ONE GAME WEEK: Following its trip to Alaska last weekend, Rensselaer is home for a single game on Saturday, when it hosts 11th-ranked Michigan at the Houston Field House … Puck drop is scheduled for 7:07pm.
THE LAST FRONTIER: The Engineers dropped a pair of tightly contested game last weekend, falling to Alaska-Anchorage, 4-3, and Alaska-Fairbanks, 4-2, in the 2015 Brice Alaska Goal Rush.
FOLLOWING THE ACTION: All RPI men’s hockey games can be heard live on WRPI, 91.5 FM, and on the Internet on www.wrpi.org … Home games can also be seen – for free – on RPI TV … The video stream can be found at www.rpitv.org.
TICKETS: Tickets to all Rensselaer home games are available through the Houston Field House box office or by calling 518-276-6262.
TELEVISED: Saturday’s game against Michigan will be aired live on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel … The game can be seen locally in the Capital Region on Channel 50.
TIRONESE EFFECT: Freshman Evan Tironese has at least a point in each game he has played so far this season, including two assists against then first-ranked Boston College on October 11.
MOORE OFFENSIVE: Due to injuries at the forward position, freshman Meirs Moore suited up as a forward in Rensselaer’s first two games of the season … He played on defense in Alaska.
EARLY POINTS LEADERS: Freshman Evan Tironese has a goal and three assists for a team-high four points … Junior Riley Bourbonnais has three goals for three points, while senior Milos Bubela (1 goal, 1 assist) and sophomores Jared Wilson (2 assists) and Mike Prapavessis (2 assists) have two points apiece.
BETWEEN THE PIPES: Senior Jason Kasdorf has started all four games this season and is 1-3 with a 2.79 goals against average and a .928 save percentage.
EARLY TESTS: For the second year in a row, the Engineers faced the first-ranked team in the nation in the opening weekend of the regular season … RPI fell to then-#1 Minnesota, 3-0, in the IceBreaker Tournament last year … In 2013-14, RPI took on #4 Boston College in its opening weekend and took on #11 Ferris State to begin the 2012-13 season.
SPECIAL TEAMS: The Engineers have started the season at 20.0% (3 for 15) on the power play …The penalty kill has opened at 81.0% (17 for 21).
IN THE FACE-OFF CIRCLE: The Engineers have won 47.7% of face-offs through four games … Junior Jake Wood has won 62.5% (5 of 8) draws, while classmate Riley Bourbonnais is at 60.9% (14 for 23) … Senior Milos Bubela has taken a team-high 71 face-offs and has a 53.5% success rate.
PLUS/MINUS DEPARTMENT: Junior blueliner Parker Reno has a team-best +1 rating, while six Engineers are even, including freshmen Evan Tironese and Jesper Ohrvall.
ALL-TIME AGAINST MICHIGAN: The Engineers hold a 7-5-1 lead in the all-time series over Michigan, which dates back to March 12, 1954 … RPI defeated the Wolverines, 6-4, in the NCAA National Semifinal, before going on to win its first National Championship, 5-4, in overtime over Minnesota … Michigan swept a two-game series in Ann Arbor, last year, by scores of 3-2 and 6-0 … Rensselaer’s most recent win over Michigan came on December 29, 2009, at the Great Lakes Invitational in Detroit … The Engineers won that contest, 4-3.
MAZE & BLUE IN TROY: The Wolverines haven’t played at the Houston Field House since January 18 and 19, 1985 … The Engineers sweep of that two-game series (by scores of 5-2 and 5-1) was in the middle of their 33-game unbeaten streak to finish the 1984-85 season … The streak culminated in the school’s second National Championship.
BERENSON’S FIRST YEAR: Michigan’s most recent trip to Troy came in current head coach Red Berenson’s first season at the helm (1984-85) … He guilded the Wolverines to a 13-26-1 record that year … One of only four losing seasons in his 32-year career at Michigan.
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES: Michigan is led offensively by freshman Kyle Connors (3 goals, 1 assist), who has four points … Senior Justin Selman (3 assists) has three points, while freshman Coope Marody (1 goal, 1 assist), junior Michael Downing (2 assists) and sophomore Zach Werenski (2 assists) all have two points … Senior goaltender Steven Racine (1-0) has a 4.00 goals against average and an .867 save percentage, while junior Zach Nagelvoort (1-0) has a 2.01 goals against average and a .905 save percentage.
