RENSSELAER SHUTS OUT COLGATE 3-0 HALTING
THE RED RAIDERS ECAC PLAYOFF HOPES 
The Red Raiders loss coupled with Vermont's victory over St. Lawrence dashes Colgate's ECAC playoff hopes as the 'Gate finishes 11th in the league standings

Game Boxscore

Hamilton, N.Y. -- The Rensselaer men's ice hockey team scored three third period power-play goals and goaltender Nathan Marsters (Grimsby, Ont.) stopped 36 shots en route to his fourth shutout of the year leading the Engineers to a 3-0 victory against Colgate University in regular season finale for both in Eastern College Athletic Conference league play Saturday night. 

RPI finishes sixth in the league and will travel to fifth-place Dartmouth on Friday, March 9 in the first of a three-game first round series.  Colgate finishes 11th with the loss and Vermont advances to the ECAC playoffs after its 8-4 victory against St. Lawrence tonight.

Despite the loss, the Red Raiders controlled the game offensively throughout outshooting RPI 36-18, including a 14-5 first period advantage.  Colgate continued to pour on the offensive attack in the second period outshooting RPI  10-7.  

Rensselaer goaltender Marsters made one of many strong saves on the night with a point-blank stop of Sean Nolan's (Dorchester, Ont.) shot from just in front of the crease at 9:15 of the second period.

“It was never an issue this year about work ethic.  I thought we outplayed a lot of the teams this season, but we just weren’t able to get it done,"  head coach Don Vaughan said. "I have to focus on how proud I am of our team.  Even tonight, I thought we played well enough to win this game.  We had trouble scoring, we came up against a very hot goaltender tonight and it summarizes the way it’s gone all season for us.”

Colgate killed off the first four Engineer power-play opportunties extending its successful killing streak to 13 straight before RPI capitlized when they needed to, rattling off three third period power-play goals, connecting on three of its six shots on goal in the period.

RPI's Jim Henkel (Hazlet, N.J.) scored the game-winning goal connecting on the Engineers' fifth power-play opportunity of the night at 4:48 of the third in what turned out to be a controversial call.  Henkel split the Colgate defensemen and his shot looked as though it hit the crossbar and bounced down in the crease, the goal light went on and ECAC referee John Murphy ruled the puck had went into the net giving Rensselaer the 1-0 lead.

The Engineers added to their lead on Murley's 23rd of the year from Carson Butterwick (Prince Albert, Sask.) and Danny Eberly (Canton, Mass.) at 9:54 of the third.  Murley scored from the left side of the net settling a rebound of Butterwick's shot on the right crease which he redirected on Eberly's slapshot from the right point.

Colgate looked as though he pulled the Red Raiders to within 2-1 at 14:57 of the third when P.J. Yedon scored but ECAC referee John Murphy said he kicked the puck into the net.

Then just 24 seconds later RPI's Butterwick put the game away building a 3-0 lead with his eighth of the season from Murley.