Engineers earn redemption against Holy Cross

In their first official games of the season, RPI went toe-to-toe with Holy Cross in a double-header last weekend, September 27-28. Coming off of their impressive exhibition game triumph, the Engineers had to keep the tenacity alive— both for Holy Cross and the hundreds of RPI alumni present for Reunion Week. However, they came out to a deflating start.

The game immediately started with a bang, with a Holy Cross goal scored on RPI less than twenty seconds in. The rest of the first period turned into a defensive affair, with physical intensity from both sides. During this time, several penalties were committed by RPI, allowing Holy Cross to keep the puck in Engineer territory. Fortunately, RPI goalie Reese Keating made several blocks on the puck, including two stops on point-blank range shots by Holy Cross, keeping RPI in the game.

The second period began with an RPI power play, leading to an RPI goal by Aylah Cioffi, evening the score at 1-1 and putting RPI on the board. Later, Keating had another sequence with multiple blocks from close range before finally making a heroic dive on the puck to end the play. Several big hits later, the score stayed all even going into the 3rd period, with tensions continuing to rise.

Early in the 3rd period, a faceoff occurred in the Holy Cross zone. Forward Morgann Skoda won the faceoff and immediately hit it in the goal to put RPI up 2-1. However, soon after, an unfortunate shot from center ice slipped past, tying up the game again at 2 apiece. Several costly penalties by RPI set up a 3 on 5 scenario, which allowed Holy Cross to score again, retaking the lead. Due to those penalties, RPI did not return to full strength until the final minute of the period, and were unable to capitalize during that time. They fell 2-3 and left the game anxious to prepare for the rematch the next day.

The Engineers returned with a fiery intensity matched only by the crowd, who packed the stands for what is now the single most attended women’s hockey game in RPI’s history. With 1,553 fans in the Houston Field House, RPI came out guns blazing and won the faceoff to start the game. Holy Cross quickly matched their energy, taking their first shot on goal at the forty-second mark. The game turned into a tug-of-war for possession of the puck, and five shots on goal were taken by both teams in the next five minutes. Meg Hildner then set up Andrea Trnková for a distant slapshot, which she punched into the Holy Cross net less than six minutes in for the first goal of the game. Despite Holy Cross’ efforts and some stellar saves by their goalkeeper Brooke Loranger, RPI cleaned up their passing game and maintained the lead. The score at the end of the first period was 1-0 RPI.

The intensity only ramped up moving forward, as both teams fought to get the next goal on the ice. RPI’s chance to widen their lead came during a power play, awarded due to Holy Cross having too many players on the ice. Using Trnková to their advantage, Cioffi and Georgia Bailey set her up for another shot on goal. Trnková maneuvered her way past Holy Cross defense and sailed the puck through to a 2-0 lead for the Engineers. The score remained unchanged for the rest of the game—despite two power plays for Holy Cross in the third—and the Engineers claimed a victory.

RPI starts off their season with a 1-1 record, and are looking to build a winning streak in the coming weeks. Their next game is at Sacred Heart University on Friday, October 4 at 2 pm, and their next home game will be the following Saturday at 7 pm against the same team. Click here for last Friday’s box score and here for last Saturday’s box score.