As a member of the ECAC Hockey Writers and Broadcasters Association, I have a ballot in the EHWBA's annual preseason media poll, which outlines the media's expectations for the coming season (and is often compared against the coaches' poll). The ballots are not made public and a lot of the voters choose not to expose themselves to criticism. Which is certainly understandable.
Well, I'm used to criticism. So here it is. My ballot.
Realistically, there's always more of a "band" breakdown in the ECAC at the start of any given season than a solid 1-12 ranking, even though we are asked to rank teams in that way. Where the bands exist depends on the relative quality of the teams in question. Teams in any of the bands could finish anywhere within that band. Sometimes, the bands are as simple as 1, 2-11, and 12. This year, it's a touch different. This year, I think the bands are 1, 2-6, 7, and 8-12.
As you'll shortly see, I disagree with most of the poll's final placements, but I do at least concur on which teams are the top six, and which are the bottom six.
1. Yale (1st coaches [11/12], 1st media [25/30])- The Bulldogs are head and shoulders above the rest of the league and are the clear favorite to win a third-consecutive Cleary Cup. Their only weakness is in goal, but their offensive strengths will mitigate that regularly. Yale is already a fair preseason pick for the Frozen Four, if they get their goaltending situation straight and get bolstered by a good incoming class they could be competing for a national championship.
2. Dartmouth (6th/6th) - The Big Green awaken from a two-year slumber with some dynamite offense and adequate defense that, while not on Yale's level of excellence, should be enough to make them a top contender in the ECAC. They have a pair of goaltenders who have demonstrated the ability to be among the best in the conference - if one or both of them can show it again, the sky is the limit.
3. Colgate (5th/4th [2/30]) - Balance is the watchword in Hamilton. While the Raiders graduated one of their most recognizable offensive stars, they still have a ton of talented - and experienced - scorers returning this season, as well as a decent amount of tested blueliners. Like Yale and Dartmouth, goaltending is going to be the issue. Will they have someone who can step up and lead them to the top of the league?
4. Cornell (2nd [1/12]/2nd [2/30])- Even in a down year for Cornell, they're still going to be right there fighting for an quite possibly earning a first-round bye. Despite losing a lot of talented scoring and the best goaltender in the league in the offseason, the Big Red's defensive mentality will probably be enough to get them by more often than not.
5. RPI (4th/5th) - The Engineers would have challenged Yale for the top spot if they'd returned all of their underclassmen, but as it is RPI still returns a very experienced team loaded with seniors, a Hobey Baker finalist, and the best returning goaltender (statistically) in the league. It's hard to throw all that away.
6. Union (3rd/3rd [1/30]) - The defense isn't in question for the Dutchmen, but the offense is. The defense is solid enough and what offense they return is ample enough to pencil Union in for a home-ice slot in the first week of March, but they're going to need to show more than what they have on paper to vie for another first-round bye.
7. Brown (11th/11th) - The thing I like about Brown that has them solidly ahead of the back-of-the-pack band is their experience and the level of commitment the players showed to playing Brendan Whittet's system last March. They have significant weaknesses on defense, but their offense and their system will be enough to win them some games - not enough to shoot for the top four, but probably enough to at last get a home-ice series.
8. Princeton (10th/9th) - Someone has to get the final home-ice slot, and while I feel like none of the bottom five teams are especially good enough for it, Princeton is my dark horse for that final spot. The Tigers underwhelmed last year and then lost a significant chunk of the talent that was supposed to have them battling Yale at the top of the table, but there's at least a little bit of everything, even if it doesn't add up to be terribly overwhelming.
9. Quinnipiac (8th/8th) - The Bobcats have one thing going for them this year, and it's their goaltending. Besides having one of the best goaltenders in the league, they also have the deepest bench in the league between the pipes. Unfortunately, the offense took a massive hit and will be very young, as will many of the defensemen, who were young last year as well. The offensive questions are the ones most in need of answering.
10. Clarkson (12th/12th) - It'll be hard to be much worse than they were last season, but the Golden Knights are at the very least another year older, and considering that the major issues last year were inexperience and injuries, they should at least be somewhat better as long as the injuries don't come back. The goaltending situation, however, needs to improve drastically for Clarkson to shoot for home ice.
11. Harvard (7th/10th) - It's back to the drawing board in Cambridge for sure. The Crimson relied heavily on their star freshman last season - he led the team in scoring with only 23 points - and now he's gone. The goaltending has been known to be good occasionally, but it's difficult to look at the roster as it's comprised and be able to see a team capable of putting together a solid run in the ECAC.
