Engineers Tip Niagara in Overtime
TROY, N.Y. – Freshman forward Brock
Higgs (Kingston, ON/Kingston Voyageurs) tapped in the
game-winning goal at 2:10 of overtime to lift the Rensselaer
men’s hockey team to a, 4-3, victory over Niagara University,
in front of 4,151 at the Houston Field House. With the win, the
Engineers improve to 3-1-2, while the Purple Eagles fall to
0-2-2.
Midway through overtime, senior captain John
Kennedy (Saginaw, MI/St. Louis Bandits) made a strong
effort to keep the puck in offensive zone, before whipping a shot
on goal. The rebound came off the chest of Niagara freshman
netminder Carsen Chubak (Prince Albert, SA/Tri-City Storm) and fell
to the right side of the net, where a crashing Higgs was able to
stick home for the game-winner.
Trailing by two goals (3-1) with under seven minutes to play in
regulation time, the Purple Eagles stormed back scoring two
power-play goals in a span of 1:56. Sophomore Giancarlo Iuorio
(Richmond Hills, ON/Markham Waxers) back-handed in a rebound off a
shot from the left point by classmate C.J. Chartrain
(Pointe-Claire, PQ/Pickering Panthers) to make it 3-2.
Niagara netted the game-tying goal at 15:13 of the third on a
tip-in by senior Paul Zanette (Nobleton, ON/Aurora Tigers).
Classmate David Ross (Bowmanville, ON/Bowmanville Eagles) took a
shot from the right point that Zanette neatly re-directed past RPI
junior goaltender Allen
York (Wetaskiwin, AB/Camrose Kodiaks) from the low slot.
Fellow senior Ryan Annesley (Ajax, ON/Pickering Panthers) picked up
the second assist.
Junior forward Alex
Angers-Goulet (St. Augustin, AB/Langley Chiefs) put the
Engineers up 1-0 at 12:08 of the first period, when his stuff-in
attempt at the right side the Niagara cage snuck past Chubak and
just over the goal line. Senior Joel
Malchuk (Brandon, MB/Dauphin Kings) earned the lone
assist on Angers-Goulet’s first of the season.
RPI junior Josh
Rabbani (Woodland Hills, CA/St. Louis Bandits) extended
the host’s lead to 2-0, when he buried a point-blank chance
off a pass by Higgs. The play started at the left point, where
sophomore Nick
Bailen (Fredonia, NY/Indiana Ice) found Higgs all alone
at the right side of the crease. Higgs redirected the puck along
the goal line for Rabbani to finish.
Niagara pulled to within 2-1 on a power-play goal by freshman
Scott Arnold (Pointe-Claire, PQ/Brockville Braves) at 2:57 of the
third period. Arnold took a feed from Ross in the middle of the
slot and wristed a shot, off the left pipe and in, for his second
of the year.
Rensselaer senior Chase
Polacek (Edina, MN/Academy of Holy Angels) answered 2:08
later to give the Engineers back their two-goal lead. Classmate
Tyler
Helfrich (Calgary, AB/Prince George Spruce Kings) threw
the puck on goal, before Polacek picked up the rebound at the left
of cage and flipped in his third tally of the season.
York finished with 34 saves, while Chubak ended up with 32 stops
at the other end of the ice.
The Engineers are back in action on Saturday, when they take on
Union College in the Lake Placid Showcase (4pm). Niagara hosts
Mercyhurst on Friday (7:05pm).












