Box Score

TROY, N.Y. – Senior Sean Bentivoglio scored two second period goals, including the eventual game-winner on the power play, to lead the Niagara University men’s hockey team to a 5-3 win over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in the opening round of the 56th Annual Rensselaer/Bank of America Holiday Tournament at the Houston Field House.

With the win, the Purple Eagles improve to 7-5-3, including a six-game unbeaten streak (4-0-2), and advance to play Colgate University in the championship game at 7pm. RPI falls to 4-3-3 and will play Ohio State in Saturday’s third-place game at 4pm.

The first period was a wide open affair as five goals were scored. Niagara tallied three of them, including one just 1:12 into the game when Matt Caruana scored on a two-on-one with Ted Cook. The homestanding Engineers tied it at the 6:00 mark on a power play goal by Kirk MacDonald but Les Reaney put the visitors back in front with an extra-man goal of his own at 14:27. Rensselaer again tied the score, this time on a power play marker by Matt Angers-Goulet at 16:52, but Cook scored just 28 seconds later to give the Purple Eagles a 3-2 lead.

Jake Morissette evened the score at 3-3 with his team-leading sixth goal of the season early in the second period but Bentivoglio, the captain, got the next two. His power play goal came from just outside of the crease and his second goal, which came shorthanded, was from the bottom of the right faceoff circle.

In addition to Bentivoglio and Cook, Reaney also had multiple points, finishing with a goal and two assists. In goal, Allen Barton stopped 25 shots for the win, including ten in the first period, seven in the second, and eight in the third. He remains unbeaten at 3-0-1.

For Rensselaer, starter Jordan Alford made eight saves on 13 shots in 33:47 to suffer the loss. Mathias Lange had eight stops in 23:28.