Box Score

TROY, N.Y. – Kyle Tyll scored the only goal of the third period to help Sacred Heart University come-from-behind and defeat No. 16 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), 5-4, in a Division I non-league men’s hockey team game in front of a crowd of 3,156 at the Houston Field House.

Tyll (Sandy Hook, CT/Trinity-Pawling) scored 1:24 into the third period when he took a rebound of a Nick Kary (Wetaskiwin, AB/Lloydminster Blazers) shot and put it past Rensselaer goaltender Mathias Lange (Klagenfurt, Austria/New York Applecore).

The Pioneers opened the scoring 1:58 into the first period when Alexandre Parent (Boisbrand, PQ/St. Eustache Gladiateurs) redirected a Pierre-Luc O’Brien (Nicolet, PQ/Cowichan Valley Capitals) shot past a sliding Lange for a shorthanded marker.

The Engineers scored the next three goals of the game – all on the power play. Matt Angers-Goulet (St. Augustin, PQ/Notre Dame Hounds) picked up a rebound with Jake Luthi (Palmer, AK/Sioux Falls Stampede) and Seth Klerer (Thornhill, ON/North York Rangers) getting assists at the 7:30 mark of the first period. That was followed by Luthi scoring on a rebound in front after an Oren Eizenman (Toronto, ON/Wexford Raiders) shot. Kirk MacDonald (Victoria, BC/Victoria Salsa) picked up the other assist.

MacDonald then scored on a deflection of a Jake Morissette (Fruitvale, BC/Williams Lake Timberwolves) shot from the point at 6:43 of the second period for a 3-1 lead. Eizenman picked up the second assist on the goal.

Sacred Heart would score the next three goals in a span of 2:49 in the middle frame. Eric Giosa (Northville, MI/Toledo Icediggers) scored from Parent and Bear Trapp (Regina, SK/Estevan Bruins) with 4:37 left in the second on the power play. O’Brien followed with a rebound goal off a Trapp shot and an Erik Boisvert (Drummondville, PQ/Notre Dame Hounds) pass just 1:27 later. It took 1:22 for Giosa to score another power-play goal from O’Brien and Trapp.

MacDonald fired a shot that eluded Jason Smith (St. Lambert, PQ/Lennoxville Cougars) to even the score at 4-4 headed into the second intermission. Andrei Uryadov (St. Petersburg, Russia/South Kent) and Eizenman picked up assists on the goal.

MacDonald finished with two goals and an assist while Eizenman had three assists. Giosa tallied two goals for the Pioneers, Trapp had three assists and O’Brien had a goal and two assists.

Smith made 26 saves for the win while Lange made 17 before being replaced by Jordan Alford (Red Deer, AB/Canmore Eagles) after the game-winning goal was scored.

The Pioneers (8-3-1), who have won six straight games, host Army on Tuesday, November 21. The Engineers (4-2-3) had their five-game unbeaten streak broken with the loss and will host the 56th Annual Rensselaer/Bank of America Holiday Tournament next Friday and Saturday at the Houston Field House. On Friday, Nov. 24 at 4:00pm, Ohio State plays Colgate and the Engineers takes on Niagara at 7:00pm. The third-place and championship games will be Saturday at 4:00 and 7:00pm respectively.