12. St. Lawrence (9th/7th) - Someone has to be last. It may not end up being St. Lawrence, but there's not much to like in Canton this season. Two senior goaltenders gone, a truckload of scoring gone, and other than a couple of talented young blueliners and a promising young forward, it's hard to find the core of a team that is going to be in the running for much of anything. The hope in Canton has to be behind the bench- Joe Marsh has been known to wring more from his teams than people reasonably expect. If I had to do it over I might have moved them up a bit on Marsh alone but a coach by himself is never a given.
My preseason All-ECAC ballot:
G Dan Clarke, Quinnipiac - This one is probably the most wide open position in the league, and my vote went to Clarke over RPI's Allen York (the choice of the coaches) and Union's Keith Kinkaid (the choice of the media). More than the latter two, Clarke has the ability to carry his team farther up in the standings on his own if he plays to his ability - we saw it in the first three months last year.
D Evan Stephens, Dartmouth - You name it, he does it, and does it pretty well. I had Stephens on my preseason ballot last year and he did not disappoint. A Third Team All-ECAC selection last year, Stephens is perhaps the best all-around defenseman returning this season. He moves the puck well and can be a pain deep in his zone. He was a consensus pick between the coaches and the media.
D Taylor Fedun, Princeton - Fedun was one of the pests that made the Freakout! intolerable last season. A Second Team All-ECAC pick, Fedun takes the mantle of "best quarterback" from Yale's Tom Dignard, who graduated last year. He has great vision for delivering the puck from the blue line to where it can be best utilized within the offensive zone. The coaches selected St. Lawrence's George Hughes, while the media picked Cornell's Nick D'Agostino, both sophomores.
F Chase Polacek, RPI - Only two of ten Hobey Baker finalists from last year are returning to school this fall. Polacek is one of them. The reigning ECAC scoring champion, and a First Team All-ECAC selection, he's an obvious choice - and was a consensus selection of both the coaches and the media.
F Broc Little, Yale - Another obvious and consensus choice, given his 20-goal ECAC campaign last season. A First Team All-ECAC pick last year, Little is the spearhead of the Bulldogs' scary offense. Little is my second repeat from last year's ballot.
F Scott Fleming, Dartmouth - If you're not familiar with Fleming yet, prepare to become aware. Last year, he silently put up 22 goals to lead the Big Green in that category for the second year running. His linemate Adam Estoclet tends to, in my view, get more attention (and was one of my other potential choices for this slot), but Fleming is just as dangerous with the puck and has a great scoring touch. The coaches and media both took Colgate's Austin Smith, who was another one of my potential choices here and a good selection.
Showing posts with label previews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label previews. Show all posts
Monday, September 27, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Men's Hockey - 2010-11 Season Preview
With the season now upon us - we get our first glance at the men in just eight days in the Cherry and White scrimmage - it's about time to sit down and analyze the Engineers. We've attempted to break down the team a couple of times early in the offseason, but the changes never stopped coming.
First, we'll analyze the schedule for the upcoming season.
October
The season kicks off a week from Tuesday with an exhibition against New Brunswick. The Varsity Reds will be playing their third game in four days, as they also have games at UMass and Vermont on the preceding Saturday and Sunday. As we saw last season against Prince Edward Island, the Canadian schools in the Maritimes are no pushovers, and UNB should provide an excellent challenge for the Engineers.
Three nights later, the games that count get underway as RPI plays a weekend series out west against Colorado College. They return east the next weekend to face Northeastern in Boston followed by the home opener the next night against Bentley on Homecoming weekend.
The first full home weekend follows, as the Engineers host RIT and Niagara, and a week later, RPI returns to the home of the Miracle on Ice for the first time in eight years as they face off against Union in a non-conference game the night before Halloween.
November
From there, the ECAC schedule gets underway as RPI travels to Dartmouth and Harvard on the first weekend of the month. The following weekend, the Union home-and-home weekend returns, with the meeting in Schenectady coming on 11/12 and the return trip to Troy coming the next night. As that Saturday night's game is the only ECAC home game before January, Black Friday has become Black Saturday this season.
After a week off, the November schedule concludes after Thanksgiving with the annual RPI Invitational. The Engineers face UConn on Friday before taking on Bowling Green or Alabama-Huntsville on Saturday.
December
On December 3rd, the Engineers try to make it three in a row against Yale in New Haven, and face playoff nemesis Brown the next night in Providence. They return home the next weekend for the annual game against traditional rivals Boston University.
From there, the team is pretty much done with the first half of the season, but they do return eight days later to face the US World Junior team in Troy - likely including Jerry D'Amigo - for the Yanks' tune-up and final audition game before they head to Buffalo to defend their title.
