ERIE, Pa. -- Sometimes in college hockey, a victory isn't as big as a loss would have been had the team not won.
Well, being as shorthanded as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute was on Saturday night, its 5-2 non-conference victory Mercyhurst was a big one. Oh, if they Engineers would have been swept by the Lakers, it could have been a devastating defeat to be sure. Yet, with the offense struggling, with consistency waning, with several regulars benched and with Matt Neal, who had been on a hot streak, severely weakened by foot poisoning, it was a dig-down-deep triumph for the 14th-ranked Engineers. Having top scorer Ryan Haggerty back in the lineup certainly helped, as he assisted on RPI's first goal and scored the second and third.
Veteran defensemen Guy Leboeuf and Curtis Leonard chipped in with goals and Jacob Laliberte assisted twice, then put the game away with a steal-and-breakaway goal 6:10 remaining.
After Friday night's dismal 5-2 lead in which the Engineers lacked passion and tenacity and were dominated in the third period, Saturday's performance was a nice bounce-back win, RPI's superior talent notwithstanding.
"Yeah, and I thought they did a good a good job in that (locker)room," Rensselaer coach Seth Appert said. "As I said all week, it (better, more consistent play) has to come from that room. I can be hard, and I can be demanding and I can take ice time away if necessary. I don't prefer to do that but if necessary ...

"But at the end of the day, those older guys in that room know what I want and know what we need to be about and I thought our three captains (Matt Tinordi, Brock Higgs and Johnny Rogic), and all of our seniors (defensemen Guy Leboeuf and Bo Dolan) did a good job of taking charge in that room today and on the bench tonight."

Leboeuf and Haggerty scored in the first period -- freshman Jake Wood with a nifty pass to set up Haggerty in front -- for a 2-0 lead and after the Engineers gave up the tying goal -- on a horrible giveaway -- with 17 seconds remaining in the second period, they came out and totally controlled the final stanza.
Leonard scored amidst a goalmouth scrum eight minutes into the third period and Laliberte made his big play less than six minutes later.
Scott Diebold was solid in net with 23 saves and the Engineers showed more hunger and passion than in recent games.
"It still not an acceptable weekend," Appert said, "because it's not acceptable to not play as hard as we needed to (and didn't) last night (Friday.)"
At least the Engineers won't have to go into their next game (Dec. 6) against ECAC Hockey-leading Quinnipiac on a four-game losing streak.

 ERIE, Pa. -- Back-to-back non-league games rarely have an adverse affect on a college hockey team's season.
When a team is in a fragile straits when it comes to belief and confidence as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is, bouncing back from a defeat such as the Engineers' 5-2 setback to Mercyhurst can be critical.
Flatly, the Engineers NEED to win tonight's second meeting with Mercyhurst. A loss would be RPI's fourth straight, the offense is struggling mightily to create chances, and finish on those rare occasions when they do.
Even though Mercyhurst's final two goals came with the RPI net empty on Friday night, the Lakers dominated the Engineers for the final 35 minutes, forechecking them effectively, outhitting them, consistently beating the quicker Engineers to loose and swinning the majority of puck battles.
Further, the Engineers gave up a total breakaway on Chris Bodo's game-tying goal midway through the second play.
Every player in RPI's lineup has to step up tonight for the shorthanded Engineers.
Ryan Haggerty is back but Matt Tinordi is so banged up he's sidelined. Don't know why Zach Schroeder and Mark McGowan are out -- whether they're too banged up or are healthy scratches. tBoth played okay Friday night but like the entire team, lacked tenacity for the second half of the game.
In addition, Matt Neal has been practicing, and played Friday night, through food poisoning suffered last Sunday night. He hasn't eaten a full meal since and was quite weakened by the time tonight's warmups came about.
Coach Appert dressed only 11 forwards -- Tinordi, McGowan, Schroeder, DeVito (injured) and Wood (?) out and an extra defenseman -- Craig Bokenfohr.
It'll be a tall task, but the Engineers must find a way -- score some goals and play well in front of goaltender Scott Diebold. It's almost a must.

