(Tom is in the West Indies on his honeymoon, hence the lack of additional content this week... he'll be back at the end of next week, don't worry.)
BU may not be aware of how much they've lucked out at Agganis Arena against the Engineers in the recent past - and yet, that luck hasn't translated into blowouts of RPI, not in the least. Tonight's game in Beantown represents the third straight BU-RPI game in Boston that has featured the Engineers forced to cope with an injury to its first-choice goaltender who will be inactive for the game. On December 11, 2009, an injury to Allen York pressed Bryce Merriam into duty at Agganis, and the freshman netminder responded with 32 saves on 35 shots to lead the Engineers to a 5-3 victory. Last season, on January 4, 2013, an injury to Jason Kasdorf required Merriam to take charge once again, and the senior turned in an even more impressive performance with 38 saves on 41 shots but in a losing effort as the offense was not as strong with RPI falling 3-2 in overtime.
Once again, it's RPI at BU, and once again, it's an injured top goaltender. Jason Kasdorf suffered a "freak" shoulder injury before practice on Tuesday, and while rumors are wild and flying about his long-term status (one blogger in Winnipeg suggested he was out for the year, others have said he'll be back relatively soon), we do know he's out for the coming weekend. RPI will look to Scott Diebold to channel Bryce Merriam's last two performances in order to orchestrate a bounce-back from Sunday's horrifying turnout at Boston College.
After a pair of games against two of the stronger college hockey programs in the nation, the Engineers bookend with a second game against Sacred Heart, this one the home opener. After a slow start last week in Connecticut, RPI thoroughly demolished a team that was one day removed from one of the biggest regular-season upsets in NCAA history, as the Pioneers, with just 2 wins all of last season, had just knocked off then-#1 UMass-Lowell. Hopefully, RPI can duplicate that success as a confidence builder heading into next week's till with New Hampshire, another one of the traditional Hockey East beasts.
Just one outing for the women this weekend as they take on Vermont tomorrow at the Field House as the first half of the family weekend doubleheader in Troy along with the men's game with Sacred Heart. The Engineers are coming off a big tie against BU and should be the favorites against a Catamounts team that has traditionally been one of the weakest in Hockey East. If you're planning to head to Troy for the men's game anyway, why not turn out to see the women at 3pm?
It's October, it's Friday, and you know what that means around here... turn up the volume and get psyched. In honor of the men's home opener... ladies and gentlemen... THE ROLLING STONES!
Showing posts with label bryce merriam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bryce merriam. Show all posts
Friday, October 18, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
Men's Hockey - at Quinnipiac/Princeton (11/12 Jan)
When it's the little things holding you back, the bigger picture sometimes becomes somewhat maddening. For the second weekend in a row, the Engineers were forced to settle for less than they'd arguably earned on the ice, picking up just one point in the return to ECAC play and remaining at the bottom of the league standings despite becoming the first team to keep Quinnipiac out of the win column with a 1-1 tie on Friday, a dominating performance against Princeton went for naught in a 4-1 loss that was far closer than the final score - indeed, the final score is very deceiving.
Quinnipiac
Lee-McGowan-Haggerty
Zalewski-Laliberte-Bubela
Neal-Higgs-Tinordi
Rogic-Miller-Burgdoerfer
Leonard-Bailen
Leboeuf-Bradley
Curadi-Bokenfohr
Lee-McGowan-Haggerty
Zalewski-Laliberte-Bubela
Neal-Higgs-Tinordi
Rogic-Miller-Burgdoerfer
Leonard-Bailen
Leboeuf-Bradley
Curadi-Bokenfohr
Merriam
A big time shakeup in the lines preceded the return to ECAC play, with the successful "NHL" line of Matt Neal, Ryan Haggerty, and Jacob Laliberte officially divvied up, as well as Mark Miller being moved off the almost as successful "freshman" line with Mike Zalewski and Milos Bubela. Brock Higgs returned to the lineup, and Bo Dolan came out in favor of Craig Bokenfohr.
RPI went into Hamden seeking a bit of revenge for the game against Quinnipiac in Troy which featured a terrible third period in which the Engineers blew a decent shot at a win by giving up a 3-on-5 shorthanded goal, but to do so, they'd have to become the first team in the ECAC to take points from the Bobcats, as they entered with a perfect 10-0-0 record in league play.
Quinnipiac looked every inch the top team in the league during the first period, outshooting RPI 11-7 in the opening period, and although the Engineers didn't play their best hockey by any stretch, some excellent play by Bryce Merriam in net kept things scoreless through the first period.
RPI took a late penalty in the first period that gave Quinnipiac a power play for much of the beginning of the second, but the penalty kill successfully got through unblemished. A Bobcat penalty seconds after the RPI penalty expired gave the Engineers their second power play of the game, and it was captain C.J. Lee converting for his third goal of the season that gave RPI the early 1-0 lead.
While the Engineers played very well throughout the second period and into the third, they would lose the lead at almost exactly the midway point of the second on a goal by the Q's top scorer, returning the deadlock at 1-1.
If there was to be a winner, momentum would have pegged the Engineers as the favorite in the third period as they pelted Eric Hartzell with 10 shots and absorbed only five on the other end, but the ECAC's top goaltender thus far held his team in the game. Regulation gave way to an anemic overtime as neither team truly threatened in the extra five minutes, and the final tally gave RPI a point with a 1-1 tie, marking the first time on the season that the Bobcats had failed to pick up the victory in league play, but maintaining their nation-leading unbeaten streak.
For RPI, it was a little more proof that they had the chops to run with some of the better teams in the country.
Princeton
Lee-McGowan-Haggerty
Zalewski-Laliberte-Bubela
Neal-Higgs-Tinordi
Rogic-Miller-Burgdoerfer
Leonard-Bailen
Leboeuf-Bradley
Curadi-Dolan
Only one change from Friday to Saturday as Bo Dolan returned to the regular starting lineup.
If there was one major thing RPI could be faulted for in its Saturday afternoon game against the Tigers, it's that they played a relatively flat first period and it wound up costing them in the end. They tallied the first two penalties of the game, the second of which, 14 minutes into the game, led to a Princeton power play goal that made the score 1-0. Just over two minutes later, the Tigers scored again to go up 2-0.
