Engineers dunked on in Mayor’s Cup with overtime frenzy

After losing both the men’s and women’s Mayor’s Cup games last January, the Engineers fell in battle once more to Union College, with a 4-3 loss for the women’s team followed by a 5-4 loss for the men. While the Mayor’s Cup tradition is decades old, both Engineer teams have seen shakeups in their lineups this season that presented new challenges for Union to contend with. After the departure of Andrea Trnkova following last season, the women's resident high-scoring defenseman has become Kendal Davidson, who just last year played in the Mayor’s Cup as a Garnet Charger before transferring. Over two-thirds of the men’s team is brand new, with just half of the starting lineup in Engineer jerseys for last year’s Mayor’s Cup.

The women’s game started the day off strong, with both teams taking two goals just in the first period. An unlucky score for Union off of a behind-the-net rebound was matched by a power-play goal from Engineer Naomi Forand up close and personal by the Union net, all within the first five minutes of play. The energy only picked up from there, as Davidson pulled off a long shot from middle ice halfway through the period. This was later matched by a Union goal right under goalkeeper Reese Keating’s legs.

The Engineers never stopped fighting for goals, but they weren’t helped by the two penalties they picked up in the second period, tamping down their shots on goal and letting the Garnet Chargers squeeze by to a more comfortable lead. Moving into the end of the game, Union wisely held back on attacks, instead choosing to sink nails into their 4-2 lead for the win. This strategy was upended by Davidson once more, who unbelievably was able to take advantage when Rensselaer pulled out Keating for an extra skater. With just two minutes left in the game, tensions were high on both sides of the ice as the fight for overtime continued. Unfortunately, despite Keating getting swapped out once more and Aylah Cioffi delivering some well-earned sucker punches to a Union player, the Garnet Chargers held onto their lead and took the Mayor’s Cup with a 4-3 win.

While this was a favorable showing for the women’s team, considering their last matchup against Union ended in a 4-7 on November 8, it is still clear that something needs to change for Rensselaer moving forward. This marks their seventh loss in a row, and with just six games left in the season it’s getting down to crunch time to turn things around.

The tension from the women's game was still present when the men’s contest began about an hour later. When the two clashed this past  Halloween weekend, a then winless Rensselaer team spooked Union in Schenectady in a 5-2 victory on October 31 thanks in large part to an incredible effort from goaltender Nate Krawchuk. In the rematch however, held the next day in Troy, Renssealer’s offense would fizzle out and Union would return home with a 3-0 victory. 

Reuniting since the back-to-back games of Halloween, the two teams fought on MVP Arena’s neutral ice.  Unlike the women’s teams, they have had decidedly different seasons so far. While the Garnet Chargers remain in the hunt for an improved playoff position in the ECAC, Rensselaer remains in rebuild. The Engineers enter the game with the added pressure; the last time they lifted the Mayor’s Cup was in 2020 in a shootout win just before COVID canceled the rest of the season.

And yet there they were, 3-2 up against Union with three minutes left in the final period. Even though Rensselaer’s lead remained tenuous at the best of times, in a tough season. After Rainers Rullers scored, putting the Engineers up 1-0 in the first, Union would rally furiously in the second period, tying the game and threatening for another for the rest of the period. Krawchuk, however, held the Garnet Chargers at bay, time and time again denying the Garnet Chargers the goal to take the lead.

Instead, it would be the Engineers who would retake their lead on an opportunistic play from Dovar Tinling before Lucas Lemieux scored his first goal for the Engineers from beyond the faceoff circles to make it 3-1.

The Garnet Chargers upped the pressure on the Engineers, reducing the deficit to one twelve minutes into the third when the puck ricocheted to the waiting stick of a Union forward. Union’s barrage continued as they pulled their goaltender with three minutes left to play.

Opportunistic as ever, junior Tyler Wallace picked up the loose puck from Rensselaer’s zone and shot it from distance towards the empty Union net. Rensselaer fans roared in jubilation as the puck dribbled into the net. But before the PA could announce Wallace’s goal, Union sliced through Rensselaer’s defense and shot from point blank. Krawchuk managed to deflect the save, splaying his body onto the ice in an incredible effort only for the deflected puck to be picked up by another Garnet Charger to set the score to 4-3. And then catastrophically, Union would tie fifty seconds later.

As the game headed to overtime, Union fans managed to drown out Rensselaer’s pep band as chants of “LET’S GO U” rang throughout the arena. 

Three minutes later it was all over. Rensselaer never held any meaningful time with the puck in overtime, and when Union fired yet another shot on goal, Krawchuk was only able to deflect it up into the air. The puck never hit the ground, instead a wide open Union player juggled the puck and flicked it into the net as if he was a lacrosse player, sending the garnet half of MVP Arena into bedlam. 

Heading into the final weeks of the season, the men’s and women’s teams stand at 6-18-0 and 6-22-0 records, respectively. The women’s team will return to the Houston Field House on Friday, January 30, to face off against Yale. The men’s team will return to home ice on Friday, February 13, to play Cornell. The box scores for the men’s and women’s games can be found here and here, respectively.