In front of an audience of 2,106, including a fairly large contingent of RPI fans, the Engineers fought a hard defensive battle at Starr Rink and handed Colgate their fifth loss in six games and their first ECAC loss of the season.

RPI jumped out to an early lead at the 1:07 mark of the first period when Matt Murley took advantage of a power-play opportunity to score his sixth goal of the season. Junior Center Marc Cavosie took a pass from Nolan Graham, drew a pair of Colgate defenders to him, and dished the puck to Murley for the score. It was the Engineers’ seventh power-play goal in five games, although it proved to be the only time all evening either team could capitalize on the man advantage.

Though Murley’s goal was their only score in the first period, RPI dominated play at both ends of the ice, and especially between the blue lines, as they repeatedly stopped the Colgate forwards from mounting any kind of a coordinated attack. The RPI players intercepted numerous Colgate passes and dished out punishing checks, apparently en route to a bona fide blowout.

The game’s momentum changed nineteen seconds into the second period when Colgate tied it up with an even-strength goal as Etienne Morin slipped one by sophomore Goaltender Kevin Kurk on an assist by Kyle Doyle. The goal seemed to energize the Raiders as they began to turn up the pressure and the level of play became more physical.

The Engineers responded to the challenge five minutes later as Graham tallied his third goal in the last two games on a one-timer from senior Hamish Cunning, blasting the puck past Colgate netminder Jason Lefevre after Cunning’s hustling play kept the puck in at the blue line.

From that point on, the contest became a messy defensive battleground with each team weathering four power plays without a score. Despite being outshot 12-1 in the third period, RPI managed to hold on to their one-goal lead, primarily due to the solid play of Kurk, who sticked away several Colgate blasts and gloved another out of midair as it headed over his left shoulder.

With 0:49 remaining on the game clock, Colgate Coach Don Vaughan pulled Lefevre for an extra attacker and upped the offensive intensity another notch. For the remaining seconds, the action was all in front of RPI’s goal as the Engineers scrambled to stop everything Colgate threw at them. They were up to the task and managed to preserve their win despite repeated attempts by Colgate to push the puck over the line and force overtime.

"At one point they were coming at us very, very hard, and we just had to weather the storm," said Rensselaer Head Coach Dan Fridgen, calling the game "a typical ECAC road win."

The undefeated Big Red was a tougher opponent for RPI, dealing the Engineers their first multi-goal loss of the season.

Graham was Rensselaer’s lone scorer; he tied the game at one with 17 seconds remaining in the first period on a pretty two-on-one breakaway with Murley. Cornell had previously tallied a power-play goal at the 11:34 mark.

RPI compiled a 12-9 shooting advantage in the second period but could not find the back of the net. Cornell scored once early in the period and once toward the end, giving them a 3-1 edge. The Big Red then put the game away by allowing only three shots by the Engineers in the third and capped the win with an additional power-play goal with a minute to play.