Sunday Matinee on Tap at Rensselaer

GAME DAY INFORMATION
When	Sunday, Oct. 11 at 2 p.m.
Where	Troy, N.Y. // Houston Field House
Information	Live Stats // Video // Audio (webstream only)
Game Notes	PDF // Web Version
On The Call	P x P: Tom Grace

BOSTON COLLEGE vs. RPI
Boston College continues its opening weekend series on the road in Troy, N.Y., as the Eagles make their first trip to Houston Field House since Jan. 2, 1995. The Eagles have actually lost their last three outings at Rensselaer (Jan. 2, 1995 - 2-7 // Nov. 25, 1990 - 4-5 // Feb. 19, 1983 - 4-5) but hold the overall series record advantage, 20-14-1. BC and RPI squared off regularly from the 1950s through the 1980s and just recently opened the Eagles' 2013-14 season at home in which BC prevailed, 6-2, but it was the first meeting between the two teams since Jan 14. 1997 (Win, 3-2). Coach York is 2-1 against RPI at the helm of the Eagles' program while RPI skipper, Seth Appert, is 0-1. Boston College, all-time when playing in Troy, N.Y., is 6-9.

TECH TALK
Rensselaer recently opened its 2015-16 season against Hockey East opponent UMass Lowell on the road and was shutout, 3-0, on Friday, Oct. 9. RPI's loss to UMass Lowell was the Engineers' first opening night loss since the 2011-12 season. RPI was outshot by the River Hawks, 38-27, as two of three UMass Lowell tallies were scored on the power play. Senior goaltender Jason Kasdorf's 35 saves were the most since March 6, 2015, when he made 36 at Clarkson. Last season, RPI went 12-26-3 overall, including an 8-12-2 mark in ECAC Hockey play. The Engineers won a best-of-three playoff series at Clarkson, two games to one, before bowing out to St. Lawrence in the conference quarterfinals. RPI sports some strong returners as sophomore Drew Melanson led the Engineers with 20 points last season, on nine goals and 11 assists. Senior Milos Bubela (8 goals, 7 assists) had 15 points, while classmate Mark Miller (7 goals, 7 assists) had 14 points. Sunday's matinee marks the second-straight season RPI played against the No. 1-ranked team in the nation in its opening weekend. RPI fell to then-#1 Minnesota, 3-0, in the IceBreaker Tournament last year. Head coach Seth Appert is 114-153-37 all-time in his 10th season at the helm of the Engineers' program.

OFFENSIVE TIDBITS
• Rookie Miles Wood made his presence felt with BC's first goal of the season and two assists - he's currently T-5th nationally in scoring

• Three rookies (Wood, Casey Fitzgerald, Brown) all scored goals in BC's season opener and is believe to be the first time three rookies have scored in the Jerry York era

• Despite a great freshman campaign, now sophomore Zach Sanford scored BC's fifth goal at Army, counting as his first-career power play tally - - he scored seven goals last year

• Chris Calnan hammered in BC's second goal of the game at Army and it counted as the game-winner -- Calnan now has five career game-winning goals for his career

DEFENSIVE NOTES
• Casey Fitzgerald had a strong debut, logging his first-career goal in power play fashion and added an assist and is only one of nine blueliners with two points amongst the nation

• Teddy Doherty and Scott Savaged logged assists from the blue and recorded a total of four shots on the win at Army

• Thatcher Demko stopped 23-of-24 shots in the win at Army to gather his 60th-career triumph. He is fourth in the NCAA in career victories.

• BC's penalty kill warded off 5-of-6 Army power plays and limited the Black Knights to only 24 shots on net

RECAPPING THE VICTORY AT ARMY
Boston College moved to 13-8-1 in season-opening games under head coach Jerry York and 38-3-1, all-time, against Army after the Eagles cruised to a 5-1 triumph in West Point, N.Y., Friday night. Rookies Miles Wood (1-2-3) and Casey Fitzgerald (1-1-2) wowed as each produced multi-point performances while last year's point leader, Alex Tuch, turned in a pair of assists for another multi-point showing in his second season. First-year forward Chris Brown also scored in his Eagle debut while Chris Calnan racked up his fifth-career game-winning tally and second-consecutive year in which he scored a goal on opening night. Zach Sanford scored BC's fifth goal of the game, accounting for his first-career power play tally. BC (12-40) and Army (17-58) combined for 98 penalty minutes as the Black Knights and Eagles were ranked one and two, respectively, in PIMs after the first night of action. Thatcher Demko picked up his first win of the year and 60th of his career via 23 stops.

