TROY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's hockey team pushed nationally recognized St. Lawrence to the wire in its ECAC Hockey opener, falling 3–2 tonight at Houston Field House. The Engineers struck once on the power play and once at even strength, while holding the Saints scoreless over the final 33 minutes of play.

After St. Lawrence opened the scoring midway through the first period, RPI quickly answered when Kendal Davidson buried a power-play goal at 10:43 to even the score at one. Davidson's first of the season came off a clean setup from Georgia Bailey and Aylah Cioffi, as the Engineers converted on their first opportunity with the advantage. The Saints regained the lead just over a minute later, carrying a 2–1 edge into intermission.

RPI continued to generate quality chances in the second, and at 9:00, Taryn Rathwell cut the deficit back to one with her second goal of the season. Nina Christof and Mia Montanari picked up assists on the play after a sustained cycle in the offensive zone. Rathwell's finish, a rising wrist shot through traffic, gave the Engineers momentum heading into the final frame, where they outshot the Saints 7–4 but were unable to find the equalizer.

Defensively, Sophia Jones led RPI with three blocked shots, while Davidson and Chloe Obser each added one. Bailey dominated the faceoff circle with 16 wins on 22 draws, part of a 34–19 advantage for RPI at the dot.

In goal, Reese Keating turned aside 27 shots, including 13 in the first period, keeping RPI within striking distance through a flurry of late Saint pressure. St. Lawrence's scoring came from Kennedy Emerson, Lilien Benakova, and Ella Nancarrow, who tallied once in each of the first two periods before the Saints were shut down the rest of the way.

The Engineers continue the weekend with a 3:00 pm matchup with #10 Clarkson in Houston Field House.