The two hottest teams in the ECAC collided Saturday night in Providence. With a chance at taking second place, RPI took the ice against a resilient Brown team, who started the evening in seventh place.
Both teams’ defenses came out strong in the first period. Few scoring chances presented themselves to either side. Brown got the first real opportunity of the game, breaking away from the RPI defense at 13:16, and Nathan Marsters made some key saves for the Engineers. The teams were playing a very fast-paced game, with RPI controlling the puck throughout much of the first period. Both teams drew penalties as the period came to a close, but neither power play unit could capitalize on the man advantage.
The Bears drew first blood in the second period when forward Keith Kurley fired a shot into Marsters’ body. Marsters stopped the puck, but failed to cover, and Brown sophomore Brent Robinson shot in the rebound. The Engineers were being out-hustled by the Bears, failing on two power play attempts and down a goal despite outshooting the Bears 15-8 in the second period.
The Engineers came out flat for the third period, and Marsters was a big reason for keeping the game close, making several big saves. Brown was hitting RPI hard, and their hustle paid off halfway through the frame. Bear forward Adam Saunders fed Tye Korbl from behind the net, and Korbl one-timed the puck to give Brown a two-goal lead.
RPI cut the lead to one with just under four minutes remaining when Matt Murley scored his twentieth goal of the season. His one-timer over the glove hand of Yann Danis put RPI within striking distance, but Brown’s defense held strong, even when RPI pulled Marsters in favor of an extra attacker. The loss dropped RPI to seventh place in the ECAC with two games to play; the Engineers host Cornell on Friday and Colgate on Saturday to close out the season.