That's when RPI basically took over the entire game. How dominant were the Engineers in the final two periods? Let's put it this way - 19-2 was the shot total in the final 40 minutes, at least while Bryce Merriam was still residing in the RPI net. He didn't face a single shot on goal in the third period.
Meanwhile, the Engineers maintained almost total domination in the Princeton zone. Just 1:48 into the second period, Ryan Haggerty's team-leading eighth goal of the season came on the power play to halve the Princeton lead, but that was as close as the Engineers would get. That's not to say that they didn't have their opportunities, or that they had some just plain dumb luck, especially in the second period.
Brock Higgs, still goalless on the season, was robbed not once, but twice on the doorstep during the middle stanza. At another point late in the period, Haggerty appeared to have poked the puck home after a scrum in front, but referee Harry Dumas had already blown for a quick whistle. Then, at the dying moments of the second, a Nick Bailen shot evaded everyone and found the back of the net, but it was ruled that the period had expired prior to the puck crossing the line.
Princeton basically turtled in the third period, trying to salvage the victory, and they did a good job of giving up the body to stop the shots coming their way, as RPI was only able to unleash five shots on goal in the final period despite a total domination of possession. Errant shots and shots into pads certainly didn't help matters.
RPI appeared to be getting the golden opportunity they were waiting for when Princeton took a charging penalty with 1:35 left in regulation. Appert pulled Merriam from the net to create a 6-on-4. Unfortunately, the Engineers never got themselves set up on the two-man advantage, and Princeton took advantage of the lack of icing to fire it toward the open net. It didn't score at first, but the Tigers hustled down first and grabbed the puck, eventually getting it in anyway.
Merriam stayed out of the net for the ensuing faceoff, but in the waning seconds Princeton picked up a second empty netter to make the final score 4-1 despite being well outplayed for a good 40 minutes or so - certainly a final that looks far worse in the paper the next day than it did on the ice.
A big time shakeup in the lines preceded the return to ECAC play, with the successful "NHL" line of Matt Neal, Ryan Haggerty, and Jacob Laliberte officially divvied up, as well as Mark Miller being moved off the almost as successful "freshman" line with Mike Zalewski and Milos Bubela. Brock Higgs returned to the lineup, and Bo Dolan came out in favor of Craig Bokenfohr.
RPI went into Hamden seeking a bit of revenge for the game against Quinnipiac in Troy which featured a terrible third period in which the Engineers blew a decent shot at a win by giving up a 3-on-5 shorthanded goal, but to do so, they'd have to become the first team in the ECAC to take points from the Bobcats, as they entered with a perfect 10-0-0 record in league play.
Quinnipiac looked every inch the top team in the league during the first period, outshooting RPI 11-7 in the opening period, and although the Engineers didn't play their best hockey by any stretch, some excellent play by Bryce Merriam in net kept things scoreless through the first period.
RPI took a late penalty in the first period that gave Quinnipiac a power play for much of the beginning of the second, but the penalty kill successfully got through unblemished. A Bobcat penalty seconds after the RPI penalty expired gave the Engineers their second power play of the game, and it was captain C.J. Lee converting for his third goal of the season that gave RPI the early 1-0 lead.
While the Engineers played very well throughout the second period and into the third, they would lose the lead at almost exactly the midway point of the second on a goal by the Q's top scorer, returning the deadlock at 1-1.
If there was to be a winner, momentum would have pegged the Engineers as the favorite in the third period as they pelted Eric Hartzell with 10 shots and absorbed only five on the other end, but the ECAC's top goaltender thus far held his team in the game. Regulation gave way to an anemic overtime as neither team truly threatened in the extra five minutes, and the final tally gave RPI a point with a 1-1 tie, marking the first time on the season that the Bobcats had failed to pick up the victory in league play, but maintaining their nation-leading unbeaten streak.
For RPI, it was a little more proof that they had the chops to run with some of the better teams in the country.
Princeton
Lee-McGowan-Haggerty
Zalewski-Laliberte-Bubela
Neal-Higgs-Tinordi
Rogic-Miller-Burgdoerfer
Leonard-Bailen
Leboeuf-Bradley
Curadi-Dolan
Merriam
Only one change from Friday to Saturday as Bo Dolan returned to the regular starting lineup.
If there was one major thing RPI could be faulted for in its Saturday afternoon game against the Tigers, it's that they played a relatively flat first period and it wound up costing them in the end. They tallied the first two penalties of the game, the second of which, 14 minutes into the game, led to a Princeton power play goal that made the score 1-0. Just over two minutes later, the Tigers scored again to go up 2-0.
That's when RPI basically took over the entire game. How dominant were the Engineers in the final two periods? Let's put it this way - 19-2 was the shot total in the final 40 minutes, at least while Bryce Merriam was still residing in the RPI net. He didn't face a single shot on goal in the third period.
Meanwhile, the Engineers maintained almost total domination in the Princeton zone. Just 1:48 into the second period, Ryan Haggerty's team-leading eighth goal of the season came on the power play to halve the Princeton lead, but that was as close as the Engineers would get. That's not to say that they didn't have their opportunities, or that they had some just plain dumb luck, especially in the second period.
Brock Higgs, still goalless on the season, was robbed not once, but twice on the doorstep during the middle stanza. At another point late in the period, Haggerty appeared to have poked the puck home after a scrum in front, but referee Harry Dumas had already blown for a quick whistle. Then, at the dying moments of the second, a Nick Bailen shot evaded everyone and found the back of the net, but it was ruled that the period had expired prior to the puck crossing the line.
Princeton basically turtled in the third period, trying to salvage the victory, and they did a good job of giving up the body to stop the shots coming their way, as RPI was only able to unleash five shots on goal in the final period despite a total domination of possession. Errant shots and shots into pads certainly didn't help matters.
RPI appeared to be getting the golden opportunity they were waiting for when Princeton took a charging penalty with 1:35 left in regulation. Appert pulled Merriam from the net to create a 6-on-4. Unfortunately, the Engineers never got themselves set up on the two-man advantage, and Princeton took advantage of the lack of icing to fire it toward the open net. It didn't score at first, but the Tigers hustled down first and grabbed the puck, eventually getting it in anyway.
