I didn't post a summary since I missed seeing two of the goals tending to my    duagh
daughter's needs.  All in all, another sad story for the Engineers.  Good teams
find ways to win, bad teams, you can complete the phrase.  While the Engineers
played pretty well, at least through two periods, the hockey gods intervened by
sending down an inept ref named Dupree.  Before the game (honest) I turned to
my friend and moaned that Dupree was going to ref.  And my worries were amply   rewarde
rewarded.
 
First Period
 
Fridge plays musical lines, as previously reported.  I thought perhaps he was   tryin
trying to hide Brian Richardson.  The fourth line virtually disappears for the
night with Gosselin out on ice maybe twice.  Bilodeau is on ice for 30 seconds.
Defenseman Pat
Rochon isn't on at all.  And I'm not sure he was missed.
 
RPI plays an uptempo period.  At times it seemed like a return to the offensive
mayhem that Buddy used to champion.  SLU scores first (won't recap the plays--
Jason has taken care of that nicely) but RPI roars right back.  Battaglia knocks
in a rebound of a soft Pirrong shot from the point.  Didn't think this was one
of Owen's best efforts.  It's funny,although both goalies turned in a lot of
saves, I didn't think either one played that well.
 
The next goal was pretty.  Ferguson skates the puck out of the corner and does
a nice sliding pass over to Riva.  Would have liked to see more of Ferguson
out there last night.  The next goal occurs when I am away from my seats with
fatherly chores.
 
Second Period
 
Fridge's disorienting attack is unconscious.  At this point Fridge is making all
the right moves, and the Engineers play the best 3:50 I have seen this season.
The fourth goal seems Regan skating across the front of the goal on the power
play after a pass from Richardson.  Regan wrists the puck past Owens' stick
side.  I think one of Fridge's major objectives this game was to get Regan and
O'Connor back into the offense.  It worked.  But whoever is paired with Brian
Richardson always has a good game.  RPI continues to buzz the SLU net, until
their momentum is interrupted by a tripping call on Doug Battglia, a toughy call
but one which would have been understandable if that was the style the refs had
opted for.  It wasn't.  Anyway Cumberland scores what looks to me as a very
soft goal.  After that Dupree and Leavitt swallow their whistles.  A series of
no calls/make-up ensues and it looks like a fight would erupt any minute.
 
Instead Richardson dives for a penalty at 11:29.  Tim Regan takes a stick to the
neck as the ref whistles the play, but despite Regan lying prone at the feet of
linesman Shea, no call.  Richardson makes the most of the gift-missed power play
with the best goal of the night.  Richardson makes a no look pass directly on
the stick of Pat Brownlee.  Brownlee shovels the puck into an open net for his
first of the year.  I think I could have scored on that feed.  But Brownlee
deserves praise for his defensive work.  And fellow sophomore Chris Aldous had
an even better game.  Aldous was huge, physical and smart.  He is rapidly
developing into RPI's #1 D.
 
Dupree now decides to call penalties, and gives SLU power play on a Murray
interference call.  Cullen cashes in at 14:35 rebounding Kummel's shot, which
Tamburro handles, but doesn't cover up.  Brownlee takes a penalty at 16:06, and
SLU manages a full two minutes in the RPI zone. RPI emerges unscathed, and
hangs on to its lead as the period ends.
 
Third Period
 
The refs take control.  Or rather Dupree takes control.  Leavitt throughout the
game call almost nothing, Dupree, from the end of the second period, everything.
My complaint is not that the refs gave SLU the game.  RPI's third period
foibles again caused them their problem.  But Dupree and Leavitt were utterly
inconsistent, and allowed themselves to change the character of the game.  SLU
came out in the third possessed, with their 5 on 5 play looking like a power
play to the Engineer fans.  But Dupree's call on Murray, a touchy feely thing
as RPI finally cleared its zone, wasn't in keeping with the game's flow.  Fridge
seems to be letting the refs get to him more and more (but there does seem to
be an awful lot of new refs in the ECAC) and apparently deserves the
unsportsmanlike conduct.
 
Laduouceur picks the goal clean for the quick 5-3 score.  With this goal only
picking up the ferocious SLU forecheck, every Engineer fan knows it's just a
matter of time until the RPI lead evaporates.  And at 12:56 it does, courtesy
of Ladouceur.  From my vantage point it looked like DeFrancesco almost banked
the puck in off the back of Ladouceur's stick.  The goal follows a number of
questionable calls on both teams, with Maye's interference (obviously) the most
suspicious, IMHO.  But RPI only manages 6 shots for the entire third period.
As the clock ticks down I am more apprehensive that SLU will win in regulation.
than hopeful for an RPI score.
 
The OT is relatively even with RPI garnering two good soring chances and SLU 2.
The D looked a little rubbery toward the end, to be expected considering the
ice time each logged.  SLU pulls out a well deserved tie,  RPI lets the game
slip away.  Hopefully Dupree and Leavitt slip away as well.
 
In light of Jason's announcement about Masotta's departure, the team's reaciont
 
 
reacation to the running of Tamburro seems understandable.  At one point in the
third it looked almost like Richardson and Regan teamed up to try and take out
Ownens.  Richardson took a shot and Regan skated down full bore, knocking down
Owens, and apparently causing some discomfort.  I'm sure opposing teams will
continue to aim at the small target in the net, in hopes of seeing RPI co
completely untested back-up. We'll see tonight.
*********************************************************************************
Brian Morris                      RPI Engineers--it's the same old year
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