It's back to hockey after the post-Thanksgiving food coma.
At home in Troy, the women take on RIT, the reigning CHA champions. This season for the Tigers... a lot of ups, a lot of downs, a lot of what-have-yous. Cross your fingers here that the Engineers are finally getting over the injury bug.
That's something the men have been doing over the last couple of weeks, and they've persevered pretty well. We're just waiting to see when Lou Nanne and Zach Schroeder get back into the lineup. If it's not this weekend against Michigan, hopefully, it's at least next week against Yale and Brown, games which arguably will go a lot farther in helping RPI succeed this season.
The Engineers have historically held some kind of mystical advantage over the Wolverines. From that epic and immortal takedown in the 1954 national tournament to the win in the 2009 GLI, RPI has an unexpected 7-3-1 all-time record against Michigan. That's pretty nifty. Let's extend it, eh?
It's been a while. Let's go retro this weekend, just for fun (as always, if you have any killer pumpup ideas, feel free to tweet at us). Ann Arbor's likely to be fixated on its hatred of Ohio State this weekend, so let's slip on into Funkytown and slip out with a couple of good results.
Friday, November 28, 2014
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Bull Durham
We've already learned that Luke Curadi is not only back in the lineup, he's dressing as a forward tonight.
This will be interesting.
The Engineers tackle the second of four consecutive non-conference contests tonight on the frozen lake that is the Whittemore Center in New Hampshire.
Most of the team that has been injured or sick are now back - missing only Lou Nanne and Zach Schroeder. With any luck, we'll see them back out on the ice by next Friday, when the ECAC schedule gets underway again.
In the meantime, here's crunk to get you pumped up or something. Another round of shots!
This will be interesting.
The Engineers tackle the second of four consecutive non-conference contests tonight on the frozen lake that is the Whittemore Center in New Hampshire.
Most of the team that has been injured or sick are now back - missing only Lou Nanne and Zach Schroeder. With any luck, we'll see them back out on the ice by next Friday, when the ECAC schedule gets underway again.
In the meantime, here's crunk to get you pumped up or something. Another round of shots!
Friday, November 21, 2014
BOHICA
We got two up close and personal examples of Rule 83.5 this past weekend in Troy. One was an exercise in how to apply it. The other was an exercise in how to royally screw things up in ways only the average ECAC referee can.
This is known around these parts as the "Second Union Rule" or the "National Union Rule," as it was adopted following the Union-Michigan State game in the 2012 national tournament where a goal for the Spartans was waved off because Union's Josh Jooris, apparently intentionally according to the NCAA, lifted the net off its moorings just before the puck went in (the "First Union Rule" or the "ECAC Union Rule" provides for all 12 ECAC teams making the post-season tournament).
The rule was redefined as such in the summer of 2012:
First, there's a defined difference between "may award a goal" and "shall award a goal." The referee is given leeway to award a goal but is not required to when this happens with the goaltender in the net. If it's an empty net, he's required.
This is pretty standard, it allows the referees to use judgment when it pertains to the other elements that we're about to discuss.
In order for the goal to be awarded, three things have to be true. First, the goal has to have been dislodged by the actions of a defending player. This would include a defending player pushing an attacking player into the net - the reverse would be cause for disallowing a goal. Second, the puck must have been already shot, or the shooting player must already be in position to shoot, when the net is dislodged. Third, the puck must be determined to have crossed the line where it would have counted had the net been in the proper position.
Let's examine this first in the Princeton game, where a Princeton goal was disallowed.
With RPI leading 1-0, Princeton's Ryan Siiro took a shot toward the RPI cage from the top of the right faceoff circle that was saved by Jason Kasdorf, the rebound falling just to his right. Princeton's Ben Foster worked it free and came around behind the net to the left side.
Foster beat out Jimmy DeVito to grab the rebound, but Craig Bokenfohr and Phil Hampton skated into the area to try and help out - Bokenfohr into the mix with Foster and DeVito, Hampton into the crease. Princeton freshman Eric Robinson arrived late to the party and ultimately checked Hampton into the cage, knocking it loose.
At this point, Foster had the puck to the left of the cage. He passed it to Siiro, who moved into the slot, and Siiro one-timed it into the cage, which was off both of its moorings at that point.
This goal was rightfully disallowed because the circumstances met only one of the three criteria for it to be upheld. Siiro's shot did go where the net would have been, but it was the actions of an attacking player - Robinson checking Hampton - that dislodged the net, and the shot was not imminent when the net was dislodged - Foster had the puck behind the cage and passed it in front only after the net came loose.
Referee CJ Hanafin got this one right from start to finish. He did the right thing by awarding a goal on the ice, then reviewing the play. Under Rule 83.5, this is not a goal, so he disallowed it. For anyone who might still be on the fence, Princeton head coach Ron Fogarty agreed after the game after reviewing video that the goal should not have been awarded. (We like Hanafin a lot because he's an Engineer. Some of us here were crestfallen when we heard he'd become an ECAC referee, but he seems to be raising the bar. He's done well so far and he's been fair.)
Compare this with the disallowed RPI goal the next night against Quinnipiac.
On the power play and with RPI down 2-1, Mike Prapavessis digs the puck out of the corner to the left of the net. He brings it up and around through the faceoff circle and the slot, waiting for his opportunity to catch QU goaltender Michael Gartieg off balance. He gets it when defenseman Connor Clifton, also trying to defend against Prapavessis, falls to a knee and into Gartieg. Prapavessis takes his shot and rings it off the post, the rebound coming straight back out.
Meanwhile, once Clifton and Gartieg collide, QU forward Matthew Peca, standing at the top of the crease, makes a bee-line for the net, sliding into the right-side post to dislodge the net shortly after Prapavessis' shot rebounded off the post. Drew Melanson, now standing over Clifton, does not move with the puck coming directly back to him, and simply puts the puck into the open but dislodged cage.
The goal was awarded on the ice, and it met all three requirements. First, the cage was dislodged by the actions of Peca, who skated straight into the cage unaided. Second, while the shot by Melanson did not come before the cage was dislodged, the rebound from Prapavessis' shot (which happened and hit the post before the dislodging) was coming straight to him already and he did not have to move to take the shot, which occurred a split-second after the net was dislodged. Third, the puck clearly enters the net in a way that it would have been in had the goal been in the proper place.
And despite all of this, the tying goal was waved off. In a search for justification, there are some very, very thin arguments that can be made. All four were posited by our researchers in an attempt to find something that would rationalize the goal being waved off.
1. Melanson is near Clifton just before the latter takes out his own netminder, but he doesn't appear to do anything that would cause Clifton to go down. He does push through Clifton, who is impeding his progress forward, in the bottom of the slot with his stick on the ice. If he'd shoved Clifton into Gartieg, that could be goaltender interference (which was never suggested anyway), but it doesn't seem to be there.
2. While Peca is moving to the net, Melanson's stick is in his vicinity, but it's tough to make even a cursory argument that Melanson did anything to put Peca into the net. It's possible, even likely that Peca was only trying to get himself in a position to defend Prapavessis' initial shot, but he's honestly lucky that he wasn't called for delay of game.
3. One could try to make the argument that Melanson wasn't yet preparing to take his shot at the moment the puck was dislodged, but the shot, based on the trajectory and speed of the rebound and the fact that Clifton and Gartieg were taken out of the play, was clearly imminent at the time the net was dislodged by any reasonable definition of the word.
4. The last question is whether the whistle had blown, or whether there was "intent to blow." That's rendered fairly irrelevant by the fact that the referee behind the net never came close to blowing the play dead (he had his arms at his sides the whole time), and in fact signaled a goal on the ice.
Ultimately, this is exactly the type of situation that the Second Union Rule was intended to fix, and the referees blew it. Compounding the error, it was called a goal on the ice, and then waved off without clear evidence to support a reversal.
By the way, this was not the first time last weekend that Quinnipiac got away with one on a bad call by the referees that directly impacted the scoreline. The previous night in Schenectady, the Bobcats notched the game winner on a play in which the goal-scorer was offsides.
No coach is going to get overly upset over calls that are blown this badly, because most teams still have other opportunities to rectify the problem themselves. Bad calls are part of the game and referees are human, but you'd think they'd at least get the call right with the opportunity to review the play. It's true that the Engineers had other chances before and after this call to get a goal and they didn't. This goal being disallowed wasn't the reason they lost on Saturday. Who knows if QU then goes down and scores off the ensuing faceoff or something. But there's no team that wouldn't prefer to be in a 2-2 situation than down 2-1, and the missed call changes things for the worse for the team being dealt a raw deal. Union in particular had less than a minute to make up for the bad call that put them behind.
So now the league has a team in first place, half of whose wins were assisted by the men in stripes. Are we happy?
This is known around these parts as the "Second Union Rule" or the "National Union Rule," as it was adopted following the Union-Michigan State game in the 2012 national tournament where a goal for the Spartans was waved off because Union's Josh Jooris, apparently intentionally according to the NCAA, lifted the net off its moorings just before the puck went in (the "First Union Rule" or the "ECAC Union Rule" provides for all 12 ECAC teams making the post-season tournament).
The rule was redefined as such in the summer of 2012:
83.5 Goal Cage Dislodged - In the event that the goal post is displaced, either deliberately or accidentally, by a defending player, prior to the puck crossing the goal line between the normal position of the goalposts, the Referee may award a goal.
In order to award a goal in this situation, the goal post must have been displaced by the actions of a defending player, the puck must have been shot (or the player must be in position to shoot) at the goal prior to the goal post being displaced, and it must be determined that the puck would have entered the net between the normal position of the goal posts.
When the goal post has been displaced deliberately by the defending team when their goalkeeper has been removed for an extra attacker thereby preventing an impending goal by the attacking team, the Referee shall award a goal to the attacking team.
The goal frame is considered to be displaced if either or both goal pegs are no longer in their respective holes in the ice, or the net has come completely off one or both pegs, prior to or as the puck enters the goal. This rule also applies to other types of net anchoring systems.So there are a few elements to examine here.
First, there's a defined difference between "may award a goal" and "shall award a goal." The referee is given leeway to award a goal but is not required to when this happens with the goaltender in the net. If it's an empty net, he's required.
This is pretty standard, it allows the referees to use judgment when it pertains to the other elements that we're about to discuss.
In order for the goal to be awarded, three things have to be true. First, the goal has to have been dislodged by the actions of a defending player. This would include a defending player pushing an attacking player into the net - the reverse would be cause for disallowing a goal. Second, the puck must have been already shot, or the shooting player must already be in position to shoot, when the net is dislodged. Third, the puck must be determined to have crossed the line where it would have counted had the net been in the proper position.
Let's examine this first in the Princeton game, where a Princeton goal was disallowed.
With RPI leading 1-0, Princeton's Ryan Siiro took a shot toward the RPI cage from the top of the right faceoff circle that was saved by Jason Kasdorf, the rebound falling just to his right. Princeton's Ben Foster worked it free and came around behind the net to the left side.
Foster beat out Jimmy DeVito to grab the rebound, but Craig Bokenfohr and Phil Hampton skated into the area to try and help out - Bokenfohr into the mix with Foster and DeVito, Hampton into the crease. Princeton freshman Eric Robinson arrived late to the party and ultimately checked Hampton into the cage, knocking it loose.
At this point, Foster had the puck to the left of the cage. He passed it to Siiro, who moved into the slot, and Siiro one-timed it into the cage, which was off both of its moorings at that point.
This goal was rightfully disallowed because the circumstances met only one of the three criteria for it to be upheld. Siiro's shot did go where the net would have been, but it was the actions of an attacking player - Robinson checking Hampton - that dislodged the net, and the shot was not imminent when the net was dislodged - Foster had the puck behind the cage and passed it in front only after the net came loose.
Referee CJ Hanafin got this one right from start to finish. He did the right thing by awarding a goal on the ice, then reviewing the play. Under Rule 83.5, this is not a goal, so he disallowed it. For anyone who might still be on the fence, Princeton head coach Ron Fogarty agreed after the game after reviewing video that the goal should not have been awarded. (We like Hanafin a lot because he's an Engineer. Some of us here were crestfallen when we heard he'd become an ECAC referee, but he seems to be raising the bar. He's done well so far and he's been fair.)
Compare this with the disallowed RPI goal the next night against Quinnipiac.
On the power play and with RPI down 2-1, Mike Prapavessis digs the puck out of the corner to the left of the net. He brings it up and around through the faceoff circle and the slot, waiting for his opportunity to catch QU goaltender Michael Gartieg off balance. He gets it when defenseman Connor Clifton, also trying to defend against Prapavessis, falls to a knee and into Gartieg. Prapavessis takes his shot and rings it off the post, the rebound coming straight back out.
