MEN'S HOCKEY FALLS 3-1 TO RENSSELAER

(Boxscore)

March 2, 2002

TROY, N.Y.--The Rensselaer men’s hockey team used outstanding special teams to defeat Colgate, 3-1, in an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division I men’s hockey game Saturday evening at the Houston Field House in Troy, NY.  A crowd of 3,946 saw the Engineers improve to 16-12-4 overall and 10-9-3 in the league.  They finished fifth and will host Princeton in the first round of the playoffs beginning next Friday night.  The Raiders, who placed seventh and will play at Dartmouth, finish the regular season 13-17-2 overall and 10-10-2 in the ECAC.

The Engineers, who killed all six of Colgate’s power play chances, scored the only goal of the first period when junior Carson Butterwick tallied on a rebound with the home team on a power play.  Butterwick earned his 12^th of the season at the 7:02 mark when he deposited a rebound of a Matt Murley shot past Colgate netminder David Cann.  Junior Marc Cavosie, the ECAC’s leading scorer, also assisted on the play and extended his point-scoring streak to 17 games (12 goals, 15 assists).  RPI sophomore goaltender Nathan Marsters kept the Raiders, who had three power plays in the opening period, off the scoreboard by stopping all 15 shots he faced.

RPI opened a two-goal lead at 10:23 of the second period when senior Jim Henkel scored on a wrist shot from the left face-off as a power play was expiring.  Henkel tallied his ninth of the year with assists going to Steve Munn and Conrad Barnes.  The Raiders pulled to within one goal when captain Etienne Morin beat Marsters from the top of the right circle.  The Engineers re-gained their two-goal lead late in the second period when Ben Barr scored from between the circles.  RPI’s goal, which came at 19:36, came after sustained pressure in the offensive zone by the home team.  Andrew McPherson and Butterwick earned the assists on the goal, Barr’s second of the season.

Marsters finished with 34 saves, including 13 in the third period, while Cann stopped 30 shots.

The Engineers split the season series with Princeton, 1-1-0, while Colgate also split their two-game season series.