Merriam stayed out of the net for the ensuing faceoff, but in the waning seconds Princeton picked up a second empty netter to make the final score 4-1 despite being well outplayed for a good 40 minutes or so - certainly a final that looks far worse in the paper the next day than it did on the ice.
Other junk - Ranked teams in the ECAC this week are #4 Quinnipiac (tied RPI and beat Union, up one with two first place votes), #11 Dartmouth (beat Harvard, up one), #12 Yale (swept Clarkson/SLU, up two), #16 Cornell (idle, down one), #17 Union (beat Princeton and lost to Quinnipiac, down one), and #20 Colgate (idle, down one). Princeton (4) also received votes. Other teams on the RPI schedule ranked this week include #3 New Hampshire (up one with one first place vote), #9 Boston University (down one), #14 Minnesota State (down three), and #19 St. Cloud State (down one). Ferris State (12) also received votes.
The iron man club is down to only three players who have appeared in all 21 games this season - Guy Leboeuf, Mark Miller, and Milos Bubela.
Phil Hampton (three games played) and Andrew Commers (two) are the only skaters on the roster who have not picked up a point yet this season.
RPI is now nominally at home for the next five games in a row, and seven of the next nine. This is a crucial stretch that will determine the team's playoff fate. Right now, despite being in last place, the Engineers are just 3 points out of sixth - the middle of the table. That makes games at home against Colgate and Cornell important. If they can snap out of their mini-scoring slump from the past weekend, they can start to make their long awaited move.
ECAC Standings (by winning percentage in parentheses)
1 (1). Quinnipiac - 23 points (11-0-1)
2 (5). Princeton - 13 points (5-4-3)
3 (2). Dartmouth - 11 points (5-3-1, +7 GD)
4 (3). Yale - 11 points (5-3-1, +2 GD)
5 (4). Union - 11 points (4-3-3)
6 (6). Cornell - 8 points (3-3-2)
7 (7). Colgate - 7 points (3-4-1, -6 GD)
8 (8). Clarkson - 7 points (3-5-1, +3 GD)
9 (9). Harvard - 6 points (3-6-0)
10 (10). St. Lawrence - 6 points (2-5-2)
11 (11). Brown - 6 points (0-3-4)
12 (12). RPI - 5 points (1-6-3)
RPI at #5 Quinnipiac
ECAC Game - TD Bank Sports Center (Hamden, CT)
1/11/13 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 1, Quinnipiac 1 (OT)
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
The iron man club is down to only three players who have appeared in all 21 games this season - Guy Leboeuf, Mark Miller, and Milos Bubela.
Phil Hampton (three games played) and Andrew Commers (two) are the only skaters on the roster who have not picked up a point yet this season.
RPI is now nominally at home for the next five games in a row, and seven of the next nine. This is a crucial stretch that will determine the team's playoff fate. Right now, despite being in last place, the Engineers are just 3 points out of sixth - the middle of the table. That makes games at home against Colgate and Cornell important. If they can snap out of their mini-scoring slump from the past weekend, they can start to make their long awaited move.
ECAC Standings (by winning percentage in parentheses)
1 (1). Quinnipiac - 23 points (11-0-1)
2 (5). Princeton - 13 points (5-4-3)
3 (2). Dartmouth - 11 points (5-3-1, +7 GD)
4 (3). Yale - 11 points (5-3-1, +2 GD)
5 (4). Union - 11 points (4-3-3)
6 (6). Cornell - 8 points (3-3-2)
7 (7). Colgate - 7 points (3-4-1, -6 GD)
8 (8). Clarkson - 7 points (3-5-1, +3 GD)
9 (9). Harvard - 6 points (3-6-0)
10 (10). St. Lawrence - 6 points (2-5-2)
11 (11). Brown - 6 points (0-3-4)
12 (12). RPI - 5 points (1-6-3)
RPI at #5 Quinnipiac
ECAC Game - TD Bank Sports Center (Hamden, CT)
1/11/13 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 1, Quinnipiac 1 (OT)
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECAPS
RPI
USCHO
Troy Record
Albany Times Union
New Haven Register
RECORD: 6-9-5 (1-5-3 ECAC, 5 points)
RPI
USCHO
Troy Record
Albany Times Union
New Haven Register
RECORD: 6-9-5 (1-5-3 ECAC, 5 points)
RPI at Princeton
ECAC Game - Hobey Baker Memorial Rink (Princeton, NJ)
1/12/13 - 4:00pm
RESULT: Princeton 4, RPI 1
BOX SCORES
ECAC Game - Hobey Baker Memorial Rink (Princeton, NJ)
1/12/13 - 4:00pm
RESULT: Princeton 4, RPI 1
BOX SCORES
RECORD: 6-10-5 (1-6-3 ECAC, 5 points)
Upcoming games
18 Jan - #20 Colgate
19 Jan - #16 Cornell
26 Jan - vs. #17 Union (Albany, NY)
01 Feb - Harvard
02 Feb - #11 Dartmouth (Big Red Freakout!)
18 Jan - #20 Colgate
19 Jan - #16 Cornell
26 Jan - vs. #17 Union (Albany, NY)
01 Feb - Harvard
02 Feb - #11 Dartmouth (Big Red Freakout!)
Monday, March 5, 2012
Hero #3: Bryce Merriam
Bryce Merriam had just 23 saves on 24 shots yesterday, but in a game in which an overall team effort that included many heroes at many different times - Mike Bergin, drawing a five minute major and scoring on the subsequent power play, C.J. Lee outhustling Clarkson to wave off icing with an empty net to set up O'Grady's goal, etc. - his effort all weekend long deserves recognition.
A night after saving 40 shots in a losing effort across two-and-a-half overtime periods, Bryce Merriam stood tall, especially making some quick saves late with a 6-on-3 in effect, stopping the puck on two occasions despite the overwhelming numbers against him, long enough for Clarkson to draw a penalty for slashing. The Knights had only five shots on goal in the third period, but stopping every single one of them was paramount. Merriam finished the three-game weekend with 79 saves.
More heroes are needed in the next weekend at Schenectady. Anyone up for war?
