Game Notes | Live Stats | Live Audio (WRPI) | Live Video

 REGULAR SEASON OPENER: Rensselaer kicks-off its 2014-15 regular season on Friday night, when it visits eighth-ranked North Dakota, in Grand Forks, N.D. (8:07pm ET).

FOLLOW THE ACTION: Live statistics  and video for Friday's game can be found at www.undsports.com.

ON THE AIR AND ONLINE: Friday's game can be heard live on 91.5 FM, WRPI or online at www.wrpi.org/listen.

TOP RETURNERING SCORERS: RPI welcomes back its top point-getter from a year ago in junior Alex Gruschow (7 goals, 13 assist), who had 20 points ... Classmate Lauren Wash (12 goals, 5 assists) was third with 17 points, while senior captain Ali Svoboda (7 goals, 9 assists) had 16.

IN GOAL: Senior Kelly O'Brien went 10-15-2 as the starter in 29 of the team's 33 games ... She compiled a 2.30 goals against average and a .904 save percentage ... Classmate Brianna Piper (0-5-1) had a 3.43 goals against average and an .888 save percentage in eight appearances (4 starts).

ENGINEERS SHUT OUT OTTAWA: Sophomore Katie Rooney and freshman Whitney Renn scored to lead Rensselaer to a, 2-0, victory over the Ottawa Junior Senators of the Provincial Women's Hockey League (PWHL) in an exhibition game at the Houston Field House on September 26 ... Rensselaer wasted little time, as Rooney bagged the game's first goal just 31 seconds in. After receiving a feed from junior Jenn Godin, Rooney corralled her own rebound and stuck it by Ottawa goaltender Tanya Winchcombe for a 1-0 lead ... Renn made it 2-0 at the 6:40 mark of the second period, when she picked up a loose puck and snapped it past Winchcombe, glove side ... Junior Brandi Banks pinched up the right boards to keep the play alive for Renn, who buried her chance quickly ... Senior goaltender Kelly O'Brien was not heavily tested, as she was forced to make just four saves in the opening 29:21. She was replaced by classmate Brianna Piper, who turned in six stops the rest of the way.

IN SEASON OPENERS: The Engineers are 2-4-2 in regular season openres since their first full Division I season of 2006-07 ... They are unbeaten (1-0-2) in their last three, with their last loss coming at then fifth-ranked Wisconsin on October 1, 2010 ... Last year, RPI shut out Robert Morris, 3-0, to begin the season.
ALL-TIME VS. NORTH DAKOTA: The Engineers are 2-3 against UND all-time, dating back to their first ever meeting on October 7, 2006 ... North Dakota won that game 3-1 and took the two-game series in Grand Forks by winning 3-2 the following day ... RPI swept the next year in Troy, winning 3-1 and 6-1 on October 12-13, 2007.

JANUARY 2, 2009: Alyssa Wiebe scored just 29 seconds into overtime to give North Dakota a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Rensselaer in the first game of the Easton/St. Cloud State Showcase ... Alisa Harrison tallied the game's first goal at 12:32 of the second period, from Sierra Vadner and Melissa Boik ... Marie-Michelle Poirer evened things at 1-1 just 54 seconds later with a shorthanded tally ... Amanda Castignetti put the Engineers up 2-1 at 2:45 of the third, with assists to Vadner and Whitney Naslund, but UND answered again at 17:25 to send the game into overtime ... Sonja van der Bliek made 21 saves for the RPI, while Stephanie Ney had 22 for North Dakota.

TOP UND RETURNERS: North Dakota welcomes back 13 of its top 14 scorers from a season ago, including top point-getter Josefine Jakobsen, who tallied 14 goals and 19 assists for 33 points ... Meghan Dufault (12 goals, 16 assists) had 28 points, while Gracen Hirshy (9 goals, 13 assists) had 22 ... In goal, Shelby Amsley-Benzie went 14-7-2 with a 1.99 goals against average and a .916 save percentage, while Lexie Shaw was 6-5-2 with a 1.92 GAA and a .917 SV%.

THROUGH TWO: Junior Alex Gruschow has 47 points in her first two seasons with the Engineers, on 20 goals and 27 assists ... That point total is third most in the school's DI history, behind Alisa Harrison '12 and Whitney Naslund '10, who put up 54 and 50 points, respectively, in their first two seasons at RPI. 

THE CAPTAINS: Seniors Taylor Mahoney and Ali Svoboda will join assistant captain junior Mari Mankey as the captains for the 2014-15 season ... All three are in their first season wearing the "C" or the "A" for the Engineers.

O'BRIEN IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Senior goaltender Kelly O'Brien trails just former RPI standout Sonja van der Bliek '11 in a number of career school records ... She is second in games played (84), minutes (4693:32), total saves (1787) and losses (48) ... O'Brien ranks fifth in save percentage (.903) and goals against average (2.47). 

BY CLASS: The 2014-15 roster consists of four freshmen, five sophomores, six juniors and seven seniors.

BY POSITION: The Engineers roster consists of 12 forwards, seven defensemen and three goaltenders.

REUNION & HOMECOMING WEEKEND: RPI's first regular season home game against Vermont will take place on the Reunion & Homecoming Weekend ... The Engineers face-off against the Catamounts on October 11 at 3pm.

UPCOMING ACTION: Rensselaer travels to Bemidji State tomorrow night for non-league game against the Beavers (pm).