Frozen Four-cast: RIT on the rise
April 6, 2010
The electronic scroll on the front of the team’s charter bus painted theperfect picture—“RIT Hockey. Who are these guys?”
“I put it in real quick,” driver Jim McKay said. “I thought it was veryappropriate.”
Was it ever.
“It’s funny. We were joking we were Rhode Island Tech,” star defensemanDan Ringwald said. “Hopefully, people now know we’re the Rochester Institute ofTechnology.”
They should.
The Tigers are in the Frozen Four for the first time—just five years aftermoving to Division I. It wasn’t an easy path: RIT stunned perennial powersDenver and New Hampshire last week in the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament.
RIT beat second-ranked Denver 2-1 behind the stalwart goaltending of seniorJared DeMichiel, then dismantled Hockey East regular-season champ UNH 6-2 in amasterful exhibit of team play spurred by goals from Tyler Brenner, Brent Alexinand Stevan Matic in a 94-second span to win the East Regional in Albany, N.Y.
DeMichiel, one of the keys to the Tigers’ success, was selected the mostoutstanding player of the regional after stopping 63 of 66 shots. He has a 1.98goals-against average, .924 save percentage, and leads the nation in wins with27.
“Our goal this year was to get to the NCAAs. That was upfront, the veryfirst meeting we ever had,” coach Wayne Wilson said. “We want to do a littlebit better than the teams before us have done. Hopefully, we can set a bar thatno other team can beat.”
When that bus arrived back at campus in the wee hours the morning afterRIT’s big win, a police escort guided the way to an impromptu welcome receptionorganized after the final horn in Albany. The throng included RIT president BillDestler and pretty much left the players speechless—a thrill rivaling thedeafening cheers they receive at every home game in 2,100-seat Frank RitterArena, one of the loudest rinks in college hockey.
“None of us really expected what was there. It was really humbling,” saidsophomore forward Cameron Burt, who leads the Tigers in scoring with 16 goalsand 47 points. “A few of us thought maybe 40 or 50 people, but when we got offthe bus and there were hundreds of people waiting outside for us cheering, itwas just a surreal experience—something I’ll never forget.”
Sort of like this breakout season for the Tigers (28-11-1), who have won 12straight games heading into Thursday’s semifinal against traditional powerWisconsin (27-10-4) at Ford Field in Burt’s hometown of Detroit.
When Wilson was hired 11 years ago, this was not what he envisioned.
“I just wanted to be a head coach,” said Wilson, an assistant for a decadeat his alma mater, Bowling Green. “I had been an assistant for a long time andjust wanted to move on. The program had a great reputation. I put my name in thering and ended up getting the job.”
Things changed in a heartbeat.
“All of a sudden I get a call around Christmastime. ‘Hey, we’re going totake the program to Division I.’ I wasn’t prepared for that,” Wilson said. “Itook the job based on that it was going to be Division III and that’s what I’dbe coaching for the rest of my career.
“OK. What’s the change of thought? That went to just excited to be back inDivision I to, ‘Oh my God! What are we getting ourselves into?”’
As it’s turned out, something pretty good. A longtime power in collegehockey’s lower echelons—RIT hockey began in 1962 and the team won nationalchampionships in Division II and Division III in the 1980s—the Tigers haveexcelled in the fledgling Atlantic Hockey Association since going 6-22-2 in2005-06, their first season in Division I.
“It’s a pretty big jump, but I’d been planning it for 30 years,” athleticdirector Lou Spiotti Jr. said. “It’s just amazing. It probably didn’t shock ourplayers because they believed they could do it, but it shocked a lot of otherpeople.”
The Tigers began the season with five straight setbacks, losing every timethey ventured out of conference. That they compete in the Atlantic HockeyAssociation, whose members also include Sacred Heart, Air Force, Army, HolyCross, Bentley, Connecticut, Canisius and American International, only added tothe perception that their newfound success was a fluke. After all, RIT is thefirst AHA school to reach the Frozen Four—Wisconsin is seeking its seventhnational championship.
“It takes time to grow,” AHA commissioner Robert DeGregorio Jr. said.“Our league is getting more and more competitive and we’re getting stronger. Wedon’t have the longevity that a BU (Boston University) or a UNH or Minnesotahas. We don’t have two or three teams that have had Division I hockey for 25 or35 years or a storied history of All-Americans, Hobey Baker winners or nationalchampionships. We’re seven years old, but we’re getting there.
“What surprised everybody was RIT was their equal,” DeGregorio said.“They didn’t have any non-league wins, and that affects your power rating. Butthey’ve got two non-league wins now.”
The first was not necessarily a surprise to the victim.
“The college hockey landscape has changed so dramatically. Every yearyou’re seeing the nontraditional teams either pushing the traditional teamsright to the wire or winning games,” Denver coach George Gwozdecky said. “Theyhave tremendous balance and depth. I didn’t see a weak link. I didn’t see aHobey Baker skater, maybe their goaltender, but no weak link.”
Wilson has built his team much like the perennial powers, reaching intoCanada and the ranks of junior hockey for much of his talent. One of those isthe 23-year-old Ringwald, who plays alongside freshman Chris Tanev to form oneof the most efficient backline duos in the nation. Tanev is a plus-35 on theseason and Ringwald a plus-23.
Ringwald readily admits that RIT, which does not offer athleticscholarships, did not top his list of college choices. He changed his mind afterhe realized he’d be able to play as a freshman.
“That was one of the big draws for me, as well as the fact that there’s nodoubt about the academics,” said Ringwald, who’s already working on his MBA.
When they take the ice against the Badgers on Thursday, the Tigers will haveto contend with the likes of players like Blake Geoffrion. He’s one of threefinalists for the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the best player in thenation. He’s also a grandson of former Montreal Canadiens Hall of Famer Bernie“Boom Boom” Geoffrion, the man generally credited with inventing the slapshot.
Rest assured RIT won’t be starstruck because this isn’t the first wave theAHA has made. Holy Cross knocked off Minnesota, a No. 1 seed, in 2006 and lastyear Air Force beat Michigan, also a No. 1 seed, before losing to Vermont indouble overtime on a shot that had to be replayed.
“We definitely would like to make some noise,” said Burt, from Detroit’snorthwest side. “It’s huge, monumental here for us, the school, the wholecommunity. It would give the whole city something to cheer about.”
