The Rensselaer offense looked to come out of the gates quickly to stun the Big Green. The opportunity came at 9:31, when Dartmouth’s Sean Offers took a holding penalty. Dartmouth appeared to be clearing the zone well, but at 10:22, Carson Butterwick scored off of a sloppy clear that clipped a Big Green defenseman. Dartmouth struck right back, as Mike Ouellette beat RPI goalie Kevin Kurk with help from Lee Stempniak and freshman sensation Hugh Jessiman.

RPI’s Scott Romfo took out his anger about this quick goal by slashing a Dartmouth forward. The referee called a penalty, and 39 seconds into the power play, Stempniak fooled Kurk with a shot to put Dartmouth up 2-1.

Penalties were again cause for concern in the second period for Rensselaer. Co-captain Scott Basiuk took a holding penalty at 5:14, and the Big Green power-play unit took advantage again. Ouellette scored his second of the game, again with helpers by Jessiman and Stempniak. Dartmouth’s Kent Gillings beat Kurk six minutes later to put Rensselaer in a three-goal hole. Freshman Chris Hussey took a boarding penalty at the 19:03 mark, a penalty which would carry over to the third period.

Jessiman took advantage of the carry-over penalty, scoring 27 seconds into the period to push the score to 5-1. Eric Przepiorka scored the sixth unanswered Dartmouth goal, and Ouellette completed his hat trick to put the Engineers away.

The Engineers did manage to post 35 shots, higher than their average, but only one fooled Big Green goalie Nick Boucher.

Rensselaer looked to rebound from the tough loss against the Catamounts from Vermont.

Saturday night was Senior Night for the Engineers, honoring the four seniors on the squad. Butterwick, Eric Cavosie, Danny Eberly, and Nolan Graham all started for the Engineers and their career highlights were spotlighted in a pregame ceremony. The pace of the game was very choppy right from the start. The ice, worn from the two previous games of the weekend, looked rough as both teams were having trouble with bouncing pucks. RPI’s Matt McNeely took a tripping penalty, but the Rensselaer penalty kill unit held strong.

The Engineers needed a spark for their offense, and they got one when Vermont’s Phil Youngclaus took a slashing penalty at 7:27. It didn’t take long for the Engineers to capitalize. Thirteen seconds into the man-advantage, Cavosie banged home a loose rebound from a Graham shot to put the Engineers up 1-0. The goal snapped a long drought for Cavosie; it was his first of the season.

The second period continued at the choppy pace, with both teams taking lots of penalties and causing a number of play stoppages. Butterwick’s interference penalty at 4:06 proved to be a costly one, as Vermont capitalized on the power-play. Bryson Busniuk scored with help from Jeff Miles and Thomas Hajek to tie the score at one. The Catamount’s lack of discipline hurt them five minutes later, when Oriel McHugh took a retaliatory tripping penalty. Graham scored the all-senior goal with help from Cavosie and Eberly to put the Engineers up 2-1.

The penalties continued to be the story of the game in the third period. McHugh took another penalty—this time for hooking—to give Rensselaer the man advantage. Cavosie capitalized on another rebound, scoring off a shot from McNeely. Vermont’s Greg Zemple took a hooking penalty, and RPI’s power play unit broke down. Catamount Miles stepped up to intercept an Engineer pass and fed John Longo who fooled Nathan Marsters for a shorthanded goal. Vermont could not overcome the mistakes. At 14:25, Catamount goaltender Shawn Conshafter came out of net to play the puck. He played it right to Engineer freshman Kevin Croxton, who skated past him to stuff the puck into the empty net. Cavosie’s two goals proved to be the difference on Senior Night; RPI won the game 4-2.