One of the Hottest Teams in College Hockey Stumbles, RIT: Puck Drop

Report: Effects of NCAA Ruling "barely scratched the surface”
Puck Drop: Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Tuesday's Scores
Wednesday's Games
This Date in Hockey History:
Hockey Quote of the Day
We'll Leave You With This ...

Rochester Institute of Technology's hot start to the 2025-26 men's college hockey season cooled a little when the Tigers took a 2-1 overtime loss at Niagara in Atlantic Hockey America league play on Tuesday night. With it, the Tigers' nine-game winning streak, their third-longest as a Division 1 program (since 2005-06), came to an end.

Freshman Evan Konyen opened the scoring late in the first period, but freshman Tyson Zimmer answered early in the second period for the Screaming Eagles (6-6 overall, 3-4 AHA), and senior defenseman Ethan Lund got the game-winner in overtime just 23 seconds after sophomore Deivs Rolovs made a clutch save on senior Tyler Mahan. Tomas Anderson had started the game in net and made 23 saves.

RIT (9-3, 6-3) was coming off playing Friday and Saturday at Robert Morris.

"I hated our second period, but that may have been our best third period of the year," first-year RIT coach Matt Thomas said in a statement. "Sometimes it goes that way. We knew this was going to be a tough game — a Tuesday night after a long weekend in the middle of a long road stretch — and it proved to be."Our execution needed to be better, but the good news is we still earned a big conference point."

During the streak, RIT defeated Clarkson, Air Force (2), at Colgate (2), and Meryhurst (2) before the weekend sweep of the Colonials in moon Township, Pa. Even with the loss the Tigers are still solidly in second in the AHA standings, four points behind Holy Cross (7-1-1 AHA)

RIT will visit Bentley on Friday night at 7 p.m. ET, and then heads to Belfast, Northern Ireland to play in the Friendship Four over Thanksgiving Weekend. Niagara, which was coming off a weekend home sweep of Army, will next face RPI on Nov. 28 and 29.

Report: Effects of NCAA Ruling "barely scratched the surface”

A report in Front Office Sports by Meredith Turits tried to measure the impact of the NCAA decision a year ago to lift its ban on Canadian Hockey League players in colleges. She concluded that the effects have already proven seismic with junior league, with NCAA program and prospect scouting leaders noting that they’ve “barely scratched the surface” of what it'll all mean in the long run.

Big Ten Hockey Commissioner Adam Augustine: “It’s a new player pool that, obviously, we were able to find some pretty impactful players across the conference — and some very, very impactful players. Everybody quickly came up to speed and started to understand what the opportunities were. [...] At the end of the day, it’s going to be a matter of, ‘Did these players get the developmental experience that they were looking for or not?’ And the proof will be in the pudding based on that evaluation, once we get through this first year or two.”

An interesting aspect to the change is that the void created by older players leaving the CFL to play for colleges was largely filled by younger American players. Turits: “It’s too early to know just how much—or how little—the rule change has impacted the heft of the CHL’s 61 teams. But buried among the headlines of the talent shifting out is the simultaneous influx of players: Now that the door to college isn’t closed in an either-or system, the CHL is increasingly attractive.”

CHL President Dan MacKenzie: “I think we need some time to see what happens. But you wonder if eventually it’s going to get to a world where it becomes clear that the best thing to do is to max out both—play your junior career and then play your full college career afterwards.”

Puck Drop: Wednesday, November 19, 2025

• Former Boston University standout Macklin Celebrini had another big night in the NHL, completing his third hat trick by scoring a power-play goal at 2:52 of overtime as San Jose defeated visiting Utah 3-2.

ENDED IT. 😤#TheFutureIsTeal pic.twitter.com/OQY4lwmlzd
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) November 19, 2025

• Former Michigan center John Beecher was claimed by the Calgary Flames after the Boston Bruins placed him on waivers Monday.

