Engineers spotless versus Saints

The Engineers racked up a 4‒0 win on the road at St. Lawrence University. Jack Watson ’25 earned his first clean sheet, finishing the game with a total of 41 saves. James McIsaac ’24 and Reid Leibold ’25 netted their first career goals in the victory.

Rensselaer immediately put pressure on the Saints, forcing several turnovers. Less than two minutes in, RPI defenseman Kyle Hallbauer ’22 pried the puck from a Saint’s stick in the defensive zone along the boards. Due to Saints’ overcommitment on offense, Hallbauer dished the puck to an open James McIsaac darting up the ice. One-on-one with Grant Adams, McIsaac’s nimble hands deked the goaltender and finished high on the backhand to score his first career goal putting the Engineers up 1‒0. The first period ended with RPI leading 1‒0 in scoring, and 12‒4 in shots on goal.

Both teams played at a lightning-quick tempo coming out of the locker room. The Saints were particularly dialed in, outscoring the Engineers 9‒3 in the first half of the second period. The Engineers had a scoring opportunity with over eight minutes left in the period when Hallbauer tried to dump the puck into the offensive zone. The puck careened off the glass unexpectedly and slid towards the St. Lawrence goal, and Adams dove to push the puck wide with his stick. Reid Leibold pounced on the puck, but Adams dove again to stop the shot.

With a little over five minutes remaining in the period, Hallbauer possessed the puck behind the RPI net. He scanned the ice, looking for an outlet pass. Hallbauer sent a laser up the ice to Leibold, giving him a breakaway. Leibold tucked it home for his first career goal, RPI’s second breakaway goal of the game. The Engineers would strike once more with 15 seconds to play in the period. TJ Walsh ’23 precisely passed the puck across the offensive zone to Shane Sellar (Gr). Sellar was able to slot the puck top-shelf to put RPI up 3-0, heading into the final frame.

The third period belonged to the Saints. To start the period, the Engineers were given a minor penalty for delaying the game, giving St. Lawrence another power play. Jack Watson was able to weather the storm, saving all seven shots. Despite enduring the shorthanded two minutes, the Engineers remained pinned in their defensive zone. With ten minutes remaining, the Saints led shots on goal 28‒23.

Although the Saints were relentless on offense, the RPI defense stood firm. St. Lawrence pulled their goalie with about four minutes remaining in the game, desperate to get a goal back. The extra skater was to no avail as Watson and the Engineer defense stopped every shot. RPI’s Ryan Mahshie ’23 scored on the empty net in the dying seconds to cement the victory.

The 4‒0 victory brings the Engineers to 10‒12‒3 on the season and 5‒5‒0 in the ECAC. The Engineer defense was electric, with Watson totalling 41 saves and the skaters 17 blocks. This was Watson’s first career shutout and RPI’s second of the season.

Click here for the box score.