BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN: The Engineers return the Houston Field House for the first time since December 12, when they host eight-ranked Cornell on Friday (7pm) ... The weekend homestand concludes on Saturday against Colgate (7pm).

RPI TIES AT PRINCETON: The Engineers came back from a pair of one-goal deficits to tie Princeton, 3-3, on January 7 ... RPI freshman Jesper Orhvall opened the scoring late in the first period, but the Tigers tied the game up in the second (1-1) ... Freshman Max Veronneau gave the hosts a 2-1 at 5:11 of the third, but sophomore Jared Wilson launched a rocket from the blue line to knot it at 2-2 ... Veronneau put Princeton back on top (3-2) at 10:48, but RPI junior Riley Bourbonnais netted his team-leading 13th goal of the year with less than four minutes to play to earn the draw ... Jason Kasdorf made 20 saves for the Engineers, while Colton Phinney had 36 for the Tigers.

POINTS LEADERS: Junior Riley Bourbonnais has 13 goals and seven assists for a team-high 20 points in 22 games ... Sophomore Lou Nanne (4 goals, 10 assists) has 14 points, while junior Jake Wood (7 goals, 5 assists) and senior Zach Schroeder (2 goals, 10 assists) have 12 points apiece ... Sophomore Mike Prapavessis (1 goal, 10 assists) has 11 points.

BETWEEN THE PIPES: Senior Jason Kasdorf has started 13 of the team's 22 games this season and is 5-5-2 with a 2.18 goals against average and a .931 save percentage ... Freshman Cam Hackett (6-2-2) has started nine games and carries a 2.34 goals against average and a .933 save percentage.

SPECIAL TEAMS: The Engineers come into the weekend at 12.5% (9 for 72) on the power play ...The penalty kill has climbed to 85.6% (77 for 90).

HOT PK: RPI has killed off penalties at a rate of 89.5% (17 for 19) since December 1 ... That ranks fourth among ECAC Hockey teams and 18th nationally.

IN THE FACE-OFF CIRCLE: The Engineers have won face-offs at a 46.0% clip through 22 games ... Junior Riley Bourbonnais has won a team-high 52.6% of his draws, while senior Milos Bubela is second at 49.1% ... Classmate Mark Miller rounds out the top three at 46.2%.

FACE-OFFS RECENTLY: Since December 1, the Engineers have won 48.5% of their draws, including a team-best 63.2% from junior Riley Bourbonnais ... Senior Zach Schroeder is second over that stretch at 51.9%.

SHORTHANDED LEADERS: RPI's six shorthanded goals are the second most in the country ... Penn State leads the way with seven ... Senior Milos Bubela is tied for second individually with three shorties, while Robert Morris senior Zac Lynch has five to lead the nation.

SHORTHANDED II: Senior Milos Bubela's three shorthanded goals are the most in a season by an RPI player since Bruce Coles at five during the 1989-90 season.

GREAT OHRVALL OF FIRE: Freshman Jesper Ohrvall has five goals in his last five games, since netting his first collegiate tally on December 11 against Arizona State ... During his current five-game point streak, he has produced five goals and one assist for six points ... The Engineers are 5-2-2 when Ohrvall records a point this year, including 2-1-1 when he scores a goal.

LEADER OF THE PACK: Junior Riley Bourbonnais, who leads the team with 20 points, has eight points (5 goals, 3 assists) in his last five games, including three multi-point outings. 

PLENTY OF HELPERS: Senior Zach Schroeder has five assists in his last five games.

SEASON LOW IN PIMS: RPI's two penalties for four minutes on January 3 against Miami were a season-low.

DEVITO ASSISTS IN RETURN: Junior Jimmy DeVito earned an assist in his first game of the season, January 3 at Miami University.

SCOUTING CORNELL: The Big Red are led offensively by junior Jeff Kubiak, who has six goals and 10 assists for 16 points ... Freshman Anthony Angello has a team-best eight goals to go along with six assists for 14 points ... Classmate Mitch Vanderlaan (4 goals, 7 assists) rounds out the top three scorers with 11 points.

IN GOAL FOR THE BIG RED: Junior Mitch Gillam has started all 15 games for Cornell, carrying a 1.77 goals against average and a .935 save percentage.

CORNELL LAST WEEK: The Big Red swept Merrimack in a non-league series, 3-0 and 5-2, last weekend in Ithaca ... Junior Jeff Kubiak and freshman Anthony Angello each had two goals and two assists in the series, while freshman Mitch Vanderlaan had four assists ... Junior netminder Mitch Gillam turned away 50 of the 52 shots he faced on the weekend.

LILJEGREN FACTOR: The Engineers are 10-3-4 when Viktor Liljegren records a point, including 3-1-2 this season ... RPI owns a 5-1-2 mark in games in which he scores a goal.

JUNEAU HONORED ON FRIDAY: RPI legend Joe Juneau '91 will receive the prestigious NCAA Silver Anniversary Award on Friday, which is given annually to six former student-athletes for their collegiate and professional achievements ... An Aeronautical Engineering major, he was a two-time All-America and Hobey Baker Finalist for Rensselaer ... He was a Silver Medalist at the 1992 Olympic Games for his native Canada and led the tournament in scoring with 15 points ... His 13-year NHL career has been followed by years of service towards youth development and environmental preservation in the Great White North.

NOT POINTLESS: Freshman Viktor Liljegren snapped a seven-game pointless streak with an assist at Princeton last Thursday.

HACKETT AMONG TOP ROOKIES: Freshman Cam Hackett ranks fifth nationally among rookie goaltenders in wins (6) and is third in both winning percentage (.700) and save percentage (.933) ... He is eighth in goals against average (2.33), 12th in total saves (306) and 15th in games played (10).

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