The RPI women’s hockey team tallied three important points against newfound rival, Rochester Institute of Technology. The RIT Tigers came into the weekend tied for second with Manhattanville, behind only the Engineers.
In Friday’s match-up the teams skated evenly through the first half of the first period. The Engineers found the net first; Julie Aho pushed a rebound in on her backhand to put RPI up 1-0. Meredith Langille and Julie Welte assisted on the goal.
The Tigers took a roughing-contact to the head penalty with 7:50 to go in the first. Although the puck only left the Engineer offensive zone once, the RPI power play could not beat RIT goaltender Elaine Vonderembse.
Engineer goalie Rosina Schiff made seven saves in the first period, and Vonderembse made 12.
RIT put their first goal on the board at the 7:07 mark in the second period as Meghan Erickson pushed a rebound past Schiff, with help from Nicole Gedney and Bridget Cleary.
Just moments later, RPI’s Allison Malcolm took a two minute interference penalty.
The Engineers were able to kill the penalty clearing the puck three times, and forced the Tigers to an icing infraction.
Schiff made three more stellar saves at the end of the second period, stopping a pair of RIT breakaways.
Rensselaer and RIT went into the second period intermission tied at one.
Despite calling just two penalties in the first two periods, the referee found his whistle in the third period, calling 16 minutes worth of penalties.
The Tigers took the first two of the period, but the Engineers could not capitalize on a pair of consecutive Sam Boscia penalties.
Kari Rabatin took two penalties at 8:21, for high-sticking and roughing, but RIT wasted the power play by taking a roughing penalty at 9:55.
RPI’s Deanna Dougherty took a tripping penalty at 11:04, and the Tiger power play made the Engineers pay.
After the four-on-three power play got set up, Boscia blasted a shot from the point on goalie Schiff. Before it got to the net, Erickson tipped the shot down through Schiff’s five-hole to put RIT up 2-1.
RIT’s speed was a factor late in the third period, with Lisa Pietruszka breaking away from the defense. Schiff made a big pad save to keep the Engineers in the game.
After an RIT slashing penalty and a Tiger timeout, the Engineer power play finally found the net.
Sarah Daniel scored the game-tying goal with just 2:10 remaining, with help from captains Dougherty and Katie Woodward.
The overtime passed with neither team finding the net. Schiff came up with several big saves. She made 22 saves, and came up with a 2-2 tie.
RIT stepped up their physical play in Saturday’s contest, hitting and skating harder than the night before.
The Tigers came up with several chances in the first 30 seconds of the game, but Schiff held strong in net.
RIT’s Julie Romans took a checking-contact to the head penalty at 15:49, but the Engineer power play could not find the net. Allyn Cooper blasted a shot, but Vonderembse made the save.
Eventually Rensselaer’s aggressive play backfired; a turnover in front of Schiff was put in top-shelf by the Tiger’s Jen Gorczynski for what proved to be RIT’s only goal.
The Engineers had a great opportunity with just 8.8 seconds remaining in the first, but Vonderembse snapped up a Welte slap shot with her glove.
Vonderembse made seven saves on seven shots to hold the Engineers scoreless.
Penalties were again the story in the second period, with RIT taking three and Rensselaer taking two.
The Engineers were the only team to capitalize on the penalty class when Cooper wristed a shot past the RIT goaltender to tie the game up at one.
RPI had a great chance at 3:26, when RIT took a delay of game penalty for trying to make late line changes.
The Engineers’ special teams did not capitalize, but were stellar in killing a Bridget Rice tripping penaltly at 6:41.
The teams traded chances, but both goalies stood their ground. Schiff made a good sequence of saves with 5:30 remaining.
The Engineers got one final chance in regulation when RIT’s Gorczynski took a two minute penalty for tripping with 2:20 remaining. The Rensselaer power play did not convert, and the game went into overtime.
RIT got the first chance in the extra period, but Schiff was stellar in goal. The Engineers got the puck in deep, and Welte put the puck on Aho’s stick. Aho’s bouncing shot found the back of the net and the Engineers won the game 2-1.
“I had a pretty good view of the [game-winning] goal,” said Schiff after the game, “I was jumping up and down. We worked hard, it paid off.”
Next Friday and Saturday the Engineers will face the Manhattanville Valiants, who are number one in the USCHO.com poll, and just took over second place in the ECAC Division-III East.
