Five different players scored and senior Kevin Du had three assists as Harvard University defeated Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), 5-1, in a Division I ECAC Hockey League men’s hockey team game at the Houston Field House on Friday night.
The Crimson led 5-0 before Kirk MacDonald scored his sixth goal of the season on the power play to break freshman netminder Kyle Richter’s shutout attempt.
Alex Meintel scored the first goal of the game as he received a pass from Du. Meintel got past an Engineers defenseman and went in alone on Engineers goaltender Mathias Lange. Meintel put the puck on his backhand and lifted it over Lange’s glove for a 1-0 lead.
The Crimson got two goals in the second period and led 3-0 after two. The first was a power-play goal by Brian McCafferty, who snuck in from his defensive position and received a cross-slot pass from Du. He one-timed the puck past Lange.
Later in the period Ryan Maki found the puck to the left of Lange and chopped at it, causing it to bounce past Lange for the three-goal lead.
The Crimson scored twice more in the third period for a 5-0 lead. Jon Pelle received a pass in the faceoff circle to the right of Lange and one-timed a shot that floated past the netminder for a power play goal. Then Steve Mandes was waiting in the slot as Tyler Magura sent a pass from behind the net that Mandes one-timed.
The Engineers broke Richter’s shutout attempt when Jake Luthi took a shot from the blueline on the power play that MacDonald tipped past Richter with 4:40 remaining in the game. Paul Kerins also assisted on the play.
Richter made 16 saves for the victory while Lange stopped 22 in the loss. Harvard was 2-for-6 on the power play and the Engineers were 1-for-8.
The Engineers (5-8-2, 1-3-3 ECACHL) host league opponent Dartmouth on Saturday night while the Crimson (6-10-0, 4-7-0 ECACHL) plays at Union. Both games begin at 7pm.