After Christmas, the Engineers take a vacation down south, but it's a working vacation as they play on 12/30 and New Year's Eve against Alabama-Huntsville.
January
From there, it's all ECAC matchups for RPI - 16 games, 10 of which are at home. It begins in the second weekend of the new year as Clarkson and St. Lawrence come to town - during break, unfortunately. The remainder of break is taken up with a road weekend at Cornell and Colgate.
Students should, however, be back in town for the longest homestand of the year as Harvard and Dartmouth come to town to finish the season series with those teams, followed in the last weekend of January by Brown and Yale - the Yale matchup being this year's Big Red Freakout! on 1/29.
February
The final month of the regular season kicks off with a road weekend at Quinnipiac and Princeton, playing those teams for the first time on the year even after having already finished the season series with four other squads. They return home the following weekend for Colgate and Cornell.
The dreaded North Country trip comes in the final road weekend of the regular season as the Engineers face St. Lawrence and Clarkson, finishing the season the following weekend with their second Princeton/Quinnipiac series of the month, with the Bobcats on 2/26 coming in for senior night.
That's the schedule. Now, the team. Seniors are listed in italics.
Forwards
Departed since last September (6) : Jerry D'Amigo, Paul Kerins, Christian Morrisette, Brandon Pirri, Garett Vassel, Jordan Watts.
Returning (12): Alex Angers-Goulet, Kevin Beauregard, Bryan Brutlag, Patrick Cullen, Scott Halpern, Tyler Helfrich, C.J. Lee, Joel Malchuk, Marty O'Grady, Chase Polacek, Josh Rabbani, Justin Smith.
New this season (4): Greg Burgdoerfer, Brock Higgs, Johnny Rogic, Matt Tinordi.
It had looked like there was going to be a glut of forwards when we looked at the team in April - there were expected to be 20 forwards competing for 12 slots. Then we found that Jacob Laliberté would not be coming in. Then in August, it was Jerry D'Amigo signing a pro contract. Then Jordan Watts transferred to D-III Adrian. Then Brandon Pirri was signing on the dotted line, too. What had been expected to be an unassailable asset for the Engineers is starting to become something of a question mark.
Fortunately, there are a lot of potential and realistic answers to that question mark within the 16-player bloc. Polacek should be a constant, but he'll need other producers chipping in around him if he's going to be able to operate. The potential replacements for D'Amigo, Kerins, and Pirri? Cullen wowed the scouts at the Washington Capitals rookie camp this summer (as an undrafted free agent). Helfrich led the Engineers in scoring his freshman year (on a team that included Polacek) but has dealt with injuries the past two seasons. Brutlag and O'Grady were significant contributors up front last season. Higgs, Rogic, and Tinordi all come in with the size and talent to produce. And all RPI needs is two or three of those names with demonstrated ability stepping up as scoring threats to make the offense work.
The supporting players have done their job well in the last couple of seasons. Angers-Goulet played his role as a secondary threat very well, but RPI could use more output from Halpern and Lee in this regard.
Defensemen
Departed since last September (4): Erik Burgdoerfer, Christian Jensen, Peter Merth, Mark Zarbo.
Returning (3): Mike Bergin, Jeff Foss, John Kennedy.
New this season (4): Nick Bailen, Bo Dolan, Pat Koudys, Guy Leboeuf.
This position is practically the mirror opposite of the offense - in April, it seemed like the defensemen would be the biggest concern. The three returning names are stalwarts, representing half of the nightly defensive contingent. But the new faces, in many ways, could be ready to be practically immediate improvements over the guys they are replacing. Burgdoerfer's toughness won't be easy to replace, but Bailen and Dolan both have shown a willingness to stand up for their teammates at other levels. Bailen's past NCAA experience (he played one season at Bowling Green before transferring) should help him ease in as a regular. That leaves two defensemen per night that will be freshmen.
The most important addition, absolutely, is size, and that comes via Koudys and Leboeuf. The former is younger (still only 17) and 6'4" while Leboeuf is three years older and 6'5", but Koudys is bigger and comes with a lot of expectation - he may well be a fairly high draft pick in 2011 and should be a formidable regular presence for the Engineers. We expect the 6th defenseman to vacillate between Leboeuf and Dolan.
The drawback, of course, is in something of a lack of depth as there are only 7 players to fill 6 nightly positions, though the Engineers do have former defenseman Bryan Brutlag available in an emergency, as well as Kevin Beauregard, who is still practicing as a forward but has been mentioned as a viable emergency defensive option.
