The meager attendance and overall somber mood hanging over the Polisseni Center this past Saturday afternoon perfectly reflected the action happening on the ice as the Tigers faced off against the Lindenwood Lady Lions.
The Tigers have been riding quite the high recently, stringing together an impressive four-game winning streak. In matches against Vermont on Oct. 19 (RIT 2, Vermont 0), Brown on the 24 and 25 (RIT 4, Brown 1 and RIT 5, Brown 2, respectively) and Lindenwood (RIT 1, Lindenwood 1) the Tigers showcased some incredible performances and teamwork, but the team's wave finally crested against Lindenwood in the second of two matches against the Lady Lions. Tied 1-1 in the first half of the game, the Tigers faltered after the third period, ultimately losing 3-1 in what was a disappointing evening for both the team and fans alike.
That's not to say that the Tigers didn't put up a good fight, however. The Tigers (5-3-2, 0-1-1 CHA) scored a single goal by fourth year Lindsay Gregg, while fourth year Ali Binnington, who just earned weekly MVP status from the College Hockey America Championships, managed to make a whopping 26 saves. Still, RIT's 18-game streak of allowing two or less goals was broken this game, despite valiant efforts on the team's part.
The first period was a tense one as both teams battled it out, and the Tigers held tight on a 10-7 shot-on-goal advantage. The Tigers certainly made more shots than Lindenwood, attempting a staggering 26, but Lindenwood held their ground, attempting only nine shots while pushing the Tigers back. What was probably the Tigers' best shot of the first period came from second year Lindsay Stenason, who fired a shot off the crossbar after breezing past a Lindenwood defender. Both teams were eventually able to score in the second period, but the game was ultimately low-scoring.
Despite the Pep Band's best efforts, creating quite the stir of excitement over an announcer-less and somewhat dead crowd, the Tigers couldn't hold up their defense through the second half of the game, bringing the score to 3-1 at the end of the game. The ending of the game was a nail-biter, as RIT had two disallowed goals, one occurring with only 14 seconds remaining in the game.
At the end of the game, RIT led Lindenwood in shots (40 to Lindenwood's 29), but both teams were tied up in penalties (5 for each team), penalty minutes (10 for each team) and face-offs (38 for each team). While a disappointing match for the Tigers, it's only a small blemish on what has been a great season, all things considered. The team managed to hold their own all throughout the first half, only faltering slightly to allow winning goals from Lindenwood, but keeping the team on their toes throughout the game's duration.
The Tigers will hit the ice again this coming weekend with matches against Ivy League rivals Princeton University.