Meanwhile, once Clifton and Gartieg collide, QU forward Matthew Peca, standing at the top of the crease, makes a bee-line for the net, sliding into the right-side post to dislodge the net shortly after Prapavessis' shot rebounded off the post. Drew Melanson, now standing over Clifton, does not move with the puck coming directly back to him, and simply puts the puck into the open but dislodged cage.
The goal was awarded on the ice, and it met all three requirements. First, the cage was dislodged by the actions of Peca, who skated straight into the cage unaided. Second, while the shot by Melanson did not come before the cage was dislodged, the rebound from Prapavessis' shot (which happened and hit the post before the dislodging) was coming straight to him already and he did not have to move to take the shot, which occurred a split-second after the net was dislodged. Third, the puck clearly enters the net in a way that it would have been in had the goal been in the proper place.
And despite all of this, the tying goal was waved off. In a search for justification, there are some very, very thin arguments that can be made. All four were posited by our researchers in an attempt to find something that would rationalize the goal being waved off.
1. Melanson is near Clifton just before the latter takes out his own netminder, but he doesn't appear to do anything that would cause Clifton to go down. He does push through Clifton, who is impeding his progress forward, in the bottom of the slot with his stick on the ice. If he'd shoved Clifton into Gartieg, that could be goaltender interference (which was never suggested anyway), but it doesn't seem to be there.
2. While Peca is moving to the net, Melanson's stick is in his vicinity, but it's tough to make even a cursory argument that Melanson did anything to put Peca into the net. It's possible, even likely that Peca was only trying to get himself in a position to defend Prapavessis' initial shot, but he's honestly lucky that he wasn't called for delay of game.
3. One could try to make the argument that Melanson wasn't yet preparing to take his shot at the moment the puck was dislodged, but the shot, based on the trajectory and speed of the rebound and the fact that Clifton and Gartieg were taken out of the play, was clearly imminent at the time the net was dislodged by any reasonable definition of the word.
4. The last question is whether the whistle had blown, or whether there was "intent to blow." That's rendered fairly irrelevant by the fact that the referee behind the net never came close to blowing the play dead (he had his arms at his sides the whole time), and in fact signaled a goal on the ice.
Ultimately, this is exactly the type of situation that the Second Union Rule was intended to fix, and the referees blew it. Compounding the error, it was called a goal on the ice, and then waved off without clear evidence to support a reversal.
By the way, this was not the first time last weekend that Quinnipiac got away with one on a bad call by the referees that directly impacted the scoreline. The previous night in Schenectady, the Bobcats notched the game winner on a play in which the goal-scorer was offsides.
It's not possible to tell with 100% surety from this camera angle because of people standing on the Union bench, but unless the 5'7" Travis St. Denis (bottom of the screen) has abnormally sized legs, he's totally offside right before he takes a pass he ends up putting in the net for the winning goal.
So now the league has a team in first place, half of whose wins were assisted by the men in stripes. Are we happy?
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Men's Hockey - Princeton/Quinnipiac, at UConn (14/15, 18 Nov)
Three games in five nights is difficult enough under the best of circumstances. When your team is battling illness and injury, it tends to make things worse, especially when that team is still trying to get into an offensive groove. With all of that as the backdrop, it makes the 1-1-1 record the Engineers put together in that three game stretch pretty easy to accept, especially considering the manner in which the only loss came about. After taking down Princeton 3-1 on Friday night, RPI fell by the same score against Quinnipiac in somewhat controversial fashion, bouncing back with an even more depleted roster on Tuesday night with a 1-1 draw against Hockey East's UConn.
Princeton
Fulton-DeVito-Bourbonnais
Liljegren-Bubela-McGowan
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Laliberte-Schroeder-Wood
Leonard-Prapavessis
Hampton-Bokenfohr
Wilson-Reno
Kasdorf
We got a little more clarity on some of the absences seen the previous week - Chris Bradley has been sidelined with a shoulder injury, Luke Curadi out with a concussion, and added to that list for the ECAC weekend was Matt Neal, who was sick.
The Engineers managed to score the game's first goal for only the second time all season as Mark Miller rocketed a pass from Drew Melanson to the back of the net at 8:45 of the first period to give RPI a 1-0 edge. Three minutes later on the power play, another one-timer from just about the same part of the ice put the Engineers up 2-0 as Jared Wilson blasted a pass by Milos Bubela for his second goal of the season.
Princeton almost halved the RPI lead late in the first period, but the apparent goal was waved off due to the net being disloged by an Engineer checked into the cage by a Princeton player.
RPI carried the 2-0 edge into the third period, pretty much sealing things up with a second goal by Miller midway through the final frame. Like the first two goals, it was an a one-timed shot from near the top of the slot, and this feed came from the stick of Riley Bourbonnais.
The Tigers pulled back within two just under two minutes later with a power play goal by Ben Foster that ended Jason Kasdorf's shutout bid, but Princeton would get no closer. The Engineers managed 35 shots on goal, a big improvement from their outing a week prior against Harvard, and Kasdorf stopped 24 of 25 shots for the victory.
Quinnipiac
Fulton-DeVito-Bourbonnais
Liljegren-Schroeder-McGowan
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Wood-Laliberte-Gillespie
Leonard-Prapavessis
Hampton-Bokenfohr
Wilson-Reno
Kasdorf
Late in the Princeton game, the Engineers lost Milos Bubela to a concussion, leaving the already short-staffed Engineers with just 12 healthy forwards. Freshman Kenny Gillespie was inserted into the lineup, seeing his first collegiate action.
As with Friday night, it was RPI who struck first. A centering pass by Wilson was tapped home by a speeding Lou Nanne for his team-leading fourth goal of the season, putting the Engineers ahead 1-0 just 5:22 into the game.
RPI continued to dominate play in the first period until a tripping call against Craig Bokenfohr put them on the penalty kill. That kill did a pretty decent job, but late in the Bokenfohr penalty, a dicey tripping call against Mike Prapavessis put the Engineers down two men for 18 seconds. That danger zone was killed off without much of a problem either, but then an even dicier call against Parker Reno for high-sticking generated yet another two-man advantage for Quinnipiac, this one 17 seconds long. The Bobcats ultimately cashed in for a goal, but it came 19 seconds after the Reno call, officially coming 5-on-4, but tying the game nonetheless to the great displeasure of the home fans.
A deadlocked and fairly uninteresting second period gave way to a more interesting third period, and the Bobcats took the lead just under six minutes into the third with some sustained pressure in the RPI zone. The Engineers spent a good 90 seconds trapped in their own end, getting the puck out once but not far enough out to change the line that had been stuck out there for some time, and Quinnipiac eventually converted to take a 2-1 lead.
The Engineers did not back down. Despite struggles on the power play all night, they were the beneficiaries of a holding call with just over five minutes left to play. Early in the advantage, Prapavessis dug the puck out of the corner and then skated through the slot, trying to outwait Bobcat goaltender Michael Gartieg. When Gartieg went down, Prapavessis took a shot that rang off the post, and in the immediate interim, Quinnipiac's Michael Peca slid into the net to dislodge it. Immediately after the net was dislodged, Drew Melanson picked up the rebound and put it into the open cage for what should have been his first collegiate goal. Called a goal on the ice, the officials reviewed it and disallowed the goal for reasons that were not made abundantly clear.
The 2-1 lead for Quinnipiac intact, the Engineers pulled Kasdorf from the net late, but gave up an empty-netter to seal the victory for the Bobcats.
All told, RPI played a brave game despite some horrendous officiating practically from start to finish, and despite missing some very key players. They also lost another two important forwards during the game, as Lou Nanne was boarded behind the Quinnipiac net in the third period (no call), leading to him skating off favoring his surgically repaired shoulder, while Zach Schroeder picked up an ankle injury during the night.
UConn
Liljegren-Neal-McGowan
Melanson-Miller-Bourbonnais
Laliberte-DeVito-Wood
Fulton-Bokenfohr-Gillespie
Leonard-Prapavessis
Wilson-Reno
Bell-Hampton
Diebold
Now with only 11 healthy forwards following the loss of Nanne and Schroeder and the return from illness of Matt Neal, Kenny Gillespie was again in the lineup, joined on the fourth line by Craig Bokenfohr. The Engineers dressed literally every healthy skater they had available for their mid-week non-conference road game, and reports got out after the game was over that defenseman Phil Hampton was battling an illness himself despite playing.
After an uneventful first period, UConn got themselves on the board first in the cavernous XL Center (which is almost literally across the street from the RPI Hartford campus) about three minutes into the second period, shortly after the Engineers killed off their second penalty of the game. The Huskies pounced on a turnover in the RPI zone and put it past Diebold to go up 1-0, but it was the only goal the senior would allow on the evening. He eventually stopped 33 of 34 shots that he faced.
RPI pulled back within one late in the period, with Drew Melanson making up for the power play goal he was deprived of three nights earlier, officially notching his first collegiate goal from Neal and Curtis Leonard with just 2 ticks remaining on the clock to make it 1-1.
UConn dominated the third period almost completely, outshooting the Engineers 13-4, but Diebold was rarely tested beyond his capacity. The Huskies came close on a couple of occasions to taking the lead, but were unable to convert on one-timers or put shots wide. To some extent, RPI was lucky to get to the overtime period.
In that overtime period, however, it was all RPI as they poured on the output. They managed 7 shots in the extra five minutes, more shots than they managed in either the first or the third periods, and only two shy of their second period production. However they weren't able to find the winning goal, having to settle for a 1-1 tie, a draw that undoubtedly goes into the book as a "good" tie considering that they scored the game tying goal and fielded a less than ideal lineup.
RPI is off this weekend, but is back in action this coming Tuesday as they travel to play a struggling New Hampshire team in Durham ahead of a trip to Michigan against the equally struggling Wolverines. Most of the injured players are expected to be back in the lineup by the time the team gets to Ann Arbor.
By the way, the #1 team in the nation right now? 10-0-0 Michigan Tech. If anyone ever tells you that RPI's never going to get back to where they once were, they're lying.
Current ECAC Standings
1. Quinnipiac - 8 points (4-0-0)
2. Harvard - 8 points (3-1-2)
3. RPI - 8 points (4-2-0)
4. St. Lawrence - 6 points (3-1-0)
5. Colgate - 5 points (2-1-1)
6. Yale - 5 points (2-1-1)
7. Dartmouth - 5 points (2-3-1)
8. Clarkson - 4 points (1-1-2)
9. Union - 3 points (1-4-1)
10. Princeton - 2 points (1-3-0)
11. Cornell - 2 points (1-3-0)
12. Brown - 0 points (0-4-0)
Princeton at RPI
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/14/14 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 3, Princeton 1
Fulton-DeVito-Bourbonnais
Liljegren-Bubela-McGowan
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Laliberte-Schroeder-Wood
Hampton-Bokenfohr
Wilson-Reno
Kasdorf
We got a little more clarity on some of the absences seen the previous week - Chris Bradley has been sidelined with a shoulder injury, Luke Curadi out with a concussion, and added to that list for the ECAC weekend was Matt Neal, who was sick.
The Engineers managed to score the game's first goal for only the second time all season as Mark Miller rocketed a pass from Drew Melanson to the back of the net at 8:45 of the first period to give RPI a 1-0 edge. Three minutes later on the power play, another one-timer from just about the same part of the ice put the Engineers up 2-0 as Jared Wilson blasted a pass by Milos Bubela for his second goal of the season.
Princeton almost halved the RPI lead late in the first period, but the apparent goal was waved off due to the net being disloged by an Engineer checked into the cage by a Princeton player.
RPI carried the 2-0 edge into the third period, pretty much sealing things up with a second goal by Miller midway through the final frame. Like the first two goals, it was an a one-timed shot from near the top of the slot, and this feed came from the stick of Riley Bourbonnais.
The Tigers pulled back within two just under two minutes later with a power play goal by Ben Foster that ended Jason Kasdorf's shutout bid, but Princeton would get no closer. The Engineers managed 35 shots on goal, a big improvement from their outing a week prior against Harvard, and Kasdorf stopped 24 of 25 shots for the victory.
Quinnipiac
Fulton-DeVito-Bourbonnais
Liljegren-Schroeder-McGowan
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Wood-Laliberte-Gillespie
Leonard-Prapavessis
Hampton-Bokenfohr
Wilson-Reno
Kasdorf
Late in the Princeton game, the Engineers lost Milos Bubela to a concussion, leaving the already short-staffed Engineers with just 12 healthy forwards. Freshman Kenny Gillespie was inserted into the lineup, seeing his first collegiate action.
