Know Your Enemy: Colgate

Every once in a while, you get a team that underwhelms and it makes you scratch your head at just how unexpectedly bad they turned out to be. The 2014 Engineers were certainly one good example, but Jason Kasdorf's early season-ending injury was an obvious cause of that disappointing result. Chosen fifth in both preseason polls as a contender for a first-round bye with one of the program's best classes in decades reaching their senior year, the Raiders instead sputtered on defense all season long and ended up closing Starr Rink on the last weekend of the regular season instead of in the playoffs.

Colgate
Nickname: Raiders
Location: Hamilton, NY
Founded: 1819
Conference: ECAC
National Championships: 0
Last NCAA Appearance: 2014
Last Frozen Four: 1990
Coach: Don Vaughan (24th season)
2015-16 Record: 11-24-2 (6-14-2 ECAC, 10th place) 
Series: RPI leads, 61-57-4
First Game: February 19, 1916 (Hamilton, NY) 
Last RPI win: January 16, 2015 (Troy, NY)
Last CU win: February 26, 2016 (Hamilton, NY)

2016-17 games: February 3, 2017 (Troy, NY); February 25, 2017 (Hamilton, NY)

Key players: F Emilio Audi, sr.; D Brett Corkey, sr.; G Charlie Finn, sr.; F Tim Harrison, sr.; D Jake Kulevich, sr.; D Anthony Sanniti, sr.; F Mike Panowyk, jr.; F Evan Peterson, jr.; F Sebastian Weberg, jr.; D Willie Brooks, so.; D Ken Citron, so.; F Adam Dauda, so.; D Rory McGuire, so.;  F Hunter Racine, so.; F Jared Cockrell, fr.; F Bobby McMann, fr.; D Nick Quillan, fr.

Key losses: F Tyson Spink, F Tylor Spink, F Mike Borkowski, F Darcy Murphy, D Kevin Lough

Previous KYE installments:

• 2010-11
• 2011-12
• 2012-13
• 2013-14
• 2014-15
• 2015-16

The quintet of the Spink twins, Borkowski, Murphy, and Kyle Baun (who signed a pro deal after his junior season) will certainly go down in history in Hamilton. They were the effective engine of the Raider offense throughout their entire tenure at Colgate. One of the Spink twins led the team in scoring each of the four years (Tylor as a freshman, Tyson the other three years), and at least three of the group figured in the top four scorers each season (and they were the complete tally of the top five in their sophomore campaign).

But it was defense that by and large let the Raiders down last year. Last in the ECAC (3.23 team GAA) and in the bottom 10 nationally (3.57). RPI, Union, and Clarkson were the only three teams in the league who weren't able to hang three goals on the Raiders in at least one of their meetings - in fact, Princeton and Brown were the only other ones who didn't do it twice (although Brown did do it a second time in a non-league game in Vermont). Dartmouth was five-for-five in scoring three or more against the Raiders, which was helpful in the Big Green getting past them in the playoffs.

So while Finn returns for his senior season on a squad where he's been the undisputed starter since his arrival on campus, you've got to think freshman Colton Point, a fifth-round selection of the Dallas Stars back in June, will get more than ample opportunity to unseat him. At the very least, expect Colgate's clear netminder of the future to get plenty of playing time even if he doesn't fully displace Finn as the starter as Finn did to senior Erik Mihalik as a freshman.

And of course, on top of needing to find a way to keep the puck out of their own net, the Raiders need to replace four forwards who have been beyond crucial for their offensive structure for the last four years. They comprised the top four scorers last season, combining for 114 of Colgate's 253 total points last year - four players notching 45% of the offense, and now all gone.

The effort begins with Panowyk, the leading returning scorer (18 points) and Harrison, a Calgary draft pick who tied with Peterson for the goals lead among returning players (8 each). Dauda (9 points) deserves some recognition as well - he arrived midseason last year after initially expecting to defer his arrival to this season due to medical concerns, so with a full year he'd probably have been right up there with Panowyk.

All of it is for naught if the Raiders can't get back on track on defense, though. Along the blue line, Colgate had three freshmen suiting up regularly last season, so look for growth in those same three sophomores - Brooks, Citron, and McGuire - as keys to success. The whole scope seems to peg the Raiders as a work in progress this coming season, which undoubtedly will be a difficult one building more toward a much stronger 2017 and/or 2018.

RPI will be the last ECAC team to play its first game in Colgate's new digs, the Class of 1965 Arena, as they close out their league schedule on the final day of the regular season in Hamilton - and as with Harvard and Dartmouth, there's a lot of hockey that both teams will play before they finally link up in February (twice). On paper from September, more than four months out, it seems that RPI's defensive edges might certainly give the Engineers a leg up, but don't forget that while Colgate finished 10th in the ECAC last season, they won the season series against RPI in the process. There's certainly no room to overlook this team, at least not from Troy.

Men's Hockey - at Colgate/Cornell (26/27 Feb)

With a mathematical chance of reaching as high as 3rd and at least a halfway decent chance of nabbing a first-round bye with a road sweep to end the season, the Engineers faltered on Friday night, ending the possibility of either of those happening with an uninspiring 2-0 loss at Colgate. But they managed to salvage a bit of respectability by battling back in the third period at an equally desperate Cornell the next night, scoring with the extra attacker to nab a 3-3 tie that secured a tie for 5th in the final standings, the #6 seed in the tournament, and a date with Brown at home next weekend - where a loss would have resulted in a tie for 7th, the #8 seed, and the always unpredictable RPI-Union matchup for the playoffs.

Colgate
Bourbonnais-Schroeder-Nanne
Liljegren-Bubela-DeVito
Wood-Miller-Ohrvall
Rodriguez, Gillespie

Bradley-Prapavessis
Wilson-Reno
Moore-Hampton
Grant

Kasdorf

With Parker Reno's return to the lineup pretty much confirmed the previous week, it was expected that Seth Appert was ready to roll with 11 forwards and 7 defensemen as the team did earlier in the season, but it was difficult to pinpoint exactly which forward would be coming out of the lineup to accomodate the setup. An injury to Travis Fulton made the point fairly moot, as Reno returned to his original pairing with Jared Wilson.

Opening their final weekend of games at the nearly 60-year-old Starr Rink, Colgate jumped quickly on a lethargic-looking RPI team and then rode a strong defensive front to a 2-0 victory. Both of the Raiders goals came in the first 10 minutes and were generated by the Spink twins, with Tyson setting up Tylor for his 10th and 11th goals of the season at 1:42 and 9:05 of the first period.

From there, it was mostly a matter of Colgate's defense standing big when it had to - not that it had to with any real frequency. Arguably, RPI's best looks came during the second period, when they put 14 shots on goal, but they were unable to find a breakthrough against Charlie Finn and the Raider D.

Riley Bourbonnais did get two solid opportunities to put the Engineers on the board in the third period, but was denied on the breakaway midway through and had an apparent goal waved off due to being played in off a high stick. Ultimately, in the final 20 minutes, RPI was their own worst enemy, shooting either high or wide when taking their chances, and they recorded just five shots on goal in the final frame.

The loss scotched any possibility of the Engineers managing to climb into the top four of the ECAC, and given that they'd locked up at least home ice in the first round the previous weekend, the only question remaining was who the opponent would be in Troy the next weekend. The possibility of finishing anywhere between 5th and 8th still loomed as the scene shifted to Ithaca for the season finale.

Cornell
Nanne-Bourbonnais-Ohrvall
Liljegren-Bubela-DeVito
Wood-Miller-Gillespie
Clary, Rodriguez

Bradley-Prapavessis
Wilson-Reno
Moore-Hampton
Grant

Kasdorf

In addition to the rough go of things on Friday night, RPI also had to contend with growing injury concerns as Lou Nanne and Zach Schroeder both went down during the game. Schroeder suffered a broken thumb, putting him out for the Cornell contest, while Nanne was at least able to return to a lineup that pretty much at this point can't afford any more absences. Essentially, the Engineers had no healthy scratches at Lynah Rink.

After giving up the early 1-0 lead to the opponent on Friday night, Saturday got off to an even more ominous start with the Big Red scoring even earlier - just 28 seconds into the game, when the puck glanced off an RPI skate and past Kasdorf to put the home team ahead on the very first shift of the game.

The RPI goal drought continued into the second period, finally ending at 8:28 of the middle frame after 106:34 without a goal when Viktor Liljegren netted his fifth goal of the season on the breakaway to tie the game up at one. But that equanimity was short lived - almost as short as the game's initial draw. Just 32 seconds after Liljegren's goal, Anthony Angello - who had also scored the game's first goal - scored on a tight-angle shot to put Cornell right back into the lead again.

The quick succession of goals - and falling behind so quickly for the second time on the evening - seemed to take the wind out of RPI's sails for the remainder of the period, but to their great credit the Engineers didn't fold their tents and finally, they got a good bounce helped them keep pace in the third period.

About four minutes into the third, a shot by Chris Bradley was saved by Cornell's Mitch Gillam, but the puck popped directly up into the air. When it came down, it went off a couple of sticks and then Gillam's shoulder, and ended up in the back of the net to make it 2-2.

Five and a half minutes later, Cornell took the lead a third time after a loose puck in front of the cage was put home after Jason Kasdorf was taken out of the play by a hit. The referees reviewed the goal and discovered no malfeasance, so once again, the Engineers were playing from behind.

They still trailed with about two minutes remaining in regulation, which led to Kasdorf being pulled for the extra skater after an icing call against Cornell. This isn't a tactic that has worked well for RPI over the last few years, but there's a reason teams do it - there's a definite advantage to having the extra skater when the game is on the line. And this time, it worked for the Engineers. 24 seconds away from their 7th loss in the last 9 games - and surely an 8th place finish - Milos Bubela's shot pinballed off a couple of different players and into the back of the net to give the Engineers an improbable 3-3 score.

By the time the extra session was underway, the three potential outcomes carried with it three different potential opponents. A win for RPI would mean Princeton, a tie would bring Brown, and a loss would have Union. Both netminders were busy in the overtime period, with Kasdorf stopping four shots and Gillam three, but in the end neither team was able to recreate some of the bizarre goals that they'd scored in regulation, and the Engineers earned a hard-fought point in what has to be considered a good tie.

