RPI opens league play vs. rival Union

TROY, N.Y. » Rensselaer men’s ice hockey wraps up its seasonopening, five-game road trip on Friday, when it opens ECAC Hockey play at area-rival Union College. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7 p.m.

The Engineers then return home for their opener at Houston Field House against the rival Dutchmen at 7 p.m. Saturday night. Rensselaer will be wearing one-time use jerseys that will be auctioned off throughout Saturday’s game as a part of the annual Blackout! tradition.

RPI saw seven players register multiple points in defeating RIT, 8-3, last weekend in Rochester. The Engineers scored four goals in the first period, one in the second and three in the third to run away their first victory of the season. Senior Viktor Liljegren (2 goals, 1 assists), sophomore Jacob Hayhurst and freshman Emil Ohrvall (3 assists) each had three points, while rookie netminder Linden Marshall made 33 saves for the win in his first collegiate start.

NIAGARA WINS AT THE BUZZER

The Purple Eagles scored in the final second of overtime to top RPI, 4-3, on Friday night in Lewiston, N.Y. Sean King redi-

rected the puck past RPI junior netminder Chase Perry as the overtime period came to end, giving the hosts the win. The Engineers came back from a three goal deficit in the third period to force the extra session. Max Reisinger and Jacob Hayhurst brought RPI within 3-2 in the opening five minutes, before Will Reilly tied the game with just 1:45 to play in regulation.

RPI LEADERS

Three players are tied for the team lead with four points through four games. Freshman Troy York (2 goals, 2 assists), junior Evan Tironese (2 goals, 2 assists) and sophomore Jacob Hayhurst (2 goals, 2 assists) are followed by four players with three points, including senior Viktor Liljegren (2 goals, 1 assist).

ENGINEERS GOALTENDING

Junior netminder Chase Perry has started three games for the Engineers this season, going 0-1-2 with a 1.85 goals against average and a .948 save percentage, which are good for 10th and fifth in the nation, respectively. Freshman Linden Marshall is 1-0-0 with a 3.00 goals against average and a .917 save percentage after making his debut for the Engineers on Saturday at RIT.

ALL-TIME VS. UNION

RPI owns a 51-37-10 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to February 26, 1904 – a 6-2 victory for the Engineers in Albany. The 113-year history has been highlighted by a number of streaks, including early RPI winning runs of nine and eight games. The Dutchmen put together a sevengame unbeaten streak (50-2) from 2004-07, before beating the Engineers in 10 straight — the longest unbeaten streak in series history — from 2011-13. After ending the dry spell, RPI quickly ran off wins in 6 of 7, before Union swept the three-game season series last year.

SCOUTING THE DUTCHMEN

After dropping its first five games, Union bounced back with victories over the RPI’s same two opponents last weekend, downing RIT (6-1) and Niagara (5-1) on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Senior Ryan Scarfo (3 goals, 5 assists) has a team-high eight points, while junior Brett Supinski (4 goals, 2 assists) has six. Four players have four points, including sophomore Anthony Rinaldi (3 goals, 1 assist).

UNION IN NET

Junior Jake Kupsky, a veteran of 19 games entering the season, is 0-5-0 with a 3.27 goals against average and an .891 save percentage. Freshman Darion Hanson (2-0-0) has a 1.00 goals against average and a .959 save percentage as the starter in Union’s most recent games. SARDELLA’S HARNESS SELECTIONS