Goaltenders
Departed since last September (1): Joe Harkenrider.
Returning (2): Bryce Merriam, Allen York.
New this season (1): Jeremy Coupal.
York is the top returning goaltender in the ECAC if you look solely at the numbers. That puts the Engineers in a firm position in net for sure, but they are going to need some better showing from Merriam in his sophomore year to be confirmed as a positive for the team. When York got hurt down the stretch last year, the team struggled. Merriam will need to be able to step in and be just as capable in net as York.
That's not to say that York doesn't have a few issues of his own to iron out. If he wants to snag the mantle of top goaltender in the league, it's certainly out there for the taking. He's got a full season as the top guy under his belt now, so if he can build on last year's positive experiences, he could be a force to be reckoned with all on his own.
In other news, the practice goaltender has changed, which isn't really much more than a note than an issue of great concern.
In The Pipeline
F Jacob Laliberté
Cornwall Colts, CHL
Laliberté has been long awaited in Troy. He committed to RPI before Jerry D'Amigo and Brandon Pirri even did, but he disappointed the Engineer faithful when he did not arrive with the fab frosh last season, and when it was announced early this offseason that he wouldn't be here this year either, people began to wonder whether Laliberté was ever going to wear the Cherry and White. Word began to leak out that despite his awe-inspiring offensive numbers, that he lacked work ethic, wouldn't play defense, and was still somewhat immature.
But at the beginning of this month, Laliberté recommitted himself to RPI in comments to Ed Weaver at the Troy Record. "Me, my family and the RPI coaching staff felt I still wasn’t ready for RPI,” he said. “I had to mature both off the ice and on the ice. I had some personal problems... I’m putting that all behind me now." That's great news for the future, as Laliberté projects to be the prototype for the star four-year recruit - small of stature and overlooked by the NHL, but with the goods to be a collegiate star.
One does wonder how much more Laliberté can grow in his current league, which he has dominated offensively two seasons in a row. Perhaps he will have the opportunity to fine-tune his game defensively and grow his work ethic to become a better all-around player. With any luck, he'll have aged like fine wine by the time he arrives.
D Luke Curadi
Dubuque Fighting Saints, USHL
Curadi, when he committed to RPI earlier this year, was iffy on whether he would be due this season or next season, and while he probably could have fit well with the rest of the incoming defensemen - he's listed at 6'5", 255 and he may not be done growing yet - he could well be the largest player in all of college hockey when he arrives in Troy next year. Between him, Koudys, and Leboeuf, the Engineers will have an awful lot of size on defense.
This year, he will hone his craft under the tutelage of former RPI assistant coach Jim Montgomery, now the head coach and general manager of the expansion Saints. The word is that he needs to increase his speed a little bit, but the popular adage is that "you can't teach size," and in hockey, size often matters quite a lot. Even if he eventually arrives with some flaws, that's something he'll have going for him no matter what.
C Matt Neal
Stouffville Spirit, OJHL
Neal appeared as a commitment to RPI for the 2011-12 season just this week, so we're still finding out good information about him. He's listed at 5' 11", 175, turns 19 in November, and has two goals and three assists in five games so far this season for the Spirit. We'll keep you updated on his progress throughout the year.
Early indications are that Neal may be a pretty decent talent. He played alongside Pat Koudys on the Team Canada Selects squad that went to Sweden this past April, which is a pretty significant honor. Last year, he had 21 goals and 26 assists over 49 games, just short of a point per game.
First, we'll analyze the schedule for the upcoming season.
October
The season kicks off a week from Tuesday with an exhibition against New Brunswick. The Varsity Reds will be playing their third game in four days, as they also have games at UMass and Vermont on the preceding Saturday and Sunday. As we saw last season against Prince Edward Island, the Canadian schools in the Maritimes are no pushovers, and UNB should provide an excellent challenge for the Engineers.
Three nights later, the games that count get underway as RPI plays a weekend series out west against Colorado College. They return east the next weekend to face Northeastern in Boston followed by the home opener the next night against Bentley on Homecoming weekend.
The first full home weekend follows, as the Engineers host RIT and Niagara, and a week later, RPI returns to the home of the Miracle on Ice for the first time in eight years as they face off against Union in a non-conference game the night before Halloween.
November
From there, the ECAC schedule gets underway as RPI travels to Dartmouth and Harvard on the first weekend of the month. The following weekend, the Union home-and-home weekend returns, with the meeting in Schenectady coming on 11/12 and the return trip to Troy coming the next night. As that Saturday night's game is the only ECAC home game before January, Black Friday has become Black Saturday this season.