We'll have more later in the week on Brown - which has been a traditional bugaboo for the Engineers in recent playoff seasons. But for now, the metric is simple. Win two games this weekend, or the season's done.

Final ECAC Standings
1. Quinnipiac - 37 pts (16-1-5)
2. Yale - 31 pts (14-5-3)
3. Harvard - 28 pts (12-6-4)
4. St. Lawrence - 25 pts (11-8-3)
5. Clarkson - 23 pts (10-9-3)
6. RPI - 23 pts (8-7-7)
7. Dartmouth - 22 pts (11-11-0)
8. Cornell - 22 pts (8-8-6)
9. Union - 18 pts (6-10-6)
10. Colgate - 14 pts (6-14-2)
11. Brown - 12 pts (3-13-6)
12. Princeton - 9 pts (3-16-3)

First Round
#12 Princeton at #5 Clarkson
#11 Brown at #6 RPI
#10 Colgate at #7 Dartmouth
#9 Union at #8 Cornell

#17 RPI at Colgate

ECAC Game - Starr Rink (Hamilton, NY)
2/26/16 - 7:00pm

RESULT: Colgate 2, RPI 0

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record

RECORD: 16-13-6 (8-7-6 ECAC, 22 pts)

#17 RPI at #16 Cornell 
ECAC Game - Lynah Rink (Ithaca, NY)
2/27/16 - 7:00pm

RESULT: RPI 3, Cornell 3 (OT)

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
USCHO
Troy Record

RECORD: 16-13-7 (8-7-7 ECAC, 23 pts)

Upcoming games
04 Mar - Brown (ECAC First Round Game 1)
05 Mar - Brown (ECAC First Round Game 2)
06 Mar - Brown (ECAC First Round Game 3, if necessary)
11 Mar - at #12 Harvard/#19 St. Lawrence (ECAC Quarterfinals Game 1, if qualified)
12 Mar - at #12 Harvard/#19 St. Lawrence (ECAC Quarterfinals Game 2, if qualified)

Women's Hockey - Colgate & Cornell (29/30 Jan)

First off, apologies for the lack of a recap last week - the delay of the Yale game to Tuesday combined with midweek work travel and suddenly it was Friday again and time for another pair of games.

The Engineers didn't do themselves any favors against Brown and Yale last weekend, only picking up a win against the Bears when they really needed a weekend sweep to keep ahead of the pack chasing the last playoff spot.

Fast forward to this weekend and the Engineers kept themselves afloat, albeit still in a very tenuous position, by earning another split with Colgate and Cornell. The Engineers actually led Colgate twice before eventually falling 5-3, but squeaked out a 2-1 overtime win over Cornell on Saturday for a season sweep of the Big Red.

Colgate

Horwood/Gruschow/Tomlinson
Rooney/Mankey/Wash
Grigsby/Hylwa/Thomas
Raspa/Schwalbe/Tremblay

Hansen/Godin
Behounek/Banks
Kimmerle/Renn

Selander

Shayna Tomlinson led RPI with a goal, an assist, and five shots on goal, but the Engineers fell short against #10 Colgate by a 5-3 tally at the Field House Friday night.

RPI held 1-0 and 3-2 leads during the game, but three unanswered goals for the Raiders to end the game made the difference.

Mari Mankey got the Engineers on the board at 4:01 of the opening period, taking a feed from Lauren Wash behind the net and firing it past netminder Julia Vandyk.

Colgate tied it at one just a few minutes later, when Jessie Eldridge threaded a pass through traffic in the slot to hit Nicole Gass all alone in front of Lovisa Selander for the goal.

The Raiders added a second goal at 10:43, capitalizing on a turnover at the RPI blue line to score on a 2-on-1. Olivia Zafuto notched the goal, her sixth of the season.

Tomlinson's goal knotted the game at two, 7:29 into the second. The forward tipped a point shot from Jenn Godin to beat Vandyk.

Laura Horwood put the Engineers back ahead on the power play at 13:33 after Tomlinson fed it to her on the doorstep for a quick shot and a goal.

Horwood's tally marked the end of the scoring for the Engineers, and less than a minute later Colgate had tied the game back up on a goal by Kayla Haus. They very nearly took a 4-3 lead at the end of the second, but the horn had sounded just a fraction of a second before the puck crossed the line.

The Raiders added two more goals in the third period, with Annika Zalewski (sister of former Engineer Mike Zalewski) scoring on the power play at 1:18, and Breanne Wilson converting another RPI turnover to make it 5-3 with 10:33 left in the game.

Colgate locked it down after the fifth goal, and despite back-to-back power play chances for RPI, the Engineers couldn't get another one past Vandyk who finished with 21 saves on the night. At the other end, Selander stopped 24 of 29.

Cornell

Horwood/Gruschow/Tomlinson
Rooney/Mankey/Wash
Grigsby/Hylwa/Thomas
Raspa/Schwalbe/Tremblay

Hansen/Godin
Behounek/Banks
Kimmerle/Renn

Selander

Earlier in the season, RPI earned a hard-fought 2-1 overtime win over Cornell in Ithaca. History repeated itself on Saturday as Katie Rooney scored in the second period to tie the game at one, then again in overtime to give the Engineers another 2-1 win over the Big Red.

After a scoring and penalty-free first period, Taylor Woods opened things up with a goal for the Big Red at 6:54 of the second. After getting tied up with Whitney Renn at the RPI blue line, Woods stripped the puck from the RPI defenseman along the boards and took it to the net, beating Selander for the 1-0 lead.

Rooney answered for RPI about ten minutes later. After picking off a cross-ice pass in the neutral zone, she took it into the Cornell zone and all the way around the net before firing a sharp angle shot past Paula Voorheis to tie the game.

Another scoreless period in the third and the teams headed to overtime for the second time this season. Just like the first time, the Engineers pulled out the win. While Lauren Wash scored the winner earlier in the season, this time she knocked a Cornell pass out of mid-air at the blue line to skate in 2-on-1 with Rooney. A nifty saucer pass from Wash let Rooney put the puck past Voorheis and empty the Engineers' bench as their playoff hopes were kept alive.

With six games remaining, RPI holds the eighth and final playoff spot, with Cornell trailing two points back and Dartmouth four points back. However with Cornell still having a game left against Brown and Dartmouth still to play both Brown and Union, the Engineers will need a few more points to have a real shot at holding that playoff spot.

Cornell's remaining schedule: Quinnipiac, Princeton, @Brown, @Yale, Dartmouth, Harvard
Dartmouth's remaining schedule: Yale, Brown, @Union, @RPI, @Cornell, @Colgate

The season sweep over Cornell will give the Engineers that tiebreaker if it comes down to it, but RPI's game against Dartmouth in two weeks may well be the deciding factor in whether they can hold on to a playoff spot or not.

Five of the six games remaining for the Engineers are against the top half of the league, so it will be a tough row to hoe regardless of the outcome of their game against the Big Green. Before that, RPI must hit the road to take on Clarkson (7pm Friday) and St. Lawrence (4pm Saturday).

-----

RPI vs. Colgate
ECAC Hockey Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
1/29/16 - 7pm
Colgate 5, RPI 3

BOX SCORES:
RPI: http://www.rpiathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?path=whock&id=5203
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1516/boxes/wclgren1.j29

RECAPS:
RPI: http://www.rpiathletics.com/news/2016/1/29/WICE_0129163315.aspx
Colgate: http://www.gocolgateraiders.com/news/2016/1/29/WHOCKEY_0129161129.aspx
Video Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiH9A9M4pyA
Complete Game Video: http://rpitv.org/productions/1035-womens-hockey-vs-colgate

RECORD: 8-13-4 (6-7-2 ECAC)

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RPI vs. Cornell
ECAC Hockey Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
1/30/16 - 4pm
RPI 2, Cornell 1 (OT)

BOX SCORES:
RPI: http://www.rpiathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?path=whock&id=5204
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1516/boxes/wcorren1.j30

RECAPS:
RPI: http://www.rpiathletics.com/news/2016/1/30/WICE_0130164631.aspx
Cornell: http://www.cornellbigred.com/news/2016/1/30/WICE_0130162345.aspx
Video Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGB3bXop-C8
Complete Game Video: http://rpitv.org/productions/1036-womens-hockey-vs-cornell

RECORD: 9-13-4 (7-7-2 ECAC)

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ECAC Standings (all teams have 16GP)

1. Quinnipiac - 27 pts (12-1-3)
2. Clarkson - 22 pts (9-3-4)
3t. Colgate - 21 pts (8-3-5)
3t. Princeton - 21 pts (10-5-1)
5. Harvard - 19 pts (9-6-1)
6t. St. Lawrence - 17 pts (7-6-3)
6t. Yale - 17 pts (8-7-1)
8. RPI - 16 pts (7-7-2)
9. Cornell - 14 pts (5-7-4)
10. Dartmouth - 11 pts (4-9-3)
11. Brown - 4 pts (1-13-2)
12. Union - 3 pts (0-13-3)

-----

Upcoming Schedule

Feb. 5 - at Clarkson (7pm)
Feb. 6 - at St. Lawrence (4pm)
Feb. 12 - Harvard (7pm)
Feb. 13 - Dartmouth (Senior Night) (4pm)

They're All Important

It's another ECAC weekend, which means its another big weekend. They just don't stop coming, do they?

The women have a crucial home weekend against Colgate and Cornell - two of the teams they're fighting with for a playoff spot (although Colgate is very much improved). They dropped a tough one on Tuesday against Yale, so this is now even more crucial than it otherwise would have been. The Tute nabbed three points on the road against the Big Red and Raiders back in October. If they can get things done at home, the future looks a lot brighter. There just aren't a lot of good opportunities to get points in the last three weeks of the season, so each and every point this weekend is precious, especially against the Big Red.

