In front of a home crowd of over 4,000, the RPI Engineers looked to continue their scoring streak against a team whom they had shut out in their two previous meetings.
RPI took first advantage of the game when rookie Tommy Green scored his first collegiate goal with the help of linemate Chris Hussey 13:40 into the first period. Green and Hussey capitalized on a two-on-one situation when Hussey delivered a cross-ice pass to Green for the goal. Kirk MacDonald followed up the first goal with one of his own, this time on the power play. MacDonald, a sophomore, corralled a rebound off Army goaltender Brad Roberts and netted it at the 17:42 mark.
The Engineers continued their scoring in the second period, despite the man disadvantage. Newcomer Cody Wojdyla, who joined the Engineers after his previous school’s hockey program became defunct, just edged the puck past Roberts in a shorthanded situation 9:21 into the second with assistance from Conrad Barnes. Sophomore defenseman Brad Farynuk followed suit with a shorthanded goal of his own at 15:36, making good use of the rebounded shot of classmate Kevin Croxton.
The third period looked the same as the first two for the Engineers, as they tallied another two goals while shutting out the Black Knights. Green picked up his second goal of the night at 9:17 with the help of Hussey and Wojdyla, and Blake Pickett capped the scoring off just under a minute later at 10:04.
While the Engineers’ offense certainly had a strong showing, as was evident by their shot totals—12 in the first, 10 in the second, and 16 in the third—the defense did equally well. RPI netminder Nathan Marsters faced only 12 shots throughout the entire game.
Throughout the game, RPI produced many scoring chances, and it paid off with six goals in the end. “Our forwards did a good job of creating offense and creating some space and our defense did a good job of moving the puck and making smart plays,” said Head Coach Dan Fridgen. Fridgen also added, “Nate was strong in the net tonight,” noting Marsters’ strong play en route to his first shutout of the season.
RPI, who now has a 1-2-1 record in non-conference play, travels to Massachusetts where they will face the Merrimack Warriors in another non-conference game on Saturday. The Engineers will make their conference-play home opener on November 14 when they host the Vermont Catamounts.
