Air Force, RIT skate to 4-4 overtime draw

  • Published
  • By Dave Toller
  • Associate Director, Athletic Media Relations
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) --  Air Force winger Josh Frider scored with 39 seconds left in the third period to force overtime as the Falcons and RIT skated to a 4-4 overtime tie in an Atlantic Hockey Association game Nov. 4 at the Academy's Cadet Ice Arena. 

Air Force is now 4-5-1 overall and 2-1-1 in the AHA. The Rochester Institute of Technology is 4-3-2 and 3-1-1 in conference play.

With Air Force trailing 4-3 in the final minute of the game, the Falcons pulled goalie Ian Harper in favor of the extra skater. Greg Flynn sent a pass from deep in his own end to Brent Olson in the neutral zone. Olson skated in and found Frider on the left wing. Frider's wrister got through the pads of Jocelyn Guimond to force the extra five minutes of play.

RIT scored first when Anton Kharin collected a loose puck in the slot and beat Harper for a 1-0 Tiger lead at 1:36. Air Force answered as Frider scored his first of the season at 7:10. 

On a 2-on-2 rush, Theo Zacour made a centering pass to Frider who spun around and slid a backhand through the five hole. The Falcons took a 2-1 lead at 9:54 as Mike Phillipich scored his fourth goal of the year. Eric Ehn took a shot from the left wing that was saved, but Phillipich knocked in the rebound. 

RIT tied the game at 2-2 at the 15:17 mark as Matt Smith walked out from behind the net and stuffed one past Harper. Following the goal, Harper was replaced by freshman Andrew Volkening.

RIT took a 3-2 lead at 2:46 of the second period on a goal by Brent Alexin. The Falcons tried to clear the puck from their own end but were unable and Alexin scored on a flurry in front of the net. 

Falcon winger Brian Reese, playing in his first game of the season, tied the game at 3-3 five minutes later. On the power play, Michael Mayra fed Phillipich in the circle who sent one toward the net. Reese knocked in the bouncing puck for his first of the season. 

RIT took a 4-3 lead as Brennan Sarazin scored with 1:16 left in the second period. On a 2-on-2 rush, Sarazin scored from Steve Pinizzotto and Dan Ringwald. 

The Air Force out-shot RIT 18-4 in the second period, but Guimond made 17 saves for the Tigers while Volkening had two saves.

Harper came back in the game to start the third period to replace Volkening and kept the nets clean for the final 25 minutes. The Tigers held on to the 4-3 lead until Frider's game-tying goal with 39 seconds remaining.

In overtime, a rush up ice by Josh Schaffer and Jeff Hajner drew a tripping penalty on RIT's Matt Harris with 2:53 remaining. Air Force had three shots on goal on the power play and two others that were blocked by defensemen, but neither team was able to score in the extra period.

"There are good ties and bad ties, and this was a good tie for us," head coach Frank Serratore said. "I'm proud of the way our guys battled throughout the game and never gave up. Josh Frider was a factor throughout the game and came up big for us at the end of regulation."

Both teams had to juggle the lineup as Falcon senior Andrew Ramsey and RIT defenseman Al Mazur were forced to sit out after fighting and game disqualifications. As a result, Frider skated with a new line of center Theo Zacour and right winger Brent Olson.

Frider had a game- and career-high seven shots on goal. His line combined for 13 shots. The Falcons out-shot the Tigers 45-18. The 45 shots are a season high for the Air Force. Guimond made 41 saves for RIT. Harper made 10 saves while Volkening made four. The Falcons were 1-for-10 on the power play while RIT was 0-for-4. 

The two schools have met six times in the last two season. The Air Force leads the all-time series 5-4-2. The Falcons defeated RIT 3-0 Nov. 3, the Tigers first loss in Atlantic Hockey play. 

The Air Force travels to Buffalo, N.Y., next weekend for a two-game conference series against Canisius.