BACK TO TROY
Rensselaer returns to the Houston Field House and ECAC Hockey play this weekend, when it hosts Yale and Brown on Friday (7pm) and Saturday (7pm), respectively ... New Hampshire then comes to town for a rare Wednesday night contest on December 6 (7pm).

(NO) LUCK OF THE IRISH
The Engineers dropped both of their Friendship Four games last weekend in Belfast, Northern Ireland ... RPI fell to then-No. 5 Clarkson, 2-0, and Maine, 4-2 ... The Engineers trailed by a single goal late in the third period of both contests, but were unable to find the equalizer ... Freshman Troy York and sophomore Jacob Hayhurst netted RPI's two tallies against the Black Bears, while Linden Marshall turned away 55 of 59 shots that he faced.

RPI LEADERS
Sophomore Jacob Hayhurst leads the Engineers with 11 points on five goals and six assists through 14 games ... Freshman Troy York (3 goals, 5 assists) and sophomore Todd Burgess (1 goal, 7 assists) are tied for second with eight points apiece, while junior Evan Tironese (4 goals, 3 assists) has seven.

ENGINEERS GOALTENDING
Freshman netminder Linden Marshall is 1-4-1 with a 2.90 goals against average and a .915 save percentage in seven games (six starts) ... Junior Chase Perry has started eight games for the Engineers this season, going 1-5-2 with a 3.28 goals against average and a .906 save percentage.

ALL-TIME VS. YALE
The Engineers own a 56-47-6 lead in the all-time series with Yale, which dates back to January 22, 1909 – a 3-0 Bulldogs victory in Albany ... Yale won the first four meetings, until RPI was able to come away with a 4-2 decision on December 10, 1953, in New Haven.

RECENTLY
Yale has won seven of the last eight meetings going back to February 7, 2014 ... RPI's lone victory during that stretch came on November 13, 2015 – a 3-2 overtime win at the Houston Field House ... Prior to that stretch, the Engineers had won six of the previous eight.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Junior Joe Snively (5 goals, 3 assists) has a team-high eight points, while senior Ryan Hitchcock (2 goals, 5 assists) has seven ... Freshman Dante Palecco (4 goals, 2 assists) rounds out the top three with six points. 

BETWEEN THE PIPES
Junior Sam Tucker (3-6-0) has played every minute in goal for the Bulldogs, compiling a 2.91 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.

2016-17 VS. YALE
The Bulldogs swept the season series, winning 3-2 in overtime on November 5, 2016 at the Houston Field House, before taking a 7-3 decision on December 9, 2016 in New Haven ... Drew Melanson and Viktor Liljegren netted RPI's goals in the OT defeat, while Liljegren, Riley Bourbonnais and Jimmy DeVito all tallied in the road loss.

ALL-TIME VS. BROWN
Rensselaer has enjoyed a program-best 63-27-8 record against the Bears, dating back to their first ever meeting on December 28, 1951 – a 5-0 Brown victory at the Houston Field House ... The Engineers put together a 20-game unbeaten streak (19-0-1) from December 29, 1982 to February 1, 1992, before compiling a nine-game unbeaten stretch (8-0-1) from January 20, 2006 to November 7, 2009.

RECENTLY
The Engineers are 6-3-1 over the last 10 meetings ... Brown snapped a four-game RPI winning streak last season, winning 6-3 on December 10, 2016 ... The Bears last victory at the Houston Field House came on February 13, 2015 – a 6-3 win.

BROWN LEADERS
The Bears are paced offensively by sophomore Brent Beaudoin (3 goals, 4 assists) with seven points in nine games ... Four players have five points, including seniors Charlie Corcoran (3 goals, 2 assists) and Sam Lafferty (3 goals, 2 assists). 

BEARS IN GOAL
Sophomore Gavin Nieto (3-3-0) has a 2.35 goals against average and a .932 save percentage in six starts ... Freshman Luke Kania (1-2-0) has a 3.37 goals against average and an .880 save percentage in three starts.

FIRST GOALS
Sophomore Max Reisinger and freshman Troy York each picked up their first collegiate goals recently ... Reisinger netted RPI's opening tally at Niagara on October 20, while York potted the eventual game-winner, late in the first period at RIT on October 21 ... York later scored a second.

YORK AMONG LEADERS
Freshman Troy York ranks fifth among ECAC Hockey rookies in scoring with eight points ... His 16.0% shooting percentage is fifth and his six assists are sixth ... York's 22 shots on goal are 10th and his 11 blocked shots rank 13th ... Only four forwards have more.

MARSHALL TOO
RPI freshman goaltender Linden Marshall ranks second among ECAC Hockey rookie goaltenders in save percentage (.915) and total saves (216) ... He is fourth in minutes (413:52) and appearances (7).

VIKTOR VS. YALE
Engineers senior Viktor Liljegren has four points (3 goals, 1 assists) in RPI's last four meetings with Yale, including the overtime-winner on November 13, 2015 at the Houston Field House.

MARSHALL RECENTLY
Despite losing all four games, freshman netminder Linden Marshall has posted a 2.29 goals against average and a .927 save percentage over since November 17 ... Those four games have come against No. 4 Notre Dame (2), No. 5 Clarkson and Maine ... He ranks sixth in ECAC Hockey in goals against average and save percentage over that stretch.

WILSON RECOGNIZED
Twenty of the top Division I NCAA men's hockey student-athletes have been named as candidates for the 2017-18 Senior CLASS Award and RPI senior defenseman Jared Wilson has been selected ... A captain from Calgary, Alb., Wilson is a business and management major with a 3.79 cumulative grade point average ... Compiling a perfect 4.0 GPA in the fall semester of 2016, he is a multiple Dean's List selection and has earned ECAC Hockey All-Academic all three years eligible to date ... An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

BLOCKING SHOTS
RPI has blocked 163 shots through 14 games this season, which ranks sixth in ECAC Hockey ... Senior captain Jared Wilson leads the way with 20, while junior Tommy Grant is second with 18 .. Classmate Brady Wiffen leads all Engineers forwards with 10.

ON THE DRAW
Rensselaer has won 42.5% of its faceoffs so far this year ... Sophomore Jacob Hayhurst is a team-best 48.6%, while junior Evan Tironese is second at 44.1% ... Classmate Brady Wiffen rounds out the top three at 43.2%.