Engineers Be-Little Clarkson, 6-2

LAKE PLACID, NY--Upon further review, instant replay is a be-Littleing thought in the ECAC semifinals--Game Two was almsot a carbon copy of the first.

RPI got five first-period goals, including two from left-winger Jeff Brick, and senior Hobey Baker candidate Neil Little lived up to his billing between the pipes as the Engineers cruised to a 6-2 victory over Clarkson.

RPI (21-9-4) advances to tonight's ECAC championship game against top- seeded Harvard.

Clarkson (19-9-5) now finds itself on the NCAA tournament bubble with the loss, very much needing a win in today's consolation game against fourth-seeded Browns.

It took less than four minutes for the Engineers to take a 2-0 lead, scoring first at 1:31 on Patrick Rochon's high wrist shot past the Golden Knights' Jason Currie. Xavier Majic added a rebound conversion to put RPI up by 2 at the 3:54 mark.

And then Brick struck for his two goals, the second of which--a beautiful one-timer of a Bryan Richardson pass--led Clarkson coach Mark Morris to call his team's time-out in an attempt to stem the Engineer tide.

But Clarkson never got closer than within three, thanks in part to Little's brilliance (22 saves) and RPI's defensive prowess on the penalty kill, which stifled the Knights on five-of-six chances.

RPI,6-2 at 1980 Olympic Rink RPI  5  1  0  -  6 Clarkson  1  1  0  -  2

First Period

RPI--Rochon (3, Cuthbdert, Pasco) 1:31.

RPI--Majic (13, Gabriel, Bartell) 3:54.

RPI--Brick (18, Rochon, Richardson) 8:05.

RPI--Brick (19, Regan, Richardson) 14:33.

Cla--Henrich (3, White, Robitaille) 17:55.

RPI--Gabriel (9, MAjic, Askew) 18:29.

Second Period

RPI--Hameline (19,Clarke, Pasco)5:01.

Cla--Tuomainen (22, Conrow, Wiesel) 9:23.

Third Period

No Scoring

saves: RPI--Little 8-7-7-22; Cla--Currie 8-7-8-23.