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Michigan 5 - RPI 2

The Wolverines end their New York road trip with a 5-2 win over RPI.

By Joe Wolke
Bill Rapai

The message was clear: start fast and get off on the right foot with the first goal.

"I think we were coming off a hard fought game last night and I think that helped us get a good start. We had the juices running" Berenson said postgame. "As much as sometimes the rested team has the advantage, sometimes the tired team has the advantage and I thought we did to start the game."

That fast start came courtesy of the Michigan freshman. At the 2:40 mark of the first period Cooper Marody was able to steal the puck away behind the RPI net and fit a pass to Brendan Warren who found himself alone with the goaltender.

Tyler Motte would extended the lead at the start of the second taking the puck in by himself and sliding between three defenders; falling down Motte reached out and knocked the puck with the back of his blade to an open far post.

The Engineers didn't go away and as the game went on they seemed to get their legs while Michigan faltered. Zach Schroeder drew RPI within one knocking back a rebound after a long sequence in Michigan's zone, but Tony Calderone pushed the lead back to two goals taking a feed from Joe Cecconi and roofing the puck over Kasdorf.

The lead would be trimmed again when Nolan De Jong ran into an RPI player on a penalty kill. RPI forward Jake Wood went to the vacated space, picked his spot and beat Nagalvoort stick side.

The Engineers wouldn't get any closer and the Wolverines would pull away when Calderone took the puck in the offensive zone, circled around to the point and whipped a puck on net that was tipped in front by Brendan Warren.

Defensively the result was much better than the Friday game but there is quite a bit of work to do. Joe Cecconi is getting better every week and Nick Boka has shown flashes of what he can do. Consistency is the goal now.

Tony Calderone was the star of the game and has been an impact player this season. His skating has improved ten times over from last season and he's making plays with his feet that freshman Calderone would never have made. His line with Cooper Marody and Brendan Warren has been the Wolverine's best.

Up next: Robert Morris visits Yost for a Friday-Saturday series.