Box Score / Video

TROY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's ice hockey team saw five different players score, led by a goal and two assists from Alisa Harrison (Vienna, VA/Washington Pride), enroute to a 5-1 victory over Brown University in the ECAC Hockey opener for both schools.

With the win, the Engineers improve to 4-4-0 on the season while the Bears dropped to 0-2-1 overall. The game saw several first for RPI, which won its first ECAC Hockey opener since joining the league in 2006-07. Additionally, the Engineers posted 54 shots on goal in the game, the most by RPI against a league opponent.

Brown took advantage of an RPI miscue in the neutral zone to gain a 1-0 lead at 9:58 of the first period. Stealing the puck off the stick of an Engineers' defenseman, Bears sophomore Maggie Suprey (South Boston, MA/Noble & Greenough), navigated into the RPI zone on a 2-on-1 and sent a low shot through the five hole of goalie Sonja van der Bliek (Toronto, ON/Toronto Jr. Aeros).

The Engineers wasted little time in taking back the momentum in the period as they tallied two goals just 1:32 apart for a 2-1 lead, beginning with senior captain Melissa Boik's (Allen Park, MI/Michigan Capitals) marker at 13:00.

Poised at the near point, Boik corralled a pass off the face-off by Harrison and sent the puck sailing through traffic and in to tie things up. Junior Whitney Naslund (Bloomington, MN/Bloomington Jefferson) made it a 2-1 game soon after as she buried home the rebound of a Harrison shot in the slot for a power play tally at 14:32. Junior Allison Wright (Oakville, ON/Oakville Ice) was credited for the second assist on the goal.

Rensselaer, which held a 19-1 shot advantage in the opening frame,s continued to dominate into the second period, adding a pair of goals for a commanding 4-1 lead. Junior Jodi Yaworski (Calgary, AB/Choate Rosemary Hall) made it a two-goal advantage at the 7:20 mark with her first goal of the season. Sophomore Sydney O'Keefe (Prior Lake, MN/Prior Lake) earned the primary assist after her shot from the bottom of the right circle was deflected out to Yaworski, who buried it past Bears goalie Nicole Stock (Buffalo Grove, IL/Choate Rosemary Hall).

Harrison increased the RPI lead at the 17:11 mark when she slid through the slot and lifted it over the glove of a reaching Stock on the right side for a power play tally. Naslund, who took the shot from the far circle, and Wright, whose cross in front chipped over to Harrison, earned the assists on the tally.

The third period saw sophomore Kendra Dunlop (Granum, AB/Warner Hockey School) add her team-leading fourth goal of the season as she converted a pass from junior Allysen Weidner (Wichita, KS/Shattuck St. Mary's) in the front left corner for the tally at 19:15. Freshman Jill Vandegrift (St. Paul, MN/Minnesota Thoroughbreds) was also credited with a helper.

RPI, which held the Bears to just eight shots on goal in the game, saw van der Bliek make seven saves for her second victory of the season. Stock posted an astounding 49 saves in the loss, including 17 in the first period and 16 in the second and third frames.

The Engineers return to action tomorrow afternoon when they host Yale at 3pm. Live stats will once again be available at http://www.sidearmstats.com/rpi/whockey/. The Bears head to Schenectady on Saturday to take on Union, also at 3pm.