A pair of top-10 teams take the ice at 4 p.m. ET when Princeton and Northeastern open play at the 58th Annual Rensselaer Holiday Tournament followed by the host RPI Engineers taking on Mercyhurst. INCH Senior Writer Joe Gladziszewski will be at the Houston Field House and provide live updates throughout both games. (All Times Eastern)
3:50 p.m. - About 15 minutes to face off and Northeastern and Princeton have returned to their dressing rooms after warmup and the ice resurfacing machines have cleaned the playing surface prior to the first game. Here are the line charts for both teams …
PRINCETON
Wilson-Jubinville-Hagel
Lohry-Kaiser-Kushniruk
Kramer-Magnowski-Arhontas
Beachell-Bartlett-Sabky
Schroeder-Godlewski
Pederson-Fedun
Pallis-Ritchie
Kalemba
NORTHEASTERN
McNeeley-Vitale-MacLeod
Tuckerman-Silva-Quailer
Costa-Ginand-Donovan
Kraemer-McLaughlin-Wiwchar
Driscoll-Strathman
Nycholat-Liotti
Chisholm-Hewkin
Thiessen
… and while we’ve got 10 minutes until the game starts, a last call reminder for INCH Pick ‘Em.
4:02 p.m. - Princeton takes a 1-0 lead, at 1:36 of the first period. After dumping the puck in to the left of Northeastern goalie Brad Thiessen, Princeton’s Marc Hagel got in hard on the forecheck and disrupted Thiessen’s effort to move the puck up the boards. A Princeton player intercepted the clear, threw it back toward the net where it hit the outside of the goal, and Hagel slotted the rebound in as Thiessen scrambled back to his crease.
4:10 p.m. - Princeton leads 2-0, at 5:30 of the first period. Marc Hagel gets a spot on the top line and gets his first two goals of the season. This one on another forced turnover deep in the Northeastern defensive zone. Brett Wilson took the puck away from the defense, left it for Lee Jubinville behind the net and with Wilson stationed on one post in front and Hagel on the other, Jubinville fed Hagel for a one-timer from close range that beat Thiessen. Of note, the playing surface at the Houston Field House in Rensselaer includes tons of room behind each net and allowing a talented playmaker like Jubinville to get set up in the office is a dangerous situation.
4:27 p.m. - Just under two minutes left in the first period here in the opening game, each team has killed a minor penalty. Princeton holds a 13-4 advantage in shots on goal. The up-tempo aggressive style of the Tigers has held the advantage over the more defensive-oriented Huskies in the opening 20 minutes.
4:45 p.m. - End of the first period, and a good time to send out an in-game stick salute to both of these programs that find themselves ranked in the top-10 nationally (and top five in the INCH Power Rankings) after years of lower-level finishes within their respective conferences. During the four-year stretch that included the 2002-03 season through the 2005-06 season, Northeastern (39-79-22) and Princeton (26-90-10) were a combined 104 games under-.500 for a winning percentage of just a tick over 30 percent.
Northeastern’s Greg Cronin, in his fourth season in charge of the Huskies, has Northeastern atop the Hockey East standings (9-2-2 overall, 7-2-1 Hockey East). After winning just three games in the 2005-06 season, NU’s win total increased to 13 in 2007 and 16 last year.
Guy Gadowsky, in his fifth year at Princeton, has turned the Tigers into a force in ECAC Hockey and had the team in the NCAA Tournament last spring for the second time in school history. Princeton won the league’s playoff title after finishing second in the regular season.
4:45 p.m. - Second period is underway.
4:48 p.m. - Northeastern scores, Princeton leads 2-1. The Huskies get on the board on an outstanding individual effort as Ryan Ginand worked the puck down low, fought off some backchecking pressure behind the net, and circled out on the right post and slid a wraparound under Princeton goalie Zane Kalemba. Greg Costa and Chris Donovan got the assists at 2:13.
… and Northeastern goes on the power play.
4:51 p.m. - Northeastern ties it up, 2-2. Power-play goal from Chris Donovan, his second point of the game at 4:01. Donovan wheelded off the left wing boards and fired a wrister of the glove of Kalemba from the edge of the face-off circle. Alex Tuckerman and Steve Silva got the assists. After Princeton controlled the first period, Northeastern pops two early in the second to make it a tie game.
