REUNION & HOMECOMING WEEKEND: Following an exhibition game defeat last Saturday, the Engineers officially begin their 2015-16 schedule this weekend, when they host sixth-ranked North Dakota for a two-game series at the Houston Field House ... Game one is Friday night at 7pm, while puck drop for game two is Saturday at 3pm.

RPI LAST SEASON: Rensselaer went 7-23-4 in 2014-15, including a 5-16-1 mark in ECAC Hockey play ... The Engineers saw Alexa Gruschow lead the way offensively producing 23 points on 13 goals and 10 assists ... She has amassed at least 20 points in each of her first three seasons at RPI ... Shayna Tomlinson was second on the club with 17 points on five goals and 12 assists ... Captains Ali Svoboda (8 goals, 8 assists) and Taylor Mahoney (5 goals, 11 assists) each contributed 16 points ... Goaltenders Kelly O'Brien (6-17-1) and Brianna Piper (1-6-3) split time in net.

TOP RETURNERS: The Engineers return 70% of their goal production from last season, including a team-best 13 tallies from senior Alexa Gruschow ... Junior Laura Horwood had seven goals, while sophmore Shayna Tomlinson and Marisa Raspa each notched five goals a season ago.

IN GOAL: Senior Sara Till has the most returning experience between the pipes for RPI, with two freshmen joining the team in 2015-16.

ECAC HOCKEY OUTLOOK: ECAC Hockey opens 2015-16 with four teams in the Top 10 of the USCHO.com preseason poll ... Harvard is ranked fourth, while Clarkson is fifth ... Quinnipiac was chosen seventh, while Cornell rounds out the rankings in 10th ... In the league's coaches poll, the Crimson were chosen as the favorites taking 118 points to go along with eight (8) first place votes ... The Engineers were selected 10th out of the 12 teams in the conference with 33 points.

FOR NORTH DAKOTA: Sixth-ranked UND went 22-12-3 last season, including a 16-9-3 mark in the WCHA ... The team returns its top three scorers, including senior Meghan Dufault (11 goals, 20 assists), who had a team-best 31 points ...  Classmate Becca Kohler (11 goals, 19 assists) had 30 points, while junior Amy Menke (15 goals, 13 assists) had 28 ... In goal, senior Shelby Amsley-Benzie went 18-7-3, with a 1.21 goals against average and a .952 save percentage.

LAST YEAR'S MEETING: UND scored three goals in each of the final two periods to defeat the Engineers, 7-1 ... Becca Kohler netted a hat trick, while Meghan Dufault had four assists ... Shayna Tomlinson scored the lone RPI tally, while Kelly O'Brien made 32 saves.