After a week off, the November schedule concludes after Thanksgiving with the annual RPI Invitational. The Engineers face UConn on Friday before taking on Bowling Green or Alabama-Huntsville on Saturday.
December
On December 3rd, the Engineers try to make it three in a row against Yale in New Haven, and face playoff nemesis Brown the next night in Providence. They return home the next weekend for the annual game against traditional rivals Boston University.
From there, the team is pretty much done with the first half of the season, but they do return eight days later to face the US World Junior team in Troy - likely including Jerry D'Amigo - for the Yanks' tune-up and final audition game before they head to Buffalo to defend their title.
After Christmas, the Engineers take a vacation down south, but it's a working vacation as they play on 12/30 and New Year's Eve against Alabama-Huntsville.
January
From there, it's all ECAC matchups for RPI - 16 games, 10 of which are at home. It begins in the second weekend of the new year as Clarkson and St. Lawrence come to town - during break, unfortunately. The remainder of break is taken up with a road weekend at Cornell and Colgate.
Students should, however, be back in town for the longest homestand of the year as Harvard and Dartmouth come to town to finish the season series with those teams, followed in the last weekend of January by Brown and Yale - the Yale matchup being this year's Big Red Freakout! on 1/29.
February
The final month of the regular season kicks off with a road weekend at Quinnipiac and Princeton, playing those teams for the first time on the year even after having already finished the season series with four other squads. They return home the following weekend for Colgate and Cornell.
The dreaded North Country trip comes in the final road weekend of the regular season as the Engineers face St. Lawrence and Clarkson, finishing the season the following weekend with their second Princeton/Quinnipiac series of the month, with the Bobcats on 2/26 coming in for senior night.
That's the schedule. Now, the team. Seniors are listed in italics.
Forwards
Departed since last September (6) : Jerry D'Amigo, Paul Kerins, Christian Morrisette, Brandon Pirri, Garett Vassel, Jordan Watts.
Returning (12): Alex Angers-Goulet, Kevin Beauregard, Bryan Brutlag, Patrick Cullen, Scott Halpern, Tyler Helfrich, C.J. Lee, Joel Malchuk, Marty O'Grady, Chase Polacek, Josh Rabbani, Justin Smith.
New this season (4): Greg Burgdoerfer, Brock Higgs, Johnny Rogic, Matt Tinordi.
It had looked like there was going to be a glut of forwards when we looked at the team in April - there were expected to be 20 forwards competing for 12 slots. Then we found that Jacob Laliberté would not be coming in. Then in August, it was Jerry D'Amigo signing a pro contract. Then Jordan Watts transferred to D-III Adrian. Then Brandon Pirri was signing on the dotted line, too. What had been expected to be an unassailable asset for the Engineers is starting to become something of a question mark.
Fortunately, there are a lot of potential and realistic answers to that question mark within the 16-player bloc. Polacek should be a constant, but he'll need other producers chipping in around him if he's going to be able to operate. The potential replacements for D'Amigo, Kerins, and Pirri? Cullen wowed the scouts at the Washington Capitals rookie camp this summer (as an undrafted free agent). Helfrich led the Engineers in scoring his freshman year (on a team that included Polacek) but has dealt with injuries the past two seasons. Brutlag and O'Grady were significant contributors up front last season. Higgs, Rogic, and Tinordi all come in with the size and talent to produce. And all RPI needs is two or three of those names with demonstrated ability stepping up as scoring threats to make the offense work.
The supporting players have done their job well in the last couple of seasons. Angers-Goulet played his role as a secondary threat very well, but RPI could use more output from Halpern and Lee in this regard.
Defensemen
Departed since last September (4): Erik Burgdoerfer, Christian Jensen, Peter Merth, Mark Zarbo.
Returning (3): Mike Bergin, Jeff Foss, John Kennedy.
New this season (4): Nick Bailen, Bo Dolan, Pat Koudys, Guy Leboeuf.
This position is practically the mirror opposite of the offense - in April, it seemed like the defensemen would be the biggest concern. The three returning names are stalwarts, representing half of the nightly defensive contingent. But the new faces, in many ways, could be ready to be practically immediate improvements over the guys they are replacing. Burgdoerfer's toughness won't be easy to replace, but Bailen and Dolan both have shown a willingness to stand up for their teammates at other levels. Bailen's past NCAA experience (he played one season at Bowling Green before transferring) should help him ease in as a regular. That leaves two defensemen per night that will be freshmen.