4:53 p.m - Ginand has been Northeastern’s best player in this game and scored the opening goal, but just took a hooking penalty to send Princeton on the power play. Princeton defenseman Taylor Fedun was carrying the puck out of the d-zone and Ginand reached out and just got a little hook on his glove, but it was enough to warrant a two-minute minor.
4:55 p.m. - Princeton answers with a power-play goal, leads 3-2. Pretty simple play, traffic in front, shot from the right point by Brad Schroeder and was deflected in by Kevin Kaiser. No fault of Thiessen.
… and another Princeton power play on the way, but it didn’t last long. The Huskies won the draw, and Joe Vitale and Wade MacLeod broke down the ice and drew a Princeton power play. 1:47 of 4-on-4 hockey.
4:59 p.m. - Refs for this first game, by the way, Peter Feola and Chip McDonald of ECAC Hockey, the assistant referees are Nick Litterio and David Brown.
5:00 p.m - Princeton doubles its lead to 4-2. A short-handed goal was a bit of a fluke, as defenseman Derrick Pallis was in on the forecheck during the abbreviated NU power play, and threw the puck to the net from the left wing corner, and it deflected off the stick of a Northeastern defenseman through the pads of Thiessen.
5:12 p.m. - Second period winding down, Princeton maintains its two-goal advantage after a less eventful last 10 minutes of the period after the goals and penalties came at a furious pace early on.
5:16 p.m. - A bit of buzz in the arena in the closing seconds of the period as Northeastern’s Joe Vitale made a strong move around a Princeton defenseman and went to deke Kalemba, but the buzzer sounded before Vitale could pull the trigger on the backhand shot.
5:18 p.m. - A note on next year’s RPI Holiday Tournament, as the field is still being finalized, but one of the confirmed participants is Lake Superior State of the CCHA.
5:30 p.m. - Second period about to get underway with Princeton leading 4-2. Some quick facts from early in the season … Princeton is 7-0-0 when leading after two periods and Northeastern is 1-2-0 when trailing after two periods. The Huskies’ comeback win came on Oct. 25 at Maine. Northeastern trailed 1-0 after 40 minutes and scored twice in the third for a 2-1 win.
5:41 p.m. - Northeastern scores - Princeton 4, Northeastern 3. Huskies break through with a goal at 5:40 of the third period. A screened shot by Alex Tuckerman from the left wing boards snuck through between the right arm and torso of Princeton goalie Zane Kalemba. Steve Quailer, and Steve Silva assisted.
5:44 p.m. - Princeton goes on the power play after a boarding penalty against the Huskies … Lee Jubinville, Brett Wilson, and Marc Hagel up front with Taylor Fedun and Jody Pederson on the points to start.
5:49 p.m. - Northeastern kills the penalty but now there are under nine mnutes left in the third, and they still trail by a goal.
5:52 p.m. - NU’s best chance of the third since the goal, with Ginand circling in the offensive zone and getting a close range shot at the edge of the crease that Kalemba handled.
5:55 p.m. - Northeastern hemmed Princeton in its own defensive end for three straight shifts, but can’t find the tying goal. Under four minutes to play now.
5:58 p.m. - Empty-net goal for Princeton, Tigers lead 5-3. Northeastern goalie Brad Thiessen pulled with 56 seconds left, and Princeton’s Dan Bartlett scored the empty-netter on a long shot from Princeton’s defensive zone to give the Tigers a two-goal lead at 19:07.
6 p.m. - Final score from the first semifinal at Houston Field House - Princeton 5, Northeastern 3. The Tigers are now 9-1-0 on the season and the Huskies fell to 9-3-2. Princeton outshot Northeastern 38-21. Heading downstairs to speak with some of the participants and will share some of those thoughts between games. Mercyhurst and Rensselaer will face off at 7 p.m.
6:24 p.m. - RPI and Mercyhurst are on the ice for warmups with RPI wearing the customary home whites and Mercyhurst in all green — sweaters, helmets, pants and socks, trimmed with blue, and white names and numbers. Rensselaer’s sweater features a red diagonal RPI across the front, a Puckman shoulder patch on the right sleeve, with a memorial patch reading “NED” on the left sleeve — tribute, of course, to former Rensselaer and Cornell coach Ned Harkness, who passed away earlier this fall.
