Bears, Bobcats, Battlestar Galactica: Rensselaer back to losing

Rensselaer was trounced by Quinnipiac 5-1, but a late consolation goal saw over a hundred teddy bears thrown into the rink to support charities and other foundations.

The #8-ranked Quinnipiac brought with them their high-powered offense, a six-game winning streak, and graduate student Will Gilson - who transferred from Rensselaer over the off-season. The Engineers, who returned to the Houston Field House after sweeping Niagara University over Thanksgiving weekend, would hope to take advantage of the Bobcats’ pedestrian goaltender and their vulnerability to playing down to competition.

The match was played during the first annual Teddy Bear Toss, a joint effort between the men’s hockey program, the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, and the Red & White Student Organization. After Rensselaer’s first goal, fans would throw the bears into the rink, which would then be collected and sent to St Catherine’s Center for Children, Ronald McDonald House, and the Boys & Girls Club of the Capital Area.

However, it would be Quinnipiac who would draw first blood five minutes into the first period after a deflected shot ricocheted off a Rensselaer defender and into the back of the net. Seven minutes later, the Bobcats would see their score doubled when Engineer Rainers Rullers, attempting to intercept a pass, inadvertently kicked the puck into the Rensselaer net.

The Engineers’ misfortune would haunt them for much of the game. Rensselaer was unable to breach Quinnipiac’s defense during power plays, and looked indecisive while moving the puck up the rink. Quinnipiac, meanwhile, would score their third goal on a fluke shot and net their fourth after what seemed to be an excellent block from Gunnar VanDamme was overturned once the play was reviewed. By the end of the second period, Quinnipiac held a commanding 5-0 lead.

With ten minutes left to play in the game and the teddy bears still in the hands of the fans, the puck was cleared from Quinnipiac’s goal crease to the waiting stick of Kazimier Sobieski who fired it into the back of the net, putting Rensselaer on the scoreboard and releasing the teddy bears.

Following their 4-0 loss to Princeton the following day, results see Rensselaer fall to 5-13-0 on the season and 11th in the ECAC standings. The Engineers will hope to bounce back in the New Year at the University of Vermont on January 3. The box score for this game can be found here.