Box Score

CANTON, N.Y. - Sophomore center Chase Polacek scored his second goal of the game just nine seconds into overtime to lift Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) to a wild 7-6 victory over St. Lawrence University in an ECAC Hockey game at Appleton Arena on Friday night.

Polacek (Edina, MN/Academy of Holy Angels) took the puck off the faceoff to open overtime, sped into the Saints zone and cut from the right faceoff circle across the goal mouth, beating Saints goalie Kain Tisi inside the post for the game-winner.  The goal was the fastest overtime goal in Rensselaer history and gave the Engineers their third win in the last four games.

RPI seemed like it might win the game in regulation after it charged from a 5-3 deficit with three straight goals in the third period to take a 6-5 lead with 49 seconds to play. But St. Lawrence forced the extra period when Brock McBride scored from right in front with 10.9 seconds to play in regulation with Tisi pulled for an extra attacker.

Rensselaer improves to 6-16-2 overall and 4-6-1 in ECAC Hockey play while the Saints fall to 11-10-2 overall and 3-6-2 in the league.  SLU had a four-game unbeaten streak snapped with the loss.

Things started out quietly enough as St. Lawrence had some quality scoring chances early in the game, but missed the net. The Engineers scored the only goal of the first period at 12:48 when defenseman Jeff Foss (Moorhead, MN/Moorhead HS) first made a good play to keep the puck in the offensive zone and then sent a shot on goal which hit Tisi's pad and trickled over the goal line. Brothers Matt (St. Augustin, PQ/Notre Dame Hounds) and Alex Angers-Goulet (St. Augustin, PQ/Langley Chiefs) assisted on Foss' first goal of the year.

The second period was a wild one as St. Lawrence tied the game just eight seconds into the period on Mike McKenzie's eighth of the year and took a 2-1 lead at the 1:36 mark when Jared Keller scored his fourth of the season on a power play, tucking the puck past RPI goalie Mathias Lange (Klagenfurt, Austria/New York Apple Core) from close range.

Defenseman Mark Zarbo (Grand Island, NY/Bentley College) re-tied the game for the Engineers when his shot from along the goal line snuck inside the far post at 2:47 and RPI took a 3-2 lead when freshman Josh Rabbani (Woodland Hills, CA/St. Louis Bandits) was credited with a goal after the puck hit off the bottom of Tisi's stick, flipped high in the air and looped over his shoulder and into the net at 14:11.

St. Lawrence came right back to tie the score again when senior defenseman Zach Miskovic scored his eighth of the season on a rebound at 19:19 and the Saints regained the lead when Kevin DeVergilio, who had a four-point night to pull within one of 100 career points, scored his fourth of the season at 16:33.

The Saints took a 5-3 lead when junior defenseman Jeff Caister scored his second of the season on a power play shot from the center slot at 11:52 of the third, but the Engineers came storming back.

Freshman Patrick Cullen (Washington, DC/Indiana Ice) scored his eighth of the season at 14:05 when he stuffed it through Tisi's pads from right in front and Polacek tied it with his first of the game with 1:22 to go in regulation as he snapped a shot under the crossbar.  RPI then went ahead when senior Kurt Colling (Ripley, ON/Vernon Vipers) rushed the net and stuffed home his third of the season with 48.8 seconds to go, but McBride had the answer when he scored the extra attacker goal to force overtime.

Lange finished with 35 saves for RPI while Tisi had 26 for the Saints, which had a 41-33 edge in shots on goal.