6:53 p.m. - Warmups complete, and here are the line charts for the second game tonight.
MERCYHURST (3-8-1, 3-2-1 Atlantic Hockey)
Robinson-Toomey-Raven
Gurtler-Bremner-Graham
Pitt-Pierce-Cameron
Vandenbeld-Ginand-Coccimiglio
Goebel-Eddy
Noble-Fennell
Terminesi-Medernach
Zapolski
RENSSELAER (2-8-1, 1-4-0 ECAC Hockey)
Helfrich-Polacek-Contini
Colling-M.Angers-Goulet-Klerer
Cullen-A.Angers-Goulet-Rabbani
Vassel-Kerins-Smith
Zarbo-Brutlag
Kennedy-Foss
Merth-Burgdorfer
Lange
6:55 p.m. - Yes, that is freshman Phil Ginand centering Mercyhurst’s line with Nick Vandenbeld and Brandon Coccimiglio. He is the younger brother of Northeastern senior center Ryan Ginand, who scored in the first game of this tournament.
7 p.m. - Tonight’s referees for the second game are Bob Ritchie and Jack Millea, and the assistant referees are Dan Taggart and Joe Testa. We’re underway at HFH …
7:03 p.m. - Mercyhurst goes on top, 1-0. On a 2-on-1 rush, senior captain Ryan Toomey kept the puck on the left wing and fired a shot over the shoulder of RPI starting goalie Mathias Lange. Brett Robinson got the only assist.
7:15: p.m. - RPI gets the game’s first power play as Jeff Terminesi is called for interference at 7:43 of the first period.
7:20 p.m. - Mercyhurst leads 2-0. Another odd-man opportunity following a turnover in the RPI zone, Phil Ginand found some space in the slot and scored as teammates crashed the net. Nick Vandenbeld got the lone assist.
7:22 p.m. - RPI defenseman Bryan Brutlag with the best hit of the night, an open-ice shoulder to chest effort to knock a Laker player to the ice.
7:23 p.m. - Mercyhurst leads 3-0. Lakers add another goal to the lead at 14:15 of the first as Steve Cameron converts a nice pass from Matt Pierce. It’s the team-leading eighth goal of the season for Cameron. Scott Pitt also had an assist.
7:33 p.m. - End of the first period, with RPI holding a 14-7 shots on goal advantage but trailing by three. The Engineers will have nine seconds remaining on a power play when the second period begins.
7:39 p.m. - You might not know that RPI’s Houston Field House played host to two of Mike Tyson’s early professional bouts, including his first nationally-televised fight in February 1986 which he won to improve to 18-0. He fought again on the RPI campus later that year, in June and won again to improve to 23-0. His run of bouts in 1986 ended with him winning the heavyweight championship against Trevor Berbick in November of that year.
7:49 p.m. - Second period is underway … Lange still in goal for RPI.
7:57 p.m. - A good cycle shift from RPI’s Kurt COlling, Matt Angers-Goulet, and Seth Klerer ended with a wraparound chance for Colling. More pressure on the next shift draws a penalty and RPI gets its third power play of the night, an interference call against Kirk Medernach at 4:35.
8 p.m. - With three seconds remaining on the RPI power play, Chase Polacek takes an interference penalty. RPI is 0-for-3 on the power play, where they’ve generated their best offensive opportunities. Mercyhurst gets its first look on the power play.
8:05 p.m. - RPI came into the game ranked dead last in the nation in scoring offense (15 goals in 11 games) and Mercyhurst was tied for 56th (out of 58) in defense, allowing 4.25 goals per game. So far, Mercyhurst’s in-zone coverage and goaltending have been fine. The Lakers collapse pretty deep in the d-zone and surround sophomore goalie Ryan Zapolski, who has stopped all 19 shots he’s faced so far tonight, including a pretty glove save on RPI’s last rush.
8:14 p.m. - Another RPI penalty, their third straight, and Mercyhurst goes on the power play at 15:02 of the second period still leading 3-0. That power-play didn’t last long as a hooking penalty against the Lakers just seven seconds into the power play.
