TROY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men’s hockey team scored an even strength, power play, shorthanded and empty net goal in defeating Arizona State University, 4-1, on Saturday at the Houston Field House. With the win, the Engineers improve to 10-6-3, while the Sun Devils drop to 5-10-0.
Rensselaer struck first at 5:05 of the first period, when freshman defenseman Tommy Grant (Sparta, NJ/Bay State Breakers) ripped home a slap shot from the top of the right circle. Sophomore Drew Melanson (Paramus, NJ/Waterloo Black Hawks) and freshman Meirs Moore (Duluth, MN/Victoria Grizzlies) earned the assists on Grant’s first collegiate tally.
The Engineers doubled their advantage on the power play, as freshman Jesper Ohrvall (Halmstad, Sweden/Fairbanks Ice Dogs) finished off a feed from classmate Meirs Moore (Duluth, MN/Victoria Grizzlies) for his third goal in two nights. Junior Riley Bourbonnais (Rochester, NY/Lincoln Stars) picked up the second helper.
Senior Milos Bubela (Banska Bystrica, Slovakia/Dubuque Fighting Saints) finished off a 2-on-0 shorthanded breakaway to make it 3-0 with 51 seconds left in the third. Classmate Phil Hampton (Oakville, ON/Oakville Blades) sent the puck out of the defensive zone for Bourbonnais, who drew Arizona State junior goaltender Robert Levin (Highland Park, IL/South Shore Kings) across the net, before sliding a pass across the right for Bubela to score.
The Sun Devils made it a 3-1 game at 12:36 of the third, capitalizing on a chance below the dots. Freshman Cody Gylling (Chandler, AZ/Amarillo Bulls) netted his third goal of the season, with assists going to classmates Joe Lappin (Geneva, IL/Lincoln Stars) and Jordan Masters (Rochester, NY/West Kelowna Warriors).
Bourbonnais added an empty net goal at 19:38 of the third to cap the scoring. Senior Zach Schroeder (Prior Lake, MN/St. Thomas Academy) and sophomore Lou Nanne (Edina, MN/Sioux Falls Stampede) earned the assists on Bourbonnais’ team-leading 10th goal of the year.
Freshman netminder Cam Hackett (Sault Ste. Marie, ON/Lincoln Stars) made 23 saves to improve to 6-2-2, while Levin (0-3-0) had 30 stops at the other end of the ice. RPI finished 1 for 2 on the power play, which included a five-minute major, while Arizona State went 0 for 2.
FIRST GOAL:
RPI freshman Tommy Grant netted his first collegiate goal in the first period.
A LITTLE STREAKY:
The Engineers are unbeaten in their last three games (2-0-1) following a two-game losing streak. Prior that stint, RPI went nine games unbeaten (7-0-2).
MORE SHORTIES:
Rensselaer senior Milos Bubela netted his team-leading third shorthanded goal of the season against Arizona State on Saturday.
UP NEXT:
RPI is back in action on January 2 and 3, when it visits the University of Miami (OH) for a two-game series.
The Sun Devils visit Nebraska-Omaha for two on December 19 and 20.