It's the same old story for the men. Friday is a game against Brown they have to win. They just have to. The Bears are in last place. First-round bye teams don't lose to last place teams, but that's exactly what (should have) happened at home when these teams faced off. Instead, RPI is now winless in three tries against Brown, and they have got to get the job done tonight. Tomorrow's the flipside. Want to stay in the top 4? Gotta get a result against Yale again. Keep that momentum going and play well against good teams the way they have been.

Reaching back for this week's pumpup. No theme here, really, just something to get the blood pumping. Unless you want to explore the idea that a hockey game has a metaphorical relation to battle and war, go ahead. No one's stopping you.

Men's Hockey - Cornell & Colgate (15/16 Jan)

Usually, a three-point weekend is a pretty solid result, even at home and even when it started off with a win. But there was something distinctly unsatisfying about the three out of four points taken by the Engineers in their return to full ECAC action at home against Cornell and Colgate. Following an interesting chess match between the Big Red and Engineers, won 1-0 by RPI, the Saturday night game against a growing-in-confidence Colgate team featured three disallowed goals and a haphazard performance, ending in a 2-2 tie. Had the results (or games) been swapped, the feeling might have been a bit better, since the tough outing came more recently than the solid victory.

Cornell
Bourbonnais-Schroeder-Nanne
Miller-Bubela-Wood
Ohrvall-DeVito-Liljegren
Melanson-Fulton-Gillespie

Bradley-Prapavessis
Wilson-Grant
Moore-Hampton

Kasdorf

The big injury news coming into the weekend was undoubtedly the loss of Parker Reno to a shoulder injury, which is expected to keep him out for much of the remainder of the regular season, if not longer. Reno has been exceptional this season for the Engineers, both offensively and defensively, and his loss from the lineup is a definite blow to RPI's stretch run.

When the Engineers have been successful this season - and, quite frankly, throughout his career - it's been very much attributable to outstanding play by their goaltender, Jason Kasdorf. He paced RPI to a victory over then-#1 Boston College in October at the Field House, put together a solid enough performance to back a scoreless draw with Harvard last month, and picked up right where he left off in that game to power the Engineers against Cornell.

For the second consecutive home ECAC outing, Kasdorf made more than 40 saves to preserve a shutout for RPI, this time picking up 44 saves against the Big Red. The Engineers didn't put nearly as much rubber on Cornell goalie Mitch Gillam, but they were able to sneak one past him in the second period for the game's only tally.

Mike Prapavessis almost literally took the puck on a guided tour of the Cornell zone, essentially looping all the way around from the goal line on one side of the net, around the boards, the blue line, and the other boards and nearly back to the goal line on the other side. His journey attracted a lot of attention from the Cornell defense, and Prapavessis found Chris Bradley standing all alone in the faceoff circle - he threw the puck through the slot, and Bradley one-timed it to the back of the net for what would prove to be the only goal of the game.

The third period saw Kasdorf stopping 14 shots to make Bradley's first goal of the year hold up as Cornell sought the equalizer. The most dangerous moments came early in the period, as RPI was forced to kill off a long two-man disadvantage after a penalty late in the second to Jared Wilson and another early in the third to Milos Bubela, leaving the Engineers without two crucial penalty killers in the process.

The victory extended the Engineers' unbeaten streak against Cornell to five in a row, and their record against the Big Red in the last five seasons to 5-1-3, and increased their record against Top 10 ranked teams this season to 3-1-1.

Colgate
Miller-Bubela-Wood
Melanson-Schroeder-Nanne
Ohrvall-DeVito-Liljegren
Gillespie-Fulton-Rodriguez

Bradley-Prapavessis
Wilson-Grant
Moore-Hampton

Kasdorf

The injury situation continued to deteriorate heading into the Saturday game, as Riley Bourbonnais, the team's leading scorer, was on crutches after the Cornell game, and it later came to light that, as with Reno, Bourbonnais is likely to be unavailable for much of the stretch run, another blow to RPI as the team has lost their leading scorer for the second time this season after watching Evan Tironese disappear from the lineup due to a season-ending injury. However, as with Reno, RPI could get Bourbonnais back late in the regular season or for the playoffs. He was replaced in the lineup for Colgate by Alex Rodriguez.

Jared Wilson appeared to give the Engineers a 1-0 lead about 6 minutes into the game on a shot from the top of the faceoff circle, but it was waved-off due to contact with the goalkeeper by Viktor Liljegren, who was attempting a screen but made contact with the glove hand of Colgate's Zac Hamilton. The first period ended in a scoreless draw despite a 12-8 shot advantage for RPI.

Tommy Grant got RPI officially on the board with a blast from the blue line 5 minutes into the second period. Mere seconds later, off the enusing center ice draw, RPI put the puck in a third time, but had a goal disallowed for the second time as it had been put in with a kicking motion by Zach Schroeder.

Colgate evened the score with about five minutes left in the second after a bad giveaway deep in the RPI end by Prapavessis was turned on and put on goal by the Raiders' Evan Peterson. Kasdorf made the initial save, but the rebound was sent home by Hunter Racine to make it 1-1.

That score held up until midway through the third period, when Colgate appeared to take a 2-1 lead on a goal by Mike Panowyk, but that one was waved off because Peterson was standing on top of Kasdorf when Panowyk's shot came in.

The 2-1 scoreline came down moments later, but it was in RPI's favor as Milos Bubela did his usual coast-to-coast routine, finishing it off with a nice backhand for his 5th goal of the season and putting the Engineers ahead just seconds after they got away with an illegal hand pass in their own end. But Colgate would earn a measure of even-up after that miscarriage of justice, tying the game back up with Racine again picking up a rebound and moving it clear of Grant's back-check to put it in with 3:53 left in regulation.

A back and forth overtime period came and went without scoring, leaving both teams with an unsatisfying 2-2 tie that could have been much more for both sides. It kept RPI from making a bit of school history, as the women had swept their ECAC weekend against Union hours earlier, and RPI men's and women's hockey still have never swept league weekends in the same weekend (although they've combined to manage 7 points several times).

The three point weekend combined with Cornell's one point weekend to move RPI into second place by themselves, a point ahead of the Big Red in 3rd but seven points behind Quinnipiac in 1st. Awaiting the Engineers on Thursday in their next ECAC outing are the aforementioned Bobcats, the new #1 team in the nation - and RPI has a bit of a reputation for doing well this season against highly ranked teams.

Current ECAC Standings
1. Quinnipiac - 22 pts (10-0-2)
2. RPI - 15 pts (5-1-5)
3. Cornell - 14 pts (6-2-2)
4. Harvard - 13 pts (5-4-3)
5. Yale - 12 pts (5-3-2)
6. Dartmouth - 10 pts (5-5-0)
7. St. Lawrence - 9 pts (4-5-1)
8. Colgate - 8 pts (3-6-2)
9. Princeton - 8 pts (3-7-2)
10. Union - 7 pts (2-7-3)
11. Clarkson - 6 pts (2-6-2)
12. Brown - 6 pts (2-7-2)

By winning percentage
1. Quinnipiac (.917)
2. Cornell (.700)
3. RPI (.682)
4. Yale (.600)
5. Harvard (.591)
6. Dartmouth (.500)
7. St. Lawrence (.450)
8. Colgate (.364)
9. Princeton (.333)
10. Clarkson (.300)
11. Union (.292)
12. Brown (.273)

#8 Cornell at #20 RPI

ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
1/15/16 - 7:00pm

RESULT: RPI 1, Cornell 0

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union
Ithaca Journal

VIDEO
RPI TV full game
RPI TV highlights
RPI post-game

RECORD: 12-7-4 (5-1-4 ECAC, 14 pts)

Colgate at #20 RPI
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
1/16/16 - 7:00pm

RESULT: RPI 2, Colgate 2 (OT)

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union

VIDEO
RPI TV full game
RPI TV highlights
RPI post-game

RECORD: 12-7-5 (5-1-5 ECAC, 15 pts)

Upcoming games
21 Jan - at #1 Quinnipiac
23 Jan - vs. Union (Albany, NY)
29 Jan - at Brown
30 Jan - at #12 Yale
05 Feb - St. Lawrence

None Shall Pass

No pumpup? No problem.

Missed posting this pumpup yesterday due to some family obligations, but the Engineers, both teams, made the song I was planning to use look mighty prescient.

A 2-0 win for the ladies over Union was followed by a 1-0 win for the gentlemen over Cornell. Lovisa Selander and Jason Kasdorf became the first RPI netminding duo to post shutouts on the same day since Brianna Piper and Bryce Merriam did it on November 12, 2011 - which also happens to be the same day the men last won a game 1-0.

Now, we see if the teams can engineer the first double sweep since October 19-20, 2007, when the men swept Army and Sacred Heart while the women swept Maine - it's never happened that both teams have swept an ECAC weekend at the same time.

Let's make some history tonight, eh?

Women's Hockey - at Cornell & Colgate (30/31 Oct)

ECAC play opened this weekend on a high note for RPI, as the Engineers took three points from Cornell and Colgate. After an overtime goal gave RPI the win over the Big Red Friday afternoon, the Engineers came from behind to force a tie at Colgate the following day.

Cornell

Horwood/Mankey/Thomas
Wash/Gruschow/Tomlinson
Rooney/Orzechowski/Raspa
Grigsby/Hylwa/Tremblay
Schwalbe

Hansen/Godin
Behounek/Banks
Kimmerle

Selander

Lauren Wash and Alexa Gruschow teamed up for a goal and an assist each as RPI defeated Cornell 2-1 in an overtime thriller for the teams' 2015 ECAC opener. Shayna Tomlinson led all players with eight shots on goal on the afternoon, picking up an assist on Wash's game winning overtime goal.

After playing through two scoreless periods, Cornell broke through first at 3:05 of the third period, with Kaitlin Doering beating Lovisa Selander with a shot that the netminder never seemed to get ready for.

The Big Red's lead was short lived, as two quick penalties on Cornell following the goal put RPI on a 5-on-3 advantage which Gruschow capitalized on, taking a feed from Wash on the doorstep and putting it top corner to tie the game at one.