SCHENECTADY -- Short lead-in to tonight's big, RPI at Union hockey game.
The Engineers MUST get a victory this weekend -- tonight or tomorrow night. Rensselaer players, to a man, say these two games are just like any other ECACH games, that Union is just another opponent.
We've all played sports and we know that line is simply not true.
This streak, eight straight entering tonight's game -- 3-14-1 in the past 18 league games -- will stay in the Engineers head, and affect them, until they end it. Tonight or tomorrow night; one or the other, at least.

   TROY -- Injuries in practice continue to mount up for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The one that occurred on Wednesday, though, was more of a wound than an injury and isn't considered serious.
Junior left winger/center Jacob Laliberte took a slap shot to the face (the puck got inside his face mask) from Ryan Haggerty and was cut in two places.
Laliberte was helped to his feet by teammates, bleeding profusely, but left the ice on his own ability.
Asked if he'll be on the lineup at Union on Friday night, Laliberte said, "definitely. I'll be fine."
Rensselaer coach Seth Appert affirmed Laliberte's words.
"Hockey players bleed," Appert said. "He'll be fine."
Concussion symptoms will again keep high-energy sophomore Travis Fulton out of the lineup this weekend, though sophomore Milos Bubela, who has 23 points (9-14-23) in 44 games in his career, will likely return from an undisclosed injury that kept him out last weekend.
All-ECAC Hockey goaltender Jason Kasdorf, who had surgery on Wednesday to repair a recurring problem with shoulder dislocations, was injured in practice on Oct. 15. Several players over the past two years were also banged up in practice.
Appert said he spoke to Kasdorf on Wednesday and that the surgery went well and that, "all things considered" Kasdorf was feeling OK.
Fulton was injured in practice on Oct. 16.
Bubela was injured in the 2-0 loss at Harvard on Nov. 1.

   TROY -- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute sophomore all-league goaltender Jason Kasdorf will have shoulder surgery in Troy on Wednesday. The Winnipeg native said that many factors were involved in the decision and why it took weeks to ascertain.
One of those is the fact that the shoulder separation problem may continue to recur.
"At least I'll get it over with," Kasdorf said.
He also said he plans to return to RPI for his junior season next year, delaying his professional career. He's a sixth-round draft pick of his hometown Winnipeg Jets.
  Engineers need to win tonight: When the ECAC Hockey schedule came out -- and the Harvard at RPI game was re-scheduled to Oct. 29 -- many RPI backers pointed to the two Harvard games at the outset of the league season and proclaimed it to be an advantage for the Engineers.
They were right.
The Crimson are a young, freshman-laden, rebuilding team. They figure to be better in January than they are now. We all know what happened, of course; RPI didn't win either game -- going over 100 minutes without scoring against two Harvard goalies in a 3-3 tie (blowing a 3-0 lead) and a 2-0 defeat.
When they blew a 3-1 lead in the final two minutes against Cornell on Friday night -- another 3-3 tie -- it was seen by many as an ominous sign. Losing a standings point in a game they had control of for the second time in 11 days almost dictates the Engineers beat Colgate tonight. Losing on the heels of the Cornell collapse could cause long-range problems.
Rensselaer is a veteran team but is still maturing.
They need to assert themselves tonight as they did one week ago when they routed Dartmouth, 7-1, one night after the loss at Harvard.
It should be added, however, that right now, Colgate is a much better team than Dartmouth.

   TROY -- Class is a word that naturally goes with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute senior center Brock Higgs. The fact that Higgs has been named a candidate for the 2013-14 Men's Hockey Senior CLASS award is only proper and appropriate.
The Kingston, Ont. native is one of 20 players nationwide to be nominated for the award, which is voted upon by hockey coaches, media and fans.
CLASS is an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School. The Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2014 NCAA Men’s Frozen Final Four in Philadelphia in April.
Higgs is a business and management major who is also working on a master’s degree in management, with a concentration in finance. He has a 3.72 cumulative grade point average and expects to graduate with both degrees in August 2014. He has been on the Dean’s List every semester and has earned ECAC Hockey All-Academic all three years eligible to date.

