wayne Wilson, in his 24th season.

Season

[edit]

RIT got off to a good start, beginning the season 10–2 and rocketing to the top of the Atlantic Hockey standings. The Tigers were riding a wave of solid goaltending from Tommy Scarfone paired with a very consistent offense that was averaging nearly 4 goals per game. Carter Wilkie had taken over as the team's primary scorer but the biggest improvement to the offense came from Gianfranco Cassaro and Aiden Hansen-Bukata on the back end. Their pairing provided immediate dividends; Hansen-Bukata eclipsed his career scoring totals by late November while Cassaro was able to accomplish the same feat in just 7 games.[1]

By a quirk of the schedule, 10 of those early games were against conference opponents. This meant that, despite their record, RIT was still outside the top 16 in the PairWise rankings. The Tigers would have several opportunities to demonstrate that they were worthy of a potential at-large bid with the first chance coming against Princeton. While the split that they earned wasn't the worst result, the evened result didn't help their ranking. After returning from their winter break, the Tigers took on #5 Penn State. In their biggest test of the year, RIT was outgunned in the first game, getting outshot 29–47 in a 1–6 loss. While the score was a little better in the rematch, they were still outplayed for most of the game. The defeats showed that the team still had some work to do and would need to perform well in the second half of the season to guarantee themselves a spot in the NCAA tournament. The only saving grace from the Penn State losses is, because the Nittany Lions were ranked so high, RIT only fell to 23 in the rankings.

January proved to be kind to the Tigers and the team went 6–0–1 in their next seven games, including a sweep of Arizona State. the streak put the team 12 games above .500 and, more importantly, into the top 15 of the Pairwise for the first time since week 4.[2] After the games with the Sun Devils, RIT had a very easy slate of games with all games coming against Atlantic Hockey opponents and each being in the bottom half of the standings.

In what should have been a comfortable stretch, RIT went 2–5 with a similar issue rearing its head. RIT had made a habit of taking penalties throughout the year. The team was good enough to survive without allowing too many power play goals but the amount of time they spent defending meant that the Tigers weren't a threat to score. Even when they weren't short-handed, the Tigers were taking match penalties and several key players were getting ejected. The losses didn't affect RIT's position in the standings, as they had already built a huge lead, however, it the did drop the Tigers back into the low-20s in the PairWise.

As they began their postseason run, RIT knew that it had to win the conference tournament if it was going to make an NCAA tournament appearance. Fortunately, as the top seed, they would face the lowest-seed at each stage of the tournament. Additionally, Atlantic Hockey had decided to hold all tournament games at team sites, meaning that the Tigers would play at home for the duration of their run.[3]

After dispatching Mercyhurst in straight sets, the Tigers got a welcome surprise when7th-seeded Holy Cross was their next opponent. The Tigers were expected to make quick work of the Crusaders, however, a stellar performance from Jason Grande sent both teams into overtime without a goal between them. Liam McLinskey ended the game 8 minutes into the extra session and put the Tigers' backs to the wall. Luckily, Atlantic Hockey had changed the playoff format for that season, converting the semifinal round into a best-of-three series. The rematch started out in RIT's favor with the team taking the lead twice, however, the Tigers got into penalty trouble in the second period and suddenly found themselves behind. Cassaro ties the match with his 14th of the year and the two goalies then battled to a stalemate for the remainder of regulation, leading to a second overtime match. The winning marker took nearly the same amount of time to be generated as the first, however, this time the Tigers were on the winning side of the leger thanks to Elijah Gonsalves. With a winner-take-all game in front of them, RIT had a sluggish start and took two penalties before 5 minutes had elapsed. To make matters worse, Wilkie received a match penalty for kneeing and was removed from the game after just 10 minutes. Holy Cross netted the first marker with about three minutes remaining in the opening frame but RIT had a chance to tie with a power play to end the period. Instead of capitalizing on their opportunity, RIT could only watch as Holy Cross scored a short-handed goal and ended the period with a 2-goal advantage. The game tightened up in the second and the teams traded goals but the Tigers were never really able to get back into the match. RIT couldn't overcome the disastrous 1st period and two empty-net goals sealed their fate.[4]

Departures

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Cause
Ian Andriano Goaltender  Canada Graduation (retired)
Nick Bruce Forward  Canada Graduation (retired)
Will Calverley Forward  Canada Graduate transfer to Merrimack
Diarmad DiMurro Defenseman  United States Transferred to Geneseo State
Jake Hamacher Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Jacksonville Icemen)
Jake Joffe Forward  Canada Graduation (retired)
Merritt Oszytko Forward  Canada Graduation (retired)
Andrew Rinaldi Forward  United States Left program (retired)
Dan Willett Forward  Canada Graduation (signed with South Carolina Stingrays)

