by Ryan Fay
Union head coach Rick Bennett has seen a lot of hockey in his 11 seasons with the Dutchmen.
But he hadn't seen a loss as ugly as Friday's 5-1 setback to RPI at Messa Rink, the ECAC Hockey opener for both teams. He said the Dutchmen didn't play hungry and were outplayed.
"This is the worst loss in my time here, hands down," said Bennett, who joined Union as an assistant coach in Aug. 2005 before taking over as head coach after the 2010-11 season. "Not even close."
Early on, the game was even. But things went south for Union (2-2-3) after Travis Fulton gave RPI a 1-0 lead at 10:38 of the first period on a goal from the bottom of the right circle.
"I thought it was going fine," Bennett said. "Then we let in the first goal and it fell apart."
It sure did. Phil Hampton gave RPI a 2-0 lead at 15:22, just under a minute before Kenny Gillespie made it 3-0 and chased Dutchmen goalie Alex Sakellaropoulos.
Jake Kupsky relieved Sakellaropoulos, but it didn't help. Riley Bourbannis pushed RPI's cushion to 4-0 at 18:12. He was left wide open to tap in a rebound after a Union player missed a defensive assignment.
"We just wanted to keep plugging along, keep going and stick to the game plan," Bourbonnais said.
Milos Bubela further iced the win with a shorthanded goal at 2:06 of the third. With Union on a five minute power play, Spencer Foo sent a pass to Nick DeSimone at the point. But DeSimone let it get away, springing Bubela on a breakaway that resulted in a 5-0 lead for the Engineers.
Bubela's shorthanded goal was a microcosm for Union's power-play unit, which struggled all night. It finished 1-for-9 while mustering just 10 combined shots on the man advantage. The only one that went in Mark Dufour's blast from the top of the slot at 17:14 that cut the Engineers lead to 5-1.
RPI (2-4-0) picked up 22 saves from goalie Jason Kasdorf, who would have seen a lot more action had the Engineers not blocked 29 shots.
Union head coach Rick Bennett has seen a lot of hockey in his 11 seasons with the Dutchmen.
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| Union head coach Rick Bennett addresses the media after Union's 5-1 loss to RPI on Friday. |
"This is the worst loss in my time here, hands down," said Bennett, who joined Union as an assistant coach in Aug. 2005 before taking over as head coach after the 2010-11 season. "Not even close."
Early on, the game was even. But things went south for Union (2-2-3) after Travis Fulton gave RPI a 1-0 lead at 10:38 of the first period on a goal from the bottom of the right circle.
"I thought it was going fine," Bennett said. "Then we let in the first goal and it fell apart."
It sure did. Phil Hampton gave RPI a 2-0 lead at 15:22, just under a minute before Kenny Gillespie made it 3-0 and chased Dutchmen goalie Alex Sakellaropoulos.
Jake Kupsky relieved Sakellaropoulos, but it didn't help. Riley Bourbannis pushed RPI's cushion to 4-0 at 18:12. He was left wide open to tap in a rebound after a Union player missed a defensive assignment.
"We just wanted to keep plugging along, keep going and stick to the game plan," Bourbonnais said.
Milos Bubela further iced the win with a shorthanded goal at 2:06 of the third. With Union on a five minute power play, Spencer Foo sent a pass to Nick DeSimone at the point. But DeSimone let it get away, springing Bubela on a breakaway that resulted in a 5-0 lead for the Engineers.
Bubela's shorthanded goal was a microcosm for Union's power-play unit, which struggled all night. It finished 1-for-9 while mustering just 10 combined shots on the man advantage. The only one that went in Mark Dufour's blast from the top of the slot at 17:14 that cut the Engineers lead to 5-1.
RPI (2-4-0) picked up 22 saves from goalie Jason Kasdorf, who would have seen a lot more action had the Engineers not blocked 29 shots.
“Our will, as a group, to block shots, there’s nothing more that says you love your teammates than blocking shots,” RPI head coach Seth Appert said. “Riley Bourbonnais, he’s a goal scorer, and he scored again tonight for us. I mean, man, he’s blocking shots. But everybody is. And that just shows the guys care about each other.”
With such an unsatisfying result, it would be understandable if Bennett wanted to forget about it and just move on to tonight's rematch at the Houston Field House.
But Bennett wants to keep the game fresh in his team's memory.
With such an unsatisfying result, it would be understandable if Bennett wanted to forget about it and just move on to tonight's rematch at the Houston Field House.
But Bennett wants to keep the game fresh in his team's memory.
“I don’t want to forget about this game, to be honest with you. Not one bit,” Bennett said. “I hope it hurts until they come for the 11 o’clock meeting [today], because they’re going to watch it. Hats off to RPI. That was an absolute, great game by RPI. Outcoached, definitely outplayed. That was like a Stanley Cup Game seven to them."
Union, which didn't make its players available after the game, skated without co-captain Mike Vecchione. Bennett said Vecchione was on the physically unable to perform list and offered no further update.
POSTGAME AUDIO
Union head coach Rick Bennett
RPI's head coach Seth Appert, plus players Riley Bourbonnais, Mike Prapavessis, and Travis Fulton
Follow @GarnetHockey
RPI's head coach Seth Appert, plus players Riley Bourbonnais, Mike Prapavessis, and Travis Fulton
Follow @GarnetHockey
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