ECONOMAKOS LEADS MEN'S HOCKEY TO WIN
Senior co-captain tallies hat trick in 8-4 victory

Senior co-captain Nick Economakos had his first career hat trick and Brad
Farynuk and Kevin Croxton each had three assists to lead Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute (RPI) to an 8-4 victory over the College of the Holy
Cross in a non-league Division I men's hockey game at the Houston Field
House in Troy, N.Y.  With the victory, the Engineers improve to 12-16-2,
snapping a five-game home losing streak in the process.  Holy Cross is now
12-9-5 on the season.

Junior forward Kirk MacDonald put RPI ahead just 2:50 into the first period
when he deflected a Brad Farynuk slap shot.  Jake Luthi also assisted on
the goal, which came with RPI on the power play.  The Crusaders tied the
game when Pierre Napert-Frenette scored on a wristshot from the right
face-off circle at the 13:03 mark.  James Sixsmith and Jon Landry also had
a hand on the goal, which came at the 13:03 mark.

Sixsmith put Holy Cross ahead with his sixth goal of the season when he
scored from just outside the crease at 1:11 of the second period.  Dale
Reinardt, who fed Sixsmith from behind the net, earned the primary assist
and Rob Godfrey had the secondary helper.  The Engineers took a three-goal
lead by scoring the next four goals of the period.  Cody Wojdyla scored on
a shorthanded two-on-one with freshman Jonathan Ornelas at 5:50.  Freshman
defenseman Jake Schuster was also credited with an assist, his first
collegiate point.  Economakos put RPI ahead with a power-play goal at
12:14.  Croxton and Farynuk set up the goal.  Oren Eizenman then scored
coming down the right wing to make it 4-2 at 13:04 and Economakos closed
out the period with his second goal at the 19:59 mark.  Keith MCWilliams
and Farynuk had the assists on the goal.

The Crusaders pulled to within two goals on a goal by Sixsmith at 4:43 of
the third period but Economakos completed the hat trick just 31 seconds
later when he scored on a rebound of a Kirk MacDonald shot.  The goal was
the tenth of the season for Economakos.  Reinhardt made it 6-4, but Luthi
scored on a power play, with assists to MacDonald and Croxton, for
RPI.  Ornelas scored on an unassisted breakaway with just 24 seconds left
for the final margin.

Senior Andrew Martin finished with 16 saves for the win and Ben Conway, who
made 16 saves in two periods, suffered the loss.  Tony Quesada, who entered
the game to start the third period, finished with six saves.

Rensselaer is back in action on Friday night when they host nationally
ranked Harvard in an ECAC Hockey League contest beginning at 7pm.  Holy
Cross returns to action on Friday at 7:30pm against Atlantic Hockey League
foe Sacred Heart in Worcester, Mass.