As with Friday night, it was RPI who struck first. A centering pass by Wilson was tapped home by a speeding Lou Nanne for his team-leading fourth goal of the season, putting the Engineers ahead 1-0 just 5:22 into the game.
RPI continued to dominate play in the first period until a tripping call against Craig Bokenfohr put them on the penalty kill. That kill did a pretty decent job, but late in the Bokenfohr penalty, a dicey tripping call against Mike Prapavessis put the Engineers down two men for 18 seconds. That danger zone was killed off without much of a problem either, but then an even dicier call against Parker Reno for high-sticking generated yet another two-man advantage for Quinnipiac, this one 17 seconds long. The Bobcats ultimately cashed in for a goal, but it came 19 seconds after the Reno call, officially coming 5-on-4, but tying the game nonetheless to the great displeasure of the home fans.
A deadlocked and fairly uninteresting second period gave way to a more interesting third period, and the Bobcats took the lead just under six minutes into the third with some sustained pressure in the RPI zone. The Engineers spent a good 90 seconds trapped in their own end, getting the puck out once but not far enough out to change the line that had been stuck out there for some time, and Quinnipiac eventually converted to take a 2-1 lead.
The Engineers did not back down. Despite struggles on the power play all night, they were the beneficiaries of a holding call with just over five minutes left to play. Early in the advantage, Prapavessis dug the puck out of the corner and then skated through the slot, trying to outwait Bobcat goaltender Michael Gartieg. When Gartieg went down, Prapavessis took a shot that rang off the post, and in the immediate interim, Quinnipiac's Michael Peca slid into the net to dislodge it. Immediately after the net was dislodged, Drew Melanson picked up the rebound and put it into the open cage for what should have been his first collegiate goal. Called a goal on the ice, the officials reviewed it and disallowed the goal for reasons that were not made abundantly clear.
The 2-1 lead for Quinnipiac intact, the Engineers pulled Kasdorf from the net late, but gave up an empty-netter to seal the victory for the Bobcats.
All told, RPI played a brave game despite some horrendous officiating practically from start to finish, and despite missing some very key players. They also lost another two important forwards during the game, as Lou Nanne was boarded behind the Quinnipiac net in the third period (no call), leading to him skating off favoring his surgically repaired shoulder, while Zach Schroeder picked up an ankle injury during the night.
UConn
Liljegren-Neal-McGowan
Melanson-Miller-Bourbonnais
Laliberte-DeVito-Wood
Fulton-Bokenfohr-Gillespie
Leonard-Prapavessis
Wilson-Reno
Bell-Hampton
Diebold
Now with only 11 healthy forwards following the loss of Nanne and Schroeder and the return from illness of Matt Neal, Kenny Gillespie was again in the lineup, joined on the fourth line by Craig Bokenfohr. The Engineers dressed literally every healthy skater they had available for their mid-week non-conference road game, and reports got out after the game was over that defenseman Phil Hampton was battling an illness himself despite playing.
After an uneventful first period, UConn got themselves on the board first in the cavernous XL Center (which is almost literally across the street from the RPI Hartford campus) about three minutes into the second period, shortly after the Engineers killed off their second penalty of the game. The Huskies pounced on a turnover in the RPI zone and put it past Diebold to go up 1-0, but it was the only goal the senior would allow on the evening. He eventually stopped 33 of 34 shots that he faced.
RPI pulled back within one late in the period, with Drew Melanson making up for the power play goal he was deprived of three nights earlier, officially notching his first collegiate goal from Neal and Curtis Leonard with just 2 ticks remaining on the clock to make it 1-1.
UConn dominated the third period almost completely, outshooting the Engineers 13-4, but Diebold was rarely tested beyond his capacity. The Huskies came close on a couple of occasions to taking the lead, but were unable to convert on one-timers or put shots wide. To some extent, RPI was lucky to get to the overtime period.
In that overtime period, however, it was all RPI as they poured on the output. They managed 7 shots in the extra five minutes, more shots than they managed in either the first or the third periods, and only two shy of their second period production. However they weren't able to find the winning goal, having to settle for a 1-1 tie, a draw that undoubtedly goes into the book as a "good" tie considering that they scored the game tying goal and fielded a less than ideal lineup.
RPI is off this weekend, but is back in action this coming Tuesday as they travel to play a struggling New Hampshire team in Durham ahead of a trip to Michigan against the equally struggling Wolverines. Most of the injured players are expected to be back in the lineup by the time the team gets to Ann Arbor.
By the way, the #1 team in the nation right now? 10-0-0 Michigan Tech. If anyone ever tells you that RPI's never going to get back to where they once were, they're lying.
Current ECAC Standings
1. Quinnipiac - 8 points (4-0-0)
2. Harvard - 8 points (3-1-2)
3. RPI - 8 points (4-2-0)
4. St. Lawrence - 6 points (3-1-0)
5. Colgate - 5 points (2-1-1)
6. Yale - 5 points (2-1-1)
7. Dartmouth - 5 points (2-3-1)
8. Clarkson - 4 points (1-1-2)
9. Union - 3 points (1-4-1)
10. Princeton - 2 points (1-3-0)
11. Cornell - 2 points (1-3-0)
12. Brown - 0 points (0-4-0)
Princeton at RPI
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/14/14 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 3, Princeton 1
RECORD: 5-6-0 (4-1-0, 8pts)
#20 Quinnipiac at RPI
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/15/14 - 7:00pm
RESULT: Quinnipiac 3, RPI 1
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/15/14 - 7:00pm
RESULT: Quinnipiac 3, RPI 1
RECORD: 5-7-0 (4-2-0, 8pts)
RPI at UConn
Non-conference Game - XL Center (Hartford, CT)
11/18/14 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 1, UConn 1 (OT)
Non-conference Game - XL Center (Hartford, CT)
11/18/14 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 1, UConn 1 (OT)
RECORD: 5-7-1 (4-2-0, 8pts)
Upcoming games
25 Nov - at New Hampshire
28 Nov - at Michigan
29 Nov - at Michigan
05 Dec - at Yale
06 Dec - at Brown
25 Nov - at New Hampshire
28 Nov - at Michigan
29 Nov - at Michigan
05 Dec - at Yale
06 Dec - at Brown
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Women's Hockey - at Quinnipiac & Princeton (14/15 Nov)
RPI continued looking for their first league win in a set at Quinnipiac and Princeton this weekend. Quinnipiac ran their unbeaten streak to 9 straight with a 6-1 thrashing of the Engineers on Friday, then RPI rallied late but came up short in overtime Saturday in a 2-1 loss to Princeton.
Quinnipiac
Horwood/Tomlinson/Svoboda
Rooney/Wash/Mankey
Mahoney/Gruschow/Renn
Walsh/Raspa/Hylwa
Kimmerle/Schilter
Middlebrook/Behounek
Godin/Banks
Piper
Quinnipiac has been on a roll to start the season and the train showed no signs of letting up as it rolled over RPI 6-1 on Friday night. Erica Uden Johansson had a goal and two assists while Nicole Connery scored two more for the Bobcats.
Nicole Kosta struck first for Quinnipiac, capitalizing on a sustained period of pressure in the RPI end and winning a puck battle in the corner before carrying the puck into the slot and firing it past Brianna Piper.
Uden Johanssen scored at 11:07 of the second, making the most of a 2-on-1 opportunity to double the Bobcats' lead.
Shiann Darkangelo added a power play tally late in the second, parking in the slot, taking a feed from the point and turning to put it home before the penalty killers could react.
Connery scored her two goals about six minutes apart early in the third period. The first was a quick redirection on a pass toward the crease, the second coming on a quick break back into the zone after RPI was unable to get the puck down ice.
Laura Horwood broke the Bobcats' shutout bid at 16:15 of the third, crashing the crease the put the puck past Chelsea Laden to cut the lead to 5-1.
Taryn Baumgardt put a cap on the evening for the hosts, scoring at 17:13 to make it a 6-1 lead which would hold up as the final score. The Engineers were outshot 32-13 on the night, including 12-3 in the first and 8-1 in the second.
Princeton
Horwood/Tomlinson/Svoboda
Rooney/Wash/Renn
Mahoney/Gruschow/Raspa
Walsh/Mankey/Hylwa
Kimmerle/Schilter
Middlebrook/Behounek
Godin/Banks
O'Brien
After taking a drubbing on Friday night, RPI looked for redemption against Princeton on Saturday and came close, but eventually fell short in a 2-1 overtime loss.
The Engineers rallied in the third period to erase a 1-0 Princeton lead, with Horwood scoring her second of the weekend, but Cristin Shanahan's tally at 2:18 of overtime would give the Tigers the win.
Morgan Sly also scored for Princeton, her 2-on-1 goal giving the Tigers the 1-0 lead midway through the second period.
While Saturday's effort was much better for the Engineers, they now find themselves in an 0-4 hole to start conference play, and have now lost six in a row.
After a week of rest which may prove helpful in getting some players rested and healed from injuries, RPI will host RIT for a nonconference series on Thanksgiving weekend, launching a stretch of nine straight home games which will last into January.
-----
RPI at Quinnipiac
ECAC Hockey Game - TD Bank Sports Center (Hamden, CT)
11/14/14 - 7:00pm
QU 6, RPI 1
BOX SCORES:
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1415/boxes/wquiren1.n14
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?path=whock&id=4434
RECAPS:
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/news/2014/11/14/WICE_1114144912.aspx
QU: http://quinnipiacbobcats.com/sports/wice/2014-15/releases/201411148u9pws
Complete Game Video: http://quinnipiacbobcats.com/QU_Women-s_Ice_Hockey_Video_vs._Rensselaer
RECORD: 1-9-2 (0-3-0 ECAC)
-----
RPI at Princeton
ECAC Hockey Game - Baker Rink (Princeton, NJ)
11/15/14 - 4:00pm
Princeton 2, RPI 1 (OT)
BOX SCORES:
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1415/boxes/wprnren1.n15
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?path=whock&id=4435
RECAPS:
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/news/2014/11/16/WICE_1116142846.aspx
Princeton: http://www.goprincetontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=209767549
Video Highlights: http://ecachockey.com/women/video/2014-15/20141115_Princeton_WH
RECORD: 1-10-2 (0-4-0 ECAC)
-----
Upcoming Schedule
Nov. 28 - RIT (7pm)
Nov. 29 - RIT (4pm)
Dec. 5 - Brown (7pm)
Dec. 6 - Yale (4pm)
Quinnipiac
Horwood/Tomlinson/Svoboda
Rooney/Wash/Mankey
Mahoney/Gruschow/Renn
Walsh/Raspa/Hylwa
Kimmerle/Schilter
Middlebrook/Behounek
Godin/Banks
Piper
Quinnipiac has been on a roll to start the season and the train showed no signs of letting up as it rolled over RPI 6-1 on Friday night. Erica Uden Johansson had a goal and two assists while Nicole Connery scored two more for the Bobcats.
Nicole Kosta struck first for Quinnipiac, capitalizing on a sustained period of pressure in the RPI end and winning a puck battle in the corner before carrying the puck into the slot and firing it past Brianna Piper.
Uden Johanssen scored at 11:07 of the second, making the most of a 2-on-1 opportunity to double the Bobcats' lead.
Shiann Darkangelo added a power play tally late in the second, parking in the slot, taking a feed from the point and turning to put it home before the penalty killers could react.
Connery scored her two goals about six minutes apart early in the third period. The first was a quick redirection on a pass toward the crease, the second coming on a quick break back into the zone after RPI was unable to get the puck down ice.
Laura Horwood broke the Bobcats' shutout bid at 16:15 of the third, crashing the crease the put the puck past Chelsea Laden to cut the lead to 5-1.
Taryn Baumgardt put a cap on the evening for the hosts, scoring at 17:13 to make it a 6-1 lead which would hold up as the final score. The Engineers were outshot 32-13 on the night, including 12-3 in the first and 8-1 in the second.
Princeton
Horwood/Tomlinson/Svoboda
Rooney/Wash/Renn
Mahoney/Gruschow/Raspa
Walsh/Mankey/Hylwa
Kimmerle/Schilter
Middlebrook/Behounek
Godin/Banks
O'Brien
After taking a drubbing on Friday night, RPI looked for redemption against Princeton on Saturday and came close, but eventually fell short in a 2-1 overtime loss.
The Engineers rallied in the third period to erase a 1-0 Princeton lead, with Horwood scoring her second of the weekend, but Cristin Shanahan's tally at 2:18 of overtime would give the Tigers the win.
Morgan Sly also scored for Princeton, her 2-on-1 goal giving the Tigers the 1-0 lead midway through the second period.
While Saturday's effort was much better for the Engineers, they now find themselves in an 0-4 hole to start conference play, and have now lost six in a row.
