Engineers Downed by No. 4 Northeastern
TROY, N.Y. - The fourth-ranked Northeastern University men's
hockey team scored the first four goals of the game on its way to a
5-1 victory over Rensselaer in the consolation game of the 58th
Annual Rensselaer Holiday Tournament at the Houston Field House.
With the win, the Huskies improve to 10-3-2 on the season, while
the Engineers fall to 2-10-1.
Northeastern senior Rob Rassey (Shelby Township, MI) took a feed
from across the low slot from classmate Dennis McCauley (Billerica,
MA) and buried it into an open net to give the visitors a 1-0 lead
at 13:23 of the first period. Sophomore Mike Hewkin (St. Charles,
MO) picked up the second assist.
Junior Chris Donovan (Fairfax Station, VA) pushed the Huskies lead
to 2-0 when he flipped the puck - from behind the RPI net - off of
the back of Engineers freshman goalie Allen York's (Wistakiwin, AB)
and into the goal. Donovan's power play tally, which came at 16:56,
was unassisted.
The Huskies extended their lead to 3-0 just 38 seconds into the
second period. Senior Ryan Ginand (Milford, MA) took a snap shot
from the left circle that York got a piece of, but found the back
the net. Rassey earned the lone assist.
Tyler McNeely (Burnaby, BC) recorded his sixth goal of the season
to give Northeastern a 4-0 lead at 13:00 of the second frame.
Taking a pass from freshman Mike McLaughlin (Seaforth, ON), McNeely
flew up the left wing, cut across the net to his backhand and
lifted a shot over York's left shoulder.
The Engineers pulled to within 4-1 at 16:10 of the second period on
a shorthanded marker by senior captain Matt Angers-Goulet (St.
Augustin, PQ). Sophomore defenseman Jeff Foss (Moorhead, MN) picked
up a loose puck in the neutral zone and flipped it ahead to
Angers-Goulet, who stick-handled around Huskies netminder Brad
Thiessen (Aldergrove, BC) for the goal.
Freshman Steve Quailer (Arvada, CO) put Northeastern back up by
four at 5-1 with less than one tick to go in the second. After a
face-off to the right of the RPI cage was pushed toward the net,
Quailer scooped it up and pushed it under a sprawling York for the
tally. Sophomore Steve Silva (Tyngsboro, MA) earned the only
helper.
Thiessen (9-3-2) made 25 saves in picking up the victory, while
York (1-3-1) made 30 stops. Northeastern was 1-9 on the power play,
while RPI was unable to convert on seven man-advantage
opportunities.
Ginand joined Mercyhurst forwards Scott Pitt (Ottawa, ON) and Ryan
Toomey (Bolton, ON) on the All-Tournament Team along with Lakers
defenseman Kirk Medernach (Cudworth, SA) and Princeton blue-liner
Matt Godlewski (Elk River, MN). Mercyhurst sophomore netminder Ryan
Zapolski (Erie, PA) earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team to go
along with Most Outstanding Player honors.
The Engineers return to action next Friday and Saturday, when they
visit ECAC Hockey foes Yale and Brown, respectively. The Huskies
resume Hockey East play when they host Maine on Friday. All three
games are set for 7pm starts.












