Crossman Scores, Men’s Hockey Falls to RPI, 3-1

Friday, January 17

Providence, RI

7:00 PM

Brown University

3-15-0, 3-8-0ECAC

Rensselaer

10-11-1, 7-6-1ECAC

Rensselaer

Brown

Crossman Scores, Men’s Hockey Falls to RPI, 3-1

1/17/2020 10:03:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

Box Score

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Rookie defenseman James Crossman (Denver, Colo.) scored late in the third period, but the Brown men's hockey team could not erase a three-goal deficit, as the Bears fell to Rensselaer, 3-1, in Friday's ECAC matchup at Meehan Auditorium.

Brown moved to 3-15-0 overall and 3-8-0 in the ECAC. RPI improved to 10-11-1, 7-6-1.

RPI carried a one-goal lead into the third period and then scored at 15:46 before an empty net goal. Crossman netted his first career goal with 12 seconds remaining to prevent the shutout.

Gavin Nieto (Yorba Linda, Calif.) allowed two goals and made 28 stops for Brown. Owen Savory had 25 saves in the win.

"We're just inconsistent in the games, from shift to shift and period to period," said head coach Brendan Whittet. "We have to generate more offense without sacrificing on the defensive side. Credit to RPI, they are a team that has made good strides, but that was a huge game for us."

The two teams were scoreless after an evenly matched opening period. Brown killed the only penalty of the period.

Daniel DiGrande opened the scoring at 7:15 in the middle period. He received a pass from Tommy Lee in the neutral zone and then ripped a shot from the right circle for the one-goal lead.

Brown earned its first and only power play of the game at 12:52 in the third period, but the Engineers kept the home team off the board, and then Billy Jerry beat Nieto from the slot for the two-goal lead.

The Bears pulled Nieto with 3:13 left to play, but Mike Gornall tacked on the empty-net goal with 45 seconds remaining. The Bears continued to attack as Crossman skated behind the net and backhanded a shot past Savory for his first career tally. Fellow rookies Luke Kyrs (Ridgefield, Conn.) and Cole Quisenberry (Denver, Colo.) earned assists.

Crossman led the team with four shots.

Brown will host Union Saturday night at 7 PM.

Video of all home contests and most ECAC games, home and away, will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Fans can subscribe and view games by purchasing a monthly package for $4.99 or a yearly package for $49.99.

Tickets for all Brown men's hockey games can be purchased online, by calling the Brown Athletics Ticket Office at (401) 863-2773, or by walking up to the box office located in the Pizzitola Sports Center, open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.