Recruiting

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Gustav Blom Defenseman  Sweden 21 Stockholm, SWE
Simon Isabelle Defenseman  Canada 21 Whitehorse, YT
Philippe Jacques Forward  Canada 19 Quebec City, QC
Adam Jeffery Forward  Canada 21 Leamington, ON
Matthew Kellenberger Defenseman  Canada 23 Toronto, ON; graduate transfer from Princeton
Xavier Lapointe Defenseman  Canada 20 Quebec City, QC
Tyler Mahan Forward  Canada 20 Calgary, AB

Roster

[edit]

As of July 18, 2022.[5]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
3 British Columbia Spencer Berry (A) Senior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-09-26 White Rock, British Columbia Langley (BCHL) —
4 Ontario Dimitri Mikrogiannakis Junior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 196 lb (89 kg) 1999-09-20 Aurora, Ontario Cowichan Valley (BCHL) —
5 Sweden Gustav Blom Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-01-30 Stockholm, Sweden New Mexico (USHL) —
6 Alaska Calvon Boots Senior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-02-11 Fairbanks, Alaska American International (AHA) —
7 Manitoba Tanner Andrew Sophomore F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2000-02-11 Virden, Manitoba Chilliwack (BCHL) —
8 Ontario Evan Miller Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-03-07 Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario Wellington (OJHL) —
9 Manitoba Colton Trumbla Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 1998-11-30 Winnipeg, Manitoba St. Michael's (OJHL) —
10 Ontario Gianfranco Cassaro Senior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 186 lb (84 kg) 1999-03-30 Nobleton, Ontario UMass (HEA) —
11 Quebec Philippe Jacques Freshman F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2002-10-29 Quebec City, Quebec Ottawa (CCHL) —
12 Yukon Simon Isabelle Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2001-01-12 Whitehorse, Yukon Ottawa (CCHL) —
14 Alberta Tyler Mahan Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2001-12-14 Calgary, Alberta Whitecourt (AJHL) —
15 Ontario Adam Jeffery Freshman F 6' 5" (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2001-05-08 Leamington, Ontario Leamington (GOJHL) —
16 Ontario Elijah Gonsalves (A) Senior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-03-08 Scarborough, Ontario Wellington (OJHL) —
18 Alberta Kobe Walker (C) Senior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1998-04-03 Lloydminster, Alberta Lloydminster (AJHL) —
19 Ontario Matt Kellenberger Graduate D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-01-11 Toronto, Ontario Princeton (ECAC) —
20 Alaska Caleb Moretz (A) Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-07-14 Fairbanks, Alaska Flin Flon (SJHL) —
21 Alberta Carter Wilkie Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-04-03 Calgary, Alberta West Kelowna (BCHL) —
22 Manitoba Grady Hobbs Sophomore F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 177 lb (80 kg) 2000-03-18 Deloraine, Manitoba Dauphin (MJHL) —
23 British Columbia Aiden Hansen-Bukata Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 1999-06-29 Delta, British Columbia Nanaimo (BCHL) —
24 Ontario Ryan Nicholson Senior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 196 lb (89 kg) 1999-01-13 Mississauga, Ontario Oakville (OJHL) —
25 British Columbia Doug Scott Sophomore D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-04-16 North Vancouver, British Columbia Humboldt (SJHL) —
26 Alberta Cody Laskosky Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-06-21 New Norway, Alberta Camrose (AJHL) —
27 Ontario Andrew Petrucci (C) Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 1997-05-21 Toronto, Ontario Toronto Patriots (OJHL) —
28 Quebec Xavier Lapointe Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-01-26 Quebec City, Quebec Flin Flon (SJHL) —
30 Quebec Tommy Scarfone Sophomore G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2000-11-19 Montreal, Quebec Surrey (BCHL) —
32 Ontario Daniel Chenard Junior G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 1768 lb (802 kg) 1999-10-03 Waterloo, Ontario Wenatchee (BCHL) —
40 British Columbia Kolby Matthews Senior G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1999-03-04 Coquitlam, British Columbia Coquitlam (BCHL) —

