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TROY, NY -- Matt Neal (Minesing, ON/Stoufville Spirit) scored the equalizer just before the horn sounded to end the second period as #18 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute skated to a 1-1 tie with 20th-ranked Denver in the second of two games in a weekend series with the Pioneers on Saturday evening at Houston Field House. The Engineers move to 8-6-4 on the season, while Denver stands at 9-6-3.

The Pioneers struck first in the game, getting on the board late in the second after the teams played a scoreless first period. Ty Loney (Pittsburgh, PA) found the back of the net off an assist from Quentin Shore (Denver, CO) at 18:48 of the stanza to give Denver a 1-0 lead. After a tussle in the corner sent three players - one Engineer and two Pioneers - to the penalty box with 48 seconds to play, RPI used the one-man advantage to knot the game at one-all.

Bo Dolan (St. Paul, MN/Penticton Vees) started the action, passing the puck to Ryan Haggerty (Stamford, CT/US National Dev. Team) in the far circle. Haggerty rocketed a shot towards the goal where Neal got his stick on the puck to redirect it past Denver goaltender Sam Brittain (Calgary, AB) with just four seconds left to play in the period.

While Denver doubled the Engineers' shot total in the third period, 10-5, Rensselaer netminder Scott Diebold (Buffalo, NY/Tri-City Storm) came up with some huge saves to keep the score tied at 1-1, sending the team to its second straight overtime contest. The Pioneers also outshot RPI in the extra time, 5-1, but once again, Diebold held strong between the pipes to end the game in a tie.

Diebold, who recorded a season-high 36 saves against Denver on Friday, stopped 32 of the Pioneers' 33 on-target shots on Saturday. Brittain finished with 18 saves for Denver, which outshot Rensselaer, 33-19 in the game.

The Engineers will return to action on Sunday, hosting the USA Under 18 Team in an exhibition game. It will be Autism Awareness Night at Houston Field House, with opening face off at 4 pm.