Box Score
TROY, N.Y. - The Mercyhurst University men's hockey team gave up three goals, including an empty-net goal, in the third period and fell to the Engineers of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 4-1, on Saturday night in front of 2,631 fans at the Houston Field House. The loss dropped Mercyhurst below the .500 mark on the season as its record now stands at 3-4-1. The Engineers, after the weekend sweep of the Lakers, improved to 3-5-2 overall.
Mercyhurst fell to 2-6-0 lifetime against the Engineers and dropped to 0-3-1 against non-conference opponents this season. The Lakers went 0-1-1 at then -#16 Ferris State on October 19 and 20.
After a scoreless first period, which saw Rensselaer outshoot Mercyhurst 12-3, the Lakers jumped on the scoreboard at the 7:25 mark of the second period when sophomore
Chris Bodo buried a power play goal past Engineers' starting goaltender Jason Kasdorf for a 1-0 Mercyhurst lead. Senior captain
Grant Blakey took the initial shot that was stopped by Kasdorf, but Bodo was on the doorstep to clean up the rebound. It was the Lakers' first lead of the weekend.
Bodo, who finished tied for third on the team in scoring as a freshman with 25 points last season, has scored his only two points of the season over the course of the last three games. He was held scoreless in his first four games of the year.
From that point on, however, it was all Rensselaer.
Mark Miller finally solved Mercyhurst's junior goaltender
Jordan Tibbett with his first goal of the season at the 15:13 mark of the second period. Defenseman Nick Bailen, who had two goals on Friday night, picked up the lone assist.
Mercyhurst held a 15-8 shot advantage in the middle period.
The Engineers would go ahead for good just 2:26 into the third period when Jacob Laliberte beat Tibbett for a 2-1 RPI advantage. Bailen and Ryan Haggerty had the assists on Laliberte's fifth goal of the season. Greg Burgdoerfer would add some insurance at the 7:33 mark with his first goal of the year. His shot would be redirected past Tibbett off a Mercyhurst defenseman's skate in front of the Laker goal. Marty O'Grady had the lone assist.
O'Grady would seal the Rensselaer victory with an empty net goal at the 18:50 mark. Mark Miller had the helper.
Mercyhurst had plenty of chances in the third period, outshooting the Engineers 13-9 in the final twenty minutes, thanks in part to three power play opportunities. But, Kasdorf and the RPI defense thwarted Mercyhurst's attempt at a rally.
Tibbett made just his second start of the season and stopped 25-of-28 Rensselaer shots in the loss. He dropped to 1-1-0 on the season. Meanwhile, Kasdorf earned his first collegiate victory with a 30-save performance for the Engineers.
Mercyhurst finished the night 1-for-5 on the power play and is now just 5-for-32 (15.6%) with the skater advantage this season. Rensselaer went 0-for-4 with the man advantage.
The Lakers will play games #9 and #10 of their 11-game road trip to start the regular season next Friday and Saturday, November 23 and 24. Mercyhurst will travel to Waltham, Massachusetts to take on the Falcons of Bentley University for a pair of conference games. Mercyhurst is 27-10-6 lifetime against Bentley, including a 0-0 overtime tie and a 2-1 victory against the Falcons in Erie last season. Friday's faceoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. while Saturday's matinee is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.
