A quick look at the RIT Tigers

Atlantic Hockey photo

Like last year, when Minnesota State played an old Division-II foe, UMass-Lowell, in the national tournament, the Mavericks will do the same this year when they play RIT in the Midwest Regional. The Mavericks and Tigers met in the DII/III national tournament in 1982 and 1986. They last played as DI opponents in 2010 in a series in Mankato, which MSU won 6-1 and 3-0. But RIT ended up making a run to the Frozen Four later that season. This is the Tigers' first NCAA appearance since then.

Here's a look at this year's RIT team ...

Overall record: 19-14-5

Atlantic Hockey record: 14-9-5 (tied for third place, won postseason tournament)

Coach: Wayne Wilson (16th season)

Leading scorers: F-Matt Garbowsky, sr. (26-27—53); F-Josh Mitchell, jr. (15-35—50); F-Brad McGowan, sr. (23-22—45)

Top goaltender: Jordan Ruby, sr. (10-7-4, .923, 2.11)

Notes: Garbowsky is a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. He and Mitchell rank fifth and sixth in the country in scoring. ... RIT defeated Mercyhurst 5-1 on Saturday to win the Atlantic Hockey tournament championship and get that league's auto-bid to the NCAAs. The Tigers swept Air Force in the first round of the tournament and beat Canisius 2-1 in the semifinals. ... Garbowsky was the Atlantic Hockey tournament MVP.