8:21 p.m. - End of the second period and Mercyhurst leads 3-0. RPI ended the first period on a power play and had six skaters on the ice for about 10 seconds, but it went unnoticed by the officials. The power play will carry over for 46 seconds when the third period begins.
8:29 p.m. - These games in Troy are just two of nine games involving ECAC Hockey teams, all being played against non-league opposition. Clarkson is hosting Canisius and Union hosts Army in a pair of ECACH-Atlantic Hockey tilts that mirror the RPI-Mercyhurst game. A total of four games between ECACH and Hockey East schools are on the docket, with Princeton-Northeastern and Boston College-Harvard taking place Friday afternoon. St. Lawrence is taking on UMass and Dartmouth plays Providence. Later tonight, travel partners Cornell and Colgate are out west. The Big Red are at North Dakota and Colgate is at Denver.
8:37 p.m. - Teams take the ice for the third period. RPI needs an early goal to boost its confidence and get back in the game to spur a third-period rally. The most goals RPI has scored in a period so far this year is two.
8:38 p.m. - And there’s the early goal for RPI. Mercyhurst leads 3-1. A shot through traffic by Chase Polacek hit the right shoulder of Mercyhurst goalie Ryan Zapolski and went in under the crossbar. Goal scored at 47 seconds, just as the power play ended.
8:41 p.m. - Another flurry from the Engineers as they get three good shots on goal, all stopped and the final one covered by Zapolski.
8:43 p.m. - A penalty against Mercyhurst, holding minor, taken in the offensive zone, and RPI goes back on the power play.
8:47 p.m. - Mercyhurst killed the penalty, we’re back to full-strength hockey. The Lakers were content to defend the slot and yield the perimeter to RPI. The Engineers got some shots through but Mercyhurst tied up sticks and Zapolski covered when in trouble.
8:51 p.m. - An odd-man rush for Rensselaer turns into a Mercyhurst power play. Nice passing gave RPI a chance and the puck was being juggled by Zapolski, who was then shoved by RPI’s Peter Merth into the net. The puck crossed the line, but the call is for charging.
8:52 p.m. - Another RPI penalty, this is a five-minute major against Bryan Brutlag for checking from behind, and a game misconduct. Mercyhurst will have a 5-on-3 power play for the next 1:54. There’s 12:51 left in the third period.
8:58 p.m. - RPI killed off the first minor to Merth and the majority of Brutlag’s major, then drew a penalty against the Lakers for slashing during a 2-on-1 short-handed rush. Another Mercyhurst penalty followed, and RPI will have a 4-on-3 power play for 15 seconds, followed by a 5-on-3 for the next 1:24. Renssealer has used its timeout to talk about power-play strategy and rest its top offensive players.
9:05 p.m. - RPI with plenty of in-zone possession time on the power plays, and got shots through traffic but Zapolski stood up to the challenge. Plenty of Real Men of Genius in the bleachers (second item) imploring RPI to shoot the puck from everywhere on the ice regardless of shooting lanes or penalty killers.
9:08 p.m. - Another Mercyhurst penalty is successfully killed by the Lakers. Now there’s just 3:15 left in the period and Mercyhurst still leads 3-1.
9:12 p.m. - Mercyhurst leads 4-1. Rensselaer goalie Lange pulled with 2:16 left in the third period, followed by a couple of good rushes from the Engineers. Mercyhurst cleared the defensive zone and had a breakaway empty-netter by Brett Robinson.
9:17 p.m. - A bunch of penalties at 18:39 of the third period following an after-whistle altercation in which most players were involved. Five Mercyhurst players are crammed into their small penalty box, drawing laughter and applause from the RPI faithful. The Mercyhurst group is probably just content with the score and the opportunity to play Princeton tomorrow for the tournament title. All 10 players on the ice got two minutes for hitting after the whistle and 10 minute misconducts. RPI’s Garett Vassel got an extra two for checking from behind.
9:20 p.m. - Final score in the second game - Mercyhurst 4, RPI 1. That sets up tomorrow’s schedule … Princeton and Mercyhurst will play for the title at 4 p.m. and RPI takes on Northeastern at 7 p.m. Mercyhurst got its first win outside of Atlantic Hockey with tonight’s victory.
Thanks for tracking the game here at Inside College Hockey.
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