BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN
The Engineers begin a stretch of 14 ECAC Hockey out of 15 to close out the regular season, with the lone exception begin the Annual Mayor's Cup at the Times Union Center on January 27 ... RPI visits Harvard and Dartmouth this weekend, getting its first look at the Crimson and Big Green this season ... Puck drop is scheduled for 7pm on both nights.

MAINE EARNS WEEKEND SWEEP
RPI dropped a pair of non-league contests to the Black Bears last weekend, falling by scores of 3-2 and 5-2 ... Nolan Vesey scored two first period goals in the opener to lead the visitors to a one-goal victory, while Billy Jerry and Evan Tironese tallies for the Engineers ... In game two, Chase Pearson and Brady Keeper each collected a goal and an assist, while Will Reilly netted one goal and added an assist for Rensselaer.

RPI LEADERS
Sophomore Jacob Hayhurst leads the Engineers with 13 points on seven goals and six assists through 19 games ... Junior Evan Tironese (6 goals, 5 assists) has 11 points, while sophomore Todd Burgess (1 goal, 9 assists) is third with 10.

ENGINEERS GOALTENDING
Freshman netminder Linden Marshall is 2-7-1 with a 3.12 goals against average and a .906 save percentage in 11 games (10 starts) ... Junior Chase Perry has started nine games for the Engineers this season, going 1-6-2 with a 3.58 goals against average and a .897 save percentage.

ALL-TIME VS. HARVARD
The Crimson own a 54-38-7 lead in the all-time series, which dates back to December 27, 1951 – a 6-2 Engineers victory at the Houston Field House ... RPI won three of the first four meetings ... Harvard is 39-31-5 in ECAC Hockey play against the Engineers.

RECENTLY
Harvard has a 7-2-1 record over the last 10 meetings, including a 5-1-0 mark in Cambridge ... The Crimson also won a 4-0 decision in South Bend, Indiana on November 28, 2015 ... RPI's last victory at Bright Hockey Center came on February 12, 2016 – a 2-1 win behind 49 saves from Jason Kasdorf.

SCOUTING HARVARD
The Crimson are 3-1-1 over their last five games and are led offensively by junior Ryan Donato (12 goals, 8 assists) with 20 points ... His 1.67 points per game are tops in the nation ... Classmate Lewis Zerter-Gossage (4 goals, 8 assists) has 12 points, while freshman Reilly Walsh (3 goals, 6 assists) and sophomore Adam Fox (9 assists) have nine points apiece.

CRIMSON IN GOAL
Senior Merrick Madsen (3-5-1) has a 2.33 goals against average and a .913 save percentage in nine starts, including two shutouts ... Junior Michael Lackey (2-1-0) has a 2.70 goals against average and a .918 save percentage in three starts.

ALL-TIME VS. DARTMOUTH
Rensselaer is 46-39-5 all-time against the Big Green, dating back to their inaugural meeting on January 17, 1908 – a 4-4 tie in Albany ... The two teams did not meet againt until December 28, 1973, when Dartmouth came away with a 5-2 win in Troy.

RECENTLY
The Big Green have won seven of the last eight meetings, including five in a row ... Three of the five have been one-goal games (all 2-1 decisions), including an overtime victory for Dartmouth on February 13, 2016 ... RPI's last win in Hanover came on November 2, 2013 – a 7-1 rout, led by a hat trick from Brock Higgs and three-point outings from Matt Neal (1 goal, 2 assists) and Ryan Haggerty (1 goal, 2 assists).

FOR THE BIG GREEN
Dartmouth is riding a three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1), including wins over Denver and New Hampshire ... Senior Corey Kalk (2 goals, 6 assists) has a team-high eight points, while juniors Kevan Killstoff (3 goals, 4 assists) and Alex Jasiek (2 goal, 5 assists) have seven points apiece.

GUYS AND A BUFFALO
Senior netminder Devin Buffalo (4-4-1) has started 10 of Dartmouth's 14 games, posting a 2.83 goals against average and a .913 save percentage ... Sophomores Adrian Clark (0-4-1) and Dean Shatzer (two games) have also seen action this season.

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.

TWO LEAVE PROGRAM
Freshsman Gavin Payne and Troy York will not return to the Engineers for the spring semester as they pursue other opportunities, according to head coach Dave Smith ... York played in 16 games for RPI this season, collecting three goals and five assists for eight points ... He had two power play tallies and one game-winner, earn ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week on October 24 ... In eight ECAC Hockey contests, he had three assists for three points ... Payne appeared in two contests for the Engineers. He made is collegiate debut in RPI's 1-0 overtime loss to then-No.4 Notre Dame on November 18, while also suiting up against then-No. 3 Clarkson in a 2-0 defeat at the 2017 Friendship Four in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

MARSHALL RECENTLY
In his last seven starts, freshman netminder Linden Marshall has posted a 2.87 goals against average and a .909 save percentage ... He has a 1-6-0 record, with those games coming against No. 4 Notre Dame, No. 5 Clarkson, Maine and No. 13 New Hampshire.

AUTISM AWARENESS
Rensselaer will host its sixth annual Autism Awareness Game on January 12 at the Houston Field House, when the Engineers take on St. Lawrence at 7pm ... The night will including the elimination of flashing lights and lower volumes inside the arena.

SWEDISH CONNECTION
The Engineers are 3-4-1 when either senior Viktor Liljegren, freshman Emil Ohrvall or junior Jesper Ohrvall records at least one point, including 3-0 when Liljegren finds the back of the net.

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 237 shots through 19 games this season, which ranks fifth in ECAC Hockey ... Senior Mike Prapavessis paces the Engineers with 27, while junior Tommy Grant is right behind him with 26 ... Sophomore Todd Burgess and junior Brady Wiffen are tied for the most from forwards with 12 each.

ON THE DRAW
Rensselaer has won 44.4% of its faceoffs so far this year ... Sophomore Jacob Hayhurst is a team-best 51.0%, while junior Evan Tironese is second at 44.5% ... Freshman Billy Jerry is third with a 43.3% win rate.

IN DECEMBER
As the temperature has dropped the Engineers have heated up in the faceoff circle, winning 50.0% of their draws in the month of December ... Billy Jerry was successful on 58.2% of his draws in the month, while sophomore Jacob Hayhurst won 56.6%.