After a week of rest which may prove helpful in getting some players rested and healed from injuries, RPI will host RIT for a nonconference series on Thanksgiving weekend, launching a stretch of nine straight home games which will last into January.
-----
RPI at Quinnipiac
ECAC Hockey Game - TD Bank Sports Center (Hamden, CT)
11/14/14 - 7:00pm
QU 6, RPI 1
BOX SCORES:
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1415/boxes/wquiren1.n14
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?path=whock&id=4434
RECAPS:
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/news/2014/11/14/WICE_1114144912.aspx
QU: http://quinnipiacbobcats.com/sports/wice/2014-15/releases/201411148u9pws
Complete Game Video: http://quinnipiacbobcats.com/QU_Women-s_Ice_Hockey_Video_vs._Rensselaer
RECORD: 1-9-2 (0-3-0 ECAC)
-----
RPI at Princeton
ECAC Hockey Game - Baker Rink (Princeton, NJ)
11/15/14 - 4:00pm
Princeton 2, RPI 1 (OT)
BOX SCORES:
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1415/boxes/wprnren1.n15
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?path=whock&id=4435
RECAPS:
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/news/2014/11/16/WICE_1116142846.aspx
Princeton: http://www.goprincetontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=209767549
Video Highlights: http://ecachockey.com/women/video/2014-15/20141115_Princeton_WH
RECORD: 1-10-2 (0-4-0 ECAC)
-----
Upcoming Schedule
Nov. 28 - RIT (7pm)
Nov. 29 - RIT (4pm)
Dec. 5 - Brown (7pm)
Dec. 6 - Yale (4pm)
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Next Man Up
It's the first of two consecutive Tuesday matchups for the Engineers, and if you're healthy, you're probably playing tonight.
Lou Nanne (shoulder) is out tonight, but should thankfully be back next week. Also missing tonight will be Chris Bradley (shoulder), Luke Curadi (concussion), and Milos Bubela (concussion). Zach Schroeder (ankle) is questionable.
With the dressing room resembling a MASH unit, perhaps now's the best time to get back into non-conference games. Tonight, RPI faces off in Hartford (home of an RPI campus!) against UConn, a team that beat Boston College, tied Boston University, and lost to Sacred Heart. If that makes sense to you, we have a number of questions about life to ask you.
So... with so many players out of the lineup... who's going to be the man?
Lou Nanne (shoulder) is out tonight, but should thankfully be back next week. Also missing tonight will be Chris Bradley (shoulder), Luke Curadi (concussion), and Milos Bubela (concussion). Zach Schroeder (ankle) is questionable.
With the dressing room resembling a MASH unit, perhaps now's the best time to get back into non-conference games. Tonight, RPI faces off in Hartford (home of an RPI campus!) against UConn, a team that beat Boston College, tied Boston University, and lost to Sacred Heart. If that makes sense to you, we have a number of questions about life to ask you.
So... with so many players out of the lineup... who's going to be the man?
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Suddenly, A Newfound Respect For Mike Schafer
"You wonder why the guys were pissed at the end at center ice. It's not the kids. They take the lead from us, so yeah, I contributed to it because I'm pissed off at their coach at the end of the game for being such an a**hole." - Mike Schafer, November 8, 2014, after a 1-0 loss at Quinnipiac.
Friday, November 14, 2014
Put On the Red Light
Eight shots.
That's how many the Engineers put up on St. Cloud State last weekend in getting shutout for the second time this season. Harry Doyle from Major League comes to mind.
Didn't catch Perry Laskaris' broadcast on WRPI on Saturday, so let's just assume he said something along these lines. According to the research WaP reader Zachary Gannam (who hooked us up with knowledge on teh Twittars), it's the lowest shot total in RPI's Division I history.
Eight shots will be unlikely to get the job done tonight against a team that's allowed a whopping three goals in eight games played this season - #5 Quinnipiac. Tomorrow, they're up against Princeton, a team that doesn't quite have the defensive capabilities of the Bobcats, but they're scoring goals at a pretty hefty pace. Quinnipiac hasn't lost since falling to Clarkson back in March (8 games in a row), Princeton hasn't fallen since dropping a 2-1 decision to Penn State in their first game of the year (5 games in a row). This isn't shaping up to be a stellar weekend for the ladies, to say the least, not unless something drastic happens.
For the men, we've talked about how they're in a precarious first-place position. Now's the time to solidify that. Princeton has been giving up shots like The Ruck was on fire. Their team GAA is 3.50, AKA that's awful. Granted, it's a pretty small sample size of four, but this is what we expected from the Tigers this season. Might be perfect for the offensive issues RPI's become well known for lately.
Quinnipiac might be a different story tomorrow. Keeping the puck out of the net is an all-gender thing in Hamden, apparently. They kicked off their ECAC season last weekend with back-to-back shutouts of Colgate (a team of goal scorers) and Cornell (a team of no goal scorers). Before that, they were pretty sieve-tastic, so you never know. Bottom line, as mentioned in this space yesterday, four crucial home points for the Engineers this weekend.
No, this isn't The Police. You thought it was going to be The Police, didn't you? It's not.
Try this on instead. It's dubstep, so it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea. This is either going to pump you up or wreck your ears. It's fun, and although it's instrumental, the title basically tells you all you need to know for this weekend's metric for success. Heck, flip the ice, and you can use the artist AND the title. See, we just reduced hockey to it's most simple form. Score goals. Don't let the other team score goals. Keep it simple, Tute.
That's how many the Engineers put up on St. Cloud State last weekend in getting shutout for the second time this season. Harry Doyle from Major League comes to mind.
Didn't catch Perry Laskaris' broadcast on WRPI on Saturday, so let's just assume he said something along these lines. According to the research WaP reader Zachary Gannam (who hooked us up with knowledge on teh Twittars), it's the lowest shot total in RPI's Division I history.
Eight shots will be unlikely to get the job done tonight against a team that's allowed a whopping three goals in eight games played this season - #5 Quinnipiac. Tomorrow, they're up against Princeton, a team that doesn't quite have the defensive capabilities of the Bobcats, but they're scoring goals at a pretty hefty pace. Quinnipiac hasn't lost since falling to Clarkson back in March (8 games in a row), Princeton hasn't fallen since dropping a 2-1 decision to Penn State in their first game of the year (5 games in a row). This isn't shaping up to be a stellar weekend for the ladies, to say the least, not unless something drastic happens.
For the men, we've talked about how they're in a precarious first-place position. Now's the time to solidify that. Princeton has been giving up shots like The Ruck was on fire. Their team GAA is 3.50, AKA that's awful. Granted, it's a pretty small sample size of four, but this is what we expected from the Tigers this season. Might be perfect for the offensive issues RPI's become well known for lately.
Quinnipiac might be a different story tomorrow. Keeping the puck out of the net is an all-gender thing in Hamden, apparently. They kicked off their ECAC season last weekend with back-to-back shutouts of Colgate (a team of goal scorers) and Cornell (a team of no goal scorers). Before that, they were pretty sieve-tastic, so you never know. Bottom line, as mentioned in this space yesterday, four crucial home points for the Engineers this weekend.
No, this isn't The Police. You thought it was going to be The Police, didn't you? It's not.
Try this on instead. It's dubstep, so it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea. This is either going to pump you up or wreck your ears. It's fun, and although it's instrumental, the title basically tells you all you need to know for this weekend's metric for success. Heck, flip the ice, and you can use the artist AND the title. See, we just reduced hockey to it's most simple form. Score goals. Don't let the other team score goals. Keep it simple, Tute.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
This Is Still A Thing
Soak it in. We posted the ECAC standings about two weeks ago after RPI beat Union in the first (and to that point, only) league game of the season, therefore starting off the season in first place.
Oddly enough, three games later, there they remain. Enjoy.
There are some super important caveats to mention with this, however.
1) Every team with the exception of Union has at least one game in hand against the Engineers, and all of those but Dartmouth and Harvard have two games in hand.
2) By winning percentage, a more accurate indicator when the total number of games played is skewed, the Engineers are only in a tie for third with Clarkson.
3) As awesome as it is to be 3-1-0 to start the league schedule, RPI has walked a razor's edge to get there - they were 3:49 away from an outright loss at Union and 18.2 seconds away from heading to overtime against Dartmouth. That 3-1-0 record could have easily been 1-3-0 or 1-2-1 for the breathing room they've been leaving themselves.
4) All of their league games have been more or less at home so far. Three home games against one road game, and the one road game was a single road, Route 7. After this coming weekend, RPI is left with just six more ECAC games in Troy, against 10 on the road, all of them farther away than their last one. The Princeton-Quinnipiac games this weekend marks the final league games at home until the middle of January, and fully 2/3 of the remaining league schedule in Troy comes in the final three weeks of the regular season.
5) It's the middle of November.
But, at least it's nice, even this early, to know that RPI controls its own destiny for first place. The only other teams that can make that claim right now are Quinnipiac, St. Lawrence, and Clarkson.
That's what makes this coming weekend's home series that much more important. Regardless of how they got there or the games other teams have in hand, the fact remains that they're in the catbird seat. There's a golden opportunity on Friday and Saturday to stay there for the time being.
Let's see how far this string runs.
Oddly enough, three games later, there they remain. Enjoy.
There are some super important caveats to mention with this, however.
1) Every team with the exception of Union has at least one game in hand against the Engineers, and all of those but Dartmouth and Harvard have two games in hand.
2) By winning percentage, a more accurate indicator when the total number of games played is skewed, the Engineers are only in a tie for third with Clarkson.
3) As awesome as it is to be 3-1-0 to start the league schedule, RPI has walked a razor's edge to get there - they were 3:49 away from an outright loss at Union and 18.2 seconds away from heading to overtime against Dartmouth. That 3-1-0 record could have easily been 1-3-0 or 1-2-1 for the breathing room they've been leaving themselves.
4) All of their league games have been more or less at home so far. Three home games against one road game, and the one road game was a single road, Route 7. After this coming weekend, RPI is left with just six more ECAC games in Troy, against 10 on the road, all of them farther away than their last one. The Princeton-Quinnipiac games this weekend marks the final league games at home until the middle of January, and fully 2/3 of the remaining league schedule in Troy comes in the final three weeks of the regular season.
5) It's the middle of November.
But, at least it's nice, even this early, to know that RPI controls its own destiny for first place. The only other teams that can make that claim right now are Quinnipiac, St. Lawrence, and Clarkson.
That's what makes this coming weekend's home series that much more important. Regardless of how they got there or the games other teams have in hand, the fact remains that they're in the catbird seat. There's a golden opportunity on Friday and Saturday to stay there for the time being.
Let's see how far this string runs.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Men's Hockey - Harvard/Dartmouth (7/8 Nov)
RPI's roller-coaster season and offensive fright-fest continued over the weekend by rolling all of the major trends of up-and-down play and struggles in scoring into 120 minutes of a single ECAC travel-partner pairing at home. The Engineers came back down from their sweep of Union by falling to a strong-looking Harvard squad 4-0, coming back the next night to top Dartmouth 2-1 in a game they trailed most of the way and won practically at the death.
Harvard
Fulton-Neal-Bourbonnais
Laliberte-Schroeder-DeVito
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Liljegren-Bubela-McGowan
Leonard-Prapavessis
Bell-Wilson
Curadi-Bokenfohr
Kasdorf
After the sweep of Union, minimal lineup changes were in order - Chris Bradley ultimately sat out the entire weekend (the circumstances make it seem likely to have been an injury, but that's not confirmed), and Bradley Bell took his place against the Crimson.
The Engineers provided Harvard with their first shutout of the season last year, and they managed it again this season, managing a meager 14 shots on goal in the entire game against the Crimson. Harvard likely blocked even more shots than RPI got through to netminder Steve Michalek, but ultimately the Crimson senior only needed to be sharp in a very limited number of chances for the Engineers.
Meanwhile, Harvard juniors Jimmy Vesey and Brian Hart stepped up big time to power the Harvard victory. Vesey scored a pair of goals on the power play, the first coming late in the first period to give the Crimson a 1-0 lead, and the second coming 14 minutes into the second period to put Harvard up 3-0. Both goals were scored with ruthless efficiency on the power play, a far cry from the desperately poor man advantage that the Crimson put up in Troy a couple of years back. Vesey proved dangerous the entire game, creating opportunities seemingly out of nowhere, and generating excellent chances practically every time he was left alone.
Hart's goal was particularly strong. After a failed back pass by the Engineers went the length of the ice into the RPI zone, Hart pounced on it and set up behind the RPI net. With Kasdorf looking to seal up the right side of the net, Craig Bokenfohr tried to handle the left, and Hart managed to fake both out with a solid deke move, then simply wrapped the puck around the left side of the net and dumped it in on the backhand to make the score 2-0.
