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THE FACEOFF
The Engineers begin conference play with a home-and-home series against arch-rival and defending national champion Union College. Friday's game is Black Friday, which marks the first ECAC Hockey home game for RPI. This is a home-and-home series that shifts over to Schenectady and Messa Rink on Saturday night.

BLACK FRIDAY
Fans are encouraged to wear black to match the special black jerseys worn by the Engineers for tonight's game only. Fans can bid on the jerseys during the game, with the winners being announced at the end of the game. This year's Black Friday jerseys pay tribute to all those who have worn the RPI sweater. Rensselaer began the Black Friday tradition in 2003 and is 7-2-2 in the annual game. The Engineers have played Union twice in the matchup, winning 4-3 in overtime in 2010 and falling 4-2 in 2012. Last year, the Engineers tied Harvard, 3-3, in the contest.

MORE BLACK FRIDAY
Twice in the history of Black Friday has the game occurred on a day other than a Friday. Last year was Black Tuesday, and the 2010 matchup with Union was Black Saturday. This season marks the second time the game has occurred in October, with last year being October 29.

THE SERIES
RPI has played Union 89 times in its history, holding the 46-33-10 advantage. In 41 home games, RPI is 25-11-5 and the two teams have played 46 league contests, with Rensselaer owning an 18-22-6 record. More recently, Rensselaer and Union have played 44 times since 2000, with the Dutchmen holding a 26-11-7 advantage. They had beaten the Engineers in 10 straight games until the Engineers won the Mayor's Cup in Albany last January. Rensselaer is 5-20-3 against Union under Seth Appert, who is in his ninth season as head coach.

LAST YEAR HEAD-TO-HEAD
Rensselaer was 1-2-0 against Union last season, losing both the ECAC Hockey games, which were played in November, and winning the Mayor's Cup Game in late January. The first matchup was in Schenectady in which the Dutchmen came back from an early 1-0 deficit for a 4-1 lead before holding on, 4-3. The next night in Troy, defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere scored twice and Union won, 4-1, in a contest that featured 177 minutes in penalties with RPI collecting 94 and Union earning 83. The final meeting was a 2-1 Engineers victory backstopped by Scott Diebold's 28 saves in front of a crowd of 7,100 at the Times Union Center. Following the final whistle, the teams combined for 125 minutes in penalties and four players were disqualified.