On Friday night, the Engineers hoped for a strong start. The defense led the way throughout the first period, as Manhattanville mustered 18 shots on goal. RPI goalie Julie Vallarelli stopped 17 of them, only getting fooled by Jami Grasby at 19:17.

A four-goal second period proved to be the undoing of the Engineers. Valiant senior Kristin Sahlem opened up the scoring barely more than a minute into the period. Manhattanville took a penalty shortly after their goal, but Rensselaer could not find their dominant way on the power play. The Valiant offense took over the game, as Manhattanville scored two more times in the next five minutes. Freshman Jessica Temesy scored at 19:20 to top of the scoring in the period. Her goal put the Vailants up 5-0.

Manhattanville’s Jesse Garner finished the scoring for the Valiants with a goal at 8:46 in the third. Despite losing 6-0, Vallarelli stopped 43 shots. Valiant goaltender Nicole Elliott stopped all 13 shots she saw to improve to 11-0-0 on the season. She is the only goaltender in the nation to maintain a perfect record throughout this season.

Rosina Schiff started on Saturday in goal and came up big for the Engineers. Schiff stopped 57 shots, including several on the power play, to lead the Engineers.

The Engineer offense was still nowhere to be found. RPI only mustered nine shots against the powerhouse Manhattanville. The Valiants again took the first lead, when captain Sahlem skidded a puck past Schiff. The Engineers started to falter and spotty officiating took over the game. Five of the game’s 16 penalties came in the first period as RPI went into the break down by one.

Rensselaer’s defense was the story in the second half. After taking two penalties within a minute and a half of each other, the Engineers managed to kill off a five on three early in the period. RPI killed off two more, but still could not find offense in the second period. Manhattanville goalie Renee Kirnan stopped all four shots that she faced in the second, and had a one goal lead to show.

The third period was an uncharacteristic one for the Engineers. Allyn Cooper took an undisciplined interference penalty at 9:14, and Head Coach Bill Cahill drew an unsportsmanlike conduct bench minor and an ejection at 10:27. Manhattanville again could not find the net on the five on three, and ended up taking a penalty to kill off any advantages. The game continued at the jerky pace, as three more penalties were called in the last seven minutes of the game. The Valiants finally managed to capitalize on the power play, when assistant captain Amanda Zimecki solved Schiff at 17:38. The game ended at 2-0 as Manhattanville came away from the weekend with two shutouts. Despite the negative results on the score sheet, the Engineers did shut down Manhattanville’s power play, holding them to one goal in 11 chances.

With the pair of wins, Manhattanville clinched the ECAC East crown. The Engineers are guaranteed second place in the division and home ice in the first round of the playoffs.