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SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - Union College scored two early third period goals and the Dutchmen held off No. 10 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), 4-3, at Messa Rink in an ECAC Hockey contest. The game was the first of a home-and-home series with the two teams meeting again on Saturday at 7pm at the Houston Field House in Troy.

Union, which scored twice in a 44 second span for a 4-1 lead at 18:12 of the third period, improves to 5-3-2 overall and 4-1-0 in the league. RPI is now 6-3-2 and 2-2-2.

After falling behind by three goals, junior forward Matt Neal (Minesing, ON / Stoufville Spirit) tallied twice, including a 5-on-3 goal, but the Engineers could not get the equalizer. They pulled their goalie with 2:03 remaining in the third period to no avail.

The Dutchmen held a 2-1 lead after two periods and quickly made it 4-1 on goals by Eli Lichtenwald (Saskatoon, SK / Nipawin Hawks) at 1:04 and Nick Cruice (Dresher, PA / South Shore Kings) at 1:48. Both goals came on hard drives from between the circles. Neal made it a two-goal game when he scored from the left side of the crease at 3:40 and then notched his second of the game and fifth of the season from the right side. Junior Ryan Haggerty (Stamford, Conn. / U.S. National Development Program) had assists on both goals. 

Senior forward Brock Higgs (Kingston, ON / Kingston Voyageurs) gave the Engineers a 1-0 lead when he deflected a clearing attempt by goaltender Colin Stevens (Niskayuna, NY / Boston Junior Bruins) into the back of the net. While shorthanded, Higgs and Stevens raced to a loose puck, which the Union netminder won. In his attempt to knock the puck out of harm's way, he hit a driving Higgs and the puck found its way across the goal line. The goal, whic was scored at the 4:56 mark, was the eighth of the season for Higgs.

Union tied the game with a special teams goal of its own, scoring a power play goal at 13:47. Junior forward Daniel Ciampini (Concord, ON / St. Michael's Buzzers) notched his fifth of the year when he deflected a Shayne Gostisbehere (Margate, FL / South Kent School) shot past RPI goalie Scott Diebold (Buffalo, NY / Tri-City Storm) while stationed in front of the crease. Jeff Taylor (Clifton Park, NY / Dubuque Fighting Saints) had the secondary assist on the goal.

The Dutchmen took a 2-1 lead at 13:17 of the second period when Gostisbehere stole a clearing attempt and got the puck to Mike Vecchione (Saugus, MA / Tri-City Storm), who had his shot deflected into the net by Cruice. For Cruice, the goal was his second of the season. His shot was one of 11 in the frame for the Dutchmen, who held a 24-10 edge in shots on goal after two periods.

Union held a 32-21 advantage in the final shots. The Dutchmen were 1 for 5 on the power play, while RPI was 1 for 4 with the man-advantage.