NEWS

For the second consecutive week former Wellington Duke Jordan Ruby (photo courtesy of RIT Athletics), now with the RIT Tigers, was named Atlantic Hockey's Goaltender of the Week.

The native of Tavistock, Ontario played two seasons with the Dukes from 2009-11  After an impressive rookie campaign in 2009-10 that saw him compete for Team Canada East at the 2009 World Junior 'A' Challenge in Summerside, PEI, Ruby became one of the OJHL's premiere stoppers in 2010-11.  Ruby once again played in the World Junior 'A' Challenge in Penticton,B.C., this time earning a silver medal, along with being named to the first all-star team. The OJHL named him Player-of-the-Month for December, 2010 and the Central Scouting mid-term report has him ranked for the 2011 NHL draft.  He took his game to another level in the post-season, leading the Dukes to their first league championship since 2003, while being named the first-ever Playoff Most Valuable Player.  This continued with a Dudley-Hewitt Cup title and a berth in the 2011 RBC Cup, National Junior 'A' Championship.  He would also be named a South-East Conference 1st Team All-Star and runner-up as the league's Most Valuable Player.

Below is the official press release from the RIT Athletics website (www.ritathletics.com):

Four members of the RIT men's hockey team swept Atlantic Hockey Conference weekly honors on Tuesday, for the week ending March 29, 2015. Josh MItchell was named the Player of the Week, Alexander Kuqali (Pittsburgh, PA/Sioux City Musketeers) the Defensive Player of the Week, Matt Abt (Leduc, Alberta/Whitecourt Wolverines ) the Rookie of the Week, and Jordan Ruby (Tavistock, Ontario/Wellington Dukes), Goaltender of the Week.

Mitchell was named to the NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team, helping lead the Tigers to the NCAA Midwest Regional Final. On Saturday, he scored the game-winning goal late in the third period and assisted on Kuqali's first period goal in a 2-1 win over No. 1 Minnesota State. The next night, Mitchell had several good chances, but could not hit the scoresheet in a 4-0 loss to Omaha. Mitchell finished the season with 52 points (second most in one season at RIT's DI level) on 16 goals and 36 assists (single-season RIT DI record). He is among the national leaders in assists and points.

Kuqali was named to the NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team. On Saturday, he scored RIT's first goal in the opening minutes and was plus-2 in RIT's 2-1 win over No. 1 Minnesota State. The next night, he fired four shots on goal and blocked a pair of shots in a 4-0 loss to Omaha. Kuqali finished the season tied for the team lead in scoring among defensemen with 22 points on five goals and 17 assists and was plus-16.

Abt blocked three shots and fired five on goal, serving as a strong player in the transition game in his first two NCAA Tournament contests. On Saturday, he blocked a shot in the 2-1 win over top-seed Minnesota State. The next night, he fired four shots on goal and blocked a pair of shots in a 4-0 loss to Omaha in the Midwest Regional Final. Abt has nine points on two goals and seven assists this season in 33 games.

Ruby stopped 57 of 61 shots at the NCAA Midwest Regional over the weekend. On Saturday, Ruby was named the NCAA Men's Hockey No. 1 Star of the Day, stopping 33 of 34 shots in RIT's 2-1 win over top-seed Minnesota State. On Sunday, he made 24 saves in a 4-0 loss to Omaha in the Midwest Regional Final. Ruby finished the season 11-8-4 with a 2.10 goals against average and .924 save percentage. He excelled in the postseason at RIT with a 7-3 mark, 1.59 goals against average and .948 save percentage.

RIT (20-15-5) advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time as a Division I program and defeated No. 1 overall seed Minnesota State, 2-1 in the NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinal on Saturday before falling to Nebraska Omaha in the Regional Final Sunday. That loss snapped an eight-game winning streak by the Tigers.