Thursday, October 29, 2009

Sacred Heart (Oct 23), American International (Oct 24)

There were varying opinions about what the Engineers needed to accomplish last weekend as they welcomed Atlantic Hockey doormats Sacred Heart and American International. The unanimous opinion was that the Engineers had to win both games, but the question was, by how much? Some said there needed to be blowouts. Others said "substantial" victories. My preference was that they win both games in regulation without too much of a scare. Others said two wins would just be fine. Some were happy with the result, others weren't.

Sacred Heart
Cullen/Pirri/O'Grady
D'Amigo/Polacek/Helfrich
Angers-Goulet/Malchuk/Lee
Vassel/Kerins/Rabbani

Bergin/Foss
Brutlag/Burgdoerfer
Kennedy/Merth

York

There was a bit of divergence in this matchup. It was the fifth game of the season for RPI, but only the first for Sacred Heart, which had its coach quit just weeks before the seasons started, so it was also new head coach C.J. Marottolo's first game as a head coach - he had been an assistant at Yale for a number of years.

The Engineers came out of the gate flying, dominating the early part of the game in basically all facets. Thus, it was quite the shock when a counter-attack by the Pioneers about five minutes into the game ended with the puck behind Allen York, putting SHU up 1-0.

Five minutes later, RPI's first power play brought immediate rewards as Paul Kerins scored his first goal of the season to even the score. Ultimately, the Engineers only led 7-6 in shots at the end of the first period.

The second period was all RPI, especially early on, where it appeared the game was about to turn into a laugher. Coming out strong off the opening faceoff, Chase Polacek found the net just 59 seconds into the period to put RPI up 2-1, and then, with York off on a delayed penalty, Brandon Pirri scored only 36 seconds later to make it 3-1, and the onslaught continued for most of the period, powered early on by a pair of Sacred Heart penalties practically back-to-back. The Engineers outshot SHU 13-7 during the second frame and appeared to be cruising despite no additional scoring. For the most part, they seemed to be just on the cusp of a goal numerous times during the dominated period.

The domination carried over into the third period, but began to fizzle early, assisted by Niskayuna lawyer Alex Dell, who had been mostly watching the game during the first two periods but who decided that the shiny metal thing attached to his fingers would look good up against his lips more often. There was a veritable march to the penalty box during the 3rd, some of them legitimate, some of them real headscratchers. Naturally, it was the headscratchers that let the Pioneers back into the game.

After a call against Jerry D'Amigo for tripping - a retaliatory measure taken following a blatant knee-to-knee hit against him earlier and a boarding incident right before it that wasn't called, the Pioneers cut the lead in half with about 8 minutes left to play. Then, about two minutes later, the score was tied on a delayed penalty that seemed quite bogus. Regardless of the referee hijinks, the Engineers simply were not getting the job done. You can get piped, but you can still keep the puck out of the net and the second goal especially was very week.

Salvation came, however, in overtime. 1:37 into the extra period, young Brandon Pirri came through in the clutch, scoring his second goal of the night and third of the year, powering the Engineers to avoid what would have been a depressing tie, but the loss of a 2-goal lead with under 10 minutes to play remained worrisome - slightly better than a Pyrrhic victory.

American International
D'Amigo/Pirri/O'Grady
Angers-Goulet/Malchuk/Lee
Cullen/Polacek/Rabbani
Helfrich/Kerins/Smith

Kennedy/Merth
Brutlag/Burgdoerfer
Bergin/Foss

Merriam

Coach Appert decided to jumble the lines a bit for Saturday night's game, and from the stands, it was... stimulating... to hear freshmen D'Amigo, Pirri, and Marty O'Grady introduced in the pre-game as the starting lineup. With freshman Bryce Merriam getting his first career action in net, it was definitely time for the youth movement to shine.

"I like this line," I told my cohorts. I would be repeating it many times on the night, and I got a chance to do it almost right away. O'Grady would score his first career goal from Pirri and D'Amigo just five minutes into the game to give the Engineers the 1-0 lead for the third consecutive game. RPI dominated the first period as well they should, with 15 shots in the opening period. AIC was credited with 8 shots, but everyone around me agreed that it was very generous for Merriam's save percentage.

Mike Bergin would make it 2-0 in the 2nd period with a blast from the point following a timeout by Appert, who was incensed at the team's lackadaisical approach to the period. AIC racked up a number of good chances ahead of Bergin's goal, forcing Merriam to be strong. Bergin's goal came from Pirri and D'Amigo, giving both of them two assists on the night.

Then, just as in the previous night, the young Engineers started resting on their laurels, and AIC climbed right back into the game. Freshman Adam Pleskach, who had scored the previous night against Union, scored to make it 2-1 late in the second, and then put one in 3:15 into the third period to tie the score at two - the second goal partially being a bad mistake by Merriam. As time continued to tick in the third period, the Engineers put together a number of scoring chances, but the theme of the weekend was the inability to finish.

