TROY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's ice hockey team carried play for long stretches and struck first in the second period, but #14 Dartmouth College scored three unanswered goals in the middle frame to hand the Engineers a 3–1 ECAC Hockey setback tonight at Houston Field House.

After a scoreless opening period that featured steady goaltending from Bruno Bruveris, RPI broke through at 4:55 of the second. Ethan Bono opened the scoring with his first goal of the season, finishing an even-strength opportunity off a feed from Mathieu Bourgault.

Dartmouth answered less than 90 seconds later to even the contest, then took control with a pair of goals late in the period. The eventual game-winner came at 15:06, followed by an insurance tally at 17:38 to send the nationally-ranked Big Green into the intermission with a 3–1 advantage.

RPI pushed back in the third period, generating sustained offensive-zone pressure and winning the majority of faceoffs, but was unable to solve Dartmouth goaltender Roan Clarke. 

Tyler Wallace led the Engineers at the dot, going a perfect 9-for-9, while Filip Sitar (8-for-12), Rainers Rullers (7-for-17), and Cole Gordon (6-for-9) also contributed to a 39–25 faceoff advantage for RPI.

Bono paced the Engineers offensively with a goal and three shots, while Luciano Wilson led all RPI skaters with four shots on goal. 

Bruveris finished with 27 saves, stopping 10 shots in both the second and third periods to keep RPI within striking distance. 

Defensively, the Engineers blocked 15 shots as a team and killed off all three Dartmouth power-play chances.

The Engineers return to Houston Field House tomorrow evening for the 48th Annual Big Red Freakout versus Harvard.  Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm.