Box Score

TROY, N.Y. – Backed by a 32 save effort from junior netminder Ashley Mayr (Burnaby, BC/BC Breakers), the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women’s hockey team extended its unbeaten streak to five games with a 1-1 tie against Yale University in the ECAC Hockey season opener for both squads.

The Engineers, who have now scored the first goal in each of their six games this season, improve to 4-1-1 overall while the Bulldogs open their season at 0-0-1.

Rensselaer gained a 1-0 advantage at 10:39 of the first period on a tally by sophomore Allison Wright (Oakville, ON/Oakville Ice). Off a shot from the near point, forward Whitney Naslund (Bloomington, MN/Bloomington Jefferson) found the puck in a scramble in the crease and chipped it up to Wright, who buried it into the open net past Yale goalie Shivon Zilis (Markham, ON/Aurora Panthers). Sophomore Allysen Weidner (Wichita, KS/Shattuck St. Mary’s) was also credited with an assist.

Neither side found the back of the net in the second frame, which saw the Engineers outshoot the Bulldogs by a narrow, 9-8 margin.

In the third period, junior winger Sarah Tittman (Chilton, WI/Wisconsin Wild) scored the equalizer at the 9:45 mark. Sophomore Berit Johnson (Wayzata, MN/The Blake School) earned the primary assist on the tally after her shot from the far point ricocheted off of Tittman in front of the net past Mayr.

The Bulldogs held a 12-6 shot advantage in the third period, but the Engineers turned up the heat in the overtime frame. RPI peppered Zilis in the sudden death frame by a margin of 4-2, including three shots from Wright, one of which was blocked by a Yale defenseman.

Zilis, who made several fantastic stops on the night, finished with 32 saves as well.

Rensselaer is back in action tomorrow afternoon for a 4pm match-up against league-rival Brown. Yale heads to Schenectady on Saturday for a 4pm game at Union.