It would get worse when Tyler Helfrich had to be helped off the ice after hurting his ankle. He would not return, forcing the Engineers to juggle their lines and double-shift their centers.

But it was when the Engineers got their 5th power play opportunity of the night late when AIC's Josh Froese put a clumsy hit on Joel Malchuk and got the gate for boarding. The home crowd, bolstered to over 4,000 thanks to family weekend, rose up and got the Engineers going on the advantage. Seconds later, Jerry D'Amigo responded with a nifty goal off a great pass from Josh Rabbani to retake the lead and send the crowd into a frenzy. "Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!" was the chant (think Springer) and it resonated throughout the Field House. D'Amigo almost made it two goals (and four points) but he missed an empty net late as RPI won 3-2.

Interestingly, despite Alex Dell refereeing Saturday's game as well, the Engineers did not incur a single penalty against AIC. I can't remember the last time I saw that happen for RPI, but when you stay out of the box, good things can happen. Dell kept his whistle put away for 5 of 6 periods on the weekend, so maybe I should give him a little credit for letting the game play out.

Thus, the people who expected blowouts were disappointed, and many are pointing to RPI blowing 2-goal leads on back-to-back nights, but they did do what they had to do to win both games.

Helfrich is day-to-day with his ankle. X-rays were negative, which means he'll be back sooner rather than later. He isn't expected to play this weekend against Union and Army but he could be back in time for the ECAC opener on Black Friday against Yale.

Ah, that's right. It's Union this week. How did Union do against these same teams? Well, they had to come from behind to beat AIC. That was unremarkable. Then, on Saturday, Sacred Heart jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first period and led 5-1 with 10 minutes to play, and Union came all the way back to tie it and force overtime. Then the Pioneers won it with a goal in overtime. I called it "the greatest comeback in Union history." And they lost. Ripe for the picking? Maybe.

Other junk - Union's epic comeback only to still lose to Sacred Heart dropped them to one measly vote in the USCHO.com poll (something their retard fans are trying to lord over RPI in regards to the upcoming game... you get down with your bad self). Elsewhere, the Ivies get their seasons started this weekend with #6 Cornell (no change), #7 Yale (up one, and one voter chose the Bulldogs as the top team in the nation this week), and #11 Princeton (down one) ranked. Idle Quinnipiac moved up two to #18. Harvard (22 votes) and St. Lawrence (1 vote) also appeared.

For his two goal, two assist weekend, Brandon Pirri was named ECAC Rookie of the Week. He probably would have been Player of the Week if not for the fact that they could give him Rookie of the Week and leave it at that since he's a Freshman. Sophomore defenseman Mike Bergin was a candidate for Player of the Week.

By the way, there's something that I forgot to mention earlier - the ECAC Championships are moving out of Albany after this year. Yes, I know, we still haven't been to Albany. Hopefully this is the year, because it's the last chance. Anyway, starting in 2011, the ECAC Championships will be held in... ready for it? Atlantic City. No, you weren't reading that wrong. The championships will be moving to a location that is south of the entire league. According to my source, it wasn't necessarily that the league was dissatisfied with Albany, it's just that AC and its casinos showed the ECAC the money. Boardwalk Hall, located on THE Boardwalk from Monopoly, will be the venue.

Sacred Heart at RPI
Non-Conference Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
10/23/09 - 7:00 pm
RESULT: RPI 4, Sacred Heart 3 (OT)
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/0910/boxes/mrensac1.o23
USCHO: http://www.uscho.com/box/?date=20091023&vis=shu&home=rpi&gender=m
RECAPS
RPI: http://www.rpiathletics.com/news/2009/10/23/MHOCK_1023090225.aspx
Troy Record:
http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2009/10/24/sports/doc4ae27e9445484695228928.t\
xt

Albany Times-Union:
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=856858
RECORD: 2-2-1 (0-0-0 ECAC)

Reale Deals
1. F Brandon Pirri, 2 G
2. F Chase Polacek, 1 G, 1 A
3. F Alex Angers-Goulet, 2 A

American International at RPI
Non-Conference Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
10/24/09 - 7:15 pm
RESULT: RPI 3, American International 2
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/0910/boxes/maicren1.o24
USCHO: http://www.uscho.com/box/?date=20091024&vis=aic&home=rpi&gender=m
RECAPS
RPI: http://www.rpiathletics.com/news/2009/10/24/MHOCK_1024091056.aspx
Troy Record:
http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2009/10/24/sports/doc4ae3ce8824bf9025123058.t\
xt

Albany Times-Union:
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=857133
RECORD: 3-2-1 (0-0-0 ECAC)

Reale Deals
1. F Jerry D'Amigo, 1 G, 2 A
2. D Mike Bergin, 1 G, 1 A
3. F Brandon Pirri, 2 A

Upcoming Games
30 Oct - at Union
31 Oct - Army
06 Nov - #7 Yale (Black Friday)
07 Nov - Brown
13 Nov - at Clarkson

--

MEN'S HOCKEY
Rensselaer went 2-0 last week, beating Sacred Heart in overtime (4-3), before edging American International (3-2). Freshman Brandon Pirri (Toronto, ON) recorded four points on the weekend, including two goals and two assists. Classmate Bryce Merriam (Bethel Park, PA) earned a win in his first career start against the Yellow Jackets.