Standings

[edit]
2022–23 Atlantic Hockey Standings
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OW OL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
RIT † 26 18 7 1 1 3 0 57 85 55 39 25 13 1 127 100
American International 26 14 8 4 2 0 3 47 87 62 39 18 14 7 124 98
Sacred Heart 26 14 9 3 2 0 2 45 87 72 37 17 17 3 107 112
Canisius * 26 13 10 3 3 1 1 41 76 71 42 20 19 3 118 119
Army 26 12 12 2 3 3 1 39 72 81 37 14 19 4 98 119
Niagara 26 10 13 3 0 3 2 38 73 86 40 19 18 3 119 129
Holy Cross 26 12 12 2 3 1 1 37 73 71 41 17 21 3 98 119
Mercyhurst 26 9 14 3 1 5 1 35 77 80 36 10 23 3 98 122
Bentley 26 8 16 2 1 1 1 27 61 89 34 11 21 2 81 124
Air Force 26 8 17 1 1 0 0 24 63 87 36 12 22 2 95 128
Championship: March 18, 2023
† indicates conference regular season champion (DeGregorio Trophy)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

[edit]
Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
October 1 7:00 PM at Union* Achilles Rink • Schenectady, New York ESPN+ Scarfone L 3–4  2,401 0–1–0
October 7 7:05 PM Army Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York FloHockey Scarfone W 3–2  2,325 1–1–0 (1–0–0)
October 8 5:05 PM Army Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York FloHockey Matthews W 4–1  1,760 2–1–0 (2–0–0)
October 15 7:05 PM vs. Union* Blue Cross Arena • Rochester, New York FloHockey Scarfone W 8–5  8,766 3–1–0
October 20 9:05 PM at Air Force Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado Altitude Matthews L 2–3  1,385 3–2–0 (2–1–0)
October 21 9:05 PM at Air Force Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado FloHockey Scarfone W 4–2  1,591 4–2–0 (3–1–0)
October 28 7:05 PM Holy Cross Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York FloHockey Scarfone W 5–2  2,716 5–2–0 (4–1–0)
October 29 4:05 PM Holy Cross Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York FloHockey Scarfone W 3–2 OT 1,905 6–2–0 (5–1–0)
November 5 1:05 PM at American International MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts FloHockey Scarfone W 4–3  227 7–2–0 (6–1–0)
November 6 3:05 PM at American International MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts FloHockey Scarfone W 3–2  231 8–2–0 (7–1–0)
November 11 7:05 PM Sacred Heart Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York FloHockey Scarfone W 3–1  2,394 9–2–0 (8–1–0)
November 12 5:05 PM Sacred Heart Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York FloHockey Scarfone W 3–1  2,508 10–2–0 (9–1–0)
November 19 7:05 PM USNTDP* Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York (Exhibition) FloHockey Chenard L 1–4  2,132
November 25 7:05 PM Princeton* #20 Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York FloHockey Scarfone W 5–3  1,626 11–2–0
November 26 5:05 PM Princeton* #20 Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York FloHockey Matthews L 0–5  1,571 11–3–0
December 2 7:05 PM Canisius Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York FloHockey Scarfone L 1–2 OT 2,628 11–4–0 (9–2–0)
December 3 7:05 PM at Canisius LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York FloHockey Scarfone W 10–4  755 12–4–0 (10–2–0)
December 30 5:05 PM #5 Penn State* #20 Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York FloHockey Scarfone L 1–6  3,704 12–5–0
December 31 5:30 PM at #5 Penn State* #20 Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania   Scarfone L 1–3  5,943 12–6–0
January 6 7:05 PM at Bentley Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts FloHockey Scarfone W 3–0  1,483 13–6–0 (11–2–0)
January 7 4:05 PM at Bentley Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts FloHockey Scarfone W 3–1  1,555 14–6–0 (12–2–0)
January 13 7:05 PM Mercyhurst Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York FloHockey Scarfone T 4–4 SOL 2,060 14–6–1 (12–2–1)
January 14 5:05 PM Mercyhurst Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York FloHockey Scarfone W 1–0  3,181 15–6–1 (13–2–1)
January 20 9:05 PM at Arizona State* #20 Mullett Arena • Tempe, Arizona   Scarfone W 5–1  4,610 16–6–1
January 21 9:05 PM at Arizona State* #20 Mullett Arena • Tempe, Arizona   Matthews W 5–3  4,520 17–6–1
January 27 7:05 PM at Holy Cross #19 Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Scarfone W 4–3  598 18–6–1 (14–2–1)
January 28 7:05 PM at Holy Cross #19 Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Scarfone L 3–4  517 18–7–1 (14–3–1)
February 3 7:05 PM at Canisius #18 LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York FloHockey Scarfone W 3–2  785 19–7–1 (15–3–1)
February 4 7:05 PM Canisius #18 Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York FloHockey Scarfone L 2–3 OT 3,252 19–8–1 (15–4–1)
February 10 7:05 PM at Niagara #18 Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York FloHockey Scarfone L 3–4  533 19–9–1 (15–5–1)
February 11 7:05 PM at Niagara #18 Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York FloHockey Scarfone L 1–4  909 19–10–1 (15–6–1)
February 17 7:05 PM Bentley Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York FloHockey Scarfone W 4–0  2,030 20–10–1 (16–6–1)
February 18 5:05 PM Bentley Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York FloHockey Scarfone L 1–2  2,997 20–11–1 (16–7–1)
February 24 7:05 PM Air Force Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York FloHockey Scarfone W 3–1  2,835 21–11–1 (17–7–1)
February 25 5:05 PM Air Force Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York FloHockey Matthews W 5–2  2,890 22–11–1 (18–7–1)
Atlantic Hockey Tournament
March 3 7:05 PM Mercyhurst* Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York (Quarterfinal Game 1) FloHockey Scarfone W 5–3  2,259 23–11–1
March 4 7:05 PM Mercyhurst* Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York (Quarterfinal Game 2) FloHockey Scarfone W 4–3 OT 2,901 24–11–1
March 10 7:05 PM Holy Cross* #20 Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York (Semifinal Game 1) FloHockey Scarfone L 0–1 OT 2,442 24–12–1
March 11 7:05 PM Holy Cross* #20 Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York (Semifinal Game 2) FloHockey Scarfone W 4–3 OT 2,622 25–12–1
March 12 5:05 PM Holy Cross* #20 Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York (Semifinal Game 3) FloHockey Scarfone L 1–5  1,932 25–13–1
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[6]

