> the RPI SID

ENGINEERS UPEND ST. LAWRENCE, 6-4
  RPI scores twice in the third period to thwart Saints’ comeback

Ryan Shields’s third goal of the season early in the third period propelled the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men’s hockey team to a 6-4 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) victory over St. Lawrence in front of 3,822 fans at the Houston Field House in Troy, NY, this evening.  With the win, RPI improves to 11-6-1 overall and 5-4-1 in the ECAC.  SLU is now 6-8-3 overall and 3-2-2 in the league.

Shields, a freshman, knocked in a rebound of a Matt Murley shot at 1:46 of the third period to give the home team a 5-4 lead.  RPI, which had led 2-0 and 4-2, then added another goal later in the stanza to hold off the Saints.

The Engineers’ Jim Henkel opened the scoring at the 4:09 mark of the opening period when he got the puck at center ice, split two St. Lawrence defenders and beat Saints goaltender Jeremy Symington for a shorthanded goal.  For Henkel, a junior, the goal was his fifth of the season.  Three minutes later, Murley broke in alone in front of Symington and beat the senior goalie for his 15th goal of the year.
Marc Cavosie and Conrad Barnes, who broke up a St. Lawrence breakout at center ice on the play, earned the assists on Murley’s team-leading marker.

The second period was end-to-end as six goals were scored, four by SLU. The Saints took advantage of a 5-on-3 power play when junior Russ Bartlett slammed home a rebound at the 3:11 mark.  Bartlett then tied the game when he scored another power play goal from the same spot – the bottom of the right faceoff circle – just 53 seconds later.  RPI came back with an extra-man goal of their own when Marc Cavosie scored his 11th of the season on a deflection of a Steve Collova shot.  RPI sophomore defenseman Danny Eberly rebuilt the home team’s two-goal lead when his backhander slipped past Symington at 16:26.  The Saints again
fought back to tie the game by scoring two late goals, both on odd-man rushes.  Jack O’Brien earned his second of the year at 18:28 of the second period and Mike Gellard tied the game with his 12th of the year.

Shield tallied the eventual game-winner before Cavosie added his second of the night and fourth in the past two games.  Freshman Nathan Marsters stopped 28 shots for the victory, including several outstanding glove saves in the first period,  while Symington made 21 saves.

Rensselaer returns to action next weekend when they’ll travel to Bowling Green, Ohio, to face the Falcons for a pair of games.  Both games, which are Friday and Saturday nights, will begin at 7pm.  The Saints will host Vermont and Dartmouth in a pair of ECAC games next weekend.  Their contests also begin at 7pm.

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  Kevin Beattie
  Sports Information Director
  Rensselaer