RINGING IN THE NEW YEARRPI welcomes Hockey East foe Maine to the Houston Field House for a two-game series on December 29 and 30 ... Puck drop for both contests is scheduled for 4pm.ENGINEERS FALL TO NO. 13 UNHThe Wildcats scored three goals in the second period to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 6-3 victory at the Houston Field House on December 6 ... Three players registered three points, including Jason Salvaggio (2 goals, 1 assist) and Michael McNicholas (1 goal, 2 assists) ...andall scored for the Engineers.RPI LEADERSSophomoreleads the Engineers with 13 points on seven goals and six assists through 17 games ... Junior(5 goals, 5 assists) has 10 points, while sophomore(1 goal, 8 assists) and senior(9 assists) have nine points apiece.ENGINEERS GOALTENDINGFreshman netminderis 2-6-1 with a 3.13 goals against average and a .905 save percentage in 10 games (9 starts) ... Juniorhas started eight games for the Engineers this season, going 1-5-2 with a 3.40 goals against average and a .903 save percentage.ALL-TIME VS. MAINEThe Black Bears own a 7-5-0 lead in the all-time series, which dates back to February 3, 1979 – a 5-4 Maine win in Orono ... RPI won four straight from January 14, 1982 to November 27, 1993 – the Engineers' most recent victory.RECENTLYMaine has won the last five meetings, including the first two games of the 2016-17 season ... The Black Bears swept RPI, 5-1 and 4-2 on October 7 and 8 of last year.NOVEMBER 25, 2017The Black Bears defeated the Engineers, 4-2, in the consolation game of the Friendship Four at SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland ... The two teams traded first period goals, before Maine netted early tallies in the second and third to take a 3-1 lead ... Sophomorebrought the Engineers within 3-2 at 4:53 of the third, but the Black Bears scored an empty-netter to seal the win ... Freshmanmade 23 saves, while his counterpart, Jeremy Swayman, had 18 stops.FOR THE BLACK BEARSMaine is led offensively by sophomore Mitchell Fossier (6 goals, 7 assists), who has 13 points, while three players are tied with 12, including freshman Eduards Tralmaks (7 goals, 5 assists) and sophomores Tim Doherty (6 goals, 6 assists) and Patrick Holway (4 goals, 8 assists).MAINE GOALTENDINGFreshman Jeremy Swayman (7-3-1) has a 2.58 goals against average and a .927 save percentage in 12 games (11 starts) ... Junior Rob McGovern (1-4-0) has a 4.47 goals against average and an .875 save percentage in five starts.UNDERCLASSMEN SCORINGRPI's freshmen and sophomores have 67 points (23 goals, 44 assists) in 17 games, which ranks third among ECAC Hockey teams, trailing only No. 3 Clarkson and No. 18 Colgate ... Engineers underclassmen have 15 power play points, including five goals and 10 assists.FIRST GOALSSophomoreand freshmaneach 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 PROGRAMFreshsmanandwill not return to the Engineers for the spring semester as they pursue other opportunities, according to head coach... 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 RECENTLYIn his last six starts, freshman netminderhas posted a 2.83 goals against average and a .908 save percentage ... He has a 1-5-0 record, with those games coming against No. 4 Notre Dame, No. 5 Clarkson, Maine and No. 13 New Hampshire ... He ranks 10th in ECAC Hockey in goals against average and save percentage over that stretch.AUTISM AWARENESSRensselaer 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 CONNECTIONThe Engineers are 3-3-1 when either senior, freshman Emil Ohrvall or junior Jesper Ohrvall records at least one point, including 3-0 when Liljegren finds the back of the net.