Ice hockey · National
Wilde scores in the final minute as RIT beats Air Force
RIT won 2–1 at Air Force on 31 January after Matthew Wilde converted a rebound with less than thirty seconds left.
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A rebound settles the final minute
RIT defeated Air Force 2–1 in Atlantic Hockey America at the Cadet Ice Arena on 31 January. Matthew Wilde put back a saved wraparound attempt by Christian Catalano with 26 seconds remaining to break a tie that had lasted through most of the final period. Air Force had scored first through Austin Schwartz, who finished a two-on-one opportunity with a wrist shot at 10:45 of the opening period. Tanner Andrew equalized at 4:53 of the second after Simon Isabelle supplied the puck from behind the net. Air Force outshot the Tigers 35–29, but Jakub Krbecek made 34 saves and Guy Blessing 27. The Falcons failed to score on four power plays and killed both RIT opportunities. Coach Frank Serratore’s assessment focused on the quality of chances conceded, the unsuccessful power play and the need to improve the team’s connection.
RIT’s finish follows a demanding defensive period
The winning team’s report gives the decisive time more precisely as 26.8 seconds left. Dimitri Mikrogiannakis began the sequence with an outlet pass to Catalano, who advanced along the right side before trying to finish from behind the right post. Blessing stopped the attempt, but Wilde reached the rebound near the crease. The goal was Wilde’s team-leading twelfth of the season and took him to 21 points. Catalano’s assist was his fourteenth. Krbecek made sixteen saves in the third period, part of his fourteenth performance with at least thirty saves in sixteen starts. The Tigers also blocked eighteen shots, with twelve players recording at least one and Kevin Scott leading them with three.
The clubs need a change in results
Air Force’s January 28 preview placed the Falcons seventh in the conference with 25 points and RIT tenth with twelve. Both teams had lost their preceding series: Air Force to Holy Cross and RIT to Niagara. The hosts entered on a four-game losing run. Their conference defence had nevertheless allowed only 2.06 goals per game, the second-lowest figure in the league at that point. Scoring remained a different challenge, with Air Force having produced two goals or fewer in seventeen of its preceding twenty-three games. The clubs had split the previous season’s meetings in Rochester.
Wilde’s season supplies context for the winner
RIT’s January 30 preview identified the Colorado trip as its final regular-season road assignment. Wilde had missed the first eight games with a preseason injury, then registered points in twelve of eighteen appearances after returning. Before the Air Force fixture he led Atlantic Hockey with 0.61 goals per game and had eleven goals despite playing fewer games than several other conference scorers. Krbecek had already produced thirteen thirty-save outings in fifteen appearances before the trip. Those individual records made the late goal and the goaltending performance consistent with strengths RIT had identified entering the series. A rematch was scheduled for February 1.
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