RPI is back on the ice this weekend when they visit Union on Friday (7pm), before hosting Army at the Houston Field House on Saturday (7pm). Live stats will be available on Friday at http://www.sidearmstats.com/union/mhockey/ as well as live video at http://www.unionathletics.com/showcase/#liveevents. Live stats on Saturday can be found at http://www.sidearmstats.com/rpi/mhockey/ and can be seen live on a pay-per-view basis with B2 Networks at http://www.b2livetv.com. Both games will be broadcast courtesy of WRPI radio on 91.5 FM or log on to www.wrpi.org and click on sports.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Alaska Goal Rush (vs. UAA/at Alaska, Oct 16/17)

Playing in the Great White North is a challenge for three good reasons - first, the trip is long, especially for a team from the east coast, and it's tough to shake the jet lag after only a few days in state. Second, both teams are from the rough and tumble western leagues, fire tested against some of the best teams in the nation week in and week out. Finally, they both play on Olympic-sized ice, something that is usually fairly tricky for an ECAC team to deal with.

By the way, before we begin, you have to watch this:



This reeks of awesomeness. It's the Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks opening video, featuring an animated polar bear that destroys the universe (including an unknown planet, a satellite near Jupiter, and the Moon) and then the city of Anchorage. BEST. INTRO. EVER.

Alaska-Anchorage
Vassel/Malchuk/Kerins
D'Amigo/Polacek/Helfrich
Cullen/Pirri/Helfrich
Lee/Angers-Goulet/Halpern

Merth/Kennedy
Bergin/Foss
Brutlag/Burgdoerfer

York

The first game was a neutral-site game against the Seawolves of Alaska-Anchorage, who had a bit of a travel of their own unless they flew up from their recently-ruined-by-a-rampaging-polar bear city on the coast.

The Seawolves came to play, and most observers thought the Engineers were off a step or two from the get-go: possibly the jet lag. UAA's Alex Gellert scored 2:44 into the game, but three minutes later was shown the door for a check from behind, giving RPI an outstanding opportunity to break out with a 5 minute powerplay. Unfortunately, nothing came of it (partially due to a penalty to Jerry D'Amigo near the end of the long advantage), and the Seawolves made it 2-0 on a 4-on-4 goal following another UAA penalty.

Things only got worse in the second period. It's always best to avoid anything even close to checking from behind after your team benefits from such a call against the other team, but C.J. Lee was tossed for just that at 6:37 of the 2nd. Like the RPI 5-minute power play, the Seawolves had only a truncated opportunity after they took a penalty of their own, and they were also unable to capitalize. However, late in the period, they were able to score at even strength to make it 3-0.

The Engineers never had more than 9 shots in a single period, and although they outshot UAA 7-4 in the third period, they could not put one past Seawolf netminder Jon Olthuis.

Alaska(-Fairbanks)
D'Amigo/Polacek/Helfrich
Cullen/Pirri/O'Grady
Angers-Goulet/Malchuk/Lee
Vassel/Kerins/Rabbani

Brutlag/Burgdoerfer
Bergin/Foss
Kennedy/Merth

York

The next night was the tournament finale against the homestanding Nanooks, who'd knocked off Michigan the previous week in Anchorage and were ranked #17 coming into the weekend. The major change in the lineup came with the return of Josh Rabbani for Scott Halpern.

The Engineers won the first period, outshooting UA 9-7 but no goals for the fourth straight period. They did, however, increase their weekend penalty kill to 7-for-7.

The 2nd period was the breakthrough. After killing an early penalty to Joel Malchuk, freshman sensation Brandon Pirri scored the first goal of his collegiate career from Bryan Brutlag and Marty O'Grady to put RPI up 1-0.

Alaska came out with an all out barrage in the third period, outshooting the Engineers 18-2. They were aided by a pair of power play opportunities, one early on off a high stick from Pirri, and late in the game with a trip by Peter Merth, who, you might remember, has a knack for taking bad penalties late that put the Engineers in a lot of trouble. This one was no different - Joe Sova scored to tie the game at one. The Engineers were a minute-and-a-half away from bumping off their second consecutive ranked team.

RPI came out ahead in shots in OT, 5-3, but couldn't get the win. Fairbanks won a shoot-out 1-0 (which featured a controversial non-goal by Tyler Helfrich, who may have gotten the puck over the line), but that shoot-out was only to determine a winner for the purposes of the tournament. The Nanooks play in the CCHA, which holds shoot-outs after ties in overtime to determine a winner, but that doesn't play into non-conference games.

