Engineer rally in the third not enough to crush the Crimson

Rensselaer stepped up to the plate a little too late in their face-off against Harvard, letting in four goals in the first two periods while getting shut out themselves.

Like much of their season, the Engineer defense had a hard time staying in formation and being effective against the opposing offense. Harvard maintained steady possession throughout the game, relying on a passing game to get close to the net and make quality attacks on goal.

Rensselaer maintained an aggressive offense throughout the game but struggled to connect several close plays near the net. Will Gilson, Jake Gagnon, and Jeremie Payant all led the team with four shots on goal in the game, each getting unlucky more than once in making offensive plays.

The Engineers started to come around in the third period, taking more shots than they had in the first two periods combined. Jake Gagnon opened up the scoring three minutes in with an aggressive front on defense aided by Max Smolinski and Rainers Rullers. This turned out to be a much needed jumpstart for the Engineers, who continued to pressure the Harvard defense and goalkeeper. Both Tyler Hotson and Jeremie Payant forced the Crimson to make some difficult plays on their side of the ice, taking good shots from all sides. Engineer John Beaton eventually found the back of the net again on a power play, slipping past the Crimson goalie to double Rensselaer’s score with five minutes left.

Despite this energized final push, the Engineers were unable to bounce back from a relatively flat majority of the game. Engineer goalkeeper Noah Giesbrecht was taken out for an extra attacker but was quickly replaced after Harvard scored on an empty net in the third. The game ended with a 5-2 loss for the Engineers.

Following their loss to Dartmouth the next day, Rensselaer currently stands at 9-12-2 for the season. They will gear up to face rivals Union College in the Mayor’s Cup this Saturday, and will return home to play Yale in the Big Red Freakout game the following week. Click here for the box score.