Harvard picked up an even strength goal a minute into the third period to seal the 4-0 win. RPI rarely looked likely to break onto the scoresheet, managing just five shots in the last 20 minutes even after Harvard's offensive output had eased. Jason Kasdorf was really only beaten on Hart's goal and had a fairly decent outing despite the four-goal night for the opposition, stopping 23 of 27 shots and honestly doing his usual job of keeping the scoreline from being worse with some key stops against a Harvard team that had all the answers it needed on offense.
Dartmouth
Liljegren-Bubela-McGowan
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Fulton-Neal-Bourbonnais
Laliberte-Schroeder-Wood
Leonard-Prapavessis
Hampton-Bokenfohr
Wilson-Reno
Kasdorf
Luke Curadi was probably the biggest and most unexpected scratch on Saturday night, his status is unknown. The Engineers also removed Jimmy DeVito and Bradley Bell, replacing the trio with Parker Reno, Jake Wood, and Phil Hampton. Otherwise, the Engineers' offensive lines were almost completely untouched despite the previous night's power outage, as all four lines have shown some good signs of synergy even though they haven't always produced on a given night.
The Saturday game against the Big Green seemingly played out almost exactly the way the previous Saturday's game at Union did. Just as in Schenectady, the Engineers fell behind 1-0 after 14 minutes, this time allowing a power play goal to Dartmouth's Jesse Beamish.
From there, the 1-0 lead for Dartmouth held up for much of the remainder of the game, throughout the rest of the first period and the entire second period. And, as at Union, the Engineers got themselves off of a scoring drought in the third, although it would come far earlier this time. Milos Bubela finally got his first goal of the season with assists to Viktor Liljegren and Craig Bokenfohr 4:43 into the third to tie the game at one.
At Union, the Engineers needed overtime to pick up the late win, but this time around, with the game tied for much more of the final period, they got the job done in regulation instead. With just 18.2 seconds remaining before overtime, Zach Schroeder managed to get himself onto the scoring sheet with his first of the year, cashing in on a rebound generated by a golden opportunity from Lou Nanne for his biggest single tally in quite some time, powering a 2-1 victory for the Engineers right at the death.
The goal salvaged a weekend split for an RPI team that didn't look like a team that swept the defending national champions a week prior, and couldn't manage to score a goal in the weekend's first five periods, a drought of 104:43 which certainly isn't close to the longest goal drought of the season for a team that has struggled to score goals and hasn't always had the most iron-clad defense at times. Despite it all, the Engineers remain in first place all by themselves in the ECAC with six points, although all other teams save Union have games in hand on RPI. By winning percentage, RPI trails 2-0-0 SLU and Quinnipiac, but they remain in a good position going forward. No doubt most of the league would trade places with them on the table in a heartbeat.
RPI's key early season ECAC schedule continues next weekend as they wrap up their longest homestand of the season by hosting Princeton and Quinnipiac. By the end of the next weekend, they'll be six games into the ECAC schedule, five of which will have been at home. The remainder of the Engineers' league games afterwards will consist of 10 road games and 6 home games, a deep split that underscores the need for points this upcoming weekend as RPI seeks to remain in first place early on.
Current ECAC Standings
1. RPI - 6 points (3-1-0)
2. St. Lawrence - 4 points (2-0-0)
3. Quinnipiac - 4 points (2-0-0)
4. Harvard - 4 points (1-0-2)
5. Clarkson - 3 points (1-0-1)
6. Dartmouth - 3 points (1-1-1)
7. Colgate - 2 points (1-1-0)
8. Princeton - 2 points (1-1-0)
9. Yale - 1 point (0-1-1)
10. Union - 1 point (0-3-1)
11. Cornell - 0 points (0-2-0)
12. Brown - 0 points (0-2-0)
Harvard at RPI
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/7/14 - 7:00pm
RESULT: Harvard 4, RPI 0
Fulton-Neal-Bourbonnais
Laliberte-Schroeder-DeVito
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Liljegren-Bubela-McGowan
Leonard-Prapavessis
Bell-Wilson
Curadi-Bokenfohr
Kasdorf
After the sweep of Union, minimal lineup changes were in order - Chris Bradley ultimately sat out the entire weekend (the circumstances make it seem likely to have been an injury, but that's not confirmed), and Bradley Bell took his place against the Crimson.
The Engineers provided Harvard with their first shutout of the season last year, and they managed it again this season, managing a meager 14 shots on goal in the entire game against the Crimson. Harvard likely blocked even more shots than RPI got through to netminder Steve Michalek, but ultimately the Crimson senior only needed to be sharp in a very limited number of chances for the Engineers.
Meanwhile, Harvard juniors Jimmy Vesey and Brian Hart stepped up big time to power the Harvard victory. Vesey scored a pair of goals on the power play, the first coming late in the first period to give the Crimson a 1-0 lead, and the second coming 14 minutes into the second period to put Harvard up 3-0. Both goals were scored with ruthless efficiency on the power play, a far cry from the desperately poor man advantage that the Crimson put up in Troy a couple of years back. Vesey proved dangerous the entire game, creating opportunities seemingly out of nowhere, and generating excellent chances practically every time he was left alone.
Hart's goal was particularly strong. After a failed back pass by the Engineers went the length of the ice into the RPI zone, Hart pounced on it and set up behind the RPI net. With Kasdorf looking to seal up the right side of the net, Craig Bokenfohr tried to handle the left, and Hart managed to fake both out with a solid deke move, then simply wrapped the puck around the left side of the net and dumped it in on the backhand to make the score 2-0.
Harvard picked up an even strength goal a minute into the third period to seal the 4-0 win. RPI rarely looked likely to break onto the scoresheet, managing just five shots in the last 20 minutes even after Harvard's offensive output had eased. Jason Kasdorf was really only beaten on Hart's goal and had a fairly decent outing despite the four-goal night for the opposition, stopping 23 of 27 shots and honestly doing his usual job of keeping the scoreline from being worse with some key stops against a Harvard team that had all the answers it needed on offense.
Dartmouth
Liljegren-Bubela-McGowan
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Fulton-Neal-Bourbonnais
Laliberte-Schroeder-Wood
Leonard-Prapavessis
Hampton-Bokenfohr
Wilson-Reno
Kasdorf
Luke Curadi was probably the biggest and most unexpected scratch on Saturday night, his status is unknown. The Engineers also removed Jimmy DeVito and Bradley Bell, replacing the trio with Parker Reno, Jake Wood, and Phil Hampton. Otherwise, the Engineers' offensive lines were almost completely untouched despite the previous night's power outage, as all four lines have shown some good signs of synergy even though they haven't always produced on a given night.
The Saturday game against the Big Green seemingly played out almost exactly the way the previous Saturday's game at Union did. Just as in Schenectady, the Engineers fell behind 1-0 after 14 minutes, this time allowing a power play goal to Dartmouth's Jesse Beamish.
From there, the 1-0 lead for Dartmouth held up for much of the remainder of the game, throughout the rest of the first period and the entire second period. And, as at Union, the Engineers got themselves off of a scoring drought in the third, although it would come far earlier this time. Milos Bubela finally got his first goal of the season with assists to Viktor Liljegren and Craig Bokenfohr 4:43 into the third to tie the game at one.
At Union, the Engineers needed overtime to pick up the late win, but this time around, with the game tied for much more of the final period, they got the job done in regulation instead. With just 18.2 seconds remaining before overtime, Zach Schroeder managed to get himself onto the scoring sheet with his first of the year, cashing in on a rebound generated by a golden opportunity from Lou Nanne for his biggest single tally in quite some time, powering a 2-1 victory for the Engineers right at the death.
The goal salvaged a weekend split for an RPI team that didn't look like a team that swept the defending national champions a week prior, and couldn't manage to score a goal in the weekend's first five periods, a drought of 104:43 which certainly isn't close to the longest goal drought of the season for a team that has struggled to score goals and hasn't always had the most iron-clad defense at times. Despite it all, the Engineers remain in first place all by themselves in the ECAC with six points, although all other teams save Union have games in hand on RPI. By winning percentage, RPI trails 2-0-0 SLU and Quinnipiac, but they remain in a good position going forward. No doubt most of the league would trade places with them on the table in a heartbeat.
RPI's key early season ECAC schedule continues next weekend as they wrap up their longest homestand of the season by hosting Princeton and Quinnipiac. By the end of the next weekend, they'll be six games into the ECAC schedule, five of which will have been at home. The remainder of the Engineers' league games afterwards will consist of 10 road games and 6 home games, a deep split that underscores the need for points this upcoming weekend as RPI seeks to remain in first place early on.
Current ECAC Standings
1. RPI - 6 points (3-1-0)
2. St. Lawrence - 4 points (2-0-0)
3. Quinnipiac - 4 points (2-0-0)
4. Harvard - 4 points (1-0-2)
5. Clarkson - 3 points (1-0-1)
6. Dartmouth - 3 points (1-1-1)
7. Colgate - 2 points (1-1-0)
8. Princeton - 2 points (1-1-0)
9. Yale - 1 point (0-1-1)
10. Union - 1 point (0-3-1)
11. Cornell - 0 points (0-2-0)
12. Brown - 0 points (0-2-0)
Harvard at RPI
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/7/14 - 7:00pm
RESULT: Harvard 4, RPI 0
RECORD: 3-6-0 (2-1-0, 4pts)
Dartmouth at RPI
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/8/14 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 2, Dartmouth 1
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/8/14 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 2, Dartmouth 1
RECORD: 4-6-0 (3-1-0, 6pts)
Upcoming games
14 Nov - Princeton
15 Nov - #20 Quinnipiac
18 Nov - at UConn
25 Nov - at New Hampshire
28 Nov - at Michigan
14 Nov - Princeton
15 Nov - #20 Quinnipiac
18 Nov - at UConn
25 Nov - at New Hampshire
28 Nov - at Michigan
Monday, November 10, 2014
Women's Hockey - St. Cloud State (7/8 Nov)
A quick return to non-conference play after just a week of ECAC action saw RPI host St. Cloud State for a pair at Houston Field House. Though the Huskies have traditionally struggled in a strong WCHA, they took it to the Engineers, picking up a 3-2 win on Friday before dominating their hosts on Saturday in a 3-0 shutout.
Friday
Mahoney/Tomlinson/Svoboda
Horwood/Wash/Renn
Rooney/Mankey/Walsh
Hylwa/Raspa
Kimmerle/Schilter
Behounek/Banks
Middlebrook/Godin
Piper
A shorthanded goal in the second period was the difference on Friday as St. Cloud State picked up a 3-2 victory over RPI at Houston Field House.
A back-and-forth first period saw the teams tied at two after twenty minutes before the shorty by Abby Ness put St. Cloud on top in the second.
Molly Illikainen scored first, taking a turnover at the RPI blue line to skate in alone and put one past Brianna Piper, while also drawing a penalty by being hooked on the attempt.
The ensuing power play saw St. Cloud double the lead to 2-0, as Lauren Hespenheide cleanly beat Piper on a wrist shot from the faceoff dot just 23 seconds after the Huskies' first goal.
Lauren Wash cut the deficit to 2-1 at 13:42, picking up a rebound of a point shot from Kathryn Schilter and snaking a shot through traffic for the goal.
Ali Svoboda tied things up 1:41 later, taking a nice drop pass from Shayna Tomlinson and beating Julie Friend with a monster slapshot to make it 2-2.
Abby Ness picked up the shorthanded game-winner in the second after being sprung on a breakaway by Illikainen. A quick deke to Piper's left and she put it over the pads to take a 3-2 lead.
Though the Huskies took three straight penalties late in the second and early in the third, the RPI power play (clicking at an unfathomably low 3.0%, at 2-for-66) did not capitalize, and St. Cloud hung on for the 3-2 win.
Saturday
Mahoney/Tomlinson/Svoboda
Horwood/Wash/Renn
Rooney/Mankey/Walsh
Hylwa/Raspa
Kimmerle/Schilter
Behounek/Banks
Middlebrook/Godin
O'Brien
While Friday's game was a fairly close affair, a switch seemed to turn off for the Engineers overnight as Saturday's game was one of their worst in recent memory. An inability to keep control of the puck or get any pucks to the net resulted in a 3-0 SCSU shutout in which RPI mustered just eight shots over three periods.
Lexi Slattery gave the Huskies the early lead at 8:33 of the first period, poking home a rebound for a power play goal.
Vanessa Spataro made it 2-0 at 11:21 of the second, skating down ice 1-on-1 but still managing to put a precise shot over the shoulder of Kelly O'Brien for the goal.