The most important addition, absolutely, is size, and that comes via Koudys and Leboeuf. The former is younger (still only 17) and 6'4" while Leboeuf is three years older and 6'5", but Koudys is bigger and comes with a lot of expectation - he may well be a fairly high draft pick in 2011 and should be a formidable regular presence for the Engineers. We expect the 6th defenseman to vacillate between Leboeuf and Dolan.
The drawback, of course, is in something of a lack of depth as there are only 7 players to fill 6 nightly positions, though the Engineers do have former defenseman Bryan Brutlag available in an emergency, as well as Kevin Beauregard, who is still practicing as a forward but has been mentioned as a viable emergency defensive option.
Goaltenders
Departed since last September (1): Joe Harkenrider.
Returning (2): Bryce Merriam, Allen York.
New this season (1): Jeremy Coupal.
York is the top returning goaltender in the ECAC if you look solely at the numbers. That puts the Engineers in a firm position in net for sure, but they are going to need some better showing from Merriam in his sophomore year to be confirmed as a positive for the team. When York got hurt down the stretch last year, the team struggled. Merriam will need to be able to step in and be just as capable in net as York.
That's not to say that York doesn't have a few issues of his own to iron out. If he wants to snag the mantle of top goaltender in the league, it's certainly out there for the taking. He's got a full season as the top guy under his belt now, so if he can build on last year's positive experiences, he could be a force to be reckoned with all on his own.
In other news, the practice goaltender has changed, which isn't really much more than a note than an issue of great concern.
In The Pipeline
F Jacob Laliberté
Cornwall Colts, CHL
Laliberté has been long awaited in Troy. He committed to RPI before Jerry D'Amigo and Brandon Pirri even did, but he disappointed the Engineer faithful when he did not arrive with the fab frosh last season, and when it was announced early this offseason that he wouldn't be here this year either, people began to wonder whether Laliberté was ever going to wear the Cherry and White. Word began to leak out that despite his awe-inspiring offensive numbers, that he lacked work ethic, wouldn't play defense, and was still somewhat immature.
But at the beginning of this month, Laliberté recommitted himself to RPI in comments to Ed Weaver at the Troy Record. "Me, my family and the RPI coaching staff felt I still wasn’t ready for RPI,” he said. “I had to mature both off the ice and on the ice. I had some personal problems... I’m putting that all behind me now." That's great news for the future, as Laliberté projects to be the prototype for the star four-year recruit - small of stature and overlooked by the NHL, but with the goods to be a collegiate star.
One does wonder how much more Laliberté can grow in his current league, which he has dominated offensively two seasons in a row. Perhaps he will have the opportunity to fine-tune his game defensively and grow his work ethic to become a better all-around player. With any luck, he'll have aged like fine wine by the time he arrives.
D Luke Curadi
Dubuque Fighting Saints, USHL
Curadi, when he committed to RPI earlier this year, was iffy on whether he would be due this season or next season, and while he probably could have fit well with the rest of the incoming defensemen - he's listed at 6'5", 255 and he may not be done growing yet - he could well be the largest player in all of college hockey when he arrives in Troy next year. Between him, Koudys, and Leboeuf, the Engineers will have an awful lot of size on defense.
This year, he will hone his craft under the tutelage of former RPI assistant coach Jim Montgomery, now the head coach and general manager of the expansion Saints. The word is that he needs to increase his speed a little bit, but the popular adage is that "you can't teach size," and in hockey, size often matters quite a lot. Even if he eventually arrives with some flaws, that's something he'll have going for him no matter what.
C Matt Neal
Stouffville Spirit, OJHL
Neal appeared as a commitment to RPI for the 2011-12 season just this week, so we're still finding out good information about him. He's listed at 5' 11", 175, turns 19 in November, and has two goals and three assists in five games so far this season for the Spirit. We'll keep you updated on his progress throughout the year.
Early indications are that Neal may be a pretty decent talent. He played alongside Pat Koudys on the Team Canada Selects squad that went to Sweden this past April, which is a pretty significant honor. Last year, he had 21 goals and 26 assists over 49 games, just short of a point per game.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Women's Hockey - 2010-11 Season Preview
With the season set to get underway in just 10 days, it's high time we take a look at what the coming year has in store for the Engineers. In the coming week we'll be breaking down the ECAC, a few teams at a time, before bringing you an overall ECAC preview to wrap things up before the team hits the ice on 9/25 for their opening game, an exhibition against the University of Montreal.
