The men’s hockey team checked into St. Lawrence on Friday night looking for a much-needed victory after a draw with Vermont in the Big Red Freakout. Despite tying the game with just 1:03 on the clock in the third, the Engineers couldn’t muster enough offense in overtime and lost to the Saints by a count of 4-3.

As the Engineers have continued to ride the roller coaster this season, the Saints—who started off slowly—have made a beeline for first place. When the two teams met, however, RPI rose to the occasion, once again showing that they can play with anyone in the league.

The Engineers capitalized early, just as the Saints were gaining a man back after an expired power play. Forward Marc Cavosie had the puck behind the net and sent it out front to Scott Basiuk. Basiuk then stuffed the puck past the Saints’ Jeremy Symington for a 1-0 lead.

The Saints then tied the score on a power play, as the puck just eluded the glove of an outstretched Nathan Marsters.

The Engineers jumped back on top when Ryan Shields escaped from the corner with the puck and sent a wraparound shot that deflected into the air off Symington, trickled down his back, and found its way into the net for a 2-1 Engineers lead.

The second period proved scoreless, in stark contrast to the high-flying third.

The Saints quickly tied the game early in the period after a throng of players converged in front of the net. Al Fyfe recovered the puck for St. Lawrence and sent it into an open net while Marsters was kept busy by the rest of the moshers.

The Saints then jumped on top when Fyfe netted a second goal during a 5-on-3 power play.

The score remained the same until 1:03 left, when the Engineers would strike again. Defenseman Jim Vickers managed to keep the puck in the Saints’ zone, leading to a shot by Cavosie. Symington stuffed the shot, but the puck landed near Forward Matt Murley, who snapped it under Symington’s pads to tie the game.

In overtime, the Engineers’ inability to clear the puck out of the zone led to the deciding score, as a backhanded shot by Blair Clarance nicked off Marsters’ glove and sealed the Engineers’ fate.

The next day, facing Clarkson in Potsdam, the Red Hawks gave up two goals in the third period, handing the victory to the Golden Knights.

The Engineers drew first blood, scoring in the second period on a two-on-one breakaway that saw Conrad Barnes netting his first collegiate goal.

But the Golden Knights tied it up later in the period when David Evans nailed the rebound from Jean Desrochers past Marsters.

Then in the third period, Clarkson took the lead on a goal from current ECAC Player of the Week Rob McFeeters. They would remain on top for the rest of the night, capping their victory with Matt Poapst’s insurance goal.

The Engineers’ two losses dropped them from fifth to sixth in the ECAC standings, with Dartmouth’s two-victory weekend propelling the Big Green into fifth.

Men’s hockey will be home this weekend, playing host to Princeton and Yale.