Box Score
TROY, N.Y. – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) defeated Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), 10-7, in a non-league Division I men’s hockey game at the Houston Field House as 13 of 18 skaters had at least one point, including six with multiple points. RPI, which got 13 points from its top line, improves to 8-6-3 while RIT falls to 5-11-1.
Senior right wing Kevin Croxton (Calgary, AB/Camrose Kodiaks) led the Engineers with a hat trick and two assists, while linemates Oren Eizenman (Toronto, ON/Wexford Raiders), a junior center, and sophomore Jonathan Ornelas (Mississauga, ON/Milton IceHawks) tallied a goal and three assists each. Croxton’s hat trick was RPI’s first since February 5, 2005 (Nick Economakos), while Eizenman extended his point-scoring streak to 15 games (11 goals, 13 assists). The team’s ten goals were the most it has scored in a single game since the Engineers defeated Holy Cross, 10-4, on November 20, 1999.
RIT held a 3-2 lead after the first period despite being outshot, 17-7, in the stanza. Sophomore Darrell Draper (Tigard, OR/Cowichan Capitals) had a goal and an assist in the period while defenseman Brent Patry (Ottawa, ON/Cumberland Grads) picked up two assists.
RPI scored three straight goals in the second period to go ahead, 5-3, but the visiting Tigers tallied three goals within 2:07 midway through the period for a 6-5 advantage. Croxton tied the game, 6-6, with his third goal of the night, and 11th of the season, 30 seconds after RIT went ahead. Sophomore Andrew Lord (West Vancouver, BC/Vernon Vipers) put the Engineers ahead for good with a power-play goal at 18:46 of the second.
Sophomore forward Dan Peace (Ann Arbor, MI/Toledo Ice Diggers) got the eventual game-winner just 41 seconds into the third period – the first goal of his career – when he scored from the slot. RIT’s Steve Pinizzotto (Mississauga, ON/Oakville Blades) pulled the Tigers within one but Eizenman and Chris Hussey (Plymouth, MN/Avon Old Farms) scored for the Engineers to close out the scoring.
Rensselaer, which outshot RIT, 45-17, got six saves from sophomore Jordan Alford (Red Deer, AB/Canmore Eagles) and four more from freshman Mathias Lange (Klagenfurt, Austria/New York Apple Core). Lange, who played 28:55 in relief, earned the win. RIT’s Louis Menard (Chicoutimi, PQ/Ottawa Jr. Senators), making his first collegiate start, finished with 35 stops, 15 in the first period, 11 in the second and nine in the third.
Both teams tallied twice on the power play, RIT on six attempts and RPI on nine. RIT took 45 minutes worth of penalties in the game while RPI took 33 as the teams combined for 78 total penalty minutes.
The Engineers are back in action on December 29 when they will face Miami (OH), the second-ranked team in the nation, in the Ohio Hockey Classic at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH. RIT returns to the ice on December 30-31 at Air Force
