TROY -- Freshman Bryce Merriam is almost a certainty to be in the nets for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute against Quinnipiac and Princeton this weekend, two crucial games that will close out the home portion of the Engineers' schedule.
Starting goalie Allen York's tender ankle will "almost certainly" keep him sidelined this weekend, said head coach Seth Appert, as the Engineers seek to regain fourth place in the ECAC Hockey standings.
York didn't practice Tuesday, won't practice on Wednesday and isn't likely to on Thursday.
It's a strong possibility York will also miss the crucial games at Colgate and Cornell on Feb. 25-26.
Holding out some hope, Appert said that "ankles sometimes heal quickly.
"But we don't want to rush him back to quickly," Appert added, "then have him tweak it and we don't have him for the playoffs."
The top four finishers in the ECACH standings receive a bye in the preliminary round of the playoffs.
The Engineers (9-7-2) share fourth place with St. Lawrence (8-6-4) with 20 points but the Saints hold the tie-breaker over RPI. Colgate is one point behind, Quinnipiac two back.
On the road earlier this season, RPI beat both Quinnipiac and Princeton by 4-1 scores.
Merriam has a 3-3-0 record, 2.88 goals against average and 88.7 percent saves percentage in six games.