Official release from RPI's SID

CAVOSIE LEADS MEN'S HOCKEY OVER VERMONT
Engineers will face Union in playoffs; Cats to play at Clarkson

Senior forward Eric Cavosie snapped a 97-game goal-less streak with two goals and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's hockey team defeated the University of Vermont, 4-2, in the regular season finale for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) rivals this evening at the Houston Field House in Troy, N.Y.

A native of nearby Cohoes, N.Y., Cavosie tallied a pair of power play goals and added an assist in his final game at the Field House.  The goals were his first since Oct. 28, 2000, when he was a sophomore.

With the victory, coupled with a Union College loss, the Engineers (10-23-3; 4-15-3 ECAC) will play their area rivals in a best-of-three first round series next weekend in Schenectady.  Vermont, which is now 11-18-3
overall and 8-14-0 in the league, will play at Clarkson in their first round series next Friday, Saturday and Sunday, if necessary.

Cavosie put RPI ahead, 1-0, when he took a pass from classmate Nolan Graham and roofed the puck over Vermont netminder Shawn Conschafter for his first goal since Oct. 28, 2000.  Junior Ryan Shields also assisted on the play.

The Catamounts knotted the score at 4:45 of the second period when they converted on a power play of their own.  Senior Bryson Busniuk tallied his seventh of the season with a goal from just outside the crease off a rebound of a Jeff Miles shot.  Thomas Hajek, a senior defenseman, also earned an assist on the goal.  The Engineers came back to regain the lead with their second power play marker in as many attempts.  Graham pounced on a loose puck between the circles and scored on a wristshot at 10:20 of the middle stanza.  Cavosie and Danny Eberly, who is also a senior, earned the helpers on the play.

Cavosie gave the Engineers at 6:59 of the third period when he again scored into the top half of the net.  Matt McNeely and Kevin Croxton set up Cavosie.  Vermont pulled to within one goal 54 seconds later on a shorthanded goal by John Longo, who finished off a two-on-one with Jeff Miles to make the score 3-2.  Croxton gave RPI some breathing room at 14:25 of the third when he stole the puck from Conschafter, who had wandered too
far toward the blueline, and scored into the vacated net for an unassisted goal.

Junior goaltender Nathan Marsters was solid for RPI, stopping 28 shots, including 12 in each of the first two periods.  Conschafter finished with 27 saves.