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In a frustrating return to action, RPI's offense failed to respond when clutch goals were needed, and the men's hockey team lost both of its games in the Rensselaer/HSBC Holiday Hockey Tournament in Troy.

On Friday, Brendon Clark scored the game winning goal with 7:36 left in the third period, giving Merrimack a 2-1 victory over Rensselaer. RPI coach Dan Fridgen said, "I didn't think they beat us on their merit; I thought we had a hand in that as well. But their goalie played real solid and you've got to take care of things better in your own end."

RPI extended its winless streak to three on Saturday, losing 4-3 to Princeton. As USCHO reported, "Against teams other than ECAC foe Rensselaer, Princeton is 0-14 this season. Plus, the Tigers lost three games during a recent exhibition tour of England. But against the Engineers, the Tigers are 2-0."

Summing up the tournament from his perspective, Coach Fridgen said, "I was hoping to use this tournament as a springboard for the second third of the season. We completely missed the board. We'll see how deep of a hole this is." RPI is now 7-11-1 overall.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has announced that President Shirley Ann Jackson has been elected president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She will serve as president of the AAAS in 2004 and will be Chairperson of the Board of Directors in 2005.

The AAAS is the world's largest general scientific society and publisher of the magazine Science.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In a midweek matchup that ends the pre-Christmas part of the schedule, Boston University defeated RPI 4-1 at Houston Field House. This game was a rematch from the final game of the Ice Breaker Tournament in Wisconcin at the beginning of the season.

Although Rensselaer ended up losing by three goals, the Times Union said that this game was closer than the first matchup earlier in the year:

Despite failing to score in the first period, this was a much better start for the Engineers than their earlier meeting in the championship game of the IceBreaker Tournament at Wisconsin when BU broke out to a 3-0 lead and went on to win 5-1.... "I thought it was a more even game than the score, especially the second and third period," said veteran Boston coach Jack Parker.

The game was decided, however, largely on neutral zone turnovers. RPI has developed a tendency to turn the puck over in the neutral zone, rather than dumping the puck in or carrying it into the offensive zone. As much as Rensselaer has shown improvement in its physical intensity lately, it has to minimize puck-handling mistakes in order to beat nationally-ranked opponents like BU.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dave Aiello wrote, "RPI considered the men's hockey game on Friday night against Union to be a must win. In its last four ECAC league games, the Engineers had three losses and a tie. In the last four games against Union, RPI's record was almost as bad: two losses and two ties."

"So, it was a great relief for everyone that RPI pulled out a 4-2 victory on two decisive goals by Ryan Shields in the third period. The line of Shields, Kevin Croxton, and Mikael Hammarstrom is now providing consistant offensive production."

"A major part of the story of this game was Rensselaer's physical domination of Union, a tactic that Union has previously employed with success against the Engineers. RPI is still only 2-4-1 in the ECAC and must keep up its intensity in order to move up in the standings."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Over the weekend, the RPI Men's Hockey Team travelled to Brown and Harvard for a weekend of competitive games. On Friday night, RPI tied Brown 1-1 after a scoreless overtime. Ryan Shields scored the only goal for Rensselaer. Kevin Kurk came up with 21 saves.

On Saturday, Harvard stopped RPI 3-1, with the victory catapulting the Crimson into first place in the ECAC. Danny Eberly scored the goal for Rensselaer, midway through the second period on a 5-3 power play. This made the score 2-1, but RPI would get no closer. Nathan Marsters made 38 saves for the Engineers.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)