TROY, N.Y. – Junior forward Ellie Kaiser scored twice to lead the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's hockey team to victory over Union by a final score of 2-1 at the Houston Field House Friday night. With the win, RPI improves to 8-18-1 overall and 4-11-1 in ECAC Hockey, while Union falls to 11-15-1 and 4-11-1 in ECAC Hockey play.
 
Kaiser got the ball rolling in the first period, putting RPI up 1-0 early on. Senior captain Marah Wagner won the battle for a puck behind the net, and swung around to her left. Wagner then found Kaiser standing all alone in the left slot as Kaiser roofed a puck in the upper left corner of the net at the 6:14 mark.
 
Union didn't waste any time tying the game, as the Dutchwomen evened the score with just over 10 minutes remaining in the first period. A bouncing puck found it's way into the high slot in the Engineers' defensive zone. The first person to the puck was Union's Meredith Killian, and she took a slap shot that beat RPI goaltender Amanda Rampado to move the score to 1-1.
 
Both sides played through a scoreless second period until the Kaiser struck again just 23 seconds into the third period. This time it was Hannah Price on the helping end, picking up a puck and finding Kaiser in the slot. Kaiser's shot was partially blocked, sending a fluttering puck over the left shoulder of Union goaltender Sophie Matsoukas to give RPI the 2-1 lead.
 
Rampado stayed strong through the final whistle, making 10 saves in the final frame to keep the Dutchwomen off the scoreboard to give RPI the victory. In total, Rampado made 24 saves on the evening, while Matsoukas made 31 saves for Union.
 
The Engineers return to the ice tomorrow, Saturday, January 28 in downtown Albany at MVP Arena in the second matchup with Union on the weekend in the Mayor's Cup at 3 p.m.