The Engineers killed a pair of penalties late in the third to force overtime, and it was there that Wash won it for RPI. After Gruschow won a race to the puck behind the net and sent a blind backhander to the front where Wash was charging forward, the senior fired it top shelf to put the game away.

RPI finished with a 32-31 edge in shots in the game, which was their first win over Cornell since the 2009 end of season run that took the Engineers to the ECAC championship game - and the first at Lynah Rink since 2008.

Colgate

Horwood/Mankey/Thomas
Wash/Gruschow/Tomlinson
Rooney/Orzechowski/Raspa
Grigsby/Hylwa/Tremblay

Hansen/Godin
Behounek/Banks
Kimmerle/Schwalbe

Selander

Though RPI trailed 3-1 after two periods, Katie Rooney notched a pair of goals in third to tie the game and force a 3-3 tie against Colgate on Saturday. Amanda Kimmerle scored the Engineers' other goal on an assist from Tomlinson who led the team in shots for the second straight game.

Colgate jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on Saturday when Bailey Larson cashed in on a rebound in the slot to beat a sliding Selander.

The Raiders doubled that lead at 13:11 of the first, with Shelby Perry snaking through the defense to get a clean shot which found its way to the back of the net.

Kimmerle got RPI on the board 5:08 into the second, deflecting Tomlinson's point shot past Julia Vandyk to cut Colgate's lead to 2-1.

Shae Labbe made it a 3-1 Colgate lead by picking off an RPI clearing attempt and taking it back to the net all alone and past Selander for an unassisted tally.

The third period saw Rooney take things into her own hands, scoring first at 5:28 with a tip on a shot by Brandi Banks, then again at 17:28 to tie things up after Marisa Raspa broke up a Colgate breakout attempt and sent it to Mari Mankey behind the net who fed Rooney at the top of the crease for the tying goal.

Colgate pressured hard in overtime, putting six shots on net, but Selander held on to help RPI earn the tie and three points on the weekend.

Things don't get any easier next weekend as the Engineers host St. Lawrence (7pm Friday) and Clarkson (4pm Saturday) at the Field House. Clarkson in particular poses a big challenge as the Golden Knights are undefeated in eleven games (9-0-2). The Saints have been a little more down to earth with a 4-6-1 record, however four of those six losses came against undefeated Clarkson and BC.

-----

RPI at Cornell
ECAC Hockey Game - Lynah Rink (Ithaca, NY)
10/30/15 - 3pm
RPI 2, Cornell 1 (OT)

BOX SCORES:
RPI: http://www.rpiathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?path=whock&id=5184
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1516/boxes/wcorren1.o30

RECAPS:
RPI: http://www.rpiathletics.com/news/2015/10/30/WICE_1030155903.aspx?path=whock
Cornell: http://cornellbigred.com/news/2015/10/30/WICE_1030150528.aspx
Video Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=181V21GuGpA

RECORD: 3-4 (1-0 ECAC)

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RPI at Colgate
ECAC Hockey Game - Starr Rink (Hamilton, NY)
10/31/15 - 3pm
RPI 3, Colgate 3 (OT)

BOX SCORES:
RPI: http://www.rpiathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?path=whock&id=5185
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1516/boxes/wclgren1.o31

RECAPS:
RPI: http://www.rpiathletics.com/news/2015/10/31/WICE_1031153005.aspx?path=whock
Colgate: http://www.gocolgateraiders.com/news/2015/10/31/WHOCKEY_1031151316.aspx
Video Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lw0cjRQzAY

RECORD: 3-4-1 (1-0-1 ECAC)

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Upcoming Schedule

Nov. 6 - St. Lawrence (7pm)
Nov. 7 - Clarkson (4pm)
Nov. 13 - at Dartmouth (7pm)
Nov. 14 - at Harvard (4pm)

Haters Gonna Hate

"We hate them, they hate us, that's all there really is to it."

I've mentioned this quote in the past - uttered by an RPI Engineer who will forever remain anonymous. It's pretty much a perfect one-sentence coverage of RPI-Union. As much as RPI hated Clarkson for generations, there was never as much mutual hatred as there has been in RPI-Union for years (Clarkson always saved that for St. Lawrence).

Records are irrelevant this weekend - if you need proof, just look at last year's ECAC home-and-home. The defending national champions against a team that just got swept at home against Bentley. So of course the team that got swept at home against Bentley swept all four points. Union's victory over RPI last year in the Mayor's Cup - an equally bizarre outcome, especially considering the condition of both teams heading into it - was the Dutchmen's first win over RPI in four tries.

And it means there's some payback owed. Whoever lost the last round always owes some payback. Period.

It's the opening weekend of ECAC play for the women, too, as they travel to take on a Cornell team that's not quite as mighty as they had been in recent years (they just got taken behind the woodshed by a current power team, Boston College, in Ithaca, 12-1 in two games), and a Colgate team that has been a major competitor for playoff positions in those same years.

Important? All ECAC games are important. But this weekend, both teams face games that, for one reason or another are just a little more important.

Stick tap to Tyler Hinman for this week's pumpup.

Know Your Enemy: Colgate

The Class of 2016 at Colgate has been one of the most dynamic and powerful single recruiting classes in the ECAC in a number of seasons when you consider their overall team impact and just how much of an engine they have been for the Raiders. The names are familiar by now. Baun. Borkowski. Murphy. The Spinks. All well known across the league for their abilities with the puck. Defensemen Lough and Johnston have been a key components for the Raiders on the blue line. But a quick look at the calendar shows that this outstanding group of classmates is running low on time - and that may have Colgate among the most urgent of the "win now" squads in the league.

Colgate
Nickname: Raiders
Location: Hamilton, NY
Founded: 1819
Conference: ECAC
National Championships: 0
Last NCAA Appearance: 2014
Last Frozen Four: 1990
Coach: Don Vaughan (23rd season)
2013-14 Record: 22-12-4 (11-7-4 ECAC, 4th place) 
Series: RPI leads, 61-57-4
First Game: February 19, 1916 (Hamilton, NY) 
Last RPI win: January 16, 2015 (Troy, NY)
Last CU win: February 21, 2015 (Hamilton, NY)

2014-15 games: January 16, 2016 (Troy, NY); February 26, 2016 (Hamilton, NY)

Key players: F Michael Borkowski, sr.; D Kevin Lough, sr.; F Darcy Murphy, sr.; F Tylor Spink, sr.; F Tyson Spink, sr.; D Brett Corkey, jr.; G Charlie Finn, jr.; F Tim Harrison, jr.; D Jake Kulevich, jr.; F Mike Panowyk, so.; D Kenny Citron, fr.; D Rory McGuire, fr.;  F Hunter Racine, fr.

Key losses: F Kyle Baun, F Joe Wilson, D Spiro Goulakos, F John Lidgett, D Brendan Corcoran, D Ryan Johnston, F Daniel Gentzler

Previous KYE installments:

• 2010-11
• 2011-12
• 2012-13
• 2013-14
• 2014-15

Colgate's uber-talented senior class will be lighter this season by two - Baun signed with Chicago in March (appearing in 3 NHL games) after a third consecutive stellar season in Hamilton, and Johnston signed with Montreal in July after impressing the Habs at their annual prospect camp. Baun's departure was mostly expected, while Johnston's defection was a bit of a surprise and may ultimately hurt the Raiders more in the short term (for a similar RPI example, see the Haggerty and Zalewski departures in 2014).

Those losses don't leave the motor pool empty for Colgate's offense at all, really. Baun was the team's second leading scorer last season, but Tyson Spink and Murphy were first and third with 31 and 26 points respectively, and assuming Borkowski and Tylor Spink can stay healthy this season, one should expect the Raiders' attack to be pretty strong once again, even when factoring in the loss of the graduated Wilson (24 points).

The defensive losses are a bit more grating, especially considering that Johnston's loss was relatively late. Goulakos and Corcoran alone were big blows, but the loss of a third regular starter makes Colgate's defensive picture look a bit more tenuous. The deferral of recruit Adam Dauda, a strong two-way defenseman from Slovakia, hurts a bit, too (he suffered an undisclosed injury and will arrive in a year). Fortunately, the three returning blue liners are upperclassmen all, which should make for at least a little bit of continuity, and Finn backed up his solid freshman campaign in the nets with an even better one as a sophomore.

But in terms of strength, the Raiders may not get themselves back to where they are now for a couple of seasons at least following the graduation of their remarkable seniors. For all of their accomplishments on the ice, the sum total of their hardware consists of a Mariucci Classic title in 2013 and a Three Rivers Classic title in 2014. They've been to two straight ECAC championship games, losing both.  They've played in one NCAA tournament game, being shut out 1-0 by Ferris State in 2014. They've got all the motivation they need to put together a strong final act even before considering the institutional motivation to strike while the iron is hot.

As long as the defensive turnover doesn't sting too much, Colgate should still find itself among the elite of the conference. They may not be as deep as teams like Yale and Quinnipiac or as well rounded as teams like St. Lawrence, but they've got enough pep offensively to be a threat every time they take the ice. As with several different ECAC teams in the last few years, the Raiders had a summer tour of Europe this year, playing three games in Switzerland and Italy last month.

With all that Colgate's seniors have done for the Raiders, they haven't had an awful lot of success against the Engineers, holding just a 1-4-1 record against RPI, the lone win coming in the last game between the teams at Starr Rink this past February. So in the recent past, Colgate has been kind of a sneaky avenue for "extra points," given how well the Raiders have done in the last two years. But there's certainly no guarantee that the trend is necessarily going to continue; expect two very hard fought games, especially for the season finale in Hamilton, which will be the final regular season game in Starr Rink.

Men's Hockey - at Cornell & Colgate (20/21 Feb)

With an opportunity to make up points on teams ahead of them in the standings on both nights, the Engineers did manage to narrow the gap between 8th and 9th on their annual road trip to Central New York, but not by much. RPI struck twice in under a minute against Cornell to go up 2-0, but had to settle for a 2-2 tie after giving up an extra attacker goal just over 30 seconds away from their first season sweep of the Big Red since 1998. The next night, the Engineers fought back twice after Colgate took 1-0 and 2-1 leads, but couldn't come back a third time in a 4-2 loss.

