RPI shut out by No. 2 Cornell 3-0
when the Fin drove the net and took a shot that Cornell goalie Matt Galajda kicked aside. Leppänen picked up the rebound, took it around the backside, and almost connected with a line mate out front, but the puck got lost in traffic.
“I didn’t think we completed those moments as well as we are capable of,” said Smith on the Engineers’ chances in the third. “Cornell defends very hard and we needed to get a little bit quicker pucks through to the pads for a rebound, keep them off the goalies hands a little bit. I thought we generated some chances, but not enough second chances and not enough first chances.”
Cornell continues to be a power in the ECAC. The Big Red are second in the ECAC standings with a 8-1 conference record and 12-1-1 overall record. Cornell has not allowed more than two goals in any game all season, including there 2-1 loss to Dartmouth on December 7 or their 2-2 tie with Providence on January 4 in Las Vegas.
“They are a good hockey team,” said Smith. “They defend very well. There are areas of the game that you can expose on that, but you have to have high energy and you have to have great puck placement and great puck control. You saw when we had those we were able to generate some chances, but when the game was on the line, Cornell was at their best and we weren’t at our best.”
RPI sits at seven in the ECAC standings following the loss. RPI is 5-6-1 against conference opponents and is 8-11-1 overall. They currently sit a spot above Union with three points seperating the rivals. Both Dartmouth and RPI have 11 points in the conference but RPI has played three more games. Clarkson sits atop the ECAC standings with 16 points and St.Lawrence is in the basement with 2.
RPI is back in action Saturday night when they host Colgate. Puck drop is at 7 pm at the Houston Field House.