Courtesy of RITAthletics.com
ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT men’s hockey team dropped its second straight home game against an ECAC foe to start the season, 8-3 to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in front of 2,444 fans at the Gene Polisseni Center on Saturday evening.
Rensselaer led 4-2 after one period of play, 5-3 after 40 minutes and scored three third-period goals to pull away. Viktor Liljgren scored two goals and added an assist, while Troy York scored twice and Jacob Hayhurst added a goal and two assists to lead the way offensively for the Engineers. Evan Tironese, Brady Wiffen and Will Reilly also scored for Rensselaer, while Emil Ohrvall added three assists. Linden Marshall earned his first collegiate win in net, stopping 33 shots.
Abbott Girduckis (Belleville, Ontario/Wellington Dukes) had a career-high three-point night with two first period goals and an assist to lead the Tigers offensively. Jordan Peacock (Burlington, Ontario/Burlington Cougars) scored the third RIT goal. In net, Logan Drackett (Calgary, Alberta/Calgary Canucks) took the loss, stopping 15 of 22 shots over the first 49:51. Ian Andriano (Barrie, Ontario/Ottawa Jr. Senators) made his collegiate debut and played the final 10:09, stopping a pair of shots.
RIT out-shot Rensselaer, 36-25. RIT was 1-for-6 with the man-advantage, while Rensselaer was 2-for-5.
“We played a very sloppy game and everything tonight was self-inflicted,” said RIT head coach Wayne Wilson. “We didn’t capitalize on our chances offensively and need to be much better defensively.”
The two teams combined for six goals on 28 shots in the opening period, as Rensselaer would lead 4-2.
The Engineers opened the scoring on their first shot just 35 seconds in, as Hayhurst deposited a feed from Ohrvall on a 2-on-1 and roofed a shot over a sliding Drackett for his second goal of the season.
Video courtesy of RIT Athletic Communications.
RIT would answer just 1:04 later, as Seiferling came around the Rensselaer net and spun a pass to Powell, who was able to spot Girduckis all alone in front. Girduckis calmly slid the puck past Marshall for his first goal of the season.
Rensselaer took the lead for the second time at the 6:23 mark, as Reilly fired a shot from the high slot on the rush that Drackett got a piece of, before going off his glove and in.
Once again, Girduckis would respond with his second goal of the period, slamming home a rebound in close with 11:54 left in the period after Darren Brady (Lake Orion, MI/New Jersey Titans)‘s initial shot was stopped by Marshall.
The Engineers scored a pair of goals in a span of four minutes to take the lead, as Liljegren would slide a slot through the legs of Drackett from the left face-off circle after a giveaway in the RIT zone to make it 3-2. Moments later, York would score his first collegiate goal, ripping in a shot off a clean face-off win by Billy Jerry to make it 4-2 Engineers.
Both teams scored once in a second period with a lot of up and down action with quick pace.
RIT found themselves down two men for 50 seconds early in the frame, but were able to kill both power-plays off.
The Tigers cut the lead to Rensselaer lead to 4-3 with 4:28 left in the second period on a power-play, as Peacock would bury a loose puck in the crease for his first goal of the season. Girduckis fired a shot that was stopped. Cameron took a swipe at the rebound, with the puck going right to Peacock, who was all alone in front with an open net.
RIT was a fraction of an inch from tying the game moments later on another power-play, as Matt Abt (Leduc, Alberta/Whitecourt Wolverines) ripped a one-time from the right side that Marshall just got a piece of before going off the crossbar and out.
Wiffen re-established Rensselaer’s two-goal lead with just 29 seconds left in the period, as he took a long feed from Jared Wilson after coming out of the penalty box, came in on a partial breakaway and roofed a shot over Drackett for his first goal of the season.
Rensselaer scored just 53 seconds into the third period, as York tallied his second goal of the night on the power-play to make it 6-3. Tironese and Liljgren added late goals to make it an 8-3 final.
Both teams were in action Friday night. The Tigers fell at home to Union, 6-1 and Rensselaer lost on the road at Niagara, 4-3 in overtime.
RIT opens up Atlantic Hockey play next weekend with a pair of games at Army West Point. Both games on Friday, Oct. 27 and Saturday, Oct. 28 start at 7:05 p.m.
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