The Engineers’ power play has been firing all cylinders, and the Pilgrims took note. New England took only three penalties in the first game, and killed all three, keeping the Engineers in check.

The first period of the first game passed quickly, with almost no whistles. New England’s Amanda Lester took an interference penalty at 14:23, but the Engineer power play could not click fast enough; RPI forward Kari Rabatin took a hitting from behind penalty 30 seconds into the power play to nullify the man advantage.

The RPI defense played strongly throughout the second period, killing off three penalties, including more than a minute of five-on-three action.

After two scoreless periods, the Engineers’ offense was still struggling to find the back of the net. The Pilgrim defense, spearheaded by goalie Jacquelyn Parker, continued to baffle the Engineers. Freshman Brooke Thompson finally solved Parker with 2:12 left in the game, tallying the eventual game-winner with help from Kelly Barbera.

RPI goalie Rosina Schiff played a stellar game, stopping all 27 shots that New England College put on net for the 1-0 victory.

The Engineers turned up the offensive heat in the second game of the weekend, pouring 36 shots on net en route to a 4-0 win.

Parker continued to handcuff the Engineers early in the first period, even carrying the Pilgrim penalty kill through a brief three-on-five shorthanded opportunity for RPI. The Engineer power play finally made her pay at 18:58, when Allie Cooper ripped a shot into the back of the net with assists from Ellen McNamara and Meredith Langille.

The power play’s success continued into the second period. On their second power play chance of the period, the Engineers struck gold again. Thompson scored her second goal of the weekend with help from Julie Aho and Allison Malcolm to put the Engineers up 2-0.

The offensive pressure continued in the third period. Aho scored at 12:03 on a four-on-four situation with help from Thompson, and Julie Welte capped off the scoring with an unassisted marker at 14:07.

The defense turned in an excellent performance in the second game of the weekend set. They only allowed six shots on net, all of which Schiff stopped. Schiff is now 10-3-0, and has had a part in five Engineer shutouts.

The pair of impressive wins coupled with an RIT upset over Manhattanville puts the Engineers within half a game of the powerhouse Valiants. RIT scored first in both their games versus Manhattanville this weekend, and notched a second goal in Saturday’s contest to down the Valiants 2-1.