Box Score

ALBANY, N.Y. (10/27/07) – Rensselaer scored twice in the first period, and a case of bad puck luck kept Colgate off the board as the Engineers won the Citizens Bank Governor’s Cup title with a 2-0 victory on Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y. It marked the second straight year that RPI (5-2-0) defeated the Raiders (3-3-0) for the Governor’s Cup.

RPI goaltender Jordan Alford was honored as the tournament’s MVP after he turned aside 21 shots in the title game. Senior Tyler Burton (Langley, B.C.), who assisted on the winning goal in the semifinal victory against St. Lawrence, represented Colgate on the all-tournament team.

Although the teams could have easily been tied 2-2 at the end of the first period, only Rensselaer was able to capitalize on its scoring opportunities. Peter Merth got the Engineers on the board with a goal set up by Paul Kerins and Ben Contini at the 7:28 mark. Kerins shot in from the left side, and Colgate senior goaltender Mark Dekanich (North Vancouver, B.C.) appeared to have made the save. The puck, however, was loose, and Merth was on the right side to push it over the goal line.

With less than two minutes to play in the opening period, RPI struck again. Andrei Uryadov ripped a shot past Dekanich from near the blue line through traffic to give the Engineers a 2-0 lead. Uryadov’s goal came after Colgate senior captain Jesse Winchester (Long Sault, Ont.) clanged a shot off the pipe with an open net; Winchester hit the post again shortly before time ran out in the first period.

Colgate failed to capitalize on another prime scoring chance early in the second period. Burton skated in on the left side and shot from close range. The Raiders crashed the net, and it appeared as though the puck would be forced into the net, but the only thing to cross the goal line was Burton as he was dumped into the cage.

Dekanich finished the game with 14 saves as his Raiders outshot RPI 21-16. Colgate went 0-for-6 on the power play, including a five-minute power play to finish the second period and start the third, while Rensselaer was 0-for-5.

Colgate won the battle in the faceoff circle, 30-22, with senior Ben Camper (Rocky River, Ohio) earning with the puck on 13 of his 16 attempts.

The Raiders return home to host Quinnipiac and Princeton for Silver Puck Weekend, Nov. 2-3. The Bobcats visit on Friday night for a 7:00 p.m., game, while the Tigers invade Starr Rink on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.