Rensselaer Powers Past Princeton
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rensselaer (18-6-4, 10-5-1 ECAC) | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Princeton (14-8-1, 9-6-1 ECAC) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Scoring Summary | |
|---|---|
| 2nd - 09:54 | PP - Rabbani, Josh (Rensselaer) |
| 2nd - 14:35 | PS - O'Grady, Marty (Rensselaer) |
| 2nd - 19:26 | PP - Polacek, Chase (Rensselaer) |
| 3rd - 03:19 | Fedun, Taylor (Princeton) |
| 3rd - 07:33 | Pallis, Derrick (Princeton) |
| 3rd - 13:54 | PP - Rabbani, Josh (Rensselaer) |
| 3rd - 19:14 | EN - Helfrich, Tyler (Rensselaer) |
| Rensselaer | Princeton |
|---|---|
|
G:
Josh Rabbani - 2
A: Tyler Helfrich - 3 Sh: Josh Rabbani - 6 Sv: Bryce Merriam - 39 |
G:
2 Players (#4, #5 - 1)
A: Mike Kramer - 2 Sh: Taylor Fedun - 6 Sv: Sean Bonar - 19 |
| TEAM STATISTICS | Rensselaer | Princeton |
|---|---|---|
| Power Plays | 3 for 4 | 0 for 7 |
| Shorthanded Goals | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties (min) | 7 (14) | 5 (10) |
| Shots on Goal | 24 | 41 |
| Face Offs Won | 26 | 34 |
PRINCETON, N.J. - Sophomore Bryce Merriam made 39 saves and senior Tyler Helfrich recorded four points to lift the Rensselaer men's hockey to a 5-2 victory over Princeton. With the win, the Engineers improve to 18-6-4 overall and 10-5-1 in ECAC Hockey play. The Tigers are now 14-8-1 and 9-6-1 in the conference.
Helfrich led the Engineers with a goal and three assists and
along with his linemates Chase
Polacek and Josh
Rabbani, combined for four goals, five assists and nine
points.
After a scoreless opening period that saw Princeton hold an 11-3
edge in shots, RPI opened the scoring midway through the middle
stanza on Rabbani's fourth goal of the season. The power-play goal
came from the slot after Helfrich hit him with the centering pass
at 9:54.
RPI took the next two penalties of the game and Princeton had a
chance 5 on 3, but Marty
O'Grady took advantage of a bounce to get a breakaway
into the Princeton zone. Taylor Fedun raced back to hook O'Grady
and eliminate a scoring chance but was whistled for the hook and
O'Grady was awarded a penalty shot, on which he converted for his
fifth goal of the season.
The Engineers killed the remainder of the two-made advantage and
another penalty before getting its fourth power-play chance in the
final minute. RPI again converted as Polacek netted what would turn
out to be the game winner off a pass from Helfrich.
Princeton scored twice early in the third period to draw within a
goal but a penalty midway through the period and problems with the
ice along the red line killed any Princeton momentum.
Fedun got Princeton on the board at 3:19 when he waited out
Merriam and scored high on the glove side for his eighth of the
year off assists from Mike Kramer and Rob Kleebaum. Derrick Pallis
then brought Princeton within one at 7:33 when his blast from the
point skimmed the near post and wound up in the back of the net for
his sixth of the season, also with an assist from Kramer.
Princeton continued to pressure following the goal, but the flow
of the game changed at 13:28 when Will MacDonald was whistled for
hitting from behind. At the same time, there was a long delay due
to ice problems. When play resumed minutes later, RPI quickly
tallied on the power play to regain a two-goal lead as Rabbani
skated into the zone and scored over the shoulder of Princeton
goaltender Sean Bonar. Helfrich would add an empty-net goal in the
win.
Princeton outshot Rensselaer 41-24 in the loss. Merriam made 39
saves in the win while Bonar stopped 19 in the loss.
