SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Sophomore Mike Prapavessis dished out three assists to lead the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men’s hockey team to a 4-1 victory over Western Michigan University, this afternoon at the Shillelagh Tournament at Notre Dame on Friday. With the win, the Engineers extend their unbeaten streak to nine games and improve to 8-4-2 overall, while the Broncos drop to 4-7-1.
The Engineers jumped out to a 1-0 lead at 9:03 of the first period, when freshman Alex Rodriguez (Miami, FL/Sioux City Musketeers) finished off a breakaway chance for his second goal in as many games. Skating up the right wing, he moved the puck from his forehand to his backhand before flipping a shot under the crossbar.
RPI made it 2-0 at 3:18 of the second, scoring on the power play. Junior Riley Bourbonnais (Rochester, NY/Lincoln Stars) buried his team-leading eighth goal of the season, with assists going to senior Phil Hampton (Oakville, ON/Oakville Blades) and sophomore Viktor Liljegren (Stockholm, Sweden/Fairbanks Ice Dogs).
A rebound tally from sophomore Lou Nanne (Edina, MN/Sioux Falls Stampede) pushed the RPI advantage to 3-0 just 47 seconds later. Prapavessis (Oakville, ON/Toronto Patriots) and senior captain Chris Bradley (Williamsville, NY/Youngstown Phantoms) picked up the helpers and Nanne’s fourth of the year.
Western Michigan got on the board at 13:31 of the second, thanks to a mishap by the Engineers in their town zone. A clearing effort deflected off of a teammates skate and behind freshman netminder Cam Hackett (Sault Ste. Marie, ON/Lincoln Stars) for a power play goal. Freshman defenseman Corey Schueneman was credited with his first collegiate tally on the play.
Senior Jake Wood (Georgetown, ON/Lincoln Stars) gave the Engineers an insurance goal at 16:40 of the third, skating all the way around the net to the right circle, before sticking a shot past Western Michigan junior Colin Olson (Apple Valley, MN/Ohio State) for his fifth goal of the campaign. Prapavessis had the lone assist.
Hackett (5-0-2) finished with 25 saves, while Olson (2-4-0) had 20 at the other end of the ice. RPI went 1 for 3 on the power play, while the Broncos were 1 for 5, including a five-minute major opportunity.
UNBEATEN STREAK EXTENDED:
The Engineers pushed their unbeaten streak to nine games (6-0-2) with their win over the Broncos. It matches the eighth-longest such run in school history.
THREE-POINT OUTING:
Sophomore defenseman Mike Prapavessis turned in the first three-point game of the season for the Engineers. Thirteen players had two-point games coming into the weekend.
ON TO THE FINALS:
For the second straight trip to Notre Dame, RPI will be playing in a tournament title game. The Engineers defeated Notre Dame last year, 3-2, before falling to Minnesota, 3-0, in the icebreaker.
FIRST POINT:
With his assist against Western Michigan, senior captain Chris Bradley picked up his first point of the season.
UP NEXT:
The Engineers will play either eighth-ranked Harvard or 18th-ranked Notre Dame tomorrow at either 4:05pm or 7:35pm.
Western Michigan will play the loser of the Crimson/Fighting Irish contest.
