MEN'S HOCKEY TAKES SERIES LEAD OVER TIGERS
            Chris Migliore (Sr., Hamden, CT) scored scored two quick
            goals to open the third period and give Rensselaer a
insurmountable
            lead, as the Engineers earned a 5-3 victory over Princeton in
game one of
            the first round ECAC Playoff series on Friday night at Houston
Field
            House. Princeton drops to 11-17-2, while Rensselaer improves to
            17-12-4.

            Rensselaer opened the scoring at 11:43 of the first period on a
goal
            from Jim Vickers (Sr., Aurora, ONT). Marc Cavosie (Jr., Cohoes,
NY) won
            a loose puck at center ice and sent it ahead to Matt Murley
(Sr.,
            Troy, NY) who was making a run on the left side. Murley took the
            puck behind the net and had his initial wrap around attempt
blocked by Princeton netminder Dave
            Stathos (Sr., Longueuil, QUE). The rebound bounced out to Nolan
Graham (Jr.,
            Nanaimo, BC), who fed Vickers the point for a 1-0 Engineers
lead.
            Rensselaer almost took a 2-0 lead at 14:22 of the opening
period.
           The Engineers were peppering the Tigers while skating with a
            man-advantage and a rebound was up for grabs in the crease.
David Schneider (Sr.,
            Melrose Park, IL) was able to get his stick on the puck and
clear it out
            before Rensselaer could get there.

            David Del Monte (Sr., Mississauga, ONT) had a breakaway
opportunity
            with just under a minute remaining in the period, but Engineers
            goaltender Nathan Marsters (So., Grimsby, ONT) was there to
preserve the 1-0
            lead going into the first intermission.
            Sharam Fouladgar-Mercer tied the score at 1-1 just 20 seconds
into
            the second period. Schneider cleared the puck out of the
defensive zone
            and sent it up to Fouladgar-Mercer. He just fired the puck on
goal and
            was  able to beat Rensselaer goalie Nathan Marsters (So.,
Grimsby, ONT).

            Steve Slaton (So., Plymouth, MN) gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead with
his
            first goal of the season at 4:27 of the second period while they
were
            skating on the power play. Brad Parsons (Sr., Kingston, MA) had
the puck down
            low and fed a wide-open Slaton who had crept in behind the
defense into the
            left circle. Slaton capitalized on a wide open left half of the
net.

            RPI goal was waved off at 6:31 of the second period. The referee
            blew the whistle just as Murley fired off a shot but the goal
was denied
            because of a crease violation.

            The Engineers knotted the score at 2-2 at the midway point of
the
            second period. Carson Butterwick (Jr., Prince Albert, SASK)
scored his 13th
            goal of the season at 10:03 with assists from Andrew McPherson
(Sr.,
            Winnepeg, MAN) and Scott Basiuk (So., Prince Albert, SASK).

            Chris Migliore (Sr., Hamden, CT) almost made the Tigers pay for
a
            turnover in their defensive zone, but Stathos was able to make a
glove save
            and keep the score tied at 2-2. with 5:47 remaining in the
period, which is
            how the score would remain going into the second intermission

            Rensselaer came out of the intermission firing, and jumped out
to a
            two-goal lead just 1:18 into the third period. Both Engineer
goals
            were scored by Migliore and assisted by Jim Henkel (Sr., Hazlet,
NJ) and
            Eric Cavosie (Jr., Cohoes, NY). The first came 1:05 into the
period when
            Henkel fed a wide-open Migliore who parked the puck in the left
side of the
            net. The second goal came 13 seconds later when Migliore's
initial shot
            was saved by Stathos, but he got his own rebound and scored his
second
            goal of the period for a 4-2 Rensselaer lead.

            The lead did not hold for long and Princeton came out of a
timeout
            to close the gap to 4-3 on Josh Roberts' (Sr., Orleans, MA)
fourth goal of
            the season. Schneider and Parsons got the puck up the ice and
Roberts
            was able to finish the play with a shot that hit the inside of
the upper
            right crossbar and ricocheted into the net.

            McPherson provided the final scoring of the night at 12:20 of
the
            third period. Ben Barr's (So., Faribault, MN) shot was blocked
by Stathos,
            but McPherson skated in, collected the rebound and beat Stathos
low and
            to the stick side to provide the final 5-2 margin.

            Stathos, the reigning ECAC Goalie of the Week, finished the
night
            with 33 saves, including 15 in the second period. Marsters made
19 saves in
            the win.

            The series resumes tomorrow at 7 p.m.