Cornell
Liljegren-Schroeder-Bubela
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Wood-Bourbonnais-DeVito
Laliberte-McGowan-Gillespie

Leonard-Bradley
Curadi-Bell
Prapavessis-Wilson

Kasdorf

Kenny Gillespie returned to the lineup after a week's absence, replacing Matt Neal, who missed the weekend for reasons unknown. Bradley Bell also got back into the lineup in place of Craig Bokenfohr. Bell has been battling an injury for much of the last month.

The first period looked like a lot more of the same for the Engineers, who despite having the period's only power play opportunity, managed just four shots on goal. Fortunately, on the other end, Jason Kasdorf was getting himself back in the right state after a couple of shaky weekends in net for the Engineers. He kept all eight Cornell shots out of the net.

The 0-0 scoreline held until midway through the second period, when the Engineers pounced on a pair of spot mistakes by the home team. Lou Nanne scored his fifth goal of the season after Drew Melanson stripped a defender on the forecheck, then just 33 seconds later Viktor Liljegren scored his sixth of the year. Just like that, RPI had a 2-0 lead.

Cornell's offense has struggled mightily at times this season, but their power play has been decent. Zach Schroeder's holding penalty early in the third period allowed the Big Red back into the game as John McCarron scored 20 seconds into the man advantage to cut RPI's lead in half. The defense held strong for the rest of the period until Cornell pulled goaltender Mitch Gillam for the extra skater. They had done that down three goals in Troy and held the zone for nearly four full minutes without scoring. This time, the Big Red again held the zone for the entirety of the extra attacker period, but found paydirt after 51 seconds, with RPI just 33 seconds away from securing the win.

The two sides traded efforts in the overtime period, with RPI controlling the first half and Cornell the second, but neither could find the game winner. The Engineers could at least settle for the fact that their losing streak was halted at six in a row, and that their unbeaten streak against Cornell was extended to four in a row.

Colgate
Liljegren-Schroeder-Bubela
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Wood-Bourbonnais-DeVito
Laliberte-McGowan-Gillespie

Leonard-Bradley
Curadi-Bell
Prapavessis-Wilson

Kasdorf

No changes were made at all to RPI's lineup from Friday to Saturday as they moved to Hamilton to take on Colgate, shutout winners over Union the previous night.

Unlike the previous night, the scoring got underway pretty quickly at Starr Rink as Colgate's Spink twins, Tyson and Tylor, linked up just 60 seconds in to put the Raiders up 1-0. 

RPI took 10 minutes to answer, but they did get the next goal on a blast from the point by Chris Bradley in a four-on-four situation to tie the game up, with Drew Melanson providing the key feed.

The Spink twins responded on the power play in the second period. With Jake Wood off on an interference call, the twins reversed the script - Tylor had scored from Tyson on the first goal, this time Tyson scored on a pass from Tylor, putting Colgate up 2-1. This lead did not last long, however, as Mark McGowan grabbed his fifth goal of the year, again on a shot from the point, to tie the score.

That tie was quickly erased as the home team attacked immediately. 33 seconds later, after a sweet drop pass by Joe Wilson, Darcy Murphy had put the puck in the back of the net to make it 3-2 Colgate.

With the Raiders leading in the third period, their typical slow-down defense went into play, especially after Kyle Baun scored from BOTH Spink twins with just over five minutes left in the game for an insurance tally. RPI was unable to get any closer despite some good chances late, and they had to return to Troy with just one point on the weekend. Jason Kasdorf did look much improved in net over his previous two weekends, but it's tough to be able to pick up only one point in seven straight league games at the end of the season.

The Engineers are hoping to be behind the eight-ball by the end of next weekend, as 8th is the best they can now finish within the league, the final home-ice position. Clarkson was swept by Dartmouth and Harvard, leaving the Golden Knights three points ahead in 8th. Union was swept by Colgate and Cornell, dropping them two points behind in 10th.

With only four more games guaranteed this season, the Engineers' streak of giving up three goals remains firm. Allowing less than three goals, RPI is now 9-0-2. Allowing three or more, they're 0-23-0.

Current ECAC Standings
1. Quinnipiac - 33 points (15-2-3)
2. St. Lawrence - 29 points (14-5-1)
3. Yale - 25 points (11-6-3)
4. Harvard - 23 points (10-7-3)
5. Colgate - 23 points (10-7-3)
6. Dartmouth - 22 points (10-8-2)
7. Cornell - 21 points (9-8-3)
8. Clarkson - 18 points (8-10-2)
9. RPI - 15 points (7-12-1)
10. Union - 13 points (6-13-1)
11. Brown - 12 points (5-13-2)
12. Princeton - 6 points (2-16-2)

RPI at Cornell
ECAC Game - Lynah (Ithaca, NY)
2/20/15 - 7:00pm

RESULT: RPI 2, Cornell 2 (OT)

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS

RPI
USCHO
Troy Record

RECORD: 9-22-2 (7-11-1, 15pts)

RPI at Colgate
ECAC Game - Starr Rink (Hamilton, NY)
2/21/15 - 7:00pm

RESULT: Colgate 4, RPI 2

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record

RECORD: 9-23-2 (7-12-1, 15pts)

Upcoming games
27 Feb - Clarkson
28 Feb - #19 St. Lawrence (Senior Night)
06 Mar - ECAC First Round (Site TBA)
07 Mar - ECAC First Round (Site TBA)
08 Mar - ECAC First Round (Site TBA, if necessary)

Women's Hockey - Cornell & Colgate (20/21 Feb)

RPI's season ended this weekend, as we've known it would for a few weeks now, but the Engineers had a little something to celebrate as they defeated Colgate 5-3 on Senior Night after falling to Cornell 4-1 the night before.

Cornell

Wash/Gruschow/Tomlinson
Mahoney/Svoboda/Walsh
Rooney/Mankey/Raspa
Horwood/Hylwa

Renn/Banks
Middlebrook/Kimmerle
Schilter/Behounek

Piper

Alexa Gruschow scored a power play goal late in the first period to give RPI a 1-0 lead, but Cornell took control of the game from there en route to a 4-1 victory on Friday.

Jillian Saulnier led the Big Red with two goals and an assist on the night, while linemate Brianne Jenner matched her three points with a goal and a pair of helpers.

Cornell knotted the score at one just 3:28 into the second period, when a shot by Emily Fulton deflected off Saulnier and past Brianna Piper, who was playing in her final weekend after not seeing the ice in several weeks.

The Big Red took the lead five minutes later, with Jenner picking up a long rebound and driving to the net for the tally. They also held RPI to just three shots in the middle frame.

The visitors put the game out of reach with two power play goals in the third, first from Kaitlin Doering on a rebound off a wraparound, then a few minutes later from Saulnier on a feed from Jenner.

The win put the Big Red in control of their own destiny for home ice in the quarterfinals, which they secured on Saturday by defeating Union.

Colgate

Mahoney/Svoboda/Walsh
Wash/Gruschow/Tomlinson
Rooney/Mankey/Raspa
Horwood/Hylwa

Schilter/Middlebrook
Behounek/Kimmerle
Renn/Banks

O'Brien

Coming into the final game of the season for both teams, RPI and Colgate were playing for ninth place in the standings, and the Engineers came out on top with a 5-3 decision on Senior Night. Of the eight goals scored in the game, all but one were on the power play.

The lone tally not on the power play was also the game's first, with Hannah Behounek taking a feed from Ali Svoboda and putting it past Brittney Brooks for the early lead at 2:53.

Shayna Tomlinson doubled that lead at 12:18 on the Engineers' first man advantage of the game, and the Engineers went on a tear to start the second period, scoring two more quick power play goals on successive chances. Taylor Mahoney and Ali Svoboda picked up the goals early in the second at 5:00 and 7:26 respectively.

Shortly after Svoboda's goal, Gruschow was given a 5-minute major for cross-checking, and Colgate set to work getting themselves right back into the game. The Raiders would score three goals on the opportunity, with Miriam Drubel getting Colgate on the board before Melissa Kueber tacked on two more to cut RPI's lead to one.

RPI was forced to kill more penalty time early in the third, including over a minute of 5-on-3, but the held strong and eventually went on a 5-on-3 of their own when two Colgate players were whistled on the same play. Gruschow put RPI up 5-3 on the advantage and the score held up.

The season ended for RPI and Colgate on Saturday, as well as Union and Brown, while the other eight teams head into the playoffs.

#8 seed Dartmouth, who was at one point within close reach of the Engineers for eighth but finished nine points up on RPI, heads west to face #1 Clarkson.

#7 Yale will take on #2 Harvard, who finished with an identical record to the top-seeded Golden Knights but fell to #2 on tiebreakers.

#6 Princeton and travel partner #3 Quinnipiac in Hamden, while another tiebreaker has #5 SLU visiting #4 Cornell.

-----

RPI vs. Cornell
ECAC Hockey Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
2/20/15 - 7pm
Cornell 4, RPI 1

BOX SCORES:
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?path=whock&id=4455
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1415/boxes/wcorren1.f20

RECAPS:
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/news/2015/2/20/WICE_0220152135.aspx
Cornell: http://www.cornellbigred.com/news/2015/2/20/WICE_0220155140.aspx

RECORD: 6-23-4 (4-16-1 ECAC)

-----

RPI vs. Colgate
ECAC Hockey Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
2/21/15 - 4pm
RPI 5, Colgate 3

BOX SCORES:
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?path=whock&id=4456
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1415/boxes/wclgren1.f21

RECAPS:
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/news/2015/2/21/WICE_0221151603.aspx
Colgate: http://www.gocolgateraiders.com/news/2015/2/21/WHOCKEY_0221155246.aspx

RECORD: 7-23-4 (5-16-1 ECAC)

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Final ECAC Standings

1t. Clarkson - 34 pts (22-16-4) (Clarkson wins tiebreaker)
1t. Harvard - 34 pts (22-16-4)
3. Quinnipiac - 32 pts (15-5-2)
4t. Cornell - 30 pts (14-6-2) (Cornell wins tiebreaker)
4t. St. Lawrence - 30 pts (13-5-4)
6. Princeton - 27 pts (13-8-1)
7. Yale - 24 pts (12-10-0)
8. Dartmouth - 20 pts (9-11-2)
9. RPI - 11 pts (5-16-1)
10. Colgate - 10 pts (4-16-2)
11. Union - 7 pts (1-16-5)
12. Brown - 5 pts (2-19-1)

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ECAC Playoff Quarterfinal Matchups

#8 Dartmouth at #1 Clarkson
#7 Yale at #2 Harvard
#6 Princeton at #3 Quinnipiac
#5 St. Lawrence at #4 Cornell

From the Ashes

This is usually the part where we try and tell you that it's a big weekend and everything's going to be alright.

