In a game that never should have appeared on the RPI schedule,
RPI defeated Niagara University 4-2 tonight in a lacklustre
game at the Houston Field House. This was a game where RPI
had nothing to gain but everything to lose. If RPI won by 10
goals (and on  paper, they should have), everyone's reaction
would have been to shrug their shoulders and comment that RPI
did what was expected of them. If they lost, that loss could
come back to haunt them, come tournament selection time.
As it was, RPI was placed in the top ten in one poll last week
and just out of the top ten in another. Here is a case where
winning a game will probably cause them to drop in the polls.
And well they should.
RPI played as if they felt that a victory was assured just by
showing up. It was an abominable display of playing down to the
competition, and it could have cost them big.
Nobody seemed to tell Niagara that they didn't belong on the same
ice as RPI. They came out hitting and they came out believing that
they were in this game. And their enthusiasm and tenacity did, in fact,
keep them in the game.
 
The box score follows; I took the time to record the penalties
and I will list them below without comment. While I agree that
more information is better than less, I invite someone to
interpret the penalties in the following wrap-up and tell me
(and the list) what the penalty listings tell them about the
game that couldn't be told if the penalties weren't listed.
This should not be considered a challenge. If seeing the penalties
listed helps someone understand the game a little better, I would like
to know how. If I'm convinced, I will attempt in the future to keep
track of the penalties and post them.
 
period 1
 
1:10  RPI goal (1-0)  Mark Murphy from Danny Riva and J.F. Gosselin
2:56  Niagara goal (1-1)  Mikko Sivonen from Peter DeSantis and Mike
                Isherwood
6:45  Niagara penalty - tripping - Christian Laden
9:53    RPI goal (2-1)  Matt Garver from George Murray
11:02 RPI penalty - tripping - Steve Caley
12:24   Niagara penalty - charging - Jon Marshall
13:20   RPI penalty - high sticking - George Murray
18:01 RPI goal (3-1) J.F. Gosselin from George Murray
18:55 RPI goal (4-1) Brad Tapper from Doug Battaglia and Brian Pothier
19:22 Niagara goal (4-2) Mikko Sivonen from Peter DeSantis
 
saves Laing(RPI) 12  -  Gardner(Niagara) 7
 
period 2
2:21  RPI penalty - interference - George Murray
7:30  RPI penalty - charging - Danny Riva
13:11 Niagara penalty - interference - Christian Laden
19:43 Niagara penalty - hitting after the whistle - Timo Makela
19:43 RPI penalty - hitting after the whistle - Mark Murphy
19:46 RPI penalty - interference - Matt Garver
 
saves Laing(RPI) 6 - Gardner(Niagara) 10
 
period 3
1:51  Niagara penalty - too many men on the ice
3:15  RPI penalty - charging - Alain St. Hillaire
10:54 Niagara penalty - slashing - Christian Laden
14:10 Niagara penalty - slashing - Jon Marshall
 
saves Laing(RPI) 6  - Gardner(Niagara) 7
 
total saves  RPI 24 - Niagara 24
 
RPI next travels up north to visit St. Lawrence and
Clarkson next Friday and Saturday night
Mark Lewin
RPI - class of '69
 
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