Engineers blocked by Bulldogs
Yale stops 24 shots before they reach goalie in road win
The seeds to RPI’S 5-3 loss to Yale were sewn in the first period when the Engineers ripped 15 shots at the Bulldogs’ net with just three getting through and while one attempt missed, 11 others were blocked by Yale players eager to get in front of the puck.
The intensity that Yale brought defensively was not matched by the Engineers in their own zone and the result was a defeat Friday in RPI’S first home game at Houston Field House in 48 days.
“What you saw, and the result, was a team that played with a little more desperation,” RPI coach Dave Smith said. “I liked a lot of things about our game, but desperation can win you a lot of games. Our defensive desperation was not where it needed to be tonight.”
RPI (10-13-3, 5-6-0) had the better of the play throughout the majority of the game. The Engineers outshot Yale (4-10-1, 3-7-1) 26-20 though the
Bulldogs blocked 24 shots.
The Engineers’ offense put plenty of pressure on Yale goaltender Nathan Reid but defensive lapses in their own zone in front of freshman goaltender Jack Watson were costly.
“When our offensive urgency picked up, the defensive urgency didn’t and that is what cost us the game,” Smith said. “You get a couple goals where they come in around our defensemen or one of our guys and that can’t happen if you expect to win games.”
RPI trailed 1-0 after one but tied the game on the first of Ture Linden’s two goals early in the second period.
Yale took the lead for good when Reilly Connors picked a rebound out of the air and backhanded it by Watson with 53 seconds left in the second period.
Yale picked up the pace in the third, pushing the lead to 3-1 one minute into the third when Ian Carpentier deftly moved from the right circle into the slot before getting an open look on Watson as his shot was tipped in by Justin Pearson.
Linden scored his second goal of the game 7:57 into the third but Yale quickly regained the twogoal advantage when Carpentier got a clean look as he streaked down the left side of the ice before beating Watson to the glove side.
“I didn’t think we were ready to play, we weren’t defending quick enough all over the ice,” Linden said. “It starts in the offensive zone on the forecheck. I thought we were hard at times but not enough and in our D zone, we’ve got to be quicker getting on guys.”
Ottoville Leppanen drew the Engineers to within a goal at 4-3 with a shot from the left circle at the 17:03 mark of the third after RPI pulled Watson for an extra attacker but Carpentier scored into an empty net with 69 seconds left.
Smith changed up lines and defensive pairings as the game went along to shake things up, but RPI could not get the defense solidified in time.
“Sometimes changes are made when you see something good, sometimes changes are made when you see something bad,” Smith said. “I didn’t like some of the plays that some of the guys had been making so I moved them around to send a couple of messages to them.”
Smith is planning on sending more messages before the team takes the ice Saturday against Brown.
“We’ll talk to the guys, show video to the guys,” Smith said. “It is our job as coaches to set that mood and environment but those guys in the room have to understand what urgency means. They know it, we can do it, we did it for a large portion of the game but the small breaks that we took tonight cost us the game. I thought Jack was fine. If we are counting on a goalie to win us a game every night, that is a tough recipe.”