TROY, N.Y. - Junior netminder Matt O'Connor made 35 saves, to lead the second-ranked Boston University men's hockey team to a 5-1 victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), this evening in non-league play at the Houston Field House. With the win, the Terriers improve to 11-3-2, while the Engineers drop to 6-12-1.

Despite a strong opening period for the Engineers, the were unable to solve O'Connor (Toronto, ON/Youngstown), who turned away all 18 shots he saw in the frame. RPI appeared to have gone ahead midway through the period, but the officials ruled that O'Connor was impeded in trying to stop a shot by sophomore Jimmy DeVito (Bloomington, IN/Lincoln Stars). 

Later in the period, junior Mark Miller (Massena, NY/Omaha Lancers) found himself one-on-one with O'Connor, who was able to make a highlight reel toe save to keep the game scoreless. RPI held an 18-11 edge in shots after 20 minutes.

BU then opened the scoring at 11:57 of the second, when a shot from the point by freshman John MacLeod (Dracut, MA/U.S. Under-18 Team) deflected off a skate in front of Rensselaer senior netminder Scott Diebold (Buffalo, NY/Tri-City Storm) and in for his second goal of the season. Seniors Evan Rodrigues (Etobicoke, ON/Georgetown) and Casey Hohmann (Arlington, TX/Cedar Rapids) picked up the helpers.

Junior Danny O'Regan (Needham, MA/St. Sebastian's) gave the visitors a 2-0 lead at 14:48 of the period, redirecting a feed from freshman Jack Eichel (North Chelmsford, MA/U.S. Under-18 Team) home for his team-leading 12th goal of the year. Rodrigues also picked up an assist on the power-play tally.

The Terriers stretched their advantage to 3-0 with just six seconds left in the second period. Freshman blueliner Brandon Hickey (Leduc, AB/Spruce Grove) threw the puck towards the net from below the goal line and it found its way past Diebold and into the net. 

Freshman J.J. Piccinich (Paramus, NJ/Youngstown) made it 4-0 at 10:25 of the third, whipping in a close range shot from just inside the hash marks. The goal, which was the first of his collegiate career, was assisted by Rodrigues and Hohmann.

RPI got on the board at 17:05 of the period on a hard wrist shot off the stick of junior Milos Bubela (Banska Bystrica, Slovakia/Dubuque Fighting Saints). Freshman Jared Wilson (Calgary, AB/Vernon Vipers) was credited with the lone assist on Bubela's fourth of the season.

Sophomore Nick Roberto (Wakefield, MA/Kimball Union Academy) added an empty-net goal to cap the scoring at 19:13.

O'Connor improved to 10-2-1 with the win. Diebold, who finished with 32 saves, drops to 0-6-1. BU went 1 for 3 on the power-play, while the Engineers were 0 for 1.

Rensselaer is back in action on December 30, when it travels to Harvard for an ECAC Hockey contest (7pm). The Terriers host the U.S. World Junior Team on Friday (7:30pm).