TROY, N.Y. - The No. 7 Boston University men's ice hockey team closed out the first half of its schedule with a 4-1 loss at No. 15 Rensselaer on Saturday afternoon at Houston Field House. The Terriers will enter the semester break with a record of 8-4-5.
Rensselaer's special teams accounted for all of its goals, as the Engineers built a 3-0 lead with a shorthanded tally and a pair of power-play goals.
Sophomore Wade Megan got the Terriers on the board at 15:24 of the second, but RPI tacked on a late 5-on-3 goal to account for the 4-1 final.
Chase Polacek tallied a goal and two assists for the Engineers, who improved to 9-4-3 with the victory. Allen York earned the win in goal with a 28-save performance.
Junior Grant Rollheiser earned the start in goal for the Terriers, but was pulled after allowing three goals on 13 shots. Classmate Kieran Millan played the finl 37:46 and stopped 11 of the 12 shots he faced.
There were 24 penalties, including six misconducts, called in the contest with 11 coming in the final three minutes. RPI went 3-of-8 on the power play while the Terriers came up empty on their five chances.
With the Engineers skating shorthanded midway through the first period, Joel Malchuk gave the home team a 1-0 lead when he scored off a pass from C.J. Lee after Mike Bergin caused the Terriers to make a turnover on their power play.
RPI used its power play to take a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, as Tyler Helfrich converted from the foot of the left circle with 9.6 seconds left in the opening period. Polacek and Nick Bailen earned assists on the play.
BU took another penalty in the opening minute of the middle stanza and the Engineers took advantage yet again, as Polacek roofed a shot from the left circle after receiving a pass from Brock Higgs at the 1:35 mark to push the lead to 3-0.
The Terriers made it a 3-1 contest when Megan collected a rebound off a shot by sophomore Ryan Ruikka and wristed the puck from the slot. His offering beat York high with 4:36 left in the second.
A pair of BU penalties with 2:39 left in regulation provided the Engineers with a 5-on-3 opportunity, which led to a tally from Bryan Brutlag at 19:18 to create the 4-1 final.
BU will return to action on New Year's Day when it faces Brown in the opening round of the Shillelagh Tournament in Hoffman Estates, Ill.