RPI tops Union in Mayor's Cup

Box Score

by Ryan Fay

The Mayor's Cup is going back to Troy.

RPI re-captured the cup after skating past Union 5-2 in the fourth annual Mayor's Cup game on Saturday at the Times Union Center.

Union goalie Alex Sakellaropoulos had 27 saves
in the losing effort.

The win avenges an 8-3 loss to Union in last year's edition of the game, and brings the all-time Mayor's Cup series even at 2-2.

With the victory, 16th-ranked RPI also secured its first regular season sweep of the Dutchmen since 2003-04. The Engineers finish the regular season 3-0 against Union, having also defeated the Dutchmen twice in October.

The Engineers grabbed a 1-0 lead 50 seconds into the game after Lou Nanne knocked in a rebound following a shot from Zach Schroeder. Eli Lichtenwald answered for Union less than two minutes later with a rebound goal of his own.

Mike Prapavessis gave the Engineers a 2-1 lead at 13:08 with a wrister from the top of the left circle, but Ryan Scarfo brought the Dutchmen even just over two minutes later with a power-play goal.

Jimmy DeVito gave RPI a lead for good at 13:04 of the second when he redirected a Jesper Ohrvall pass past Union goalie Alex Sakellaropoulos. Phil Hampton and Drew Melanson tacked on insurance goals in the third, with Melanson's being of the empty-net variety.

RPI (13-7-6) goaltender Jason Kasdorf finished with a game-high 30 saves. Sakellaropoulos had 27 stops for the Dutchmen, who have now gone winless in five straight games.

The Dutchmen (9-9-6) resume ECACH play next weekend, travelling to 12th-ranked Yale on Friday and Brown a day later.

End notes: Union's Cole Maier (lower-body) appeared in his first game since Nov. 28 at Merrimack. The freshman forward picked up his first collegiate assist on Lichtenwald's goal.

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