RPI Awaits Men's Hockey in Shillelagh Tournament Final

SOUTH BEND, Ind.—One week ahead of their scheduled Dec. 5 bout at Houston Field House in New York, the men’s hockey teams from Harvard and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will get their first look at each other in the championship game of Notre Dame’s Shillelagh Tournament Saturday afternoon at 4:05 p.m.

The two ECAC heavyweights skate into the final after earning 4-1 wins in Friday’s opening round. RPI (8-4-2, 4-0-2) extended its unbeaten streak to nine games with its drubbing of Western Michigan in the first matchup of the day, while Harvard (5-1-1, 4-1-1) capitalized on nine Notre Dame penalties to knock off the hosts in the nightcap.

While the final of the holiday tournament will not count towards the ECAC standings, Saturday might not be the last time the two sides play for a trophy. Despite its predicted 10th place finish in both the preseason coaches’ and media polls, the Engineers have taken the ECAC by storm thus far in 2015, riding wins over Yale and St. Lawrence to the top of the leaderboard alongside unbeaten Quinnipiac.

The RPI offense starts with junior forward Riley Bourbonnais, who is tied for second in the ECAC with eight goals on the year. The Rochester, N.Y., native also ranks third in the ECAC in points—tied with Harvard’s Jimmy Vesey (13).

Bourbonnais is joined by sophomore Viktor Liljegren and senior Milos Bubela on the first line, the latter of whom returned to the lineup only recently after missing five games with a shoulder injury. Bubela ranks first among all active RPI skaters in goals and points with 22 and 47, respectively.

While the return of the veteran forward has helped solidify the Engineer first line, the loss of a rookie has left a hole further down the lineup. Earlier this week, second-line center Evan Tironese, who opened the year with seven points in seven games, was ruled out for the season.The ECAC Rookie of the Month in October took a hit from behind earlier in the season, and after being labeled day-to-day for a few weeks, RPI coach Seth Appert recently confirmed that Tironese’s rookie campaign has concluded.

Nonetheless, the depth of Appert’s squad has enabled the Engineers to beat the injury bug. Twelve different players have recorded five or more points thus far in 2015.

On Saturday, the well-rounded RPI attack will look to hand Crimson sophomore goaltender Merrick Madsen his first loss. Madsen, who now boasts a 4-0-0 record after his 29-save performance against Notre Dame Friday night, in all likelihood will get the start in net again as Harvard looks to add a trophy to its cabinet.

Madsen kept the Crimson in contention early on Friday, before a plethora of Notre Dame penalties allowed Harvard to pull away with three power-play goals. In order to stave off the Crimson, whose power-play unit ranks second in the nation, the Engineers will have to play more disciplined than usual, as RPI has racked up the most penalty minutes in the ECAC and eighth most in the country (14 per game).

—Check TheCrimson.com at 4:30 p.m. for live updates.

—Staff writer Jake Meagher can be reached at jake.meagher@thecrimson.com.