ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The RPI men's hockey team scored four unanswered goals, including three in the third period, while
Nate Krawchuk turned aside 31 shots as the Engineers earned a 4-1 victory over RIT tonight in Rochester. The win improved RPI to 4-1-0 on the season.
RIT opened the scoring midway through the first period when Matthew Wilde finished a setup from Christian Catalano. Krawchuk kept the Engineers within one with 10 saves in the opening frame, while RPI generated several opportunities of its own, including a
Caleb Hadland attempt that struck the pipe.
RPI needed just 51 seconds of the second period to pull even.
Rainers Rullers found the back of the net off assists from
Ian Scherzer and
Matthew Buckley for his fourth goal of the season, tying the contest at 1-1. The Engineers and Krawchuk kept RIT off the board for the remainder of the period, including successful kills on a pair of power-play opportunities.
RIT generated sustained pressure early in the third, but Krawchuk stopped nine shots over the opening eight minutes before the Engineers took their first lead of the night.
Filip Sitar finished a setup from Benjamin Yurchuk and
Landen Hilditch to put RPI ahead 2-1, with the tally standing as the eventual game-winner.
The Engineers doubled the advantage less than three minutes later when
Jordan Gavin scored off feeds from Hadland and Rullers for his first goal of the season. RPI continued to protect the two-goal margin before RIT pulled its goaltender late, allowing Scherzer to finish an empty-net goal from Rullers and Buckley to seal the 4-1 decision.
Krawchuk finished with 31 saves, stopping 10 shots in the first period, nine in the second, and 12 in the third. Rullers led the Engineers with three points on a goal and two assists, while Scherzer recorded a goal and an assist and Buckley added two helpers. RPI also won 39 of 62 faceoffs, led by 14 victories from Rullers and 11 from Sitar.
