RPI vs. Brown
Friday, Feb. 5,1999
Houston Field House, Troy,NY
attendance: 3410
officials: Drew Taylor, Brian Shea, Bill Jones
period -1-
G 4:24 Br (0-1) Kohansky(Petricig)
P 8:06 Br Barker (interference)
G 10:14 RPI (1-1) Reigstad(Caley,Tapper)
P 13:07 RPI Murray (interference)
P 15:55 Br McPeak (interference)
P 19:01 RPI Coupal (tripping)
period -2-
G 4:07 RPI (2-1) Murley(Tapper,Riva)
P 4:48 RPI Riva (interference)
P 7:23 Br Brackenridge (tripping)
G 11:49 Br (2-2) Kersey(Giblin)
P 13:59 RPI Munn (hooking)
P 16:53 Br Pratt (hooking)
P 19:35 RPI Gardiner (unsportsmanlike conduct)
P 19:35 Br Barker (unsportsmanlike conduct)
period -3-
P 1:07 Br Garrow (hooking)
P 1:16 RPI St. Hillaire (high stick)
P 4:18 Br Pratt (high sticking)
G 7:28 RPI (3-2) St. Hillaire(Gardiner,Pothier)
G 7:53 RPI (4-2) Dupee(Shepherd,Migliore)
P 12:00 Br Kohansky (high stick)
G 12:04 RPI (5-2) Pothier(Caley) ppg
G 13:38 Br (5-3) Lawler (unassisted)
P 14:03 Br bench (too many men)
P 15:12 RPI Gardiner (roughing)
G 15:58 RPI (6-3) Reigstad(Tapper,Riva) 4x4
G 16:28 RPI (7-3) Murphy(St. Hillaire,Munn) shg
16:28 Br goalie change (Stirling out, Eklund in)
P 18:51 RPI Tapper (interference)
saves 1 2 3 t
RPI(Laing) 7 9 8 24
Brown(Stirling/Eklund) 7 12 7 26
The Engineers came out flat in the first period and were frustrated
time and time again by the Brown defense. It was clear that RPI was
the better skating team, but for the first period, RPI couldn't
seem to get past Brown's blue line. Finally in the second half
of the first period, RPI started playing dump and chase but
just couldn't get any offense going. Brown got on the board
first on a goal from Matt Kohansky at 4:24 of the first. RPI
countered with a goal of their own by defenseman Jared Reigstad
at 10:14. RPI took the lead on a goal by Matt Murley at 4:07
of the 2nd but Brown tied it at 11:49 when an RPI defenseman got
stripped of the puck just outside the RPI blueline. Jade Kersey
and Paul Giblin came in 2 on 1 with Kersey beating Laing to tie
the game at 2.
Finally, RPI's offense exploded in the third for 5 goals.
It started at 7:28 when Alain St. Hillaire broke into the zone and
came at Scott Stirling from the left side. St. Hillaire sped
around the defenseman, through the slot and waited for Stirling to
commit and slid the puck into an open net to give RPI a 3-2 lead.
Just 25 seconds later, Chris Migliore intercepted a Brown clearing pass,
carried the puck in and fed Doug Shepherd who put a low shot into Stirling.
Stirling made a good save but couldn't control the rebound. Keith Dupee
picked up the rebound and beat Stirling to give RPI a 4-2 lead.
At 12:04, just 4 seconds into an RPI power play, Steve Caley won a faceoff
in the Brown zone, drew it back to Brian Pothier who sent a scorching shot
past Stirling to put RPI up 5-2. At 13:38 Brown got back into it when
RPI's Jared Reigstad put a clearing pass from behind his own net, through
the slot where it was picked up by Jeff Lawler and put past Laing.
From where I was sitting, I couldn't tell whether Lawler actually
did something to score the goal or whether the puck just ricocheted
off his stick. Regardless, he was credited with the unassisted goal.
At 15:58, RPI put the game away when Danny Riva and Brad Tapper
were controlling the puck behind Brown's net. The puck was poke
checked away and found its way out to defenseman Jared Reigstad
who was pinching in from the point. Reigstad blasted the puck past
Stirling for the 4x4 goal making it 6-3. 30 seconds later, RPI
finished out the scoring when Mark Murphy scored a short handed goal
making it 7-3. At that point Stirling was replaced by Brian Eklund.
I had been wondering before the game how the Engineers were going to
handle their fall from number 1 last weekend and just had a bad feeling
about this game. Indeed, the Engineers seemed unfocused for the 1st half
of the game and were frustrated by Brown's defense. To their credit,
the Engineer's offense exploded in the 3rd period to take a game
they absolutely had to win. The Engineers defense, which led them
through their 9 game win streak, and which let them down last weekend,
wasn't in evidence tonight. It seems that RPI can play an explosive
offense type of game and get away with it against a team like Brown.
However, without a credible defense, they're likely to get hammered
against other teams with powerful scoring (such as Clarkson and St.
Lawrence where the Engineers visit next weekend). Coach Fridgen
has one week to locate the RPI defense and get them back on the ice
where they can contribute as they have in the recent past. The Engineers
have tremendous scoring power but it's unlikely that the offense alone
will be able to carry the Engineers far, especially when the playoffs start
in another month. RPI has the rest of the weekend off and travels north
next weekend for the dread north country trip.
Mark Lewin
RPI '69
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