Rensselaer Poly Wins NCAA Hockey

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute won the NCAA Division I hockey championship Saturday night with a 2-1 victory over Providence College.

It was the first time since 1954 that Rensselaer Poly had won the NCAA title, and the win extended RPI’s unbeaten streak to 35 games.

The No. 1-ranked Engineers (35-2-1) reached the final by defeating No. 2-ranked Minnesota Duluth in three overtimes. Providence closed its season at 23-17-5.

RPI’s Neil Hornberg opened the scoring on a power play at 4:29 of the first period. The Engineers increased their lead to 2-0 at 3:49 of the second period when George Servinis scored on a short-handed breakaway.

The Friars scored 10 minutes into the final period on a power-play goal by Paul Cavallini.