While the Engineers fared better in total score, the result in the standings was the same this time around; a pair of losses. This time, however, both were by narrower margins, as Vermont triumphed 3-2, and Dartmouth won 4-2.

Solid goaltending for the Engineers was the story in the Vermont game. The game was not nearly as close as the scoreboard indicated; Andrew Martin made several highlight-reel saves in the first period, including a fast glove on a bouncing puck right on the line.

Torrey Mitchell’s big shot gave Martin a problem in the first, however, as he ripped a point shot on the power play that found the net for the early Catamounts lead. The Cats completely dominated the first period. The vast majority of the play transpired in the Engineers’ end, and RPI only managed three shots on goal.

After an offensive rush in which RPI threatened in the second, Vermont goalie Joe Fallon smartly cleared the puck, where it was picked up by Ryan Gunderson. Gunderson threaded the puck ahead to Jeff Corey, who tore down the ice from the blue line on a breakaway. He faked Martin to the right, and cleanly beat him to the stick side to double the Cats’ lead.

RPI clambered back into the game in the second. With the Engineers on the power play, Brad Farynuk scored from the point for his fourth goal of the season. Jake Luthi and Kirk MacDonald each assisted on the play. With the assist, Luthi, a bright spot on the Engineers lately, now has seven points in his last 13 games.

A scrum in Fallon’s crease later in the period resulted in an Engineers goal. While MacDonald was creating havoc in front of the net, a Scott Romfo shot found its way past a surprised Fallon. The Engineers only managed six shots in the period, scoring on two of them. Romfo’s goal, which occurred with only 2:41 left in the second, looked as though it would build momentum for RPI to put together a solid third period.

However, Romfo took a holding penalty with 53 seconds left in the second, and Vermont made the most of the man advantage. Mitchell ripped another shot from the point, and the tree-like Matt Syroczynski, who stands at 6 feet 5 inches, tipped the shot past Martin’s stick side for the go-ahead goal with just 18 seconds left in the period.

RPI looked deflated from the late-period goal, and only managed six more shots in the third period. The Catamounts out-shot the Engineers 37-15, and Martin’s solid effort in goal wasn’t good enough, as the Engineers fell by the final score of 3-2.

No matter how badly RPI played against the Big Green, they would be hard-pressed to fall by an eight-goal margin like the last game. Dartmouth has had Rensselaer’s number of late, too, as the Engineers have only managed a 3-10-2 record in their last 15 games against the Big Green—including being eliminated in the playoffs by Dartmouth in 2001 and 2004.

Dartmouth had a 3-0 lead by the middle of the second, with goals by Lee Stempniak, David Jones, and Jarrett Sampson. Eric Przepiorka had a pair of assists, giving him six points in two games against RPI this season.

MacDonald, who has been another bright spot in the Engineers’ season, tallied a shorthanded goal in the second, which hit the crossbar. Mike Ouellette struck for Dartmouth, however, just five minutes later for the 4-1 lead.

Andrew Lord notched his fourth goal of the year for RPI in the third, but it was too little, too late. RPI lost 4-2, getting out-shot 45-17. Andrew Martin made 75 saves on the weekend, but an anemic offensive effort for the Engineers in both games resulted in a sweep.

With the losses, RPI drops to a tie for ninth in the conference with Clarkson, just one point ahead of 11th-place Princeton. The Engineers have played two more games than both of those teams.