A night after saving 40 shots in a losing effort across two-and-a-half overtime periods, Bryce Merriam stood tall, especially making some quick saves late with a 6-on-3 in effect, stopping the puck on two occasions despite the overwhelming numbers against him, long enough for Clarkson to draw a penalty for slashing. The Knights had only five shots on goal in the third period, but stopping every single one of them was paramount. Merriam finished the three-game weekend with 79 saves.
More heroes are needed in the next weekend at Schenectady. Anyone up for war?
Monday, February 13, 2012
Men's Hockey - at Harvard & Dartmouth (10/11 Feb)
Perhaps it is time to start calling RPI the "road warriors." After a mediocre four-game homestand bookended by a solid win and an awful loss, the Engineers managed to extend their road unbeaten streak to four straight games by riding a defense rebounding from the Freakout nightmare to a 3-point weekend on the road, battling back to pick up a 2-2 tie with the fit-to-be-tied Crimson on Friday, then coming back to pick up a 2-1 win the next night at Dartmouth to pass a plummeting Brown and move out of the ECAC cellar.
Harvard
Lee/McGowan/O'Grady
Cullen/Higgs/Haggerty
Neal/Laliberte/Schroeder
Angers-Goulet/Malchuk/Rabbani
Leonard/Bergin
Leboeuf/Bailen
Leboeuf/Bailen
Curadi/Dolan
Merriam
The top line of C.J. Lee, Mark McGowan, and Marty O'Grady has been together for some time now, but the rest of the forward lines have been jumbled a bit. Matt Tinordi, Greg Burgdoerfer, Johnny Rogic, and Pat Koudys were removed from the Friday lineup after having played in the Freakout, and were replaced with Matt Neal, Jacob Laliberte, Josh Rabbani, and Luke Curadi.
The Engineers got out to the 1-0 lead, scoring the game's opening goal for the first time since the 4-0 win at home over St. Lawrence with Lee's team-lead-tying sixth goal of the season from O'Grady and McGowan about 15 and a half minutes into the game, but the lead only lasted a short time as the Crimson answered back to tie the game just 1:43 later.
RPI weathered the storm in the second period as Bryce Merriam made 11 saves to keep the game knotted at one heading into the final period, where the Engineers began to take more control of the game, and yet they still ended up falling behind. Harvard coach Ted Donato called timeout shortly after RPI failed to score on their second power play opportunity of the game, and just under two minutes later, the Crimson grabbed the lead.
That goal was followed just over a minute later by a questionable tripping call against Luke Curadi, but the Engineer penalty kill held strong, giving RPI the opportunity to stick around. After the Curadi penalty expired, the Engineers started getting some good puck control and had a number of good opportunities on a subsequent power play, but as time ticked down, they still trailed 2-1.
Following an icing call against Harvard, Seth Appert used his timeout and pulled Merriam from the cage - not an uncommon sight this season, but the script was changed this time. For the first time this season, RPI scored an extra attacker goal, coming off the stick of Brock Higgs, who with 1:03 left on the clock, tied the game at two with just his second goal of the season.
The Engineers dominated the overtime period, but could not find the game winner and settled for their second straight 2-2 tie with Harvard. Interestingly, the tie was the Crimson's 10th of the season (in 24 games), tying an NCAA record. As opposed to the tie in January in which RPI blew a 2-0 lead, this one was a little easier to swallow, but the Engineers surely would have hoped for the win given the way the first and third periods went.
Bryce Merriam finished with 29 saves on the night.
The top line of C.J. Lee, Mark McGowan, and Marty O'Grady has been together for some time now, but the rest of the forward lines have been jumbled a bit. Matt Tinordi, Greg Burgdoerfer, Johnny Rogic, and Pat Koudys were removed from the Friday lineup after having played in the Freakout, and were replaced with Matt Neal, Jacob Laliberte, Josh Rabbani, and Luke Curadi.
The Engineers got out to the 1-0 lead, scoring the game's opening goal for the first time since the 4-0 win at home over St. Lawrence with Lee's team-lead-tying sixth goal of the season from O'Grady and McGowan about 15 and a half minutes into the game, but the lead only lasted a short time as the Crimson answered back to tie the game just 1:43 later.
RPI weathered the storm in the second period as Bryce Merriam made 11 saves to keep the game knotted at one heading into the final period, where the Engineers began to take more control of the game, and yet they still ended up falling behind. Harvard coach Ted Donato called timeout shortly after RPI failed to score on their second power play opportunity of the game, and just under two minutes later, the Crimson grabbed the lead.
That goal was followed just over a minute later by a questionable tripping call against Luke Curadi, but the Engineer penalty kill held strong, giving RPI the opportunity to stick around. After the Curadi penalty expired, the Engineers started getting some good puck control and had a number of good opportunities on a subsequent power play, but as time ticked down, they still trailed 2-1.
Following an icing call against Harvard, Seth Appert used his timeout and pulled Merriam from the cage - not an uncommon sight this season, but the script was changed this time. For the first time this season, RPI scored an extra attacker goal, coming off the stick of Brock Higgs, who with 1:03 left on the clock, tied the game at two with just his second goal of the season.
The Engineers dominated the overtime period, but could not find the game winner and settled for their second straight 2-2 tie with Harvard. Interestingly, the tie was the Crimson's 10th of the season (in 24 games), tying an NCAA record. As opposed to the tie in January in which RPI blew a 2-0 lead, this one was a little easier to swallow, but the Engineers surely would have hoped for the win given the way the first and third periods went.
Bryce Merriam finished with 29 saves on the night.
Dartmouth
Lee/McGowan/O'Grady
Cullen/Higgs/Tinordi
Neal/Laliberte/Schroeder
Angers-Goulet/Malchuk/Rogic
Leonard/Bergin
Leboeuf/Bailen
Leboeuf/Bailen
Curadi/Dolan
Merriam
Rogic and Tinordi returned to the lineup on Saturday night, replacing Rabbani and Ryan Haggerty.
As with Friday night, the Engineers jumped out to the 1-0 lead in the first period, and this time they were able to make it stick for a bit longer. Joel Malchuk's fifth goal of the season 9:23 into the game put RPI ahead, and the team killed off the only penalty of the period late to hold the lead into the second thanks in part to some very sloppy play by the Big Green.