I hesitated to talk about Coach Appert's positive outlook before last weekend's games. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner quoted him as saying the team would benefit from the larger ice in Fairbanks. I was skeptical - teams don't just excel on the bigger ice unless they have a lot of experience on it, and for ECAC teams, that just doesn't happen. If they'd been playing teams from smaller ice on the big ice, maybe the Engineers' speed would have won out. At any rate, I discount these 3 games (UMass last week, both games this week) on the big ice. This upcoming weekend at home will hopefully be more telling.

Other junk - Those two votes from last week in the USCHO.com poll are gone after no wins in Alaska. The Nanooks are now 3-0-1 and have moved up to 15th overall. Quinnipiac eked out an overtime victory over lowly Bentley to move to 3-0-0, but fell from 18th to 20th because... it's Bentley. #6 Cornell, #8 Yale, and #10 Princeton each stayed where they were, none of them have started their seasons yet. Harvard got 21 votes, Union fell to 8 votes after a tie and a loss at St. Cloud State, and St. Lawrence had 6 votes after a home sweep of RIT and Niagara.

It's cupcake weekend at the Field House on Friday and Saturday, as the Engineers host Sacred Heart and American International. They don't have to blow these teams out of the water to prove anything, but they could. At the very least, they do need to sweep this weekend to prove they are definitely above this level. Neither of these teams are expected to do anything in the weakest D-I conference in the nation, in fact, AIC is widely expected to finish last yet again.

RPI vs. Alaska-Anchorage
Non-Conference Game - Carlson Center (Fairbanks, AK)
10/16/09 - 8:05 pm
RESULT: Alaska-Anchorage 3, RPI 0
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/0910/boxes/makaren1.o16
USCHO: http://www.uscho.com/box/?date=20091016&vis=rpi&home=uaa&gender=m
RECAPS
RPI: http://www.rpiathletics.com/news/2009/10/16/MHOCK_1016090547.aspx
Troy Record:
http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2009/10/17/sports/doc4ad94e55f20a6757703662.t\
xt

Albany Times-Union:
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=853940&category=SPORTS
Anchorage Daily News: http://www.adn.com/3530/story/976657.html
RECORD: 1-2-0 (0-0-0 ECAC)

Reale Deals
1. D Mike Bergin, 4 shots
2. F Chase Polacek, 5 shots, even
3. F Jerry D'Amigo, 3 shots

RPI at #17 Alaska
Non-Conference Game - Carlson Center (Fairbanks, AK)
10/17/09 - 10:35 pm
RESULT: RPI 1, Alaska 1 (Alaska wins SO, 1-0)
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/0910/boxes/makfren1.o17
USCHO: http://www.uscho.com/box/?date=20091017&vis=rpi&home=uaf&gender=m
RECAPS
RPI: http://www.rpiathletics.com/news/2009/10/18/MHOCK_1018093651.aspx
Albany Times-Union:
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=854268&category=SPORTS
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner:
http://newsminer.com/news/2009/oct/18/sovas-power-play-goal-propels-alaska-goal-\
rush-tit/

RECORD: 1-2-1 (0-0-0 ECAC)

Reale Deals
1. G Allen York, 33 saves, All-Tournament Team
2. F Brandon Pirri, 1 G, 3 shots
3. D Bryan Brutlag, 1 A, 1 shot


Upcoming Games
23 Oct - Sacred Heart
24 Oct - American International
30 Oct - at Union
31 Oct - Army
06 Nov - #8 Yale (Black Friday)
--

MEN'S HOCKEY

Rensselaer lost to Alaska-Anchorage (3-0) and tied #17 Alaska (1-1) at the Brice Goal Rush in Fairbanks last weekend. Freshman Brandon Pirri (Toronto, ON) scored against the Nanooks and sophomore goalie Allen York (Wetaskiwin, AB) was named to the All-Tournament Team after stopping 57 of 62 shots over the two games.

RPI is back at the Houston Field House on Friday and Saturday against Sacred Heart and American International, respectively. Both games begin at 7pm and feature live stats at http://www.sidearmstats.com/rpi/mhockey/. The games can be seen live on a pay-per-view basis with B2 Networks at http://www.b2livetv.com/ and will be broadcast courtesy of WRPI radio on 91.5 FM or log on to www.wrpi.org and click on sports.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

at UMass (Oct 8), New Hampshire (Oct 10)

Game on! The regular season is now underway - at least, the non-conference chunk of it is. The ECAC schedule doesn't kick off until the first weekend in November. Those will be the games that truly matter, but October's a time for building street cred, and although Thursday's game in Amherst didn't do much on those lines, the game in Troy certainly did.

I got a one word text message from a friend who was present at both games (which I would have been at, had I not been in Ohio). "LEGIT," he said.