We can't make that promise. We offer just one word: hope.

We're talking about the ECAC here. Anything can and will happen. RPI was supposed to finish in first place last year, look how that turned out. Colgate was supposed to finish in first place this year, look how that turned out. The sooner you realize that no one knows anything or can predict anything, the quicker you're going to be at peace with whatever happens.

On what planet was RPI, losers of nine straight and just coming off a win against the league punching bag, going to sweep Colgate and Cornell, even at home? Well, they did. That happened.

They may no longer have the benefit of home ice advantage, and things may look dark now. But it's possible. Anything is possible. They did it once, they can find a way to do it again. For a team that's struggling to keep the puck out of the net, what more could you ask for than the weakest scoring travel partner duo in the league?

For the women, it's a bittersweet farewell this weekend. We've known for a few weeks that it would be wrapping up tomorrow afternoon at the Field House. No wild scenarios where they could pull into 8th. No drama. Two games, and the end of a difficult season are at the doorstep. But it's a weekend where the Engineers can at least seek the solace of a strong finish to their season. They beat Brown last Saturday. Last year against Cornell in Troy, they came tantalizingly close to pulling out some points. They're tied in the standings with Colgate.

No promises, but a strong weekend could see the Engineers finish off a tough year with three wins, a light at the end of the tunnel finish that would be a great platform to build off for next season. It would also at least guarantee a 9th place finish, the highest final spot the Engineers could hope for.

Things look bad, there's no question. But you're an RPI fan. Whether you're an alum, a student, a townie or otherwise, you're cut from rougher stuff. Know that. Strap in, strap on, and hold tight. This isn't over until we decide it is.

Women's Hockey - at Colgate & Cornell (30/31 Jan)

RPI's slim chance at a playoff spot was all but extinguished this weekend as they surrendered two points to Colgate in a 4-2 loss, falling into 10th place before getting trounced by Cornell 7-1 on Saturday.

Colgate

Horwood/Tomlinson/Gruschow
Wash/Mahoney/Svoboda
Rooney/Mankey/Walsh
Raspa

Kimmerle/Godin
Middlebrook/Schilter
Banks/Behounek

O'Brien

RPI's hopes of making the playoffs were predicated on two things - beat the teams behind them in the standings and steal a few points from the teams ahead. RPI failed at the first when they lost a 4-2 stinker to Colgate on Friday afternoon, with the score only as close as it was because Kelly O'Brien turned away 46 shots.

That's right, Colgate put 50 shots on the RPI net on Friday - 10 more than they managed in their exhibition game against the Cambridge Rivulettes.

RPI fell in a 2-0 hole in the first period, with Miriam Drubel collecting a loose puck in the slot for an unobstructed chance at O'Brien, then Megan Sullivan redirecting a shot from the point to make it 2-0.

The Engineers cut that lead in half when Jenn Godin scored 8:58 into the second, but things got worse late in the period as Colgate scored twice in 34 seconds to make it 4-1. The Raiders pounded the RPI net in the middle frame, putting 26 pucks on net.

Alexa Gruschow scored late in the third on the power play to make it 4-2 but that would be the score when time expired as RPI recorded one of its uglier losses in recent memory.

Cornell

Horwood/Tomlinson/Gruschow
Wash/Mahoney/Svoboda
Rooney/Mankey/Walsh
Raspa

Kimmerle/Godin
Banks/Behounek
Middlebrook/Renn
Schilter

O'Brien

If Friday's loss was ugly, at least Saturday's was a little less unexpected as Cornell rolled over the Engineers en route to a 7-1 victory at Lynah Rink.

Six players tallied goals for the Big Red, including two for Emily Fulton, while Cornell's goalies split time in turning away 19 of 20 RPI shots.

This time around RPI fell behind 3-0, with Jillian Saulnier, Brianne Jenner, and Sydney Smith all scoring in the first for Cornell.

Ali Svoboda scored RPI's only goal 1:42 into the second period, crashing the crease to put a loose puck past goalie Paula Voorhees.

The remainder of the second was not kind to RPI as they surrendered both of Fulton's goals as well as one by Cassandra Poudrier to find themselves behind 6-1 after two.

Morgan McKinn tacked on one more for good measure in the third and 7-1 tied RPI's most lopsided margin of defeat on the season, with the other 7-1 loss coming against North Dakota in the first official game of the season.

With the two losses, RPI is all but mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. There remains a fractional percent chance of clawing into 8th, however with it depending on beating several teams ahead of them in the standings, the Engineers may be getting ready to start planning their offseason activities with six games left on the calendar.

-----

RPI at Colgate
ECAC Hockey Game - Starr Rink (Hamilton, NY)
1/23/15 - 7:00pm
Colgate 4, RPI 2

BOX SCORES:
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1415/boxes/wclgren1.j30
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?path=whock&id=4449

RECAPS:
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/news/2015/1/30/WICE_0130154851.aspx
Colgate: http://gocolgateraiders.com/news/2015/1/30/WHOCKEY_0130154119.aspx
Video Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R1s8Xc9g_A

RECORD: 5-18-4 (3-11-1 ECAC)

-----

RPI at Cornell
ECAC Hockey Game - Lynah Rink (Ithaca, NY)
1/24/15 - 3:00pm
Cornell 7, RPI 1

BOX SCORES:
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1415/boxes/wcorren1.j31
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?path=whock&id=4450

RECAPS:
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/news/2015/1/31/WICE_0131152454.aspx
Cornell: http://www.cornellbigred.com/news/2015/1/31/WICE_0131153539.aspx
Video Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f2bAoafgaM


RECORD: 5-19-4 (3-12-1 ECAC)

-----

Upcoming Schedule

Feb. 6 - Clarkson (7pm)
Feb. 7 - St. Lawrence (4pm)
Feb. 13 - at Yale (7pm)
Feb. 14 - at Brown (4pm)

-----

ECAC Standings

1. Quinnipiac - 26 pts. (12-2-2) (.812)
2. Harvard - 25 pts. (12-3-1) (.781)
3t. Clarkson - 22 pts. (10-3-2) (.733)
3t. Cornell - 22 pts. (10-3-2) (.733)
3t. St. Lawrence - 22 pts. (10-3-2) (.733)
6. Princeton - 19 pts. (9-6-1) (.594)
7t. Dartmouth - 14 pts. (6-8-2) (.438)
7t. Yale - 14 pts. (7-9-0) (.438)
9. Colgate - 9 pts. (4-10-1) (.300)
10. RPI - 7 pts. (3-12-1) (.219)
11. Brown - 4 pts (2-14-0) (.125)
12. Union - 4 pts. (1-13-2) (.125)

Step to the Line

Every weekend is a big weekend when it comes to the ECAC. All of the points are crucial. The later in the season it gets, the more precious points become.

But sometimes, you reach a crossroads from which you know there's no going back if you fail, and the Engineers, men and women, face that kind of a crossroads this weekend, and especially tonight.

For the men, it's a one night stand in Hanover. One game, and the microscopes are out. Plenty of folks were declaring RPI "back" after sweeping Colgate and Cornell at home in impressive fashion. When you've got only one game in a weekend, things become more magnified, and the egg the Engineers laid against Union in the Mayor's Cup was disturbing enough to make us all wonder - who's the real RPI?

It's a one game microscope, and it's on the road tonight. To some extent, there's a slight added advantage for the Engineers in that they don't play Saturday - they can lay it all on the line tonight, Dartmouth has to still have gas in the tank for Union tomorrow. But the margin for error is slipping. No more non-conference games. No more mistakes you can brush off a little bit easier.

The women needed four points last weekend against Union. They got three. The difference between three and four is thin until you consider that they've only got seven for the season and are five points behind the Yale Bulldogs. That's what makes this afternoon's contest against Colgate crucial. The Raiders are one of only three teams behind RPI in the standings. If that gap is going to be closed, points against those teams are essential. That #8 seed seems pretty far away, but it's going to get a whole lot farther if victory isn't in store tonight. Cornell tomorrow represents bonus points if they can be had. Colgate today is do or die.

"The Line" is the story of Darius Washington, Jr., who as a freshman at Memphis in 2005 was given three foul shots with no time remaining on the clock in the conference championship game against Louisville with his team down by two - meaning that he could tie the game with two out of three, and win it by making all three. He made only the first one.

Been waiting for a good excuse to use this song for a pumpup, this seems to be the week for it. There are plenty of lines in sport from which one stands to await glory. The basketball player takes the foul line at a crucial moment. The football player approaches the line of scrimmage on 4th down. The jockey of a Triple Crown contender guides his mount into the starting gate at Belmont. A hockey team lines up on the blue line for the national anthems.

Both the men and the women step to the line tonight, a season hinging.

Men's Hockey - Colgate & Cornell (16/17 Jan)

It's pretty impressive how much perceptions can change in college hockey in a very short period of time. Some of it can be described as overreaction swinging from one direction to the other, but make no mistake - one good weekend can certainly make a season's outlook an awful lot brighter. Two weeks ago, RPI was mired in a long losing streak and being roundly written off. This past weekend, the Engineers are suddenly being toasted again after a dominating pair of games at home, upsetting nationally-ranked Colgate 4-1 on Friday night and then shutting out Cornell 3-0 on Saturday. There's still a long way to go, but suddenly a long season looks considerably more interesting.