An RPI penalty shortly after Spataro's goal put SCSU back on the man advantage, and though they didn't officially score on the power play, Illikainen's tally six seconds after it expired may as well have been a power play goal, a rebound put into the back of the net before RPI could get the fifth skater back into the zone.
The RPI power play went 0-11 over the weekend and the lack of offense has gone from being troublesome to downright serious as the ECAC schedule is about to hit full stride. While the Engineers have struggled with the injury bug in this young season, the lack of potent offensive weapons has the potential to handicap RPI for the season.
The Engineers next hit the road for games against Quinnipiac and Princeton. Quinnipiac has roared out to a 7-0-1 start, while is 4-1-1. Both look to pose a challenge for the struggling Engineers as they look for their first ECAC victory of the season.
-----
RPI vs. St. Cloud State
Non-Conference Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/7/14 - 3:00pm
SCSU 3, RPI 2
BOX SCORES:
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1415/boxes/wrenstc1.n07
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?path=whock&id=4432
RECAPS:
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/news/2014/11/7/WICE_1107145311.aspx
SCSU: http://www.scsuhuskies.com/news/2014/11/7/WHOCKEY_1107144027.aspx
Video Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McMf7eXSYr0
Complete Game Video: http://www.rpitv.org/productions/855
RECORD: 1-7-2 (0-2-0 ECAC)
-----
RPI vs. St. Cloud State
Non-Conference Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/8/14 - 3:00pm
SCSU 3, RPI 0
BOX SCORES:
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1415/boxes/wrenstc1.n08
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?path=whock&id=4433
RECAPS:
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/news/2014/11/8/WICE_1108140827.aspx
SCSU: http://www.scsuhuskies.com/news/2014/11/8/WHOCKEY_1108142151.aspx
Video Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmXx7z_C1tg
Complete Game Video: http://www.rpitv.org/productions/856
RECORD: 1-8-2 (0-2-0 ECAC)
-----
Upcoming Schedule
Nov. 14 - at Quinnipiac (7pm)
Nov. 15 - at Princeton (4pm)
Nov. 28 - RIT (7pm)
Nov. 29 - RIT (4pm)
Friday
Mahoney/Tomlinson/Svoboda
Horwood/Wash/Renn
Rooney/Mankey/Walsh
Hylwa/Raspa
Kimmerle/Schilter
Behounek/Banks
Middlebrook/Godin
Piper
A shorthanded goal in the second period was the difference on Friday as St. Cloud State picked up a 3-2 victory over RPI at Houston Field House.
A back-and-forth first period saw the teams tied at two after twenty minutes before the shorty by Abby Ness put St. Cloud on top in the second.
Molly Illikainen scored first, taking a turnover at the RPI blue line to skate in alone and put one past Brianna Piper, while also drawing a penalty by being hooked on the attempt.
The ensuing power play saw St. Cloud double the lead to 2-0, as Lauren Hespenheide cleanly beat Piper on a wrist shot from the faceoff dot just 23 seconds after the Huskies' first goal.
Lauren Wash cut the deficit to 2-1 at 13:42, picking up a rebound of a point shot from Kathryn Schilter and snaking a shot through traffic for the goal.
Ali Svoboda tied things up 1:41 later, taking a nice drop pass from Shayna Tomlinson and beating Julie Friend with a monster slapshot to make it 2-2.
Abby Ness picked up the shorthanded game-winner in the second after being sprung on a breakaway by Illikainen. A quick deke to Piper's left and she put it over the pads to take a 3-2 lead.
Though the Huskies took three straight penalties late in the second and early in the third, the RPI power play (clicking at an unfathomably low 3.0%, at 2-for-66) did not capitalize, and St. Cloud hung on for the 3-2 win.
Saturday
Mahoney/Tomlinson/Svoboda
Horwood/Wash/Renn
Rooney/Mankey/Walsh
Hylwa/Raspa
Kimmerle/Schilter
Behounek/Banks
Middlebrook/Godin
O'Brien
While Friday's game was a fairly close affair, a switch seemed to turn off for the Engineers overnight as Saturday's game was one of their worst in recent memory. An inability to keep control of the puck or get any pucks to the net resulted in a 3-0 SCSU shutout in which RPI mustered just eight shots over three periods.
Lexi Slattery gave the Huskies the early lead at 8:33 of the first period, poking home a rebound for a power play goal.
Vanessa Spataro made it 2-0 at 11:21 of the second, skating down ice 1-on-1 but still managing to put a precise shot over the shoulder of Kelly O'Brien for the goal.
An RPI penalty shortly after Spataro's goal put SCSU back on the man advantage, and though they didn't officially score on the power play, Illikainen's tally six seconds after it expired may as well have been a power play goal, a rebound put into the back of the net before RPI could get the fifth skater back into the zone.
The RPI power play went 0-11 over the weekend and the lack of offense has gone from being troublesome to downright serious as the ECAC schedule is about to hit full stride. While the Engineers have struggled with the injury bug in this young season, the lack of potent offensive weapons has the potential to handicap RPI for the season.
The Engineers next hit the road for games against Quinnipiac and Princeton. Quinnipiac has roared out to a 7-0-1 start, while is 4-1-1. Both look to pose a challenge for the struggling Engineers as they look for their first ECAC victory of the season.
-----
RPI vs. St. Cloud State
Non-Conference Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/7/14 - 3:00pm
SCSU 3, RPI 2
BOX SCORES:
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1415/boxes/wrenstc1.n07
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?path=whock&id=4432
RECAPS:
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/news/2014/11/7/WICE_1107145311.aspx
SCSU: http://www.scsuhuskies.com/news/2014/11/7/WHOCKEY_1107144027.aspx
Video Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McMf7eXSYr0
Complete Game Video: http://www.rpitv.org/productions/855
RECORD: 1-7-2 (0-2-0 ECAC)
-----
RPI vs. St. Cloud State
Non-Conference Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/8/14 - 3:00pm
SCSU 3, RPI 0
BOX SCORES:
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1415/boxes/wrenstc1.n08
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?path=whock&id=4433
RECAPS:
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/news/2014/11/8/WICE_1108140827.aspx
SCSU: http://www.scsuhuskies.com/news/2014/11/8/WHOCKEY_1108142151.aspx
Video Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmXx7z_C1tg
Complete Game Video: http://www.rpitv.org/productions/856
RECORD: 1-8-2 (0-2-0 ECAC)
-----
Upcoming Schedule
Nov. 14 - at Quinnipiac (7pm)
Nov. 15 - at Princeton (4pm)
Nov. 28 - RIT (7pm)
Nov. 29 - RIT (4pm)
Friday, November 7, 2014
Proving Ground
There's been some improvement from both the men and the women in recent weeks.
The women got themselves off of that painful winless streak that ended last season and continued into this season with a win against UConn two weeks ago. After settling for a draw in the second game of the weekend, the Engineers were sent straight into the lion's den, traveling to Harvard and Dartmouth. That's a tough haul even for the Clarksons and Quinnipiacs of the world, to say nothing of a team just getting its feet back underneath them. It's not a point of shame that the Engineers couldn't conjure up their first ECAC points.
The men were at rock bottom - or at least, we all hoped it was rock bottom. After being completely destroyed by Bentley of all teams, the defending national champions beckoned. It was the lowest of lows sent directly to the highest of highs.
Now it's time for both teams to prove that recent successes were no fluke. They're right where they want to be - at home. The women will have to settle for a non-conference series with St. Cloud State, but for the men, it's an opportunity for four more ECAC points (against Harvard and Dartmouth), and a chance to solidify the first place position the schedule and their play have given them. Every point is precious by the time February arrives - so the more you can grab in November, the easier things can be late.
So how about it? Who's hot, and who's not?
The women got themselves off of that painful winless streak that ended last season and continued into this season with a win against UConn two weeks ago. After settling for a draw in the second game of the weekend, the Engineers were sent straight into the lion's den, traveling to Harvard and Dartmouth. That's a tough haul even for the Clarksons and Quinnipiacs of the world, to say nothing of a team just getting its feet back underneath them. It's not a point of shame that the Engineers couldn't conjure up their first ECAC points.
The men were at rock bottom - or at least, we all hoped it was rock bottom. After being completely destroyed by Bentley of all teams, the defending national champions beckoned. It was the lowest of lows sent directly to the highest of highs.
Now it's time for both teams to prove that recent successes were no fluke. They're right where they want to be - at home. The women will have to settle for a non-conference series with St. Cloud State, but for the men, it's an opportunity for four more ECAC points (against Harvard and Dartmouth), and a chance to solidify the first place position the schedule and their play have given them. Every point is precious by the time February arrives - so the more you can grab in November, the easier things can be late.
So how about it? Who's hot, and who's not?
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Second Impressions
Alternate title: Will the real Engineers please stand up?
A few weeks ago, I pontificated on what RPI looked like after the Icebreaker tournament was in the books.
Then things went south, and in a hurry. Then last week happened. If there's been a more harrowing rollercoaster of an October in the recent past, I certainly don't remember it.
So how are those early observations holding up? Let's take a look.
Kasdorf as the best goaltender in the ECAC: When the team's playing poorly, it doesn't take long for the goaltender to look pretty bad too. While Jason Kasdorf was never blatantly awful during the team's pre-Union stretch, he wasn't looking like a world-beater, either.
The title of top goaltender in the league is certainly up in the air. Union's Colin Stevens has some claim to it (although he didn't look like it against the Engineers last Friday). Colgate's Charlie Finn certainly does as well (especially with a nation leading three shutouts in eight games), and now we can add SLU freshman Kyle Hayton to the list.
Against Union, Kasdorf looked like the dependable stalwart that he was for the Engineers during his stellar freshman campaign - and that certainly bodes well going forward.
Sophomore anti-slump: Jake Wood was apparently a healthy scratch against the Dutchmen (although he did warm up on Friday, not cracking into the lineup), and Jimmy DeVito's offensive threat level diminished almost immediately after the Icebreaker - in part because of the team's scoring drought, but he certainly didn't appear to be the one ready to break that drought with any frequency.
But Riley Bourbonnais continues to play well, and he was finally rewarded for top-end performance on Friday against Union, when he not only scored his first collegiate goal, he also notched RPI's first hat trick in several seasons. He's earned his place playing on some of the best lines out there, and if the Engineers are figuring to create a true offense by committee, he's positioned himself to be an important part of that scoring drive.
Impact freshmen: There should be little doubt at this point that Viktor Liljegren is going to play a serious role in the offense as well this season, but Lou Nanne has done even more, leading the team in points. Sure, it's only five points, but that means he's been a part of more than a third of the team's goals in some way.
Nanne and Drew Melanson have been together on a line with junior Mark Miller for the last two weekends, and the trio has looked very good together. They were the only ones to break through against Bentley, and the Nanne/Melanson wing combination produced a pair of goals on Friday against Union with the speed they've got.
Difficult to be hard on Mike Prapavessis and Jared Wilson this early into their freshman season. Eventually, both are probably looking to be bigger contributors in the puck-moving department, and both have shown bright flashes of potential for their usefulness in the offensive department. Give it time. As both acclimate to the world of college hockey, their contributions are likely to improve.
Defense: Which defense are we talking about now, the one that looked AWOL against Bentley or the one that was clearing rebounds with aplomb against Union? This should still be an area of strength. There's just too much talent and experience back there for the Bentley showing to have been much more than a fluke, especially the way they played last weekend.
Penalty kill: 10-for-11 against Union, which is pretty solid, even against a power play that struggled as much as the Dutchmen did in the home-and-home. There were some holes during the losing streak, but especially in Schenectady, the penalty kill not only looked effective, it also was unlucky to nab at least one shorthanded goal. Being dangerous in transition while a man down can force opposing power plays to be a bit more tentative with the puck along the blue line. Hopefully that's something that can continue.
In lieu of the obvious need for more scoring, let's touch on something I didn't bring up after the Icebreaker due to a small sample size - which has grown a bit since then.
Seniors? Most teams rely on their most experienced players to perform in order to succeed, and Seth Appert in particular has always put a premium on results from his seniors to provide power for the team. Having four senior forwards was supposed to be a point of potential for an offense that wasn't going to revolve around individual big guns - yet those four seniors have combined for a total of six points (2 goals and 4 assists), just one more than freshman Lou Nanne has put together on his lonesome (3 goals and 2 assists).
Mark McGowan broke through with a key goal on Saturday in Schenectady - and he'd been performing admirably on the penalty kill all night - but to some extent, he was basically in the right place at the right time on his game-tying goal.
The biggest names we'd like to see more from are Jacob Laliberte and Zach Schroeder. Their line (with DeVito) was rarely effective against the Dutchmen. If they're still together this coming weekend, they need to provide extra punch to help with the younger lines that are beginning to produce.
