The women’s hockey team opened their 2004-2005 campaign at Union Saturday. Freshman Ellen McNamara scored her first collegiate goal but the Division I Dutchwomen were too much, beating the Engineers 4-1.
The Engineers had many chances on the power play throughout the game, their first coming at 4:13 when Union’s Kristin Hissong took a two-minute tripping penalty. RPI got a brief 5-on-3 opportunity at 5:53, when Dutchwoman Kelly Lannan slashed a passing Engineer. RPI center Julie Aho took a tripping penalty at 6:33, and the Union power play pounced on the opportunity.
Union defenseman Katelyn Aitcheson fired a puck on net, RPI goalie Rosina Schiff went down to stop it, but Lannan deflected the puck up and over Schiff’s shoulder for the first mark of the game.
RPI killed off a pair of penalties, but failed to capitalize on four power-plays. The penalty bug bit the Engineers again at 6:20, when Paula Durham hooked down a Union skater. Less than a minute later, Allison Malcolm took a cross-checking penalty.
Thirty-eight seconds into the Dutchwomen’s 5-on-3, Union’s Stephanie Armstrong dumped the puck behind the net. Right winger Linnea Edwards picked up the puck and threw it in front to Kate Gustafson who one-timed a shot past Schiff for the second Union goal of the game.
Union captain Courtney Riepenhoff put the Dutchwomen up three at 9:11 when she fired a puck off of Schiff’s glove and into the back of the net. RPI got a pair of breakaway chances at the end of the period, but could not solve Union goaltender Mandy Hanson.
Reipenhoff added an insurance goal midway through the third period, when she fired a puck that deflected off an RPI defenseman and past Schiff. The RPI power play finally took advantage of the Union penalties, and broke through Hanson at 16:14. McNamara tallied the first RPI goal of the season, firing a shot from the point past Hanson. Ciara Libaridian got her first collegiate point with the first assist and Meredith Langille got the second helper.
RPI could not find the back of the net again, despite pulling their goalie for an extra attacker with less than a minute to go.
The Engineers open up their ECAC D-III East schedule this weekend, when they travel to St. Anslem and Castleton State. They will take on MIT in Cambridge Tuesday before opening up their home campaign on November 13 and 14 against UMass-Boston.
