Box Score / Video

TROY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's hockey team tallied two goals in the first and three in the second enroute to a 5-3 victory over Niagara University on Friday night. Led by a goal and two assists from freshman Alisa Harrison, the Engineers improve to 2-4-0 on the season. The Purple Eagles fall to 0-7-0 overall.

Rensselaer was the first to light the lamp, scoring a pair of goals just 23 seconds apart for a 2-0 advantage. Harrison (Vienna, VA/Washington Pride) got things going at the 7:47 mark after she ducked around a Niagara defender against the near boards and skated in alone on Purple Eagles goalie Jenni Bauer (St. Catherine, ON/Bemidji State), scoring on a backhanded wrist shot.

The Engineers pulled ahead moments later as rookie defenseman Amanda Castignetti (Anchorage, AK/Shattuck St. Mary's) converted a Nicole McDonald (Ottawa, ON/Ottawa Raiders) rebound into the open left side of the net at 8:24.

Niagara called a timeout soon after and it paid off as junior center Jennifer MacLean (Oshawa, ON/Quinnipiac) scored off her own rebound at 9:18. MacLean corralled a pass from freshman winger Caitlin Jenkins (Calgary, AB/Edmonton Chinos) and skated into the slot. RPI netminder Sonja van der Bliek (Toronto, ON/Toronto Jr. Aeros) made the initial save, but was unable to cover as MacLean found her own rebound for the goal.

The Purple Eagles tied things up with just under two minutes remaining in the frame as junior winger Frances McPhail (Oakville, ON/Toronto Jr. Aeros) sent a slap shot from the top of the left circle past van der Bliek at 18:06.

The second period saw the Engineers score three unanswered as the RPI line of Allison Wright (Oakville, ON/Oakville Ice), Harrison and Whitney Naslund (Bloomington, MN/Bloomington Jefferson) combined for two of the next three tallies for a 5-2 advantage.

Junior Rossli Chace (Hampton Falls, NH/Governor Dummer Academy) pushed the home team into the lead at 5:33 when she caught a pass from senior Jamie-Lynn Stewart (Cambridge, ON/Cambridge Jr. Fury) for the goal into the left corner.

Wright tallied her first goal of the season, a power play marker, off assists from Naslund and Harrison at 10:31 and the trio made it a three-goal advantage just over a minute later. Positioned on the stick side of Bauer, Naslund centered a perfectly placed pass from Harrison on the right side for the goal at 11:54.

Niagara tried to even the gap in the third period, which included a power play marker by Jenkins, but were unable to narrow the margin further.

Rensselaer, which outshot the Purple Eagles, 38-22, in the contest, saw van der Bliek post 19 saves. Her counterpart, Bauer, took the loss with 22 stops. Junior Jill Zelonis (Ashburn, VA/Washington Pride), who played the final 27:03 for Niagara, stopped 11 shots in relief.

The Engineers, which snapped a three-game losing streak with tonight's victory, and the Purple Eagles close out the weekend series tomorrow afternoon in a 4pm face-off at the Houston Field House. Live statistics will once again be available at http://www.sidearmstats.com/rpi/whockey/.