UMass
D'Amigo/Polacek/Cullen
Angers-Goulet/Pirri/Helfrich
Lee/O'Grady/Watts
Kerins/Malchuk/Rabbani

Foss/Merth
Brutlag/Burgdoerfer
Bergin/Kennedy

York

The Minutemen and Engineers officially began the NCAA's 2009-10 schedule when Chase Polacek and Casey Wellman met at center ice at Mullins Center in Amherst for the opening faceoff. It didn't take long for Hockey East's famous referees to take center stage, however. Marty O'Grady was called for a trip just 1:46 into the game, and the teams would combine for five power play chances in the first 16 minutes of the game. Flow? What's that?

Despite three early penalty kills, the Engineers dominated early on and got on the board first. Seconds after a power play ended, Tyler Helfrich scooped up a loose puck in front of the net after a flurry of shots and put it home. RPI outshot UMass 16-6 in the first period despite having to kill four penalties, and led 1-0 after one.

Early in the second, the Minutemen got on the board after penalties to Brandon Pirri and O'Grady 14 seconds apart gave UMass a 5-on-3 power-play. With a 5-on-3 that long, it's usually only a matter of time, and the Minutemen did respond with a goal to tie it up. 5 minutes later, Paul Kerins was in the box for interference, and it took only 15 seconds for the Minutemen to make it 2-1. Appert then called time-out, probably to implore his charges to stop taking
penalties - the Engineers had 7 penalties at that point, and the game wasn't even halfway through.

The timeout didn't change much, though, as UMass made it 3-1 just two minutes later with their only even-strength goal of the night. In another two minutes, Bryan Brutlag was off for holding, giving UMass their 8th man-advantage of the night against 3 for RPI to that point.

Late in the period, the Engineers finally got a couple of chances on the power play, and they cashed in on the second one. Helfrich won the faceoff in the zone to start the power play and got it to Jerry D'Amigo, who rifled it to the back of the net for his first goal as an Engineer (hopefully the first of many!). Despite a tough period, the Engineers were only down one heading into the third, but they were guaranteed to start the next period in a hole - Pirri and Erik Burgdoerfer would be called for penalties 20 seconds apart very late in the 2nd, setting up a second long 5-on-3 for UMass in the 3rd.

Just like the first time around, it was only a matter of time. 20 seconds into the 3rd, the Minutemen scored their second 5-on-3 goal of the night. At that point, it was academic. Brutlag went back to the box midway through the period following a matching minor and UMass iced it with a 4th power play goal, this time 4-on-3. The Minutemen finished the night 4-for-11 on the man advantage (3 scored with two Engineers in the box), while RPI was 1-for-7.

Observers at the game remarked that the referees really never allowed flow to exist in the game at all - 18 penalties will do that - but that they were also overly picky, calling practically everything. Whatever the cause, the Engineers really never got a chance to execute their gameplan. Whether that was more RPI's fault or the referees is up for discussion.

New Hampshire
D'Amigo/Polacek/Helfrich
Cullen/Pirri/O'Grady
Lee/Angers-Goulet/Rabbani
Vassel/Malchuk/Kerins

Bergin/Foss
Brutlag/Burgdoerfer
Kennedy/Merth

York

Two nights later, UNH skated into Troy for the home opener. The Wildcats always start their seasons with high expectations, although this one was a little lower than usual, coming in with a #16 national ranking. It was also the opening game of the season for New Hampshire.

Early on, it was obvious that the referees weren't overly interested in a repeat of the show their Hockey East brethren put on the previous night. Both teams had an early power play, but that was about it. 14 minutes in, the Engineers took the early lead for the second consecutive game as sophomore Josh Rabbani did what he does best - hang out in front of the net as the unmovable object, waiting to take out the trash. In this case, the rebound was provided by UNH goaltender Brian Foster, who couldn't hang onto a shot from the left wing by Polacek.

The Engineer penalty kill was mostly lockdown all night. Into the second period, RPI killed the first four penalties they took, but UNH would tie it about 9 minutes into the middle frame after freshman C.J. Lee was sent off on a trip. With time expiring in the penalty kill, UNH's Bobby Butler scored to tie the score at one. The Wildcats dominated the play in the second period, 16 shots to 5, but the period ended 1-1.

In the past, we've seen RPI start out well against top teams before crumpling in the third, but if Saturday was any indication, that may be a thing of the past as team fitness appears to be quite high. The Engineers found their second wind as the third period started and got a boost from UNH early on. 2 minutes in, RPI got a four-minute power play when UNH's Phil DeSimone hit the box for hooking and roughing. Brutlag took a shot from the blueline that Foster again could not handle, and this time it was Polacek's turn to scoop up the rebound and put it in.

Six and a half minutes later, the Engineers got some insurance shortly after killing off a penalty. Helfrich, coming out of the box, took control of the puck and got it to Brutlag, whose shot was saved by Foster, but yet again, the UNH netminder left a juicy rebound. This one wasn't left in front of the net, but rather popped out to sophomore defenseman Mike Bergin on the left side. Bergin slammed it home for his first goal as an Engineer.