A few weeks ago, I pontificated on what RPI looked like after the Icebreaker tournament was in the books.
Then things went south, and in a hurry. Then last week happened. If there's been a more harrowing rollercoaster of an October in the recent past, I certainly don't remember it.
So how are those early observations holding up? Let's take a look.
Kasdorf as the best goaltender in the ECAC: When the team's playing poorly, it doesn't take long for the goaltender to look pretty bad too. While Jason Kasdorf was never blatantly awful during the team's pre-Union stretch, he wasn't looking like a world-beater, either.
The title of top goaltender in the league is certainly up in the air. Union's Colin Stevens has some claim to it (although he didn't look like it against the Engineers last Friday). Colgate's Charlie Finn certainly does as well (especially with a nation leading three shutouts in eight games), and now we can add SLU freshman Kyle Hayton to the list.
Against Union, Kasdorf looked like the dependable stalwart that he was for the Engineers during his stellar freshman campaign - and that certainly bodes well going forward.
Sophomore anti-slump: Jake Wood was apparently a healthy scratch against the Dutchmen (although he did warm up on Friday, not cracking into the lineup), and Jimmy DeVito's offensive threat level diminished almost immediately after the Icebreaker - in part because of the team's scoring drought, but he certainly didn't appear to be the one ready to break that drought with any frequency.
But Riley Bourbonnais continues to play well, and he was finally rewarded for top-end performance on Friday against Union, when he not only scored his first collegiate goal, he also notched RPI's first hat trick in several seasons. He's earned his place playing on some of the best lines out there, and if the Engineers are figuring to create a true offense by committee, he's positioned himself to be an important part of that scoring drive.
Impact freshmen: There should be little doubt at this point that Viktor Liljegren is going to play a serious role in the offense as well this season, but Lou Nanne has done even more, leading the team in points. Sure, it's only five points, but that means he's been a part of more than a third of the team's goals in some way.
Nanne and Drew Melanson have been together on a line with junior Mark Miller for the last two weekends, and the trio has looked very good together. They were the only ones to break through against Bentley, and the Nanne/Melanson wing combination produced a pair of goals on Friday against Union with the speed they've got.
Difficult to be hard on Mike Prapavessis and Jared Wilson this early into their freshman season. Eventually, both are probably looking to be bigger contributors in the puck-moving department, and both have shown bright flashes of potential for their usefulness in the offensive department. Give it time. As both acclimate to the world of college hockey, their contributions are likely to improve.
Defense: Which defense are we talking about now, the one that looked AWOL against Bentley or the one that was clearing rebounds with aplomb against Union? This should still be an area of strength. There's just too much talent and experience back there for the Bentley showing to have been much more than a fluke, especially the way they played last weekend.
Penalty kill: 10-for-11 against Union, which is pretty solid, even against a power play that struggled as much as the Dutchmen did in the home-and-home. There were some holes during the losing streak, but especially in Schenectady, the penalty kill not only looked effective, it also was unlucky to nab at least one shorthanded goal. Being dangerous in transition while a man down can force opposing power plays to be a bit more tentative with the puck along the blue line. Hopefully that's something that can continue.
In lieu of the obvious need for more scoring, let's touch on something I didn't bring up after the Icebreaker due to a small sample size - which has grown a bit since then.
Seniors? Most teams rely on their most experienced players to perform in order to succeed, and Seth Appert in particular has always put a premium on results from his seniors to provide power for the team. Having four senior forwards was supposed to be a point of potential for an offense that wasn't going to revolve around individual big guns - yet those four seniors have combined for a total of six points (2 goals and 4 assists), just one more than freshman Lou Nanne has put together on his lonesome (3 goals and 2 assists).
Mark McGowan broke through with a key goal on Saturday in Schenectady - and he'd been performing admirably on the penalty kill all night - but to some extent, he was basically in the right place at the right time on his game-tying goal.
The biggest names we'd like to see more from are Jacob Laliberte and Zach Schroeder. Their line (with DeVito) was rarely effective against the Dutchmen. If they're still together this coming weekend, they need to provide extra punch to help with the younger lines that are beginning to produce.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Men's Hockey - Union Home & Home (31 Oct/1 Nov)
From the lowest of lows to the highest for highs for the Engineers in just a two week span. While the previous weekend's affair with Bentley may mark one of the lowest results RPI has ever produced, the following weekend's home and home with Union may prove to be one of the best. With few pundits - including us - giving the Engineers much hope of accomplishing anything against the defending national champions, RPI instead turned around and gave an inspired performance that injected life into a moribund season, soundly defeating their archrivals on Friday in Troy 6-1 before turning around the next night on the road and coming from behind for a 2-1 victory in overtime.
Friday
Fulton-Neal-Bourbonnais
Laliberte-Schroeder- DeVito
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Liljegren-Bubela-McGowan
Leonard-Prapavessis
Bradley-Wilson
Curadi-Bokenfohr
Kasdorf
The line juggling continued into the Union weekend, with the Miller line the only one that was more or less kept intact from previous outings.
RPI played with the initiative from the very outset of the game and quickly began establishing themselves as the aggressors. The Engineers led very early in shots and ultimately accrued an 11-2 edge in the first period, a wide margin that had frequently been going the other way in most games. They broke onto the scoreboard with the game's first goal about seven and a half minutes in, marking the first time on the season that RPI struck for a 1-0 lead. Riley Bourbonnais brought the puck into the zone along the boards, bringing Matt Neal and Travis Fulton to his right. Bourbonnais ultimately took it himself, beating Colin Stevens on the short side for his first collegiate goal.
Late in the period, the Engineers took a two goal lead on a bizarre goal by Jared Wilson. The freshman defenseman netted his first career goal after taking a cross-ice pass from classmate Drew Melanson. Wilson flipped his shot up over Stevens' stick, over his shoulder and in from a tough angle.
Five minutes into the second period, the Engineers earned themselves a comfortable 3-0 edge on another goal by Bourbonnais, who was left alone along the boards and easily walked into the slot and put the shot home through a screen provided by Neal.
Union drew much closer in shots during the second period, but were unable to get anything past Jason Kasdorf, who stopped 15 in the middle frame. Meanwhile, RPI was making the most of their opportunities. Just seconds into their first power play opportunity of the night, Viktor Liljegren made it 4-0 on a one-timer in the slot off a feed by Lou Nanne. That ended Stevens' night early, as he departed with 4 goals given up on 18 shots.
Union got one back on the power play 4:24 into the third period, but RPI attacked off the ensuing faceoff. Bourbonnais moved into the zone along the boards and then just dropped the puck off in the slot. Union captain Charlie Vasaturo was there and tried to make a play with the puck, but instead he ended up putting the puck past his own goaltender and in to make it 5-1 RPI. Bourbonnais, as the last Engineer to touch the puck, was awarded the goal and the hat trick just seven seconds after Union had gotten onto the board.
RPI continued to pour it on. Three minutes later, Melanson set up his second goal of the night by speeding up the boards and past the defenders, then whipping a pass into the slot for an equally speedy Nanne to one-time to the back of the net, making it 6-1.
Both teams would have power play opportunities from there on out, but Union never looked about to claw their way back in. Kasdorf ended the night with 24 saves on 25 shots for the win.
Saturday
Fulton-Neal-Bourbonnais
Laliberte-Schroeder- DeVito
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Liljegren-Bubela-McGowan
Leonard-Prapavessis
Bradley-Wilson
Curadi-Bokenfohr
Kasdorf
The concept of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" won out on Saturday night, as RPI put forward the exact same lineup they had on Friday.
RPI came out with intensity just as they had on Friday, but they weren't initially able to translate it to much offensive output. This time, it was Union who earned the early edge in shots, and they also nabbed the early lead on a goal by freshman Spencer Foo with a little under six minutes left in the first period, beating Kasdorf on the short side to make it 1-0.
Union would not take a single penalty all night, keeping the RPI power play out of commission, but they ended up with plenty of power play opportunities of their own as the Engineers took six penalties on the evening, including a double minor by Lou Nanne in the second period. However, the Union power play looked very anemic, and the RPI penalty kill frequently looked as though it would score a goal itself. None was forthcoming on the penalty kill, and the second period came to an end with RPI 4-for-4 on the kill but still trailing 1-0.
RPI didn't truly control the third period but they certainly earned the lion's share of the quality scoring opportunities. After a considerable amount of patience, the Engineers finally broke through for the tying goal with 3:49 left in regulation. A giveaway by Union to Mark McGowan in the slot was fired to the back of the cage to make it 1-1.
Union swarmed the RPI zone in the final minute of play with their sixth power play of the night after a penalty to Luke Curadi, but Kasdorf was equal to the task, making a number of saves to preserve the tie.
A Union turnover in overtime led to the Engineers keeping the puck in the attacking zone, and ultimately led to a wraparound attempt by Viktor Liljegren that was initially stopped, but eventually put in after a scrum in front by the freshman from Sweden, scoring his third goal of the year for the game winner as RPI completed the weekend sweep of Union for the first time in a decade.
The goal was reviewed to see if Stevens had his glove on the puck, but the goal was eventually upheld, giving the Engineers four key points to start the ECAC season.
RPI's season-long homestand (if one includes the hop, skip, and jump to Schenectady as not going on the road) concludes this coming weekend with two more ECAC games as they host Harvard and Dartmouth, looking to build upon the early lead they've given themselves in the league table.
Current ECAC Standings
1. RPI - 4 points (2-0-0)
2. Dartmouth - 1 point (0-0-1)
3. Harvard - 1 point (0-0-1)
4. Brown - 0 points (0-0-0)
5. Clarkson - 0 points (0-0-0)
6. Colgate - 0 points (0-0-0)
7. Cornell - 0 points (0-0-0)
8. Princeton - 0 points (0-0-0)
9. Quinnipiac - 0 points (0-0-0)
10. St. Lawrence - 0 points (0-0-0)
11. Yale - 0 points (0-0-0)
12. Union - 0 points (0-2-0)
#2 Union at RPI
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
1031/14 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 6, Union 1
Fulton-Neal-Bourbonnais
Laliberte-Schroeder- DeVito
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Liljegren-Bubela-McGowan
Leonard-Prapavessis
Bradley-Wilson
Curadi-Bokenfohr
Kasdorf
The line juggling continued into the Union weekend, with the Miller line the only one that was more or less kept intact from previous outings.
RPI played with the initiative from the very outset of the game and quickly began establishing themselves as the aggressors. The Engineers led very early in shots and ultimately accrued an 11-2 edge in the first period, a wide margin that had frequently been going the other way in most games. They broke onto the scoreboard with the game's first goal about seven and a half minutes in, marking the first time on the season that RPI struck for a 1-0 lead. Riley Bourbonnais brought the puck into the zone along the boards, bringing Matt Neal and Travis Fulton to his right. Bourbonnais ultimately took it himself, beating Colin Stevens on the short side for his first collegiate goal.
Late in the period, the Engineers took a two goal lead on a bizarre goal by Jared Wilson. The freshman defenseman netted his first career goal after taking a cross-ice pass from classmate Drew Melanson. Wilson flipped his shot up over Stevens' stick, over his shoulder and in from a tough angle.
Five minutes into the second period, the Engineers earned themselves a comfortable 3-0 edge on another goal by Bourbonnais, who was left alone along the boards and easily walked into the slot and put the shot home through a screen provided by Neal.
Union drew much closer in shots during the second period, but were unable to get anything past Jason Kasdorf, who stopped 15 in the middle frame. Meanwhile, RPI was making the most of their opportunities. Just seconds into their first power play opportunity of the night, Viktor Liljegren made it 4-0 on a one-timer in the slot off a feed by Lou Nanne. That ended Stevens' night early, as he departed with 4 goals given up on 18 shots.
Union got one back on the power play 4:24 into the third period, but RPI attacked off the ensuing faceoff. Bourbonnais moved into the zone along the boards and then just dropped the puck off in the slot. Union captain Charlie Vasaturo was there and tried to make a play with the puck, but instead he ended up putting the puck past his own goaltender and in to make it 5-1 RPI. Bourbonnais, as the last Engineer to touch the puck, was awarded the goal and the hat trick just seven seconds after Union had gotten onto the board.
RPI continued to pour it on. Three minutes later, Melanson set up his second goal of the night by speeding up the boards and past the defenders, then whipping a pass into the slot for an equally speedy Nanne to one-time to the back of the net, making it 6-1.
Both teams would have power play opportunities from there on out, but Union never looked about to claw their way back in. Kasdorf ended the night with 24 saves on 25 shots for the win.
