ROCHESTER (Interstat) — Brown will visit RIT on Friday for a women’s NCAA Division I hockey game at Gene Polisseni Center. The Bears enter with a 0-0 record. The Tigers are 2-4 and will play on home ice after a 3-2 win over Delaware in their most recent game.

RIT has faced a challenging early-season schedule. The Tigers opened with losses at Clarkson, falling 6-3 and 8-1, before losing twice to Colgate, 6-3 at home and 4-2 on the road. RIT then returned home to sweep Delaware, winning 4-1 and 3-2. In the latest win, Brac Kelley recorded two assists and four shots on goal, Oceanne Thiffault made 12 saves on 14 shots, and Zoe Ziotas scored one goal with five shots on goal.

Kelley, a right wing, is a player to watch for RIT. Over the Tigers’ first six games, she has two goals and three assists to go with 11 shots on goal and four penalty minutes. She had one goal and one assist in a 6-3 loss to Colgate, one goal in a 4-1 win over Delaware, and two assists in the 3-2 win over Delaware. She has recorded at least one point in three of the Tigers’ first six games and has put at least one shot on goal in five of them. Her two assists against Delaware matched her season high, and she also had a two-point game against Colgate. RIT has scored 16 goals through six games while allowing 27.

Brown has not yet played this season. The Bears’ most recent completed result was a 5-4 loss at Quinnipiac. Brown will be looking to open its campaign with a strong road performance before returning to ECAC Hockey play later in the schedule. Brown’s schedule will quickly move into conference play after the trip to Rochester. The Bears are set to face Princeton and Quinnipiac on the road, then return home for games against Harvard and Dartmouth, followed by road matchups with Saint Lawrence and Clarkson. They will also face RPI, Union and Providence before the end of November.

The Tigers will aim to build on their recent home success after the two wins over Delaware. RIT will stay at home for a series against Northeastern, then host Penn State for two games before hitting the road for two at Robert Morris. The Tigers later host Lindenwood for two games and visit Syracuse. The matchup at Gene Polisseni Center will be the first of the season for Brown and the seventh game for RIT.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a final score of RIT 3, Brown 2.