The Engineers spent the weekend on a roller coaster, and the ride looks like it still has a few pretzel twists left. "We have peaks and then we have valleys," said Coach Dan Fridgen. "It would be nice if we could just maintain some consistency."
The men’s hockey team split their weekend set against Princeton and Yale and remain sixth in the ECAC standings. In fact, things have basically remained the same in terms of the playoff picture. Teams are still battling for home ice, since no one has clinched one of the top five spots.
The only differences from this weekend are that Brown is officially eliminated from the playoff hunt, St. Lawrence and Clarkson have clinched a playoff spot, and Dartmouth and Harvard were the only teams to change their standing in the conference, as they traded the fourth and fifth spots.
In terms of RPI, the biggest difference seems to be the frosh class. Before the break the freshmen combined for 6 goals and eight assists, or one point per game. Since the break those same seven players have been responsible for 11 goals and 23 assists, which averages to a little over 2.4 points per game.
This weekend was particularly productive. Freshmen combined for nine points against the Tigers and Bulldogs, which was their highest two-game performance of the season.
It all started Friday night against Princeton. Nearly halfway through the third period in a scoreless game, Conrad Barnes scored the eventual game-winner with his second goal in two games.
"I got on the inside of the defense and Eric [Cavosie] put the pass where they couldn’t get their stick on it," said Barnes following the game. "It feels pretty good. I can’t complain now that I have a little confidence."
What Barnes didn’t know was that he would have a game-tying goal against the Bulldogs the following night. After falling behind 2-0 early in the first due to 2 special-teams goals, RPI battled back with a power play goal of their own. Ben Barr scored his fourth goal of the season when he fought one past Yale Goaltender Dan Lombard. Less than three minutes later, Barnes scored his third of the season by putting the puck on net from the corner. It surprised the Yale defense and snuck through Lombard’s five-hole.
Even though Rensselaer tied the score, the momentum quickly shifted Yale’s way. Forty seconds after Barnes’ goal, Luke Earl broke the tie and gave the lead back to Tim Taylor’s squad.
"Right off the opening draw, we took a penalty and I knew it was going to be one of those nights," said Fridgen. "I played every forward combination to try and stir up some chemistry, but it just wasn’t happening from an offensive standpoint."
The Engineers might be playing their last home games of the season next weekend, when Harvard and Brown come to visit the Capital Region. Even if they win their last four games, RPI still is not guaranteed home ice for the first round of the ECAC playoffs.
