POTSDAM, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's ice hockey team earned a road ECAC Hockey victory tonight, holding off rival Clarkson for a 4–3 win at Cheel Arena after building a four-goal cushion through the first 24 minutes of play.

Four different Engineers found the back of the net, while freshman goaltender Nate Krawchuk turned aside 44 shots in a standout performance between the pipes.

RPI wasted little time grabbing momentum, opening the scoring on the power play at 6:03 of the first period. Matthew Buckley converted the man-advantage chance, finishing a setup from Tyler Wallace and Luciano Wilson to put the Engineers in front.

The goal sparked a dominant stretch late in the period, as RPI struck twice in an eight-second span. At 16:19, Ian Scherzer buried an even-strength chance off assists from Buckley and Filip Sitar, and just moments later Ethan Bono followed with another even-strength tally, finishing a feed from Mathieu Bourgault to give RPI a 3–0 lead after one.

The Engineers continued to press early in the second period, extending the margin to four when Rainers Rullers scored the eventual game-winning goal with just over three minutes to play in the stanza. Rullers finished a clean offensive-zone sequence with assists from Wilson and Trevor Russell, marking his seventh goal of the season and capping a four-goal run for RPI.

Clarkson began its push late in the second period and carried momentum into the third, scoring twice on special teams and once short-handed to cut the deficit to 4–3. Despite sustained pressure over the final 10 minutes, the Engineers held firm, blocking shots and winning key faceoffs to preserve the lead.

Krawchuk was the difference down the stretch, finishing with 44 saves, including 20 in the third period alone, as Clarkson outshot RPI over the final frame.

Defensively, the Engineers blocked 18 shots, led by Thomas Klassek and Kazimier Sobieski, who were active in the lanes throughout the night.

At the faceoff dot, RPI controlled possession by winning 36 of 59 draws, paced by Sitar (10 wins), Cole Gordon (8), and Rullers (7).

The Engineers finish the weekend up north with a 7:00 pm tilt at St. Lawrence tomorrow.