SCHENECTADY, NY -- The streak lives on.

Union stretched its win streak over Rensselaer to nine games by virtue of a 4-3 win Friday night before a sellout crowd of 2,254 at Messa Rink. The Dutchmen have not lost to the Engineers since November, 2010.

Union (5-3-2 overall, 4-1-0 ECACH) received two goals from Nick Cruice and a pair of assists from Shayne Gostisbehere to post its fourth league win in five outings. And as has been the case most of the season, Union outshot its opponent for the ninth time, finishing with a 32-21 advantage.

The 10th-ranked Engineers seized an early 1-0 lead on a short-handed tally just 4:56 into the opening period. Goaltender Colin Stevens attempted to clear the puck before it deflected off the shinpads of Brock Higgs into the next.

Daniel Ciampini evened the contest at 13:47, scoring on a deflection in front of the net on the power play. Cruice gave Union a 2-1 lead after two periods, firing a shot from in front of the slot at the 13:17 mark.

Rick Bennett's squad came on strong in the third period, scoring twice in a span of 1:48. Freshman Eli Lichtenwald finished off a feed from Matt Wilkins in the slot, and Cruice answered with his second goal on assists from Sebastien Gingras and Max Novak.

RPI (6-3-2, 2-2-2 ECACH) found new life with a pair of goals from Matt Neal, including a 5-on-3 power play marker at 11:50, to pull within one with under 10 minutes left in regulation. Coach Seth Appert pulled goaltender Scott Diebold with two minutes left, but to no avail.

The battle for the Capital Skates Trophy resumes tomorrow night with a rematch at Houston Field House in Troy. Faceoff is 7:00 p.m.