Saturday
Fulton-Neal-Bourbonnais
Laliberte-Schroeder- DeVito
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Liljegren-Bubela-McGowan
Leonard-Prapavessis
Bradley-Wilson
Curadi-Bokenfohr
Kasdorf
The concept of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" won out on Saturday night, as RPI put forward the exact same lineup they had on Friday.
RPI came out with intensity just as they had on Friday, but they weren't initially able to translate it to much offensive output. This time, it was Union who earned the early edge in shots, and they also nabbed the early lead on a goal by freshman Spencer Foo with a little under six minutes left in the first period, beating Kasdorf on the short side to make it 1-0.
Union would not take a single penalty all night, keeping the RPI power play out of commission, but they ended up with plenty of power play opportunities of their own as the Engineers took six penalties on the evening, including a double minor by Lou Nanne in the second period. However, the Union power play looked very anemic, and the RPI penalty kill frequently looked as though it would score a goal itself. None was forthcoming on the penalty kill, and the second period came to an end with RPI 4-for-4 on the kill but still trailing 1-0.
RPI didn't truly control the third period but they certainly earned the lion's share of the quality scoring opportunities. After a considerable amount of patience, the Engineers finally broke through for the tying goal with 3:49 left in regulation. A giveaway by Union to Mark McGowan in the slot was fired to the back of the cage to make it 1-1.
Union swarmed the RPI zone in the final minute of play with their sixth power play of the night after a penalty to Luke Curadi, but Kasdorf was equal to the task, making a number of saves to preserve the tie.
A Union turnover in overtime led to the Engineers keeping the puck in the attacking zone, and ultimately led to a wraparound attempt by Viktor Liljegren that was initially stopped, but eventually put in after a scrum in front by the freshman from Sweden, scoring his third goal of the year for the game winner as RPI completed the weekend sweep of Union for the first time in a decade.
The goal was reviewed to see if Stevens had his glove on the puck, but the goal was eventually upheld, giving the Engineers four key points to start the ECAC season.
RPI's season-long homestand (if one includes the hop, skip, and jump to Schenectady as not going on the road) concludes this coming weekend with two more ECAC games as they host Harvard and Dartmouth, looking to build upon the early lead they've given themselves in the league table.
Current ECAC Standings
1. RPI - 4 points (2-0-0)
2. Dartmouth - 1 point (0-0-1)
3. Harvard - 1 point (0-0-1)
4. Brown - 0 points (0-0-0)
5. Clarkson - 0 points (0-0-0)
6. Colgate - 0 points (0-0-0)
7. Cornell - 0 points (0-0-0)
8. Princeton - 0 points (0-0-0)
9. Quinnipiac - 0 points (0-0-0)
10. St. Lawrence - 0 points (0-0-0)
11. Yale - 0 points (0-0-0)
12. Union - 0 points (0-2-0)
#2 Union at RPI
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
1031/14 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 6, Union 1
RECORD: 2-5-0 (1-0-0, 2pts)
RPI at #2 Union
ECAC Game - Messa Rink (Schenectady, NY)
11/1/14 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 2, Union 1 (OT)
ECAC Game - Messa Rink (Schenectady, NY)
11/1/14 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 2, Union 1 (OT)
RECORD: 3-5-0 (2-0-0, 4pts)
Upcoming games
7 Nov - Harvard
8 Nov - Dartmouth
14 Nov - Princeton
15 Nov - Quinnipiac
18 Nov - at UConn
7 Nov - Harvard
8 Nov - Dartmouth
14 Nov - Princeton
15 Nov - Quinnipiac
18 Nov - at UConn
Monday, November 3, 2014
Women's Hockey - at Harvard & Dartmouth (31 Oct/1 Nov)
After a decent showing against UConn, RPI headed into ECAC play with a road trip to Harvard and Dartmouth. The Engineers didn't fare very well on the trip, falling 4-1 and 5-2 in the two games and being outshot 77-34 in aggregate on the weekend.
Harvard
Mahoney/Gruschow/Tomlinson
Horwood/Wash/Renn
Rooney/Mankey/Svoboda
Walsh/Hylwa/Raspa
Kimmerle/Schilter
Behounek/Banks
Middlebrook
Piper
A late goal in the second period was all the offense RPI could muster on Friday, and Harvard scored four times to defeat the Engineers 4-1.
After most of the first period had elapsed without any scoring, Harvard's Miye D'Oench capitalized on an RPI turnover to break out 2-on-1, driving hard to the net and putting the puck past Brianna Piper for a 1-0 lead.
After RPI failed to capitalize on back-to-back power plays early in the second, Harvard took advantage of their own power play opportunity to make it a 2-0 lead, with Lexie Laing cutting into the slot and taking advantage of an open lane to pick up the tally.
Marisa Raspa cut the Crimson lead to 2-1 with 16 seconds left in the middle frame, driving hard to the net and redirecting a feed from Taylor Mahoney past Brianna Laing.
The third period held little for the Engineers, who tallied just three shots in the final frame. Harvard scored twice more in the period, with Mary Parker rushing down ice and blowing past the defense to make it 3-1, and D'Oench adding an empty netter with 1:08 left to put the game on ice and give the Crimson the 4-1 victory.
Dartmouth
Horwood/Wash/Svoboda
Mahoney/Tomlinson/Renn
Rooney/Mankey/Walsh
Hylwa/Raspa
Kimmerle/Schilter
Behounek/Banks
Middlebrook
O'Brien
RPI was outshot 20-3 in the first period, and 47-21 in the game as Dartmouth skated to a 5-2 victory over the Engineers at Thompson Arena. Mariana Walsh scored both of the RPI goals.
Laura Stacey opened the scoring for the Big Green with a breakaway goal 6:14 into the first period, with a quick deke and backhanded shot that got past Kelly O'Brien to make it 1-0.
Katy Ratty converted a 2-on-1 rush to double Dartmouth's lead at 11:31 of the first.
Walsh notched her first of the afternoon at 7:32 of the second, shortly after a Dartmouth penalty expired. While the goal was recorded as unassisted, it appeared to have been scored off the rebound of a shot by Amanda Kimmerle.
Dartmouth regained their two-goal lead a few minutes later, when Catherine Berghuis redirected a point shot on the power play past O'Brien for a 3-1 lead.
Walsh again cut Dartmouth's lead to one goal at 14:50 of the second, capitalizing on a long stretch of RPI puck control in the Big Green zone to fire a shot through traffic and past Robyn Chemago.
Dartmouth tacked on two more goals in the third period. Sam Zeiss put the Big Green ahead 4-2 at 6:31, then Stacey added an insurance goal with her second of the game at 17:04 - a shorthanded tally that for some reason was not counted as an empty netter despite O'Brien being on the bench in order to keep the teams skating 5-on-5.
After a rough start to league play, RPI will have another pair of non-conference matchups next weekend as St. Cloud State visits the Field House on Friday and Saturday. Both games will feature 3pm start times and are currently scheduled to be carried by WRPI.
-----
RPI at Harvard
Non-Conference Game - Bright-Landry Hockey Center (Boston, MA)
10/31/14 - 7:00pm
Harvard 4, RPI 1
BOX SCORES:
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1415/boxes/wharren1.o31
RECAPS:
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/news/2014/10/31/WICE_1031144943.aspx?path=whock
Harvard: http://gocrimson.com/sports/wice/2014-15/releases/20141031sbkelh
Video Highlights: http://ecachockey.com/women/video/2014-15/20143110_Harvard_WH
RECORD: 1-5-2 (0-1-0 ECAC)
-----
RPI at Dartmouth
Non-Conference Game - Thompson Arena (Hanover, NH)
11/1/14 - 4:00pm
Dartmouth 5, RPI 2
BOX SCORES:
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1415/boxes/wdarren1.n01
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?path=whock&id=4431
RECAPS:
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/news/2014/11/1/WICE_1101141907.aspx?path=whock
Dartmouth: http://www.dartmouthsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=209744763
Video Highlights: http://ecachockey.com/women/video/2014-15/20141101_Dartmouth_WH
RECORD: 1-6-2 (0-2-0 ECAC)
-----
Upcoming Schedule
Nov. 7 - St. Cloud State (3pm)
Nov. 8 - St. Cloud State (3pm)
Nov. 14 - at Quinnipiac (7pm)
Nov. 15 - at Princeton (4pm)
Harvard
Mahoney/Gruschow/Tomlinson
Horwood/Wash/Renn
Rooney/Mankey/Svoboda
Walsh/Hylwa/Raspa
Kimmerle/Schilter
Behounek/Banks
Middlebrook
Piper
A late goal in the second period was all the offense RPI could muster on Friday, and Harvard scored four times to defeat the Engineers 4-1.
After most of the first period had elapsed without any scoring, Harvard's Miye D'Oench capitalized on an RPI turnover to break out 2-on-1, driving hard to the net and putting the puck past Brianna Piper for a 1-0 lead.
After RPI failed to capitalize on back-to-back power plays early in the second, Harvard took advantage of their own power play opportunity to make it a 2-0 lead, with Lexie Laing cutting into the slot and taking advantage of an open lane to pick up the tally.
Marisa Raspa cut the Crimson lead to 2-1 with 16 seconds left in the middle frame, driving hard to the net and redirecting a feed from Taylor Mahoney past Brianna Laing.
The third period held little for the Engineers, who tallied just three shots in the final frame. Harvard scored twice more in the period, with Mary Parker rushing down ice and blowing past the defense to make it 3-1, and D'Oench adding an empty netter with 1:08 left to put the game on ice and give the Crimson the 4-1 victory.
Dartmouth
Horwood/Wash/Svoboda
Mahoney/Tomlinson/Renn
Rooney/Mankey/Walsh
Hylwa/Raspa
Kimmerle/Schilter
Behounek/Banks
Middlebrook
O'Brien
RPI was outshot 20-3 in the first period, and 47-21 in the game as Dartmouth skated to a 5-2 victory over the Engineers at Thompson Arena. Mariana Walsh scored both of the RPI goals.
Laura Stacey opened the scoring for the Big Green with a breakaway goal 6:14 into the first period, with a quick deke and backhanded shot that got past Kelly O'Brien to make it 1-0.
Katy Ratty converted a 2-on-1 rush to double Dartmouth's lead at 11:31 of the first.
Walsh notched her first of the afternoon at 7:32 of the second, shortly after a Dartmouth penalty expired. While the goal was recorded as unassisted, it appeared to have been scored off the rebound of a shot by Amanda Kimmerle.
Dartmouth regained their two-goal lead a few minutes later, when Catherine Berghuis redirected a point shot on the power play past O'Brien for a 3-1 lead.
Walsh again cut Dartmouth's lead to one goal at 14:50 of the second, capitalizing on a long stretch of RPI puck control in the Big Green zone to fire a shot through traffic and past Robyn Chemago.
Dartmouth tacked on two more goals in the third period. Sam Zeiss put the Big Green ahead 4-2 at 6:31, then Stacey added an insurance goal with her second of the game at 17:04 - a shorthanded tally that for some reason was not counted as an empty netter despite O'Brien being on the bench in order to keep the teams skating 5-on-5.
After a rough start to league play, RPI will have another pair of non-conference matchups next weekend as St. Cloud State visits the Field House on Friday and Saturday. Both games will feature 3pm start times and are currently scheduled to be carried by WRPI.
-----
RPI at Harvard
Non-Conference Game - Bright-Landry Hockey Center (Boston, MA)
10/31/14 - 7:00pm
Harvard 4, RPI 1
BOX SCORES:
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1415/boxes/wharren1.o31
RECAPS:
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/news/2014/10/31/WICE_1031144943.aspx?path=whock
Harvard: http://gocrimson.com/sports/wice/2014-15/releases/20141031sbkelh
Video Highlights: http://ecachockey.com/women/video/2014-15/20143110_Harvard_WH
RECORD: 1-5-2 (0-1-0 ECAC)
-----
RPI at Dartmouth
Non-Conference Game - Thompson Arena (Hanover, NH)
11/1/14 - 4:00pm
Dartmouth 5, RPI 2
BOX SCORES:
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1415/boxes/wdarren1.n01
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?path=whock&id=4431
RECAPS:
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/news/2014/11/1/WICE_1101141907.aspx?path=whock
Dartmouth: http://www.dartmouthsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=209744763
Video Highlights: http://ecachockey.com/women/video/2014-15/20141101_Dartmouth_WH
RECORD: 1-6-2 (0-2-0 ECAC)
-----
Upcoming Schedule
Nov. 7 - St. Cloud State (3pm)
Nov. 8 - St. Cloud State (3pm)
Nov. 14 - at Quinnipiac (7pm)
Nov. 15 - at Princeton (4pm)
Saturday, November 1, 2014
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