• Former Boston University defenseman Charlie McAvoy met with doctors again Monday and may need surgery after he was hit in the face with the puck midway through the second period of a 3-2 win at Montreal on Saturday. “There’s no timeline [for his return],” coach Marco Sturm said

• It was another good week for Americans with the NHL announcing its three starts of the week: Jason Robertson, Alex DeBrincat and Quinn Hughes (Michigan). Robertson led the league with six goals and nine points for the Dallas Stars. DeBrincat had five goals and one assist for Detroit, and Hughes notched seven assists for Vancouver. For more on Hughes' recent success check out Break Away On SI.

• NHL injury update: Seattle activated former Arizona State goaltender Joey Daccord from the injured reserve and he started against Detroit. ... Toronto general manager Brad Treliving told reporters that Auston Matthews (lower body) will miss at least two more games. ... Former Boston University forward Mike Sullivan is back with the New York Rangers. The coach missed a game due to personal reasons. ... Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said that former Northeastern defenseman Michael Kesselring will miss "an extended period of time" due to a lower-body injury.

Tuesday's Scores

MEN
AHA
Niagara 2, RIT 1 (OT)

Non-Conference
Alaska-Anchorage 4, Stonehill 0

WOMEN
NEWHA
Post 3, Sacred Heart 0

Games between ranked opponents are bolded. All times are local to where the game is being played.

Wednesday's Games

MEN
Non-Conference
Alaska-Anchorage at Brown, 7 p.m. ET

This Date in Hockey History:

November 19, 1943: Norbert Sterle, who had led Illinois to the 1941 western intercollegiate title, was killed in action in Italy during World War II. He was 24.

November 19, 1966: UMD dismantled Minnesota 8-1 in the opening game of the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC) Ice Arena

November 19, 1988: Patrick Kane out of the played for the U.S. National Team Development Program was born in Buffalo.

November 19, 1983: Wayne Gretzky set a career mark with eight points, three goals and five assists, during Edmonton’s 13-4 home win over New Jersey. He’d only match the total one other time during his career (in1984), and remains tied for second for most in NHL history (Darryl Sittler 10 points for Toronto in 1976). Jari Kurri had five goals in the game and Willy Lindstrom had a hat trick as Edmonton scored 13 unanswered goals after falling behind 2-0.

November 19, 1987: Former North Dakota center Perry Berezan and Hakan Looob set an NHL record by scoring shorthanded goals only eight seconds apart during Calgary’s 9-1 victory over visiting Quebec. Former Cornell center Joe Nieuwendyk became the first rookie in Flames’ history to score four goals. It was his second career hat trick.

November 19, 1988: Former Denver right wing Glenn Anderson scored four goals, including three power-play goals to tie an Edmonton Oilers record, and had an assist, and former Minnesota defenseman Reed Larson notched four assists during a 9-1 victory over Toronto. In the process, the Oilers extended their unbeaten streak against the Maple Leafs to 15 games.

November 19, 1990: John Moore, who played 544 games over 12 years in the NHL, was born in Winnetka, Ill.

November 19, 1992: Former Minnesota goaltender Robb Stauber improved to 6-0-1 as a rookie as the Los Angeles Kings won at home against Chicago, 4-1.

November 19, 2022: Former Notre Dame forward Kyle Palmieri played his 700th game as the New York Islanders took a 5-2 loss at Dallas.

November 19, 1997: Mario Lemieux had his No. 66 retired by the Pittsburgh Penguins. It only stayed in the rafters for three years and he came back in 2000 and retired for good in 2006.

November 19, 2007: Former Boston University goaltender Rick DePietro made 18 saves for his 100th career victory. The 2-1 victory for the New York Islanders over the Rangers was the team’s 500th road win in franchise history, but they were also the first team in NHL history to play in seven straight contests decided by one goal, all ending in regulation

November 19, 2009; Former Minnesota and U.S. Developmental Program Team defenseman Erik Johnson scored just 17 seconds into overtime to give the St. Louis Blues a 3-2 win over the visiting Phoenix Coyotes.

Hockey Quote of the Day

"I don't feel like I disappeared. Ninety-five percent of my friends are hockey players, coaching hockey, in hockey. When those guys are in town, we go to dinner, and all we do is talk about hockey. I've never felt separated from the game for one bit. ... It's more been me being a private person and being out of the spotlight."
Paul Kariya