Colgate
Liljegren-DeVito-McGowan
Neal-Bubela-Laliberte
Melanson-Schroeder-Nanne
Wood-Bourbonnais-Gillespie

Leonard-Prapavessis
Bradley-Bokenfohr
Curadi-Wilson

Kasdorf

Returning home for the first league games in Troy since mid-November, the Engineers were just about back to full strength. Still missing from the previous outing due to injury were Travis Fulton and Mark Miller, it's still unknown when either will be back in the lineup.

The Engineers jumped on Colgate early on Friday night, picking up a goal by Mark McGowan on a redirect of a shot by Luke Curadi to take a 1-0 lead just 2:08 into the contest. It was the senior's 3rd goal of the season. Colgate would get it back late in the first on a one-timed shot by Kevin Lough after a faceoff in the Engineers' zone to tie things back up heading into the first intermission.

The first two periods were practically devoid of offensive chances for either team. Colgate held a 12-8 edge in shots 40 minutes into the game, meaning that the teams were averaging only a single shot every 2 minutes.

RPI busted things open in the third period, with the senior forwards leading the way. Matt Neal's second goal of the season - and second in as many games - came 56 seconds into the third to put the Engineers back in front and a tally by Jacob Laliberte about two and a half minutes later made it 3-1 in favor of the home team.

That was all the Engineers would need to pick up their second consecutive ECAC win. RPI dominated the third period, keeping the puck down in the Colgate end for most of the final 20 minutes and outshooting the Raiders 15-6. Neal would pick up a second goal on an empty netter with 29 seconds remaining to clinch the victory. Jason Kasdorf stopped 17 of 18 shots to pick up the victory in net.

Cornell
Liljegren-DeVito-McGowan
Neal-Bubela-Laliberte
Wood-Schroeder-Nanne
Melanson-Bourbonnais-Gillespie

Leonard-Prapavessis
Bradley-Bokenfohr
Curadi-Wilson

Kasdorf

No changes were made to the lineup heading into the Cornell game with the exception of a switch between the third and fourth lines, as Jake Wood was moved up to play on the third line as the left wing with Drew Melanson moving to the fourth line.

The first period on Saturday was similar to the first period on Friday, just without the goals. Not a lot of offensive chances for either team as RPI took a 8-7 edge in shots. The Engineers tended to dominate play at even strength, but were hampered by three penalties taken during the opening frame that gave the Big Red plenty of opportunity to open the scoring, but the penalty kill did its job early on. Ultimately, these would be the only three penalties of the game for RPI.

Jake Wood broke the scoreless deadlock 7:45 into the second period with a shot that looped up and over Cornell goaltender Mitch Gillam's shoulder and into the net to give the Engineers their third straight 1-0 lead (after having only accomplished that edge three times prior to last weekend). Wood was being hooked at the time of his shot, which gave RPI their only power play of the game immediately following the goal, but it was a poor effort on the man advantage.

The score remained 1-0 heading into the final period of play, but RPI came out quickly for the final period once again to take a more commanding lead. Jacob Laliberte's second goal of the weekend and fourth of the season was generated by Matt Neal, who kept a clearance attempt banked off the glass from leaving the zone, then quickly zipped it up to his classmate, who beat Gillam five-hole for the 2-0 lead.

Two and a half minutes later, the Engineers scored on a 2-on-1 break as Mark McGowan dished to Jared Wilson across the crease, and the freshman put it past a badly positioned Gillam to make the score 3-0. Gillam, who had the nation's best goals against average and save percentage coming into the game, was pulled in favor of Hayden Stewart following the goal by Wilson, his third of the year.

RPI continued to pour it on through the remainder of the third period, forcing the new Cornell goaltender to make nine saves, but it wasn't until an icing call against RPI with 3:44 remaining in the game that momentum shifted distinctly in Cornell's favor. Pulling the netminder for the extra attacker, they kept the Engineers pinned in their own zone for the remainder of the game, winning faceoffs, maintaining puck control, and peppering the RPI net with shots. Fortunately for the home team, Jason Kasdorf was right on top of his game. When all was said and done, the junior had made 14 saves in the final period as part of a 26 save night overall in picking up his first shutout of the season.

The schedule is somewhat unkind to the Engineers over the next two weeks, as they won't immediately get a chance to build on their three-game winning streak in league. This coming weekend, they fight for pride and local glory in defending the Mayor's Cup against Union in Albany - essentially, the only piece of hardware denied the Dutchmen last season. After that, they get just one game the following week at Dartmouth, as the corresponding game at Harvard was played at the end of December. Nevertheless, some folks are starting to compare this team with the 2012-13 team, which had a rough season until January and then went on a serious run to finish 2nd in the ECAC. That might be tough to duplicate and it's probably too early to say that the Engineers are that dangerous a team, but things certainly look a lot brighter than they did after losing to Quinnipiac to make it nine losses in a row. There's still so much to play for.

Current ECAC Standings
1. Quinnipiac - 20 points (10-2-0)
2. Harvard - 16 points (7-2-2)
3. St. Lawrence - 14 points (7-4-0)
4. RPI - 14 points (7-6-0)
5. Yale - 13 points (6-3-1)
6. Colgate - 13 points (6-3-1)
7. Clarkson - 12 points (5-4-2)
8. Cornell - 10 points (5-5-0)
9. Union - 9 points (4-7-1)
10. Dartmouth - 7 points (3-6-1)
11. Brown - 2 points (1-9-0)
12. Princeton - 2 points (1-11-0)

By winning percentage
1. Quinnipiac (.833)
2. Harvard (.727)
3. Yale (.650)
4. Colgate (.650)
5. St. Lawrence (.636)
6. Clarkson (.545)
7. RPI (.538)
8. Cornell (.500)
9. Union (.375)
10. Dartmouth (.350)
11. Brown (.100)
12. Princeton (.083)

#15 Colgate at RPI

ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
1/16/15 - 7:00pm

RESULT: RPI 4, Colgate 1

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union

RECORD: 8-16-1 (6-6-0, 12pts)

Cornell at RPI
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
1/17/15 - 7:07pm

RESULT: RPI 3, Cornell 0

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union

RECORD: 9-16-1 (7-6-0, 14pts)

Upcoming games
24 Jan - vs. Union (Albany, NY)
30 Jan - at Dartmouth
06 Feb - at St. Lawrence
07 Feb - at Clarkson
13 Feb - Brown

I Don't Want A Large Farva

So, does anyone remember Super Troopers? Ahh, of course you do. They're making a sequel.

Yes, one of the best cult classics out there from the last decade is getting a second chapter - and here's something you probably didn't know about Super Troopers that makes it semi-relevant to this weekend's games: Broken Lizard, the comedy troupe that wrote and starred in the film, formed at Colgate in 1990. The five members of the group are all Colgate alums from the same fraternity.

Now, here's where your mind gets blown (or probably not, but stick with it). Remember the fast-food scene from Super Troopers? The one where Farva antagonizes the "burger punk" behind the counter and gets a lapful of soda for his trouble? (NSFW, salty language) The actor who plays the "burger punk" in the pink shirt is a guy named Charlie Finn.

And who's Colgate's starting goaltender? A sophomore named Charlie Finn. No, it's not the same guy, Super Troopers came out when this Charlie Finn was about eight. C'mon man.

So what if it's just an excuse to be weird during this weekend's pumpup meow?

RPI is probably going to need to whip out some of their best shenanigans if they're going to come out on top tonight against the Raiders. They've been a streaky team this year, and like the Engineers, they've been through a serious injury bug, but they're mostly recovered from the issues they've had. Sharp defense is going to be a must at the Field House tonight, because a team struggling to score like RPI is going to have a hard time getting one past the burger punk - he's only allowed three goals in the last four games, none of which were in Hamilton.

Both teams might need a ramrod to score on Saturday as two of the worst offenses in the nation link up when Cornell comes to town. The Big Red combine that, however, with the nation's top defense, so goals will be at a premium both nights, in all likelihood. If the Engineers play to their strengths now that they can field an optimum lineup, they could potentially go punch for punch, though. Stay tuned.

The women last weekend missed a chance to enhance their playoff chances by going 0-for-5 on the power play and getting shutout by a Dartmouth team that was right in front of them in the standings. Still sitting in 9th place and out of the playoffs, the Engineers are four whole points behind Yale for 8th. Next weekend's games against Union are critical, but anything they can muster for what's likely to be a very difficult weekend in the North Country would be huge as well.

I know what you're thinking. Did I miss the song? No, you didn't. Since both teams are going to need to play like well oiled machines to come away with badly needed points this weekend, here's a song about a machine that has pump-worthy qualities.

No, no more Super Troopers references in the song. I just lost a buck. To myself!

Know Your Enemy: Colgate

Last year, we pondered that Colgate looked a lot like RPI did in 2012-13. The end result? A 2nd place finish, just like that Engineers team accomplished, and in a similar fashion - a sophomore class leading the way with scoring, and a freshman between the pipes who caught fire and lifted the team. Suddenly, they look a lot like RPI did coming into last season - and if they don't suffer the same fate the Engineers did in net injurywise, the sky could be the limit.

Colgate
Nickname: Raiders
Location: Hamilton, NY
Founded: 1819
Conference: ECAC
National Championships: 0
Last NCAA Appearance: 2014
Last Frozen Four: 1990
Coach: Don Vaughan (22nd season)
2013-14 Record: 20-14-5 (13-6-3 ECAC, 2nd place) 
Series: RPI leads, 60-56-4
First Game: February 19, 1916 (Hamilton, NY) 
Last RPI win: November 9, 2013 (Troy, NY)
Last CU win: February 4, 2012 (Troy, NY)

2014-15 games: January 16, 2015 (Troy, NY); February 21, 2015 (Hamilton, NY)

Key players: D Brendan Corcoran, sr.; F Daniel Gentzler, sr.; F John Lidgett, sr.; F Joe Wilson, sr.; D Spiro Goulakos, sr.; F Kyle Baun, jr.; F Michael Borkowski, jr.; D Ryan Johnston, jr.; D Kevin Lough, jr.; F Darcy Murphy, jr.; F Tylor Spink, jr.; F Tyson Spink, jr.; F Andrew Black, so.; D Brett Corkey, so.; G Charlie Finn, so.; F Tim Harrison, so.; F Jake Kulevich, so.; F Mike Panowyk, fr.