Jacob Laliberte struck on the power play about six minutes into the second to give the Engineers a 2-0 edge, but that lead was cut in half about four minutes later, shortly after RPI was unable to convert on another power play opportunity. Dartmouth's Brandon McNally scored just seconds after getting out of the box on a boarding call to make it 2-1, but it was the only high point for the Big Green in the second period, as their overall anemic play carried over into the second overall. Dartmouth managed only two shots on goal in the second period.
Things picked up dramatically in the third period. While RPI put up 14 shots against Dartmouth's 9 in the first two periods, both teams went to work in the final stanza, throwing all kinds of pucks on net. Big Green netminder James Mello made 14 saves in the third, while Merriam threw up 11 of his own.
Both teams had a pair of power play opportunities each in the final frame, but none was more important than Mike Bergin's interference penalty with 1:04 left in regulation. Dartmouth called timeout, and went to work on a 6-on-4 power play which the Engineers were able to break a couple of times with clearances (and open shots on an empty net without the fear of icing), but largely kept RPI hemmed in their own zone. It wasn't until an interference call against Dartmouth with 3 seconds left on the clock that the Engineers could breathe a sigh of relief that they would not be victimized in the same fashion they had done the previous night.
RPI is now undefeated in four straight road games (3-0-1), but they return home this weekend for their final home appearances of the year if they are unable to dig themselves out of their current hole. The good news is that RPI is now within striking distance of a home ice position, now tied for 10th with Princeton and two points behind the tie for 8th between Dartmouth and Yale. With four games left, it's a mad dash for positioning and as we're used to in the ECAC, pretty much anything is possible.
As with Friday night, the Engineers jumped out to the 1-0 lead in the first period, and this time they were able to make it stick for a bit longer. Joel Malchuk's fifth goal of the season 9:23 into the game put RPI ahead, and the team killed off the only penalty of the period late to hold the lead into the second thanks in part to some very sloppy play by the Big Green.
Jacob Laliberte struck on the power play about six minutes into the second to give the Engineers a 2-0 edge, but that lead was cut in half about four minutes later, shortly after RPI was unable to convert on another power play opportunity. Dartmouth's Brandon McNally scored just seconds after getting out of the box on a boarding call to make it 2-1, but it was the only high point for the Big Green in the second period, as their overall anemic play carried over into the second overall. Dartmouth managed only two shots on goal in the second period.
Things picked up dramatically in the third period. While RPI put up 14 shots against Dartmouth's 9 in the first two periods, both teams went to work in the final stanza, throwing all kinds of pucks on net. Big Green netminder James Mello made 14 saves in the third, while Merriam threw up 11 of his own.
Both teams had a pair of power play opportunities each in the final frame, but none was more important than Mike Bergin's interference penalty with 1:04 left in regulation. Dartmouth called timeout, and went to work on a 6-on-4 power play which the Engineers were able to break a couple of times with clearances (and open shots on an empty net without the fear of icing), but largely kept RPI hemmed in their own zone. It wasn't until an interference call against Dartmouth with 3 seconds left on the clock that the Engineers could breathe a sigh of relief that they would not be victimized in the same fashion they had done the previous night.
RPI is now undefeated in four straight road games (3-0-1), but they return home this weekend for their final home appearances of the year if they are unable to dig themselves out of their current hole. The good news is that RPI is now within striking distance of a home ice position, now tied for 10th with Princeton and two points behind the tie for 8th between Dartmouth and Yale. With four games left, it's a mad dash for positioning and as we're used to in the ECAC, pretty much anything is possible.
Other junk - Congratulations to Seth Appert's alma mater (and one of RPI's non-conference opponents both this season and next) Ferris State, as they have become the #1 team in the country for the first time in school history, pulling down 27 first place votes (up five). Also ranked this week on the RPI schedule are #6 UMass-Lowell (up one, with one first place vote), #8 Union (up three), #12 Cornell (up one), #13 Notre Dame (down four), and #15 Colorado College (down five). Also receiving votes were Colgate (107) and Quinnipiac (5).
Union, Cornell, and Colgate have clinched home ice at some point in the playoffs. Realistically, given usual point total targets, Union and Cornell have clinched first round byes, while Harvard and Clarkson have pretty much wrapped up home ice at some point as well.
The win over Dartmouth was RPI's second straight win at Thompson Arena. That's the first time that's happened since the playoff upset of March 2009 and the first time in the regular season since the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons.
The men and the women both defeated Dartmouth on Saturday, marking the first time both teams defeated the same school on the same day since January 15, 2011, when both teams beat Colgate. Both teams also beat Dartmouth on January 22, 2009.
Union, Cornell, and Colgate have clinched home ice at some point in the playoffs. Realistically, given usual point total targets, Union and Cornell have clinched first round byes, while Harvard and Clarkson have pretty much wrapped up home ice at some point as well.
The win over Dartmouth was RPI's second straight win at Thompson Arena. That's the first time that's happened since the playoff upset of March 2009 and the first time in the regular season since the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons.
The men and the women both defeated Dartmouth on Saturday, marking the first time both teams defeated the same school on the same day since January 15, 2011, when both teams beat Colgate. Both teams also beat Dartmouth on January 22, 2009.
ECAC Standings
1. Union - 26 pts (11-3-4)
2. Cornell - 25 pts (10-3-5)
3. Colgate - 23 pts (11-6-1)
4. Harvard - 20 pts (6-4-8)
5. Clarkson - 19 pts (8-7-3)
2. Cornell - 25 pts (10-3-5)
3. Colgate - 23 pts (11-6-1)
4. Harvard - 20 pts (6-4-8)
5. Clarkson - 19 pts (8-7-3)
6. Quinnipiac - 18 pts (7-7-4)
7. St. Lawrence - 17 pts (8-9-1)
8. Yale - 15 pts (7-10-1)
9. Dartmouth - 15 pts (6-9-3)
10. Princeton - 13 pts (5-10-3)
11. RPI - 13 pts (5-10-3)
12. Brown - 12 pts (5-11-2)
RPI at Harvard
ECAC Game - Bright Hockey Center (Boston, MA)
2/10/12- 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 2, Harvard 2 (OT)
BOX SCORES
ECAC Game - Bright Hockey Center (Boston, MA)
2/10/12- 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 2, Harvard 2 (OT)
BOX SCORES
RECAPS
RECORD: 7-19-3 (4-10-3 ECAC, 11 pts)
RPI at Dartmouth
ECAC Game - Thompson Arena (Hanover, NH)
2/11/12 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 2, Dartmouth 1
BOX SCORES
ECAC Game - Thompson Arena (Hanover, NH)
2/11/12 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 2, Dartmouth 1
BOX SCORES
RECAPS
RECORD: 8-19-3 (5-10-3 ECAC, 13 pts)
Upcoming games
16 Feb - Quinnipiac
17 Feb - Princeton (Senior Night)
24 Feb - at Colgate
25 Feb - at #12 Cornell
02 Mar - ECAC First Round, Game 1 (site/opponent TBD)
Monday, January 30, 2012
Men's Hockey - St. Lawrence & Clarkson (27/28 Jan)
There's still a long way to go in the ECAC schedule - 8 games, which can be an eternity in the standings as it represents over 1/3 of the season - but RPI may well be turning the corner on what has generally been a dog of a season lately. They had to settle for a weekend split with a 4-0 victory over St. Lawrence and a 3-2 loss to Clarkson, but the effort shown in both games may well indicate that the Engineers have, at long last, found themselves as a hockey team and could well be ready to charge into the last segment of the season with some confidence, even with half of those eight games to come against the back-to-dangerous Central New York duo.
St. Lawrence
Lee/McGowan/O'Grady
Cullen/Laliberte/Haggerty
Tinordi/Higgs/Schroeder
Rogic/Malchuk/Angers-Goulet
Leonard/Bergin
Leboeuf/Bailen
Leboeuf/Bailen
Koudys/Dolan
Merriam
Despite the road sweep the weekend prior, some changes were made to the RPI lineup, especially the return of Alex Angers-Goulet, who had missed several games with a leg injury. His return pushed Greg Burgdoerfer out, but the lines were further jumbled a bit, with Jacob Laliberte moving to center over Marty O'Grady.
No scoring took place in the first period despite three power plays (2 for RPI, 1 for St. Lawrence), and a very well played 20 minutes by the Engineers, who were able to pick up a 7-3 edge in shots heading into the first intermission.
RPI had 23 seconds of power play time bleed into the second period, and once that ended, St. Lawrence managed a pretty solid stretch in the RPI zone for a couple of minutes, ending with an RPI icing. Seth Appert called timeout to give the guys out on the ice an opportunity to catch their breath, but a hooking penalty against Guy Leboeuf (after his man managed to get past him deep in the zone), threatened to allow the suddenly resurgent Saints the opportunity to score first. The penalty kill, however, held up, which helped the tide turn significantly in RPI's favor.
Just under a minute after the Leboeuf penalty expired, Patrick Cullen finally snapped his long point drought by putting the Engineers up 1-0 with a shot through traffic in the slot. Cullen was then instrumental in setting up RPI's second goal just over a minute later on the power play, taking a one-timer from near the blue line that was redirected in front by Matt Tinordi, with the rebound being powered home by Marty O'Grady, extending his goal scoring streak to three straight (and four in three games) to make it 2-0.
On RPI's next power play about three and a half minutes later, Cullen again played the playmaker role, setting up a C.J. Lee one-timer that found the back of the net to give RPI a 3-0 lead. Entering the game with just a single goal on the season for his point spread, Cullen racked up three big points in less than five minutes of game time to help the Engineers reach a commanding lead just past the game's halfway point.
The Engineers tightened their grip with just over two minutes to play in the second, as Bo Dolan notched his first goal of the season on a shot from the top of the faceoff circles, putting RPI up 4-0 for the first time this season. It was the first time RPI had scored four goals in one period since the third period at Clarkson on February 19, 2011 and the first time they'd scored four without an empty netter since the third period against UConn in the RPI tournament on November 26, 2010 (the first in league play since November 13, 2009... also at Clarkson).
With the solid lead in his back pocket, Bryce Merriam worked an outstanding final two periods. He didn't have to overexert himself, but he made 16 stops in the last 40 minutes to pick up the shutout victory.
The win moved RPI into a tie for 11th with St. Lawrence.
With his second shutout in three games, Merriam had recorded 100 saves on 101 shots in that stretch, an outstanding save percentage of .990.
Despite the road sweep the weekend prior, some changes were made to the RPI lineup, especially the return of Alex Angers-Goulet, who had missed several games with a leg injury. His return pushed Greg Burgdoerfer out, but the lines were further jumbled a bit, with Jacob Laliberte moving to center over Marty O'Grady.
No scoring took place in the first period despite three power plays (2 for RPI, 1 for St. Lawrence), and a very well played 20 minutes by the Engineers, who were able to pick up a 7-3 edge in shots heading into the first intermission.
RPI had 23 seconds of power play time bleed into the second period, and once that ended, St. Lawrence managed a pretty solid stretch in the RPI zone for a couple of minutes, ending with an RPI icing. Seth Appert called timeout to give the guys out on the ice an opportunity to catch their breath, but a hooking penalty against Guy Leboeuf (after his man managed to get past him deep in the zone), threatened to allow the suddenly resurgent Saints the opportunity to score first. The penalty kill, however, held up, which helped the tide turn significantly in RPI's favor.
Just under a minute after the Leboeuf penalty expired, Patrick Cullen finally snapped his long point drought by putting the Engineers up 1-0 with a shot through traffic in the slot. Cullen was then instrumental in setting up RPI's second goal just over a minute later on the power play, taking a one-timer from near the blue line that was redirected in front by Matt Tinordi, with the rebound being powered home by Marty O'Grady, extending his goal scoring streak to three straight (and four in three games) to make it 2-0.
On RPI's next power play about three and a half minutes later, Cullen again played the playmaker role, setting up a C.J. Lee one-timer that found the back of the net to give RPI a 3-0 lead. Entering the game with just a single goal on the season for his point spread, Cullen racked up three big points in less than five minutes of game time to help the Engineers reach a commanding lead just past the game's halfway point.