Scoring Statistics

[edit]
Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Carter Wilkie RW 39 14 26 40 78
Gianfranco Cassaro D 39 14 18 32 42
Aiden Hansen-Bukata D 37 2 30 32 24
Cody Laskosky F 37 13 15 28 83
Kobe Walker F 21 12 11 23 6
Tyler Mahan LW 39 11 9 20 16
Caleb Moretz C/RW 31 5 14 19 14
Tanner Andrew C 38 10 8 18 39
Elijah Gonsalves C/RW 39 7 11 18 55
Grady Hobbs LW/RW 34 9 6 15 30
Simon Isabelle RW 34 6 6 12 28
Dimitri Mikrogiannakis D 28 4 6 10 30
Matt Kellenberger D 78 3 6 9 33
Ryan Nicholson D 37 2 7 9 32
Andrew Petrucci C 39 3 5 8 33
Spencer Berry D 37 1 6 7 25
Calvon Boots D 28 5 1 6 37
Evan Miller C 25 1 5 6 21
Xavier Lapointe C 28 1 2 3 19
Adam Jeffery LW 16 2 0 2 15
Philippe Jacques D 22 1 1 2 12
Colton Trumbla LW 14 1 0 1 0
Kolby Matthews G 5 0 0 0 0
Doug Scott D 8 0 0 0 2
Gustav Blom D 22 0 0 0 2
Tommy Scarfone G 34 0 0 0 2
Total 127 193 320 678

[7]

Goaltending statistics

[edit]
Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Tommy Scarfone 34 2066:17 22 11 1 83 934 3 .918 2.41
Kolby Matthews 6 297:58 3 2 0 14 133 0 .905 2.82
Empty Net - 12:12 - - - 3 - - - -
Total 39 2376:27 25 13 1 100 1067 3 .917 2.52

Rankings

[edit]
Main article: 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings
Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 (Final)
USCHO.com NR - NR NR NR NR NR NR 20 NR 20 20 20 - NR NR 20 19 18 18 NR NR NR 20 NR NR - NR
USA Today NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 20 NR NR 19 18 NR 18 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26.[8]

Awards and honors

[edit]
Player Award Ref
Carter Wilkie Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year [9]
Cody Laskosky Atlantic Hockey Best Defensive Forward [9]
Aiden Hansen-Bukata Atlantic Hockey Best Defenseman [9]
Wayne Wilson Atlantic Hockey Coach of the Year [9]
Tommy Scarfone Atlantic Hockey First Team [10]
Gianfranco Cassaro
Aiden Hansen-Bukata
Carter Wilkie

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "#10 Gianfranco Cassaro". College Hockey Inc. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  2. ^ "Men's Division I PairWise Rankings". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  3. ^ "2023 Atlantic Hockey Postseason". Atlantic Hockey. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  4. ^ "SUNDAY, MARCH 12, 2023". College Hockey Inc. March 12, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  5. ^ "2022–23 RIT Men's Hockey Roster". RIT Athletics. 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  6. ^ "2022-23 Men's Hockey Schedule". RIT Tigers. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  7. ^ "RIT (Rochester Inst. of Tech.) 2022-2023 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  8. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  9. ^ a b c d "Atlantic Hockey Announces 2023-23 Regular Season Awards". Atlantic Hockey. March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  10. ^ "Atlantic Hockey Announces 2022-23 All-Conference Teams". Atlantic Hockey. March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
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