Key losses: F Mike McCann

Previous KYE installments:

• 2010-11
• 2011-12
• 2012-13
• 2013-14

For many RPI fans, their impression on Colgate netminder Charlie Finn is the bizarre, bouncing puck goal Guy Leboeuf scored on him during a penalty-kill in the first period of the game in Troy, followed by the yank he got early in the second period after allowing a third goal on just seven shots. A better impression, however, would be the 41 saves on 42 shots he posted against RPI in Hamilton three months later, stonewalling the Engineers completely until Ryan Haggerty scored in the final minute of regulation to force overtime and an eventual draw. That performance was far closer to the way he played the vast majority of his freshman season.

The Raiders bring back their top eight goal-scorers and top nine point producers from a season ago, anchored by their fab five juniors-to-be, Murphy, Borkowski, Baun, and the Spink twins. Throughout the season, Baun was on a line with the Spinks, and Murphy and Borkowski also keyed a scoring line, both of these combinations proving dangerous for the opposition.

Ultimately, Colgate last season was a team that revolved around getting their offense going. Having a strong defensive showing is always good and it tended to work out for the Raiders, but in games like the aformentioned RPI-Colgate tilt in Hamilton and their final game of the season, a 1-0 loss to Ferris State in the NCAA tournament, the offense definitely needed to be clicking in order for Colgate to be successful. Another year of experience for their core should help in that field immensely.

Nationally, the Raiders were average all around - offense, defense, penalty kill, and power play were all somewhere in the middle compared to the rest of the nation. But make no mistake about it - this is now a much more seasoned squad that is ready to take longer strides. Once again, they're easy to compare to the Engineers at this time last year. They've lost no major cogs - McCann was a solid offensive producer but not the most crucial - and they don't have too many major flaws in their game with the exception of offensive consistency.

These next two seasons should be exciting for the Raiders and their fans. A new rink is on the horizon in the not too distant future, and the components are in place for a Colgate team that's going to be difficult to beat. RPI may have taken three points from the Raiders last season, but they'll need to put up a stronger effort this year in order to duplicate the feat, especially considering how flukish the game in Troy now appears. Colgate is, without doubt, a team ready to contend for the very top of the ECAC this season.

Men's Hockey - at Colgate/Cornell (14/15 Feb)

Rumors of the Engineers' demise may have been exaggerated. With perhaps the most daunting road weekend of the year in front of them, RPI put up the effort they needed to skate away with more than your average point haul from a road weekend, enjoying their most successful trip of the year by landing 3 points against a pair of nationally ranked opponents, defeating Cornell 3-1 after a hard-fought 1-1 tie the night prior in Hamilton against Colgate.

Colgate
Higgs-Zalewski-Haggerty
Neal-Bubela-DeVito
McGowan-Miller-Schroeder
Fulton-Rogic-Tinordi

Leboeuf-Leonard
Bradley-Dolan

Curadi-Bokenfohr

Diebold

After a successful Freakout, Seth Appert fielded largely the same lineup as he had against St. Lawrence, making just one substitution by bringing a previously injured Chris Bradley back in, replacing Parker Reno.

Things didn't start off well for the Engineers - just 12 seconds into the game, they were already killing a penalty as Curtis Leonard was called for interference. That penalty, as well as four others over the course of the game, were successfully killed off, which kept RPI in a game where it almost looked like they'd be unable to break onto the scoresheet at all.

The game's first goal would be the only one for quite some time, and it was put in off a Colgate stick about 16 minutes into the contest. It was reviewed to see if it went in off a high stick, but the goal was allowed to stand, giving Colgate the 1-0 lead after one period despite being outshot 12-7.

That lead held up for the next 39 minutes as well as Colgate goaltender Charlie Finn did everything he could to maintain it, finishing his night with an impressive 41 saves against an RPI team that was keen to put the puck on net. Three RPI power plays in the 2nd period did not produce a goal, and the Engineers had to kill two penalties of their own in the 3rd period to have the opportunity to tie things up late.

With one minute left in regulation and a faceoff coming in the Colgate zone, Seth Appert called timeout and kept Scott Diebold out of the RPI net. While the Engineers haven't been terribly successful this season with the extra attacker, it only took six seconds for Mike Zalewski to find Ryan Haggerty with a nice pass that Haggerty put home for his 23rd goal of the season with 54 seconds left on the clock to finally put the Engineers on the board and tie the game at one.

RPI was not done. In fact, they very nearly won the game in regulation with about 19 seconds left to go as Zalewski and Haggerty buzzed the net. Finn got his leg against the puck and the post, and when it came off the puck was across the line, but it was unable to be confirmed that the puck went in before the whistle blew.

The Engineers dominated the overtime period and produced another couple of opportunities to win, but they could not find the game winner and settled instead for a 1-1 tie, one of the better ties RPI has produced this season.

Cornell
Higgs-Zalewski-Haggerty
Neal-Bubela-Tinordi
McGowan-Miller-Schroeder
Fulton-Rogic-DeVito

Leboeuf-Leonard
Bradley-Dolan

Curadi-Bokenfohr

Diebold

The same personnel hit the ice on Saturday night as had pumped 42 shots on net on Friday night with one minor change - Jimmy DeVito was moved down to Matt Tinordi's previous place on the grind line, with Tinordi moving up to DeVito's previous position on the Engineers' second scoring line.

Brock Higgs got the Engineers on the board first about seven minutes in, scoring on a nice pass by Ryan Haggerty for his 14th goal of the year, making it 1-0. After about 10 minutes of even play, RPI made it 2-0 on a controversial goal coming during a delayed penalty, as Bo Dolan's shot glanced off the skate of Mark McGowan. After review, it was determined that McGowan did not use a kicking motion to put the puck in, and was credited with his 3rd goal of the year.

RPI maintained their 2-0 lead until late in the 2nd period, when Matt Tinordi hit his 7th of the season to make it 3-0 on just the third penalty called in the game. The goal and the power play came generally against the flow of play in the period, as Cornell seemed to dominate possession throughout the middle stanza.

That domination eventually paid off for the Big Red as they put themselves on the scoreboard three and a half minutes into the third period, cutting the RPI lead to 3-1. Despite continuing to control play in the third and outshooting RPI 8-5 in the final frame, Cornell was unable to get another tally, even with the extra skater for the game's final 1:32, an advantage that was amplified with 14 seconds remaining as Guy Leboeuf took a five minute major for kneeing. Scott Diebold made 33 saves to pick up the victory in net for the Engineers, who picked up three big points on the weekend.

RPI did not move up in the standings, but they did edge closer to 6th place and farther away from 8th and 9th places, important this time of year. They now sit just two points out of the final first-round bye position with four games left to play.

Other junk - Ranked ECAC teams this week include #3 Union (beat Cornell and tied Colgate, no change), #5 Quinnipiac (beat Yale and lost to Brown, down one), #13 Cornell (swept by Union/RPI, down two), #14 Yale (lost to Quinnipiac and beat Princeton, down one), and #19 Colgate (tied RPI and Union, no change). Clarkson (95 votes, formerly #14) was the only other ECAC team receiving votes. Other ranked teams on the RPI schedule include #1 Boston College (no change with 49 first place votes), #2 Minnesota (no change with one first place vote), #6 Ferris State (down two), and #18 Denver (no change). New Hampshire (6) and Mercyhurst (1) also received votes.

Ryan Haggerty is in a tie with Nebraska-Omaha junior Josh Archibald for 2nd in the nation in goals with 23. They are both four goals behind Boston College's Johnny Gaudreau who has 27.

Mike Zalewski (8) and Matt Tinordi (7) are both in striking distance to reach double digits in goals for the season. If they reach that point, joining Haggerty, Brock Higgs, and Matt Neal who already have 10 or more goals each, it would mark the first time five Engineers have hit double digits since 1998-99, when six (Danny Riva, Brad Tapper, Pete Gardiner, Matt Murley, Alain St. Hilaire, and Mark Murphy) each racked up at least 11.

Next up for the Engineers is a return meeting with the North Country, this time on home ice. St. Lawrence returned home last weekend after a road sweep at Quinnipiac and Princeton to take just one point from Dartmouth and Harvard, one of the weakest travel pairings in the league. Clarkson fared worse, scoring just once against those teams while being swept at home, including a 6-1 loss to a Dartmouth team that has struggled for much of the season. The Engineers would do well to strike while the iron is hot, especially considering the fact that Clarkson is just two points ahead of them in 4th.

ECAC Standings
1. Union - 29 points (14-3-1)
2. Quinnipiac - 25 points (11-4-3)
3. Colgate - 23 points (10-5-3)
4. Clarkson - 20 points (10-8-0)
5. Cornell - 20 points (8-6-4)
6. Yale - 19 points (8-7-3)
7. RPI - 18 points (7-7-4)
8. Brown - 15 points (7-10-1)
9. St. Lawrence - 14 points (5-9-4)
10. Harvard - 14 points (5-9-4)
11. Dartmouth - 11 points (5-12-1)
12. Princeton - 8 points (4-14-0)

RPI at #19 Colgate
ECAC Game - Starr Rink (Hamilton, NY)
2/14/14 - 7:00pm

RESULT: RPI 1, Colgate 1 (OT)

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record

RECORD: 12-12-5 (6-7-4 ECAC, 16 pts)

RPI at #11 Cornell
ECAC Game - Lynah Rink (Ithaca, NY)
2/15/14 - 7:00pm

RESULT: RPI 3, Cornell 1

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS

RPI
Troy Record

RECORD: 13-12-5 (7-7-4 ECAC, 18 pts)

Upcoming games
21 Feb - St. Lawrence
22 Feb - Clarkson
28 Feb - at Brown
01 Mar - at #14 Yale
07 Mar - ECAC First Round Game 1 (if required)