The Engineers tightened their grip with just over two minutes to play in the second, as Bo Dolan notched his first goal of the season on a shot from the top of the faceoff circles, putting RPI up 4-0 for the first time this season. It was the first time RPI had scored four goals in one period since the third period at Clarkson on February 19, 2011 and the first time they'd scored four without an empty netter since the third period against UConn in the RPI tournament on November 26, 2010 (the first in league play since November 13, 2009... also at Clarkson).
With the solid lead in his back pocket, Bryce Merriam worked an outstanding final two periods. He didn't have to overexert himself, but he made 16 stops in the last 40 minutes to pick up the shutout victory.
The win moved RPI into a tie for 11th with St. Lawrence.
With his second shutout in three games, Merriam had recorded 100 saves on 101 shots in that stretch, an outstanding save percentage of .990.
Clarkson
No changes whatsoever to the RPI lineup between Friday and Saturday - the Engineers put together a complete 60 minutes against an admittedly weak St. Lawrence team, and went to work immediately against a much tougher squad from Clarkson, who had just had their heads handed to them the night before in Schenectady.
Unfortunately, the early work was overshadowed by a tough goal to give up just two and a half minutes into the affair. A good screen kept Merriam from seeing a shot from the point, and the Golden Knights took an early 1-0 lead.
Things got worse about six minutes later, as C.J. Lee was called for a boarding major after hitting Clarkson's Kevin Tansey behind the Knights' net. Tansey stayed down motionless after what was likely a minor penalty, drawing the extra three minutes. After Lee was assessed the penalty - fortunately for the Engineers, not including a game misconduct - Tansey skated back to the Clarkson bench and didn't miss a shift.
The bit of acting paid off well for Clarkson, who netted their second goal three minutes into the major penalty to go up 2-0.
RPI, who had been playing well before the Lee hit, did not give in at that point as two-goal deficits had commonly done earlier in the season. Guy Leboeuf got things started with his second goal of the season from the top of the slot just over two minutes later to cut the Clarkson lead in half, making it 2-1 after one period.
Midway through the second period, RPI tied things up with Matt Tinordi's third goal of the season, coming on the power play on a redirected shot by Patrick Cullen, making it 2-2. The assist was Cullen's fourth of the weekend, and of the season.
The Engineers played some dominant hockey from there on out, but could not get another one past Paul Karpowich, who played some very solid hockey and bailed his team out very well, slightly reminicient of Merriam's play a week prior in New Haven. A two-on-one break for Clarkson eventually gave the Knights the lead once again with about seven minutes left, and RPI was unable to break the trap that Clarkson fell back into after retaking the lead.
RPI produced several opportunities with Merriam out of the net in the final minute of the game, but couldn't find the third goal even after getting a power play chance with 20 seconds left. Karpowich finished with 29 saves to get his team the victory despite some exceptional play by the Engineers throughout.
Lee/McGowan/O'Grady
Cullen/Laliberte/Haggerty
Tinordi/Higgs/Schroeder
Rogic/Malchuk/Angers-Goulet
Leonard/Bergin
Leboeuf/Bailen
Leboeuf/Bailen
Koudys/Dolan
Merriam
No changes whatsoever to the RPI lineup between Friday and Saturday - the Engineers put together a complete 60 minutes against an admittedly weak St. Lawrence team, and went to work immediately against a much tougher squad from Clarkson, who had just had their heads handed to them the night before in Schenectady.
Unfortunately, the early work was overshadowed by a tough goal to give up just two and a half minutes into the affair. A good screen kept Merriam from seeing a shot from the point, and the Golden Knights took an early 1-0 lead.
Things got worse about six minutes later, as C.J. Lee was called for a boarding major after hitting Clarkson's Kevin Tansey behind the Knights' net. Tansey stayed down motionless after what was likely a minor penalty, drawing the extra three minutes. After Lee was assessed the penalty - fortunately for the Engineers, not including a game misconduct - Tansey skated back to the Clarkson bench and didn't miss a shift.
The bit of acting paid off well for Clarkson, who netted their second goal three minutes into the major penalty to go up 2-0.
RPI, who had been playing well before the Lee hit, did not give in at that point as two-goal deficits had commonly done earlier in the season. Guy Leboeuf got things started with his second goal of the season from the top of the slot just over two minutes later to cut the Clarkson lead in half, making it 2-1 after one period.
Midway through the second period, RPI tied things up with Matt Tinordi's third goal of the season, coming on the power play on a redirected shot by Patrick Cullen, making it 2-2. The assist was Cullen's fourth of the weekend, and of the season.
The Engineers played some dominant hockey from there on out, but could not get another one past Paul Karpowich, who played some very solid hockey and bailed his team out very well, slightly reminicient of Merriam's play a week prior in New Haven. A two-on-one break for Clarkson eventually gave the Knights the lead once again with about seven minutes left, and RPI was unable to break the trap that Clarkson fell back into after retaking the lead.
RPI produced several opportunities with Merriam out of the net in the final minute of the game, but couldn't find the third goal even after getting a power play chance with 20 seconds left. Karpowich finished with 29 saves to get his team the victory despite some exceptional play by the Engineers throughout.
The 3 goals on 17 shots was significantly off his pace from the previous three games, but Merriam still has a save percentage over the last two weeks of .966 and a GAA slightly less than 1.00 (when you consider the 1:52 of empty net time on Saturday night) in four games. Not too shabby.
Other junk - Ranked teams on the RPI schedule this week are #6 Ferris State (up four, with one first place vote), #8 Notre Dame (down four), #9 UMass-Lowell (up two), Co-#11 Colorado College (up one), Co-#11 Union (up three), #14 Cornell (down five), and #20 Colgate (re-entering the rankings). Also receiving votes were RIT (15), Quinnipiac (5), and Harvard (4).
While no Engineer has more than five goals this season (Nick Bailen, Marty O'Grady, and Ryan Haggerty), only five skaters have yet to dent the twine - Josh Rabbani, Mike Bergin, Greg Burgdoerfer, Justin Smith, and Luke Curadi. Interestingly, with Bo Dolan's goal against SLU, six of seven defensemen have scored. Curadi, in his defense, doesn't take an awful lot of shots and has only made 10 appearances. In fact, only Rabbani and Bergin on the list of non-goal scorers have more than 10 games in the lineup.