RPI will play 34 games this season, including one exhibition, 11 non-conference tilts, and 22 ECAC matchups. The opposition comes from 19 teams, including last year's national runner-up Cornell, 8 teams who spent at least a week in the top 10 of the USCHO.com Division I poll, and a range of talent that spans from Wisconsin (a perennial power who finished 34-2-5 en route to the national championship two seasons ago) to Union (who has won just 17 games in the past 5 seasons combined). All in all, the season stands to be an interesting one, with the Engineers being put to the test by several top teams - before October comes to an end.
As noted, the season opens on 9/25 against the University of Montreal, in its second season overall and first in CIS, the Canadian college league. Montreal is well-respected in CIS for many of its teams, but its hockey team is a relative unknown due to its youth. Most importantly, it gives the Engineers a chance to get their feet under them in a game that doesn’t count, as they waste no time jumping into the thick of things by hitting the road for a pair of games in Madison against Wisconsin on 10/1 and 10/2.
RPI returns to Houston Field House the following two weeks, where they play a pair against Vermont on 10/8 and 10/9, and a single game against New Hampshire on 10/15. The Engineers are 6-8-0 all-time against Vermont, but haven’t won a game against the Catamounts since 2000, in an ECAC Division III tournament game. RPI played New Hampshire for the first time last season, blowing a 3-1 lead to lose 4-3 in regulation – thanks primarily to Kelly Paton’s hat trick for the Wildcats.
Next up is a Friday/Sunday pair against Hockey East’s Providence and Northeastern on 10/22 and 10/24. Providence was the Hockey East regular season champion last year, and Northeastern finished tied for second with UNH and BU, so expect this to be a tough test for RPI. Providence boasted the second best offense in Hockey East last season, averaging 2.81 goals per game in conference play. Northeastern had the second stingiest defense in the conference, allowing just 1.62 goals per game. The contrast should be a good chance to see how RPI can adapt to different styles of play without a week to prepare.
RPI opens its ECAC schedule the following weekend at St. Lawrence and Clarkson on 10/29 and 10/30, before a pair at home against Princeton and Quinnipiac 11/5 and 11/6, and another week on the road taking on Yale and Brown 11/12 and 11/13. We won’t get into the specifics on the ECAC matchups here, but will break each one down in the coming ECAC previews.
11/19 and 11/20 have Niagara paying a visit to the Field House. The Engineers went 1-0-1 against the Purple Eagles last season, who return top scorer Jenna Hendrikx (14-10-24) and starting goalie Jenni Bauer (.915%, 2.25GAA). Niagara loses nine seniors, 6 of whom were regular starters last season, so expect to see a younger team take the ice than we saw last season.
RPI travels to Syracuse after Thanksgiving, for a pair of games on 11/26 and 11/27. The Orange took a pair of games against RPI in Troy last season by one goal each, en route to an 18-17-1 finish in just their second season as a Division I club. Syracuse brings in the top rated high school goalie in Minnesota, Kallie Billadeau, who was a teammate of RPI freshman Missy Mankey on the Hopkins HS team last season. Aside from outgoing goalie Lucy Schoedel, Syracuse graduated just two players after the 09-10 season, so they should prove to be a tough and experienced team this season.
RPI closes out the first half of the season before the holidays with a home-and-home against Union, in Schenectady on 12/3 and Troy on 12/4. The Engineers play four in a row at home after the break, taking on Dartmouth, Harvard, Cornell, and Colgate on 1/7, 8, 14, and 15 respectively. Two weekends on the road follow as RPI heads east to take on Harvard and Dartmouth on 1/21 and 1/22 before heading west to face Colgate and Cornell on 1/28 and 1/29.
The Engineers enter the home stretch of the season in February with a pair at home against Brown and Yale on 2/4 and 2/5, travel to Quinnipiac and Princeton on 2/11 and 2/12, and close out the season at home on 2/18 against Clarkson and Senior Night on 2/19 against St. Lawrence.
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Coach Burke has put together a solid non-conference schedule this season, as he has reliably done the past several seasons. RPI has a chance to get some good experience on the ice before heading into the ECAC schedule, but there are still some big question marks about this year's team. As we discussed early in the summer when reviewing the graduating seniors and incoming freshmen, RPI’s success on the ice this season is going to boil down to two main points – can the upperclassmen and new freshmen forwards generate enough offense to overcome the loss of last year’s seniors, and can Sonja van der Bliek continue to be one of the top goalies in the ECAC in her senior season?
Either one would make life a lot easier for the Engineers. If they manage both, the potential is there for another successful season.
Check back on Friday when we break down RPI’s first four ECAC opponents – St. Lawrence, Clarkson, Princeton, and Quinnipiac.
