SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (WROC) — The RIT men's hockey team lost 6-3 to No. 2 Boston College in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This was his fourth trip to the Division I NCAA Tournament for the Tigers in program history.
The Terriers quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead after falling behind in the first with goals from Lane Hutson and Ryan Greene. RIT responded with a power-play goal from Elijah Goncalves with 3:20 left in the opening frame.
Boston College's Same Stephens scored early in the second period to extend the lead to 3-1.
With 3:40 left in the second period, Ryan Nicholson sent a pass off the ice to Gianfranco Cassaro, who fired a missile into the net to cut the deficit to one point. But 81 seconds later, Maclin Celebrini, the presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, scored on a breakaway to take the lead by two points into the final spot.
RIT fell further behind after Jack Harvey scored early in the third period. Cody Laskoski scored the Tigers' winning goal with less than a minute left in the game.
The loss ended RIT's winning streak at seven. The Tigers won the Atlantic Hockey regular season and tournament titles during the winning streak.
“I'm so proud of the guys that were in that locker room, what we accomplished this year, and even more proud of our fight tonight,” Cassaro said. “When you look at that score, it wasn't a 6-3 game where we had a lot of chances. I'm so proud of this group in that locker room and at the end of the day we are champions. I’m going to carry that with pride.”
The Tigers finished the season with a record of 27 wins, 10 losses, and 2 draws.
