Despite a road trip in which St. Lawrence tied and lost to RPI and Union, respectively, the Saints came the closest yet to cracking the top-20 in the USCHO.com poll. St. Lawrence finished a mere point behind Umass-Lowell (St. Lawrence lost to Lowell, 0-3, to kick off the 2009-10 season). The full poll can be found here.

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St. Lawrence incoming freshman Greg Carey is poised to set the single-season goals record for the Ontario Jr. A league. Carey has 71 goals this year, which is tied for the all-time mark. Tonight is the last regular season game.

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Travis Vermeulen is the "Get to Know a Saint" this week. Some of you have already sent in questions for me to ask him tomorrow at practice. If you would like to submit a question, send an e-mail to dcassavaugh@wdt.net.

TROY — Despite Mike McKenzie’s big night, which includied his 100th career point, St. Lawrence University could not pick up a win against Rensselaer in men’s ECAC Hockey Friday.

Instead, the Saints settled for a 3-3 tie after trailing twice and leading once.

St. Lawrence (14-9-5 overall, 8-4-3 ECAC) maintained a two-point lead on RPI (14-12-3, 7-6-2) in the conference standings. The Saints are now alone in fourth place, three points behind Cornell.

McKenzie finished with one goal and two assists. But SLU goalie Kain Tisi surrendered more than two goals in a game for just the second time since Jan. 1. He had held opponents to two goals or less in six consecutive starts. He made 18 saves to help the Saints earn the tie.

The Engineers scored the game’s first goal as the Saints failed to take care of the puck behind their own net. Marty O’Grady jammed home a rebound off a shot by Brandon Pirri at 8 minutes, 28 seconds of the first period.

McKenzie notched his 100th point with an assist on Derek Keller’s game-tying score at 13:00. Keller drew RPI goalie Allen York out of the net before tucking the puck behind him for his eighth score of the year. Nick Pitsikoulis also assisted on the play.

The Engineers regained the lead at 15:33 when Alex Angers-Goulet was all alone at the post in an apparent St. Lawrence miscommunication. St. Lawrence failed to tie it before the end of the first despite several opportunities, including during a power-play over the final minute of the session.

But a rested St. Lawrence crew took advantage of the extra man to start the second period, scoring 59 seconds into the second period. Aaron Bogosian scored the tying goal — his fifth of the year — as he took a centering pass from McKenzie and stuffed the puck past York.

The Saints continued to control puck possession through the second period, taking the lead at 3:49. Keller took the shot from the right point, and McKenzie tipped it in under the crossbar for his seventh goal of the season.

Tisi made seven saves in the second period to keep St. Lawrence on top heading into the third.

RPI finally squeezed the third goal by Tisi at 13:15 when Jeff Foss fired a shot which deflected of a St. Lawrence stick. Pirri and Paul Kerins assisted on the goal.

The Saints killed off seven penalties and have now stopped 36 in a row.

George Hughes opted to stay in junior hockey an extra season before coming to St. Lawrence University.

With the Saints' stout defensive corps last year, Hughes knew his ice time would likely be limited.

"I decided to take a year and come in when those guys were gone," he said. "I knew I'd have a good chance to play (this year). I'm just trying to take advantage of it."

Hughes has exceeded the expectations of the coaching staff as he's generated 16 points from the blue line in his freshman year. All four of his goals have come via power plays.

"He's very productive and he makes a lot of right decisions," SLU coach Joe Marsh said. "He doesn't look like a first-year guy."

Hughes has helped lessen the blow from losing Zach Miskovic (25 points last season), Shawn Fensel (20), and Matt Generous (17), all of whom currently play in the American Hockey League.

"What Hughes has meant to this team has a lot to do with what we lost," Marsh said. "Three out of four to the American League is a pretty big statement for the kind of defense we had last year. Hughes is right there."

Hughes plays an aggressive defense, but is rarely out of position. Marsh said Hughes gets his stick on a lot of pucks and he's got good range.

"He doesn't necessarily shoot it through the board yet, but it's on net and they go in," Marsh said. "He has a real sense of what's happening."

He's even adjusted to losing his linemate, Pete Child to injury. Marsh said that's a tribute to his ability to play with anyone on the ice.

"He is a type of defenseman that everyone wants to have," Marsh said. "You don't always see guys be able to impact the way he has in their first year."

Marsh added that he believes Hughes is a viable candidate for ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year. He also said Hughes has the potential to be the best player he's every coached.

"That obviously means a lot coming from Joe Marsh," Hughes said. "It's obviously a huge compliment."

LETHAL PENALTY

St. Lawrence started the season struggling to kill penalties. Through the first 16 games, the Saints managed to kill only 71.6 percent.

That's all changed.

St. Lawrence hasn't allowed a power-play goal in 29 consecutive efforts. It is by far the longest stretch of the season. The last one allowed was the first of Niagara's four goals in a 4-3 loss on Jan. 9.

"I know one thing we're getting better at is staying aggressive," Marsh said. "We're not getting spread out quite as much."

He also credited goalie Kain Tisi, who has allowed two goals or less in every game since the Niagara loss.

"He's been red hot," Marsh said. "There's your best penalty killer right there — special teams and goaltending. Wins always finds its way back to that."

The Saints also have done a better job clearing the puck and getting fresh legs on the ice. Marsh said one of the keys has been a three-unit group that rotates in every 20 seconds.

"The only way to stay aggressive is to stay fresh," he said. "You don't have to be a big banger to be good at penalty kills. Defensive positioning is far more important."

VERMEULEN COMPLEX

Forward Travis Vermeulen makes up in work ethic what he lacks in size. The senior stands 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs 170 pounds.

He doesn't think it's a problem.

"I'd say it's more of a motivator," he said. "St. Lawrence was able to look past it. I think I play the way I do because of my size."

When he's not on the ice, Vermeulen's in the weight room either riding the stationary bike, lifting or stretching to make sure his size doesn't ever become a problem.

"I don't think I'm the most talented guy, but I think I work a lot harder than most people," he said. "That's the talent I've been given."

He's been recognized for his efforts with the ECAC Hockey player of the week award two of the last three weeks, and he was the Inside College Hockey national player of the week after a 6-point weekend against Brown and Yale.

"It makes you feel good," Vermeulen said. "Having guys come up and say that I got that was a pretty big surprise."

George Hughes is the latest subject in the "Get to Know a Saint" series. Travis Vermeulen will be featured next week. To ask him a question, e-mail me at dcassavaugh@wdt.net.

The new USCHO poll has St. Lawrence again just out of the national top-20. The Saints received 46 points in the poll, landing them No. 21 for the second straight week.

The news is good for the ECAC on the whole, however.

Cornell (No. 5), Yale (No. 8) and Union (No. 20) all made the national rankings. Union fell a few spots in a steady decline as it struggles through a losing skid. St. Lawrence faces RPI and Union this weekend.

The Get to Know a Saint this week is likely Travis Vermeulen. If you have any questions to ask Vermeulen, e-mail them to dcassavaugh@wdt.net.

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