Over the last two weekends, Fridays have been kind to the Engineers, but each subsequent Saturday proved to be a harsh mistress en route to a pair of weekend splits for the men’s hockey team. On the 19th and 20th, RPI took to the road, soundly defeating Yale 5-2, and then losing to Princeton 3-2. This past weekend, the team hosted the 54th annual Rensselaer Holiday Tournament, with a field of RPI, Robert Morris University, Sacred Heart University, and the Air Force Academy. RPI shut out RMU 2-0, but lost to Air Force in the championship game 1-0.
After a shocking home-and-home sweep at the hands of the Union Dutchmen, RPI looked to rebound on the road. They took to the “whale” in New Haven, Conn, to face off against the Yale Bulldogs, possessors of worst defense in Division I hockey, and D-I’s only winless record.
Five different players scored for the Engineers, as they dominated Yale at both ends of the ice, winning 5-2. RPI out-shot the Bulldogs 34-19, capitalized on two of six power plays, killed off all three of Yale’s power plays, and controlled the flow of the play in the last two periods to prevent any chance of a Yale comeback.
A hectic two-minute span of the first set the tone for the game. Chris Hussey gave the Engineers the lead seven minutes into the game. While Yale’s Jeff Hristovski tied it just 23 seconds later, a subsequent gaffe by Yale goaltender Matt Modelski cost the Bulldogs dearly. Modelski, getting his first start of the season, attempted to clear the puck out of the zone, but gave it right to RPI forward Tommy Green, who calmly deposited it into the open net for the lead.
Kevin Croxton, Jake Morissette, and Cody Wojdyla added goals, and Andrew Martin turned aside 17 shots for the win.
RPI took the two-and-a-half hour drive from New Haven to Princeton, spanning the distance between the farthest-apart travel partners in the conference, to play the Princeton Tigers. The Tigers hadn’t won in their past five meetings with RPI, including the first round of last year’s ECAC playoffs. However, Princeton has been showing marked improvement over the last few years’ frustrations, under the tutelage of new coach Guy Gadowsky and with help from Philadelphia Flyers Head Coach Ken Hitchcock, who has some free time on his hands due to the NHL lockout.
Patrick Neundorfer scored the game-winner just five minutes into the third period, and the Tigers held on for a 3-2 victory. Neundorfer and teammate Dustin Sproat had a goal and an assist each, and Neil Stevenson-Moore had Princeton’s other goal.
Princeton raced out to a 2-0 lead in the first, but the Engineers came back to tie it on a pair of Keith MCWilliams goals, the first of which came on a point blast that found its way through traffic to the mesh. The Tigers staved off a late flurry by the Engineers to preserve the victory, their first at home this season.
The annual tournament, which is normally been played over the Christmas break in recent years, was moved up and instead played over the Thanksgiving holiday. However, while each of the past six games RPI played in during Holiday Tournament drew over 3,000 attendees—with last year’s game against Mercyhurst drawing nearly 4,000—neither of RPI’s games approached the 3,000 mark this year.
The first game of the tournament pitted the Engineers against the Colonials of Robert Morris University. The Colonials are in their inaugural season, and the university has not had a hockey program at any level prior to this year. Of the team’s 23 players, 21 are freshmen.
The Colonials skated hard and played with intensity, and at times matched up well with the Engineers, but were no match for the goaltending performance put on by Jordan Alford. Alford turned aside 17 Colonial shots en route to a shutout—the first of his career—and a 2-0 victory.
RPI’s first goal came on the power play. With RMU goalie Jamie Flury being screened, defenseman Brad Farynuk fired the puck from the left side. His shot hit the post and ricocheted in. RPI’s power play, which started out the year on a tear but had cooled of late, struck again in the second. Kevin Broad took the rebound of a MCWilliams shot and put it over Flury’s shoulder.
With the win, RPI advanced to the finals of their own tournament for the first time in three years; defeats to Mercyhurst last year, and Merrimack the year before, stymied the Engineers.
Facing the Air Force Falcons in the final, RPI’s special teams cooled even more. Despite taking 32 shots and being handed eleven power plays, the Engineers could not find the net against goalie Peter Foster. In addition to the 32 shots on goal, Air Force also blocked 22 others.
The Falcons broke the scoreless tie late in the second on the power play, when defenseman Brian Gineo pinched from the high slot to put a mishandled puck in the net. Gineo’s goal was the only one scored during the game, and Air Force took the tournament title.
Foster was named tournament MVP, and to the all-tournament team as the goalie. RPI’s Broad and Farynuk also made the team, along with Air Force’s Gineo and Brooks Turnquist, and Robert Morris’ Jace Buzek. Next year’s tournament field was also announced. It will feature RPI, Nebraska-Omaha, Holy Cross, and Providence.
RPI hits the road again for a pair of conference games against Ivy League foes Harvard and Brown, then will play several non-conference games, returning to ECACHL play against Dartmouth and Vermont early next year.
