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THE FACEOFF
The Engineers come off a 15-day break for the holidays and finish the 2014 calendar with an ECAC Hockey game at No. 4 Harvard. The Crimson, who had a 20-day break between games before hosting the Russian Red Stars on December 28, are on a six-game winning streak and sit in first place in the league standings. RPI is in fifth place, four points out of the top spot.

PUT ON THE BRAKES
While Harvard is riding the longest winning streak in Division I (6 games), Rensselaer has lost its last five games and is 1-6-1 in its last eight contests. 

BANGED UP 
Rensselaer has had its full complement of players in only five games this season (Notre Dame, Bentley (2) & Union (2) and have played the last three games without top offensive performer Drew Melanson and goaltender Jason Kasdorf. In fact, Kasdorf has not played in any of the last five games and Lou Nanne sat out six straight contests before returning against No. 2 Boston University on December 13. Others who have missed games due to injury or illness this year include seniors Chris Bradley (5 games), Luke Curadi (4), Matt Neal (2) and Zach Schroeder (4) and junior Milos Bubela (5).

DIFFERENCE MAKER
RPI junior goaltender Jason Kasdorf has played 35 games in his career, posting a 21-12-2 record (.629) since joining the team in 2012-13. He was 14-5-2 with a 1.62 goals against average and a .935 save percentage as a freshman when he was the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year and an All-League Second Team choice. He is 6-6-0 with a 2.34 GAA and .922 save percentage this year. In the 57 games Kasdorf has not played since '12-13, RPI has gone 18-30-10 (.397).

ALL-TIME VS. HARVARD
RPI has played Harvard 91 times in its history, going 36-49-6, including a 4-0 loss at the Houston Field House on November 7. In league contests, the two teams have played 70 times, with Rensselaer holding a 29-37-4 record. The Engineers have a 5-8-4 record against Harvard under head coach Seth Appert. 

AUTISM AWARENESS UPCOMING
Rensselaer plays its third straight top 10 opponent when No. 6 Miami visits the Houston Field House for a pair of non-league games on January 2-3. Both games begin at 7pm (www.rpiathletics.com/tickets).  The second contest is Autism Awareness Night in which the Engineers will wear special uniforms that will be raffled off to those in attendance. In addition to raising awareness, the goal is to make the experience more comfortable for those with Autism and special needs who are at the game. There will be no music over the sound system and the goal horn will not sound as those with autism are sensitive to loud noises.