The St. Lawrence University women's hockey team lost to Rensselaer in its 2010-11 ECAC Hockey regular season opener at Appleton Arena on Friday night by the score of 3-2.

The win is the first for RPI (2-4-2, 1-0-0) against St. Lawrence in the program's history, as they entered Friday's game 0-9-0 against the Scarlet and Brown. Meanwhile, the loss is the fourth straight for the Saints, who fall to 1-5-1 (0-1-0). The game proved to be a goaltending dual between St. Lawrence's Maxie Weisz and RPI's Sonja van der Bliek, as the netminders turned in 28 and 29 saves each, respectively.

"Rensselaer is always one of the best-coached teams in the league," said St. Lawrence head coach Chris Wells. "They executed their game plan well and capitalized on a few nice opportunities in the first two periods."

The Engineers scored the only goal in the first period thanks in part to a 12-8 advantage in shots on goal. Andie Le Donne picked up her first goal of the season at 10:35 when she blasted a shot from just inside the blue line that beat Weisz due to a screen in front of the net. Alisa Harrison and Toni Sanders assisted on the goal that put RPI on top 1-0.

St. Lawrence would level the scoring at 1-1 at 4:20 of the second period, when junior Alley Bero scored her first goal of the season off of a scrum in front of the net. Classmate Vanessa Emond got the play started by finding sophomore Kayla Sullivan, whose initial shot was saved by van der Bliek. However, the rebound in front was pushed across the line by Bero. Though the goal was reviewed by the officials, the instant replay confirmed the play as called on the ice.

The Saints continued to pour on offensive pressure, as they held RPI without a shot on goal until the 10:00 minute mark of the frame. However, the Engineers had a bit of good fortune on shots only 3:04 apart to take a 3-1 lead into the third period.

Kristen Jakubowski ripped a shot from the high slot that was deflected by a Saint defender. The puck floated into the air and landed behind Weisz and across the goal line for her first goal of the season at 12:54. Taylor Horton then made it 3-1 at 15:58, when she blasted a shot from inside the blue line that was again re-directed by a St. Lawrence player and past the goalie for her third goal of the year. Jill Vandegrift and Sierra Vadner assisted on the goal.

St. Lawrence would control the majority of play throughout the third period, thanks in part to five consecutive penalties against RPI in a span of 9:16. Coach Wells opted to pull Weisz for an extra attacker with over 5:00 minutes to play in the game, which generated several quality chances. The Saints were unable to pull to within a goal until the 19:27 mark, when sophomore Kelly Sabatine scored her third goal of the season to keep the team's hopes alive. Sabatine deflected a shot from senior Karell Emard behind van der Bliek for the goal, while Sullivan was credited with her second assist of the evening.

Rensselaer would buckle down, though, and won the ensuing faceoff to get the puck deep into St. Lawrence territory. The home team was unable to push the puck up the ice, allowing the Engineers to hang on for the 3-2 win.

Both teams finished with 31 shots on goal and each squad had a power play goal (SLU 1-of-8, RPI 1-of-5). van der Bliek proved to be crucial in the third period with 13 saves, though Weisz was also impressive, making three breakaway stops throughout the game.

St. Lawrence will look snap its current four-game skid tomorrow, Saturday, October 30 when it hosts Union College at 2:00pm.