TROY, N.Y. – Five different goal scorers helped the 16th-ranked Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men’s hockey team to a 5-2 victory over Union College on Saturday in the 4th Annual Mayor’s Cup game. With the win, the Engineers improve to 13-7-6, while the Dutchmen drop to 9-9-6.
A back-and-forth first period saw each team net a pair of goals. Sophomore Lou Nanne (Edina, MN/Sioux Falls Stampede) stuck home a rebound, just 50 seconds in, to put the Engineers ahead early. Union junior Eli Lichtenwald (Saskatoon, SK/Nipawin Hawks) answered with a rebound goal of his own at 2:27, tying the game at 1-1.
RPI sophomore Mike Prapavessis (Oakville, ON/Toronto Patriots) put RPI back on top at 13:08, when he carried the puck from the right point to the high slot and ripped home his second of the year.
The Dutchmen once again answered, as sophomore Ryan Scarfo (North Chelmsford, MA/Powell River Kings) found a J.C. Brassard (Scituate, MA/Noble & Greenough) rebound and beat RPI senior netminder Jason Kasdorf (Winnipeg, MB/Des Moines Buccaneers) to the left post. Union sophomore Spencer Foo (Edmonton, AB/Bonnyville Pontiacs) earned the second helper on Scarfo’s 12th of the season.
Junior Jimmy Devito (Bloomingdale, IL/Lincoln Stars) flipped in the eventual game-winning goal at 13:04 of the second. After sophomore Viktor Liljegren (Stockholm, Sweden/Fairbanks Ice Dogs) drove the net unsuccessfully, the puck fell to freshman Jesper Ohrvall (Halmstad, Sweden/Fairbanks Ice Dogs), who found DeVito in the left circle for the tally.
The Engineers added an insurance goal at 16:05 of the third period, thanks to senior Phil Hampton’s (Oakville, ON/Oakville Blades) second goal of the season. Junior Jake Wood (Georgetown, ON/Lincoln Stars) claimed the lone assist.
Sophomore Drew Melanson (Paramus, NJ/Waterloo Black Hawks) finished the scoring with an empty-net goal with 1:10 remaining. Assists went to Nanne and senior Zach Schroeder (Prior Lake, MN/St. Thomas Academy).
Kasdorf finished with 30 saves, while Union junior Alex Sakellaropoulos (Hanson, MA/Philadelphia Junior Flyers) had 27. The Dutchmen finished 1 for 3 on the power play and the Engineers were 0 for 1.
EVENING THE SCORE:
The Engineers evened the all-time series in the Mayor’s Cup at two games apiece.
LILJEGREN FACTOR:
RPI improves to 11-3-4 all-time when Viktor Liljegren records a point in a game.
MAYOR’S CUP STANDOUT:
With his goal and assist on Saturday, sophomore Drew Melanson now has three goals and one assist in his career at the Mayor’s Cup.
UP NEXT:
The Engineers return to action next weekend, when they visit Brown and No. 12 Yale on Friday (7pm) and Saturday, respectively.
Union travels to No. 12 Yale and Brown on Friday and Saturday.
