Excitement and disappointment abounded this past weekend in men’s hockey. The Engineers ended their four-game losing streak Friday in their game against Brown University, but then fell to the Yale University Bulldogs in the 32nd annual Big Red Freakout! on Saturday.
Anticipating a win against Brown, the score was much closer than the 7-2 Engineer win in Providence, R.I., earlier this season. The freshmen dominated the scoring for RPI, with Alex Angers-Goulet, Patrick Cullen, and Justin Smith all finding the back of the net during the second period. Sophomore Chase Polacek also tallied a goal in the second frame.
The Brown Bears opened up the scoring early in the second period with a power play goal, when junior Aaron Volpatti maneuvered the puck past freshman netminder Allen York. RPI did not take long to respond, however, when Smith knotted the score at one with the first goal of his collegiate career.
Brown regained the lead just 39 seconds after Smith’s goal. Freshman Jack Maclellan pushed the puck past the goal line.
Polacek started the rally for the Engineers with a slap shot from the top of the left circle during a five-on-three power play with 3:49 left. A. Angers-Goulet scored 24 seconds later, with RPI on a five-on-four power play. The puck crossed the line just before the goal was knocked off its mounts.
A. Angers-Goulet explained the events preceding his goal, stating, “We were having some good puck movement on the power play and Foss took a shot that got deflected by [freshman] Josh Rabbani, who actually took the rebound, and his shot ended up behind the goalie. I was just going to the net and saw the puck sitting in the crease behind the goalie, so I just tapped it in.”
Cullen increased RPI’s lead to two when he scored at 17:26. “The goal was big for the team and more personally for myself, as I felt like I owed the team one after the giveaway I had earlier in the game that resulted in a goal for the other team,” Cullen elaborated.
The final goal of the game came in the third for Brown. Senior Matt Vokes cradled a pass near the net and fired, sending the puck past York.
RPI won the 4-3 contest and York took home the second win of his career with 21 saves on the night.
Freakout! was not a sell-out game this year, consistent with the team’s dismal performances of late. The contest against the No. 1 team in the conference, Yale, ended in a 4-1 loss for the Engineers.
Yale opened the scoring in the first period at 13:20 as junior Mark Arcobello buried the puck past senior goalie Mathias Lange, with classmate Chris Cahill gaining the assist.
Senior Patrick Brosnihan extended the lead early in the second, dropping the puck in the net as he skated past. RPI found its only goal of the game 18:58 into the second, when A. Angers-Goulet tallied his second of the weekend off a pass from sophomore defender Bryan Brutlag to close the gap to one.
A. Angers-Goulet explained, “I took the puck in our defensive zone and skated up the ice. I delayed on the top of the circle and I heard Brutlag yelling for it. I passed him the puck; he drove it wide and just as he was going behind the net, he reverse-backhanded it to me in the slot and I one-timed it wide to the far side of the net.”
Early in the third, Lange saved an initial shot, stopping the puck next to his left leg, however, Yale sophomore Broc Little captured the puck and brought it around and into Lange’s stick side. Sophomore Denny Kearney was credited with the goal. The final mark came with 19 seconds remaining on an empty net as Yale Sophomore Jeff Anderson took a shot from center ice next to his bench.
This weekend, the men hit the road, bound for Cornell University and Colgate University, with the contest against Cornell being the bigger challenge. Ranked third in the league and eleventh in the nation, the Big Red bring a tough game, yet have dropped their last three contests and won only two of their past eight. Colgate is two points behind Rensselaer in the league, and this will be an important game in determining who finishes in ninth.