POLE POSITION
The Boston College men's hockey team was tabbed the unit to beat as the Eagles earned the No. 1 preseason ranking in both the USCHO.com and USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine polls unveiled on Sept. 28 and Oct. 5, respectively. This marks the seventh time the Eagles have been slotted as the top position in the preseason. The last time Boston College was ranked No. 1 in the country was towards the end of the 2013-14 season when the Eagles ran off a 19-game unbeaten mark, winning 17 games and skating to a pair of draws over the course of the run. Boston College finished No. 13 and No. 14, respectively, in the USCHO.com and USA Today / USA Hockey Magazine final polls upon conclusion of the 2014-15 season.

LIVING HISTORY
The Schiller Family Head Hockey Coach of Boston College, Jerry York, enters his 44th season of coaching college hockey. Not only is York the winningest coach in the game's history, having amassed 985 victories and a win loss total of 985-591-105 (.616), York is approaching another historic benchmark. After locking up the most wins all-time at his alma mater (502) and heads into his 22nd season behind the Eagles' bench, he now has the 1,000-win plateau in his sites. York is just 15 wins away from hitting that number as he is already the winningest coach in the game's history.

PRESEASON PRECEDENT
Boston College was selected as the preseason favorite to win the Hockey East regular-season title as voted on by the league coaches and announced on Sept. 21. The Eagles received 115 overall votes and picked up seven of the league's 12 first-place votes. The Eagles' pick as the preseason favorite marks the seventh time in the last eight seasons and the 14th time in the last 17 occasions that BC has been picked as the preseason favorite, or co-favorite, to win the league title.

YORK IN SEASON OPENERS
Since Jerry York took over the BC program in 1994, the Eagles have amassed a 13-8-1 mark in season opening games of the season after taking down Army on Oct. 9. It marked the seventh-consecutive season the Eagles have opened on the road.

KELLEY RINK ON THE BRINK OF 300
Boston College celebrates its 28th season of playing hockey on Kelley Rink at Conte Forum. Starting in 1988, BC's overall record at Kelley Rink is 298-118-37 (.699). The Eagles played at McHugh Forum prior from 1958-86 when Boston College posted an overall mark of 282- 95-10 (.748). Boston College has one 10 or more games at home the last seven-consecutive seasons.

EAGLETS
Boston College is the youngest team in college hockey by an average of 10 days. As of Oct. 1, the Eagles average age was 20 years and 169 days, 10 days behind Boston University. The Terriers average 20 years and 179 days per player. Michigan rounds out the top three (20 years, 235 days).

WHADDYA HAVE ON DRAFT
Boston College sports the most NHL draft picks of any current college hockey team. The Eagles have 13 student-athletes that have already been drafted by a National Hockey League franchise while Michigan, Minnesota and North Dakota all have 12 on their respective teams. Of the eight student-athletes that are first-round draft picks, BC has two dressing in maroon and gold. Alex Tuch (Minnesota) was drafted 18th overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft while Colin White (Ottawa) was taken 21st overall in the 2015 Draft.

START SPREADIN' THE NEWS
Boston College and North Dakota will meet in a new marquee event next season, the College Hockey Showdown, on December 3, 2016 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The NCHC will serve as a co-host for the College Hockey Showdown with Madison Square Garden while North Dakota will be designated as the home team. Fans can also stay up to date on the latest College Hockey Showdown at Madison Square Garden information by following the event on Twitter @HkyShowdown_MSG.

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Players Mentioned

Christopher Brown

Chris Calnan

Thatcher Demko

Teddy Doherty

Casey Fitzgerald

Zach Sanford

Scott Savage

Alex Tuch

Colin White

Miles Wood