Higgs has been a stalwart in the community since arriving on campus. He has assisted local youth hockey teams of the Troy Albany Youth Hockey Association (TAYHA) with practices and he has been a counselor at the RPI Hockey Camp every fall. He has also participated in Habitat for Humanity, helping build houses in Troy for the less fortunate. Brock and his teammates also assist the RPI Newman Center with their fundraising activities each fall and they spend time supporting various other causes and participating in charitable events, including the City of Troy’s Turkey Trot, the United Way and the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

 On the ice, Higgs has played in all eight games for the Engineers this season, scoring six goals and adding five assists for 11 points and serving as one of two assistant captains. He tallied a hat trick in the Engineers' 7-1 victory at Dartmouth on Saturday night. Three of his goals have come on the power play.

He played in 33 games as a junior tallying a goal and 16 assists for 17 points. His totals included a short-handed and game-winning goal. In 2011-12, he led the Engineers with 23 points on three goals and 20 assists in 34 contests. His freshman campaign saw him net nine goals, to go along with 12 assists for 21 points in 33 games. During that season, Higgs was seriously wounded in a game in Huntsville, Ala., suffering a life-threatening gash in his throat when an airborne teammate's skate cut his throat on New Year's Eve, 2010. He was an inspiration to his teammates by -- instead of remaining in the hospital -- showing up to watch the Engineers' 2-1 victory the next day, and more so by returning to action just three weeks later.

Such an award could be no more deserving to anyone.

Kasdorf appears headed for surgery: As reported herein earlier, it's become almost certain that all-ECACH goaltender Jason Kasdorf will not return this season, that he'll instead have season-ending surgery soon.

Rensselaer coach Seth Appert didn't say so in words earlier today but his voice was nearly confirming. The eight-year Rensselaer coach stopped short of saying the decision on surgery has been finalized, but it certainly sounded like a short stop.
 "Everything looks like he's going to have surgery," Appert said of Kasdorf, who separated his shoulder in practice on Oct. 15. "He's almost certain to have surgery."
Almost.
"Hasn't officially been decided," Appert said.
Kasdorf posted a 14-5-2 record last season, keying the Engineers' rise up the ECAC Hockey standings. He had a 1.62 goals against average and 93.5 saves percentage.
Thrust into the starting goaltending position, junior Scott Diebold has been brilliant since Kasdorf's injury, with a 4-1-1 record, having allowed just one goal in that defeat and posting a 1.58 goals against average and 94.6 percent saves percentage.
Kasdorf is a draft pick of the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets, his hometown team, who have tweeted that the surgery will take place within the next few weeks.
Should the surgery take place, Appert said he expected Kasdorf to return to RPI next season.

Live chat on Friday: Engineers fans, join me for a live chat on this weekend's games and the team in general at 5 p.m. Friday. Click on edjweaver at twitter with your comments and/or questions.

TROY -- It wasn't in Seth Appert's words but it was in his voice: standout sophomore goaltender Jason Kasdorf will soon undergo surgery on his right shoulder and will be lost to RPI hockey for the remainder of the season.
The eight-year Rensselaer coach stopped short of saying the decision on surgery has been finalized, but it certainly sounded like a short stop.
 "Everything looks like he's going to have surgery," Appert said of Kasdorf, who separated his shoulder in practice on Oct. 15. "He's almost certain to have surgery."
Almost.
"Hasn't officially been decided," Appert said.
Kasdorf posted a 14-5-2 record last season, keying the Engineers' rise up the ECAC Hockey standings. He had a 1.62 goals against average and 93.5 saves percentage.
Thrust into the starting goaltending position, junior Scott Diebold has been brilliant since Kasdorf's injury, with a 4-1-1 record, having allowed just one goal in that defeat and posting a 1.58 goals against average and 94.6 percent saves percentage.
Kasdorf is a draft pick of the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets, his hometown team.
Should the surgery take place, Appert said he expected Kasdorf to return to RPI next season.
.
 

    TROY -- Chances are, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute sophomore goaltender Jason Kasdorf will have season-ending surgery some time next week. Chances are. The decision has not yet been made.
    Blog posts elsewhere indicated the decision had already been made but the final word will come late this week.
   Kasdorf, who led the Engineers' charge up the ECAC Hockey standings last season, separated his shoulder in practice several weeks ago.
   He went 14-5-2 last season with  1.62 goals against average and 93.4 saves percentage.
   The Winnipeg native, a draft choice of the Winnipeg Jets, had hoped to return this season but indications are he will not do so, though, as mentioned, the final decision has yet to be made.