Allen York was tremendous in net, showing the confidence he needs to be "the man" in goal for RPI. He made 37 stops on 38 shots to be a key part of the win. You don't always want your defense to start in net and radiate out from there (the opposite is usually more effective, see Cornell), but it's always good to have a guy who's going to keep the puck out as your final line of defense.

Early on, we're already seeing a trend developing. Although the penalty kill has at least been fair - 13 for 18 on the weekend, though 3 of the failures were with 3 defenders in Amherst - the team allowed only a single even-strength goal in 120 minutes of hockey against Hockey East foes on the weekend. Staying out of the box is going to be key for this team. If they can do that... watch out for the Engineers.

Other junk - The win over UNH earned RPI a tiny bit of recognition in the Week 1 poll. The Engineers earned 2 votes, which meant either 1 of 40 voters chose them to be 19th in the nation, or 2 chose them 20th. Like I said, not much. Cornell, despite the fact that their season doesn't start until the end of October, moved from 7th to 6th, largely because Notre Dame fell to 7th thanks to their opening night home loss to Alabama-Huntsville. Yale is still in 8th, and Quinnipiac rode a very impressive road sweep at formerly ranked Ohio State into the rankings, now at #18. Union's home sweep of a Maine team which is still riding its high reputation but is actually horrifyingly bad this year gave them 55 points, Harvard (17), Colgate (5), and SLU (4) also received votes. With the loss, New Hampshire is now unranked.

Also worth mentioning, this year's Hockey Ring of Honor inductee is Bob Brinkworth, class of '64. He will be inducted on November 7, the night after Black Friday. In 71 games (back then, you couldn't play as a freshman), Bob scored 110 goals and 106 assists. He is third all-time in goals and points. He was a three-time All-ECAC first team, and was named ECAC Player of the Year and a first-team All-American in his junior and senior years. He currently lives in Florida, where he coaches the Florida Gulf Coast University club team, which hehas guided to five national championship game appearances since taking over in 2002. His team will be in the Capital District that weekend to take on Siena College - perhaps we should turn out and cheer him on!

The Engineers' next task is in the Last Frontier for their first ever trip to Fairbanks, AK. They will take on the Alaska Nanooks and the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves. The Nanooks shocked the college hockey world last weekend, beating Michigan 2-0 in Anchorage, for which they were rewarded with a #17 national ranking.

RPI at UMass
Non-Conference Game - Mullins Center (Amherst, MA)
10/8/09 - 7:00 pm
RESULT: UMass 5, RPI 2
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/0910/boxes/mrenuma1.o08
USCHO: http://www.uscho.com/box/?date=20091008&vis=rpi&home=uma&gender=m
RECAPS
RPI: http://www.rpiathletics.com/news/2009/10/8/MHOCK_1008093014.aspx
USCHO: http://www.uscho.com/recaps/20092010/m/10/08/rpi-uma.php
Troy Record:
http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2009/10/09/sports/doc4acec38841cad647096209.t\
xt

Albany Times-Union:
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=851053
Springfield Republican:
http://www.masslive.com/sports/index.ssf/2009/10/umass_hockey_team_beats_rpi_5-.\
html

RECORD: 0-1-0 (0-0-0 ECAC)

Reale Deals
1. F Tyler Helfrich, 1 G, 1 A, 5 shots
2. F Jerry D'Amigo, 1 G, 5 shots
3. F Brandon Pirri 1 A, 3 shots

#16 New Hampshire at RPI
Non-Conference Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
10/10/09 - 7:00 pm
RESULT: RPI 3, New Hampshire 1
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/0910/boxes/mrenunh1.o10
USCHO: http://www.uscho.com/box/?date=20091010&vis=unh&home=rpi&gender=m
RECAPS
RPI: http://www.rpiathletics.com/news/2009/10/10/MHOCK_1010090310.aspx
Troy Record:
http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2009/10/10/sports/doc4ad15a3b706da897487450.t\
xt

Albany Times-Union:
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=851744&category=SPORTS
RECORD: 1-1-0 (0-0-0 ECAC)

Reale Deals
1. G Allen York, 37 saves on 38 shots
2. F Chase Polacek, 1 G, 1 A
3. D Bryan Brutlag, 2 A, +2


Upcoming Games
16 Oct - vs. Alaska-Anchorage (Alaska Goal Rush, Fairbanks, AK)
17 Oct - at #17 Alaska
23 Oct - Sacred Heart
24 Oct - American International
30 Oct - at Union

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MEN'S HOCKEY

Rensselaer opened their season with a loss to Massachusetts (5-2), but bounced back with a 3-1 win over #16 New Hampshire. Sophomore goalie Allen York (Wetaskiwin, AB) backstopped the Engineers to the win with 37 saves.

