TROY, N.Y. – The first-ranked Quinnipiac University men’s hockey team edged out 17th-ranked Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), 5-4, in overtime on Friday night at the Houston Field House. The Bobcats, who improve to 23-2-6 overall (14-1-4 ECAC Hockey), battled back from a pair of one goal deficits in the third period to earn the win, while the Engineers drop to 15-12-6 (7-6-6 ECAC Hockey).
Quinnipiac opened the scoring just 47 seconds into the first period, when senior Travis St. Denis (Trail, BC/Penticton Vees) tipped home a shot from the left point by junior Devon Toews (Abbotsford, BC/Surrey Eagles).
Sophomore Kevin McKernan (Millbury, MA/Boston Jr. Bruins) made it a 2-0 game at 9:12 of the stanza, firing home a rebound off a shot by classmate Landon Smith (Greenwood Village, CO/Salmon Arm Silverbacks). Junior Sam Anas (Potomac, MD/Youngstown Phantoms) earned the second helper on McKernan’s second goal of the year.
The Engineers pulled to within 2-1 with less than three minutes left in the first, thanks a fortuitous deflection off the skate of junior Jimmy DeVito (Bloomingdale, IL/Lincoln Stars). Classmate Jake Wood (Georgetown, ON/Lincoln Stars) took a shot from the right circle that caromed off of DeVito and past Quinnipiac senior netminder Michael Garteig (Princeton George, BC/Penticton Vees) for his second goal of the season. Sophomore Mike Prapavessis (Oakville, ON/Toronto Patriots) had the second assist.
Freshman Alex Rodriguez (Miami, FL/Sioux City Musketeers) then tied the game at 2-2, 1:55 into the second period. Sophomore Kenny Gillespie (Morrisville, NC/Jersey Hitmen) worked his way around the net before slotting a pass in front to Rodriguez, who buried his third of the year from just outside the crease.
RPI senior Zach Schroeder (Prior Lake, MN/St. Thomas Academy) gave the hosts their first lead of the game at 10:21 of the second, flipping a shot over Gartieg for his fourth of the campaign. Junior Riley Bourbonnais (Rochester, NY/Lincoln Stars) and sophomore Lou Nanne (Edina, MN/Sioux Falls Stampede) had the assists.
Quinnipiac pulled even nearly seven minutes into the third period, as Tim Clifton (Matawan, NJ/Jersey Hitmen) scored on the power play, from Anas and Toews.
Sophomore Viktor Liljegren (Stockholm, Sweden/Fairbanks Ice Dogs) then gave RPI its lead back (4-3) at 16:16, roofing a shot from close range for his fourth of the year. Helpers went to DeVito and senior Milos Bubela (Banska Bysrica, Slovakia/Dubuque Fighting Saints).
The visitors pulled Garteig with 3:15 left in regulation and it paid off, as Toews netted the equalizer (4-4) with 2:04 on the clock.
It didn’t take long for the Bocats to strike in overtime, as senior captain Soren Jonzzon (Mountain View, CA/Youngstown Phantoms) skated up the left wing boards and snuck a low shot past RPI senior netminder Jason Kasdorf (Winnipeg, MB/Des Moines Buccaneers) for his sixth goal of the season.
Garteig (23-2-6) finished with 21 saves, while Kasdorf (9-10-4) had 37 at the other end of the ice. QU was 1 for 5 on the power play, while RPI was 0 for 4.
TOUGH VS. NO. 1:
The Engineers are now 1-1-1 against top ranked teams this season. They are the only school in the country to that has faced the No. 1 team in the polls more than twice to date.
HOLDING LEADS:
RPI drops to 13-6-2 when leading after two periods.
SHARING THE WEALTH:
Eleven different Engineers recorded points on Friday against Quinnipiac, including junior Jimmy DeVito, who had a goal and an assist.
UP NEXT:
The Engineers are back in action tomorrow for Senior Night against Princeton (7pm).
Quinnipiac travels to Schenectady to face Union (7pm).
