Just kidding, folks.  Those who were at the game will understand
the joke.  For those of you who weren't, about halfway through the
first period one of the RPI defenseman took a slapshot from the top
of the slot that was deflected by a Colgate stick, popped over the
glass, and hit the scoreboard square in the middle.  The clock,
which had read 13:23 now read 3:23, but more importantly, the score,
which at the time was 1-0 RPI now read 60-0 Colgate.  Everyone at
the game got a good laugh out of that one.
 
This game could be a preview of how RPI does in the ECAC playoffs.
Colgate came out hitting hard and playing dirty, but they didn't
phase RPI a bit.  Unfortunately, Jim Cerbo and John Melanson
decided, in their abundant wisdom, that they weren't going to call
any early penalties so the game nearly got out of hand.  But when
it came down to playing the game, RPI simply ignored all the
holding, clutching, grabbing, and extra-curricular hitting that
Colgate was using and simply scored goals while denying any to
the Red Raiders.
 
The game started off nearly the same as the previous night, with
RPI coming out strong and dominating the first few minutes of the
period.  In fact, it took only 1:41 before Tim Regan put the
Engineers ahead on a great play by Xavier Majic.  Majic was on
a semi-breakaway, but because of the defenseman who was chasing
him down, he couldn't get a shot on goal.  Instead he went past
the goal and with a Colgate defender draped all over him managed
to get the puck out to Tim Regan who was all alone in front to
tap the puck in for the easy score.  The Engineers continued to
dominate play despite Colgate's continuous runs at every RPI player
they could find.  Folks, I don't like bad-mouthing teams but I
have little respect for what I saw from the Red Raiders.  I hope
they don't play like that all the time because it was pathetic
and useless.  You don't play physical hockey with RPI unless you
have the speed and skill to back it up (say, for instance, a team
like Harvard).  Colgate is not one of those teams.
 
RPI continued to dominate the first period and managed to tack on
three more goals.  But like I said earlier, the penalties were
not quick enough in coming and things almost turned nasty.  There
were several incidents throughout the game, though the biggest one
came at the end of the second period.  With time running down, one
of the RPI players was in the offensive zone against the boards
when a Colgate player took a run at him.  Captain Ronnie Pasco took
exception and immediately came in to protect his teammate.  A
mild skirmish ensued with both teams throwing a few fists.  But
what puzzled and befuddled me were the penalty calls that followed.
Pasco somehow got a triple minor for roughing plus a ten minute
misconduct.  Now, I have to think real hard about this one since
I also referee, but where on earth does one get a triple minor?
Sure, if you call an initial penalty on a player and tack on a
double minor I can see that situation arise.  But a triple minor
for roughing??  On top of that, there was an additional minor to
one of the RPI players plus 2 and 1 to two different Colgate
players.  I had difficulty in understanding those calls, but
I suppose Cerbo and Melanson know best...
 
There isn't much to report for the rest of the game except that
RPI totally outplayed Colgate and finished by beating them 7-1.
Neil Little came very close to getting his first career shutout.
But I must admit that I think the goal he gave up was his fault.
It came off of a faceoff.  Somehow the puck got batted straight
up into the air and landed at the top of the crease.  Instead of
moving out to catch it, Little tried to knock the puck away with
his stick but a Colgate player got their first and managed to
poke it into the upper left corner of the net.  Other than that,
Little was fairly solid, though he did look a bit shaky on his
skates at times.  I don't know if he was sick, or maybe just
recovering from the previous night. :-)  Fortunately, RPI didn't
have to face Harvard or BU. :-) :-)
 
There is one nice note to add to this game.  Senior Al Kummu, who
is the only senior on the team, scored the team's last goal of
the night in his 121 career game for RPI.  It came on a turnover
by Colgate right at the blueline.  Kummu stole a pass, skated
into the right wing circle, and put a blast into the lower left
corner.  The crowd went wild and cheers of "Kummu" abounded for
a few minutes.  RPI nearly scored again on a nice 2-1 a few
minutes later, but I guess fate wouldn't have it and Kummu came
away with goal #7.
 
With just one week to go, it looks as though RPI is almost a sure
clincher for 2nd place.  I hope I'm not jinxing them, but with
Yale's loss and tie this weekend, the Engineers are 4 points
ahead of the Bulldogs and need only a tie or win next weekend on
the road at Yale and Princeton to clinch.  The way the team is
playing right now, I wouldn't be surprised to see them win both
games.  However, knowing the difficulties of playing on the road,
coupled with Yale's desperate need to win if they want to secure
third place for themselves, I am personally looking for a split
next weekend.  I'll post a detailed analysis (for those who care)
about my predictions on RPI in the playoffs.
 
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Daniel Orchard-Hays        Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute             '95
"Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin."
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