RPI is back on the ice this weekend at the Brice Alaska Goal Rush in Fairbanks. The Engineers battle Alaska-Anchorage on Friday (8:35pm) and take on Alaska on Saturday at 11:35pm. Both games feature live stats at http://www.sidearmstats.com/uaf/mhockey/ and can be seen live on a pay-per-view basis with B2 Networks at http://www.b2livetv.com/. Both games will also be broadcast courtesy of WRPI radio on 91.5 FM or log on to www.wrpi.org and click on sports.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Prince Edward Island (Oct 3)

I have seen the dawning of a new age - and it was at quite possibly the most awesome and intense exhibition game I've ever been at, and I've been at exhibitions at St. Cloud State and Minnesota before. If the students are this raucous for a game that doesn't count... hoo boy.

RPI Lines
D'Amigo/Polacek/Cullen
Angers-Goulet/Pirri/Helfrich
Lee/O'Grady/Watts
Vassel/Malchuk/Smith

Bergin/Kennedy
Brutlag/Burgdoerfer
Foss/Merth

Kerins/Halpern
Zarbo

York

Seth Appert remarked to me, Chris Farrar, and Tim Vanderpoel in August that RPI might have the most knowledgeable student section in the country, and given what I saw last night, I'd have to agree. He cited, for instance, the fact that the Red Army and the band boos loudly whenever Harvard's Chris Huxley touches the puck when the Crimson are in town. Huxley, you may remember, committed to RPI and then bolted when Dan Fridgen resigned. As it turns out, he sucks, so I guess we dodged a bullet - yet our students know this and don't forget. This weekend, the same was true for the students and their knowledge of just how good the freshman class is supposed to be. And they were good. VERY good. As advertised.

The first period was a little rough. Passes were a little sloppy, and shots were mostly muffins at logos. PEI got on the board first after a defensive breakdown midway through the period -- mostly Erik Burgdoerfer - left Allen York out to dry. Then the Panthers took a couple of penalties in a row, and the RPI power play... well, it looked like it has for a couple of years running now. Nothing working at all. PEI led 1-0 after one.

The Panthers would score again early on in the second period to make it 2-0, and the upset stomach started to set in. Although Canadian college teams from the Maritimes are traditionally MUCH better than the ones from Ontario and Quebec, this wasn't supposed to be the way we started watching this freshman class. Was anything going to happen? Was the power play going to show any signs of improvement?

Two more PEI penalties later, and the Engineers were 0 for 4 on the man advantage, and down 2-0. Then, RPI got its 5th power play opportunity of the game when the Panthers' Greg Paynter went for contact-to-the-head roughing. That's when the Age of Pirri began at Houston Field House. And what an amazing start it had.

Tyler Helfrich rode a PEI player off the puck behind the net and shuttled it to Jerry D'Amigo. D'Amigo hit a nice pass off to Pirri, who brought his stick around his back to grab it, tucked it between his own legs to the forehand, and buried it. The fans went wild, and Pirri immediately raced over to the north side of the Field House, offering a big salute to Section 17.

It was still 2-1 heading into the third period. Early in the third, the Engineers finished off their third and final penalty kill of the night - they did well to keep the Panthers off the board on the advantage. Nine minutes into the period, Jordan Watts had a minor tussle with PEI's Connor Cameron which ended with Cameron's gloved hand punching Watts in the back of the net. Both went off, but the Red Army savaged Cameron as I have rarely heard before in Houston Field House - and I've been to almost 20 years of games there.

During the ensuing 4-on-4, the Engineers had a number of good chances early, but the Panthers regained their two-goal lead on a breakout to the other end, which was the only goal that freshman Bryce Merriam allowed on the night after replacing York at the start of the third.

Then the fun began. Mere seconds into their first power play since Pirri's goal, Jerry D'Amigo lit the lamp for his second point of the game, right off a face-off win by Chase Polacek. Under a minute later, the Engineers went back on the power play, and for the third time in as many opportunities, they got a power play goal from a freshman forward as Marty O'Grady tied it up at three, sending the student section into a frenzy. Twice down by two goals, the Engineers had fought back against a tough (and large) PEI team to tie it at three.

The PEI coach was livid at the referees following the O'Grady goal. He wanted a tripping call, and ventured out onto the ice to demand one while the Engineers were celebrating. There was indeed a penalty called, but it was a bench minor on the Panthers. On the ensuing power play, RPI looked close to taking the lead several times, including a shot by C.J. Lee, the last of the four big freshmen forwards without a goal on the evening, but he was robbed by the PEI goaltender, who kept his team in the game all night after a general barrage by the Engineers, who outshot the Panthers 36-29 on the night. RPI also ended at 3-for-8 on the power play, which bodes well for the season if they can keep it up.

The game went into overtime, and PEI dominated the 5 minute period, outshooting RPI 4-0, but they could not beat Merriam, who was solid in his 25 minutes of play. With a minute left, it was announced that there would be a 3-man shoot-out if the OT ended tied, prompting a student to call out "Are you just making this up as you go along?"

