TROY, N.Y. - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) scored three third period goals to snap a 1-1 tie and the Engineers defeated No. 10 Yale University, 4-1, in an ECAC Hockey contest between two teams that entered the night's action tied for second place in the league standings.



RPI has now won seven straight games and each of its last eight conference games to improve to 14-11-5 overall and 9-6-3 in the league. The Engineers now hold sole possession of second place with 21 points. The Bulldogs fall to 13-9-3 and 9-8-1 and fall into a tie for fifth place with 19 points.



With the score tied after two periods, RPI broke the deadlock at 5:39 when senior defenseman Nick Bailen collected a Jacob Laliberte pass while driving toward the net and snapped a shot past Yale netminder Connor Wilson. The goal was Bailen's seventh of the season and he now has 11 points (6 goals, 5 assists) in his last nine games.



Freshman Mike Zalewski tallied 10 minutes later for insurance and sophomore Mark McGowan added an empty net goal with 11 seconds left. Zalewski's goal came after classmate Milos Bubela won a battle for the puck and fed his linemate, who scored for the seventh time this season. McGowan scored his sixth of the year from close range with an assist to Greg Burgdoerfer at 19:49.



RPI got on the board first when sophomore Matt Neal took a pass while streaking down the left side and scored on a quick wrist shot before Wilson could slide over to make a save. Neal's goal, his seventh of the season, was a power play marker at 9:38 of the first period. Brock Higgs and Ryan Haggerty earned the assists on the play.



Yale got a power play goal of its own at 7:33 of the second period to tie the game. Senior Andrew Miller notched his 12th of the season on a slap shot from the right circle with the Bulldogs on a 5x3 advantage. Antoine Laganiere and Tommy Fallen had the assists.



Freshman Jason Kasdorf stopped 26 of 27 shots to improve to 10-2-2. Wilson stopped 18 shots for Yale.



The Bulldogs return to the ice when they play at No. 1 Quinnipiac University next Friday at 7pm. The Engineers travel to Cornell University on Friday at 7pm.