RPI will play 34 games this season, including one exhibition, 11 non-conference tilts, and 22 ECAC matchups. The opposition comes from 19 teams, including last year's national runner-up Cornell, 8 teams who spent at least a week in the top 10 of the USCHO.com Division I poll, and a range of talent that spans from Wisconsin (a perennial power who finished 34-2-5 en route to the national championship two seasons ago) to Union (who has won just 17 games in the past 5 seasons combined). All in all, the season stands to be an interesting one, with the Engineers being put to the test by several top teams - before October comes to an end.
As noted, the season opens on 9/25 against the University of Montreal, in its second season overall and first in CIS, the Canadian college league. Montreal is well-respected in CIS for many of its teams, but its hockey team is a relative unknown due to its youth. Most importantly, it gives the Engineers a chance to get their feet under them in a game that doesn’t count, as they waste no time jumping into the thick of things by hitting the road for a pair of games in Madison against Wisconsin on 10/1 and 10/2.
RPI returns to Houston Field House the following two weeks, where they play a pair against Vermont on 10/8 and 10/9, and a single game against New Hampshire on 10/15. The Engineers are 6-8-0 all-time against Vermont, but haven’t won a game against the Catamounts since 2000, in an ECAC Division III tournament game. RPI played New Hampshire for the first time last season, blowing a 3-1 lead to lose 4-3 in regulation – thanks primarily to Kelly Paton’s hat trick for the Wildcats.
Next up is a Friday/Sunday pair against Hockey East’s Providence and Northeastern on 10/22 and 10/24. Providence was the Hockey East regular season champion last year, and Northeastern finished tied for second with UNH and BU, so expect this to be a tough test for RPI. Providence boasted the second best offense in Hockey East last season, averaging 2.81 goals per game in conference play. Northeastern had the second stingiest defense in the conference, allowing just 1.62 goals per game. The contrast should be a good chance to see how RPI can adapt to different styles of play without a week to prepare.
RPI opens its ECAC schedule the following weekend at St. Lawrence and Clarkson on 10/29 and 10/30, before a pair at home against Princeton and Quinnipiac 11/5 and 11/6, and another week on the road taking on Yale and Brown 11/12 and 11/13. We won’t get into the specifics on the ECAC matchups here, but will break each one down in the coming ECAC previews.
11/19 and 11/20 have Niagara paying a visit to the Field House. The Engineers went 1-0-1 against the Purple Eagles last season, who return top scorer Jenna Hendrikx (14-10-24) and starting goalie Jenni Bauer (.915%, 2.25GAA). Niagara loses nine seniors, 6 of whom were regular starters last season, so expect to see a younger team take the ice than we saw last season.
RPI travels to Syracuse after Thanksgiving, for a pair of games on 11/26 and 11/27. The Orange took a pair of games against RPI in Troy last season by one goal each, en route to an 18-17-1 finish in just their second season as a Division I club. Syracuse brings in the top rated high school goalie in Minnesota, Kallie Billadeau, who was a teammate of RPI freshman Missy Mankey on the Hopkins HS team last season. Aside from outgoing goalie Lucy Schoedel, Syracuse graduated just two players after the 09-10 season, so they should prove to be a tough and experienced team this season.
RPI closes out the first half of the season before the holidays with a home-and-home against Union, in Schenectady on 12/3 and Troy on 12/4. The Engineers play four in a row at home after the break, taking on Dartmouth, Harvard, Cornell, and Colgate on 1/7, 8, 14, and 15 respectively. Two weekends on the road follow as RPI heads east to take on Harvard and Dartmouth on 1/21 and 1/22 before heading west to face Colgate and Cornell on 1/28 and 1/29.
The Engineers enter the home stretch of the season in February with a pair at home against Brown and Yale on 2/4 and 2/5, travel to Quinnipiac and Princeton on 2/11 and 2/12, and close out the season at home on 2/18 against Clarkson and Senior Night on 2/19 against St. Lawrence.
-----
Coach Burke has put together a solid non-conference schedule this season, as he has reliably done the past several seasons. RPI has a chance to get some good experience on the ice before heading into the ECAC schedule, but there are still some big question marks about this year's team. As we discussed early in the summer when reviewing the graduating seniors and incoming freshmen, RPI’s success on the ice this season is going to boil down to two main points – can the upperclassmen and new freshmen forwards generate enough offense to overcome the loss of last year’s seniors, and can Sonja van der Bliek continue to be one of the top goalies in the ECAC in her senior season?
Either one would make life a lot easier for the Engineers. If they manage both, the potential is there for another successful season.
Check back on Friday when we break down RPI’s first four ECAC opponents – St. Lawrence, Clarkson, Princeton, and Quinnipiac.
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