Despite being the home team, RPI shot first at the east end of the Field House. Brandon Pirri shot first, and, like Han, hit was he was shooting out, faking the PEI goaltender out of his pads with a head-fake and burying it high before coming around and doing the hockey equivalent of a jersey pop for the student section. You can tell this guy loves playing and is PUMPED to be in Troy.

Merriam responded at the other end with a save, but Chase Polacek could not score and PEI scored on the other end to make it 1-1. Tyler Helfrich then slipped one five-hole to give the Engineers a 2-1 advantage, and then Connor Cameron, the Red Army's favorite Panther, clanged one off the post to give RPI the shootout win.

PEI, in my opinion, was like Cornell on crack. Huge players who gum up the works with clutch and grab garbage tactics, but the Engineers prevailed with their speed, agility, and by taking shots. If they can get the defense into lockdown - Brutlag and Burgdoerfer especially - the Engineers will be in business. This is now a team that can score on any shift.

Kerins, Halpern, and Zarbo saw limited amounts of ice-time as they would not have been playing if not for the fact that it was an exhibition. It was a little curious that we didn't see Josh Rabbani playing, though. If he's healthy, I'd expect to maybe see him on the third line with Lee and O'Grady, or maybe on the 4th line, tomorrow night in Amherst as RPI faces UMass in the first official game of the 2009-10 NCAA men's hockey season. Quinnipiac also faces Ohio State on Thursday, but their faceoff is 5 minutes after RPI/UMass.

Other junk - The preseason USCHO.com poll is out, and everyone's sleeping on the Engineers. Sleeeeeeeeeep. Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeep. SLEEEEEEEEEEP my enemies. Cornell is overrated as usual, leading the ECAC in the poll at 7th. Yale (8) and Princeton (10) are the only other ECAC teams ranked in the top 20. Harvard, St. Lawrence, Clarkson, Union, and even Dartmouth and Quinnipiac all received votes, leaving RPI alone with only Colgate and Brown among ECAC teams that didn't get any votes. Do I think we're better than a lot of those teams? Yes I do. Sleeeeeeeeeep.

Speaking of sleep... RPI was picked 10th out of 12 teams by the ECAC media (ahead of Quinnipiac and Brown) and was tied for 8th in the coaches poll (with Quinnipiac and ahead of Clarkson, St. Lawrence, and Brown). Your intrepid reporter had a vote in the media poll, and picked RPI 6th (though I think they CAN be better), and I'm also aware of another voter in the media poll who had RPI 7th. Given the way the votes shook out, that means there are some in the media who picked the Engineers LAST. That is mind-blowing to me. As bad as they've been, they've never been last, and there's no doubt that this year's team is eons better than last year's. SLEEEEEEEEP. PLEASE think of RPI as being a pushover.

UPEI at RPI
Exhibition Game
10/3/07 - 7:00 pm
RESULT: RPI 3, UPEI 3 (RPI wins SO, 2-1)
BOX SCORES -
College Hockey Stats: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/0910/boxes/mpeiren1.o03
USCHO: http://www.uscho.com/box/?date=20091003&vis=other&home=rpi&gender=m
RECAPS -
RPI: http://www.rpiathletics.com/news/2009/10/3/MHOCK_1003095447.aspx
Troy Record:
http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2009/10/04/sports/doc4ac83113f1a79306396985.t\
xt

RECORD: 0-0-0 (0-0-0 ECAC)

Reale Deals
1. F Jerry D'Amigo, 1 goal, 1 assist, 5 shots
2. F Brandon Pirri, 1 goal, 1 SO goal
3. F Marty O'Grady game-tying goal

Upcoming Games
8 Oct - at UMass
10 Oct - #16 New Hampshire
16 Oct - vs. Alaska-Anchorage (Alaska Goal Rush, Fairbanks, AK)
17 Oct - at Alaska
23 Oct - Sacred Heart

---

MEN'S HOCKEY

Rensselaer scored three power play goals, including two in the third period, for a come-from-behind 3-3 tie and the Engineers won the shootout, 2-1, over Prince Edward Island in an exhibition game on Saturday. Three different freshmen scored for the Engineers, led by a goal and an assist from Jerry D'Amigo (Binghamton, NY).

RPI is back on the ice this week with a pair of games against Hockey East foes. RPI heads to Amherst to take on Massachusetts on Thursday and hosts New Hampshire on Saturday at Houston Field House. Both games begin at 7pm and feature a number of media options.

Live stats for Thursday's game can be found at http://www.umassathletics.com/sports/m-hockey/sched/umas-m-hockey-sched.html. Saturday's game will have live stats at http://www.sidearmstats.com/rpi/mhockey/ and can also be seen live on a pay-per-view basis with B2 Networks at http://www.b2livetv.com/. Both games will be broadcast courtesy of WRPI radio on 91.5 FM or log on to www.wrpi.org and click on sports.