RPI Takes Game One
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colgate (7-25-3; 4-16-3 ECACH) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Rensselaer (20-10-5; 12-9-2 ECAC) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Scoring Summary | |
|---|---|
| 1st - 01:15 | O'Grady, Marty (Rensselaer) |
| 1st - 15:00 | PP - Higgs, Brock (Rensselaer) |
| 1st - 17:26 | PP - Polacek, Chase (Rensselaer) |
| 3rd - 04:44 | Smith, Austin (Colgate) |
| 3rd - 18:12 | PP - Price, Jeremy (Colgate) |
| 3rd - 18:51 | Higgs, Brock (Rensselaer) |
| Colgate | Rensselaer |
|---|---|
|
G:
2 Players (#9, #20 - 1)
A: Kurtis Bartliff - 2 Sh: Robbie Bourdon - 5 Sv: Eric Mihalik - 23 |
G:
Brock Higgs - 2
A: 2 Players (#15, #29 - 2) Sh: 2 Players (#4, #19 - 4) Sv: Allen York - 24 |
| TEAM STATISTICS | Colgate | Rensselaer |
|---|---|---|
| Power Plays | 1 for 5 | 2 for 7 |
| Shorthanded Goals | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties (min) | 8 (16) | 6 (12) |
| Shots on Goal | 26 | 27 |
| Face Offs Won | 23 | 39 |
TROY, N.Y. – Senior Chase
Polacek scored the eventual game-winning goal and added
an assist to lead the 15th/16th-ranked Rensselaer men’s
hockey team to a, 4-2, victory over Colgate, tin the opening round
of the ECAC Hockey playoffs at the Houston Field House. With the
win, the Engineers improve to 20-10-5 overall and take game 1 of
the best-of-three series, while the Raiders fall to 7-25-3.
Rensselaer came out firing early, scoring just 1:15 into the
contest, on a goal by sophomore Marty
O’Grady (London, ON/Wellington Dukes). Junior
defenseman Mike
Bergin (Ottawa, ON/Smiths Falls Bears) took a shot from
the left point that was tipped by senior Bryan
Brutlag (Lakeville, MN/Academy of Holy Angels) to
O’Grady, who backhanded home his seventh of the season.
Freshman Brock
Higgs (Kingston, ON/Kingston Voyageurs) gave the
Engineers a 2-0 lead, on the power play, at 15:00 of the first
period. Taking a cross-ice feed from senior Tyler
Helfrich (Calgary, AB/Prince George Spruce Kings), Higgs
snapped a one-timer past Colgate freshman netminder Eric Mihalik
(Avon Lake, OH/Des Moines). Sophomore Nick
Bailen (Fredonia, NY/Indiana Ice) earned the second
assist.
RPI made it 3-0, 2:26 later, on a nearly identical play from the
right circle, as Polacek (Edina, MN/Academy of Holy Angels) scored
on pass from Helfrich. Bailen earned the second helper once again
as Polacek netted the Engineers’ second power play goal of
the period. The tally was Polacek’s 19th of the season and
his nation-leading ninth game-winning goal – one shy of the
NCAA single-season record.
After a scoreless second period, the Raiders began to chip into
the RPI lead scoring first at 4:44 of the third on a rebound goal
by junior Austin Smith (Dallas, TX/St. Paul’s School).
Sophomore Nathan Sinz (Anchorage, AK/Shattuck’s St.
Mary’s) took a shot from the slot that was turned away by
Engineers’ junior goaltender Allen
York (Wetaskiwin, AB/Camrose Kodiaks), but the carom fell
to Smith who finished just under the cross bar.
The visitors pulled to within a goal (3-2) on the power play at
18:12 of the final stanza. Sophomore Jeremy Price (Milton,
ON/Nepean) notched his fifth of year with assists going to Smith
and classmate Kurtis Bartliff (Clinton, ON/Nanaimo).
The Engineers answered 49 seconds later as a Polacek-led 2-on-1
turned into RPI’s fourth goal of the contest. Carrying the
puck up the right wing boards, Polacek waited for the defenseman to
commit, before sliding a pass onto the tape of Higgs, who tapped
home his second of the game and ninth of the campaign.
York (18-8-4) made 24 saves, including 11 in the second period to
earn the victory, while Mihalik finished with 23 stops at the other
end of the ice.
Both teams are back in action tomorrow night for game 2 of the
series at the Houston Field House (7pm). A Raiders win tomorrow
would force a third game on Sunday (7pm).
