A quick trip down the NY Throughway for a lethargic game at West Point preceded a thrilling 1-0 overtime win over Sacred Heart University in front of 5,049 Rensselaer faithful. The Engineers have not played to a scoreless tie since January 29, 1927, against Amherst College.
Although the contest against Army could hardly be considered an away game with a strong contingent of RPI fans turning out for the inter-league game, the homecoming and Family Weekend crowd that filled the Houston Field House reminded the Engineers what home ice advantage felt like after a disappointing road trip to Minnesota the previous weekend.
A painfully off-balance 3-1 victory over the Black Knights on Friday night worried many as a Sacred Heart Pioneers team that RPI struggled against last year was visiting the next day. At the end of the weekend, the two victories moved the team’s record to 3-2-0 while they still have yet to give up a five-on-five goal this year.
Junior Andrei Uryadov scored early when his backhander rippled the mesh just under the cross bar 2:41 in the first period. Although Army tied the game at one-apiece at 10:44, the Engineers received outstanding plays by goaltender junior Mathias Lange who stopped 39 pucks in 60 minutes of play and was named Goaltender of the Week by the ECAC. Junior Matt Angers-Goulet scored the eventual game-winner at 14:37 into the second, after receiving a pass from sophomore Paul Kerins. Kerins would add a goal of his own in the third, leaving the final score at 3-1.
The next night saw the Engineers struggle through fortunate power plays, including one in which an echoing hit by freshman force Bryan Brutlag got fan “favorite” Bear Trapp to retaliate and was sent to the sin bin even if RPI couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity, going 0-6 on the night. “Putrid,” said Appert of their special teams play. “We’re well below the Mendoza Line. We’re struggling on the power play right now.”
The game came down to a sudden death overtime when Helfrich found himself on the crease with senior Jake Morissette’s rebound falling in front of him. A patient Helfrich waited for the puck to fall to a legal level below the cross bar to avoid a high-sticking call. “We saw it on tape, it was under the bar,” said Head Coach Seth Appert. “Where his stick started was above the bar, but when he hit it, it was well beneath. It was probably eight to ten inches beneath the bar when he hit it.”
Head Official Alex Dell had skated hard to get to the goal line in time and was there with a perfect angle to make the call that the goal was legal. “Give Alex Dell credit,” said Appert. “It was a quick play on a transition. He was on the goal line right next to the play when it went in. That’s a referee working hard to get in the right position to make the call.”
The Engineers will play Union College on Friday night in the Governors Cup at the Times Union Center in Albany, and then the winner of the Colgate University—St. Lawrence University game the next day.