It's now Freakout! weekend, and RPI has won four of their last six games, and they've played very well in four straight. Two tough, ranked opponents in Cornell and Colgate await the Engineers. Points may be at a premium, but if they play as they did the last two weeks, they may be available nonetheless.
ECAC Standings (by win% in parentheses)
1 (1). Union - 21 pts (9-3-3)
2 (2). Cornell - 19 pts (8-3-3)
3 (3). Colgate - 17 pts (8-5-1)
4 (5). Harvard - 16 pts (5-4-6)
5 (4). Clarkson - 15 pts (6-5-3)
2 (2). Cornell - 19 pts (8-3-3)
3 (3). Colgate - 17 pts (8-5-1)
4 (5). Harvard - 16 pts (5-4-6)
5 (4). Clarkson - 15 pts (6-5-3)
6 (7). Quinnipiac - 14 pts (5-5-4)
7 (7). Dartmouth - 13 pts (6-6-1)
8 (8). Yale - 13 pts (5-6-1)
9 (9). Brown - 12 pts (5-7-2)
9 (9). Brown - 12 pts (5-7-2)
10 (10). Princeton - 12 pts (5-8-2)
11 (11). RPI - 9 pts (4-9-1, -11 GD)
11 (11). RPI - 9 pts (4-9-1, -11 GD)
12 (12). St. Lawrence - 9 pts (4-9-1, -20 GD)
St. Lawrence at RPI
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
1/27/12- 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 4, St. Lawrence 0
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
1/27/12- 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 4, St. Lawrence 0
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECORD: 7-17-1 (4-8-1 ECAC, 9 pts)
Clarkson at RPI
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
1/28/12 - 7:00pm
RESULT: Clarkson 3, RPI 2
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
1/28/12 - 7:00pm
RESULT: Clarkson 3, RPI 2
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECORD: 7-18-1 (4-9-1 ECAC, 9 pts)
Upcoming games
03 Feb - #14 Cornell
04 Feb - #20 Colgate (Big Red Freakout!)
09 Feb - at Harvard
10 Feb - at Dartmouth
16 Feb - Quinnipiac
04 Feb - #20 Colgate (Big Red Freakout!)
09 Feb - at Harvard
10 Feb - at Dartmouth
16 Feb - Quinnipiac
Monday, January 23, 2012
Men's Hockey - at Brown & Yale (20/21 Jan)
Last week, we commented on what a difference four days could make in a team's psyche as they went from a victory to a difficult loss against Union. Well, six days can apparently be a positive aspect, too. The Engineers put in 120 solid minutes of play on the road this past weekend and posted arguably their best two-game result of the season thus far, shutting out Brown for the second time this season with a 3-0 victory over Brown and earning a gritty 2-1 victory over Yale.
Brown
Lee/Higgs/Schroeder
Cullen/McGowan/Haggerty
Laliberte/O'Grady/Tinordi
Rogic/Malchuk/Burgdoerfer
Leonard/Bergin
Leboeuf/Bailen
Leboeuf/Bailen
Koudys/Dolan
Merriam
Alex Angers-Goulet missed a second consecutive week with an injury he picked up against Harvard, and Matt Neal's bumpy health year continued with a stomach bug that kept him at home all weekend.
Things looked rough for the Engineers early on as they picked up a pair of early penalties that put them on the penalty kill for basically four of the game's first five minutes. C.J. Lee picked up an interference penalty just 14 seconds into the game, followed by a high-sticking call against Greg Burgdoerfer, but the RPI penalty kill successfully snuffed out both Brown advantages. All told, the first period was fairly even, but produced no scoring.
Brown's second period began much the same way RPI's first period began - with a pair of early penalties. The major difference was in the subsequent execution of the ensuing power plays, both of which the Engineers scored on to take control of the contest. Nick Bailen scored his fifth goal of the season 59 seconds into the first power play chance at 1:39 to put RPI on the board, then Marty O'Grady notched his second goal of the year a little less than three minutes later to make it 2-0.
Things threatened to get much worse for Brown as they picked up yet another penalty just 19 seconds after O'Grady's goal, but head coach Brendan Whittet called timeout to rally the troops, and the Bears successfully killed off that power play.
Meanwhile, with the two-goal lead, Bryce Merriam became the star of the game. The junior goaltender stopped 14 shots in the first period and 16 in the third, making a total of 36 saves in all to earn his second career shutout, which also happened to be his second shutout of the season and second shutout of Brown. Merriam stopped all 58 shots that the Bears put on him this season.
Zach Schroeder added an empty netter with 1:30 left in the game to seal the victory, his fourth goal of the year.
Alex Angers-Goulet missed a second consecutive week with an injury he picked up against Harvard, and Matt Neal's bumpy health year continued with a stomach bug that kept him at home all weekend.
Things looked rough for the Engineers early on as they picked up a pair of early penalties that put them on the penalty kill for basically four of the game's first five minutes. C.J. Lee picked up an interference penalty just 14 seconds into the game, followed by a high-sticking call against Greg Burgdoerfer, but the RPI penalty kill successfully snuffed out both Brown advantages. All told, the first period was fairly even, but produced no scoring.
Brown's second period began much the same way RPI's first period began - with a pair of early penalties. The major difference was in the subsequent execution of the ensuing power plays, both of which the Engineers scored on to take control of the contest. Nick Bailen scored his fifth goal of the season 59 seconds into the first power play chance at 1:39 to put RPI on the board, then Marty O'Grady notched his second goal of the year a little less than three minutes later to make it 2-0.
Things threatened to get much worse for Brown as they picked up yet another penalty just 19 seconds after O'Grady's goal, but head coach Brendan Whittet called timeout to rally the troops, and the Bears successfully killed off that power play.
Meanwhile, with the two-goal lead, Bryce Merriam became the star of the game. The junior goaltender stopped 14 shots in the first period and 16 in the third, making a total of 36 saves in all to earn his second career shutout, which also happened to be his second shutout of the season and second shutout of Brown. Merriam stopped all 58 shots that the Bears put on him this season.
Zach Schroeder added an empty netter with 1:30 left in the game to seal the victory, his fourth goal of the year.
Yale
Lee/Higgs/Schroeder
Cullen/McGowan/Haggerty
Laliberte/O'Grady/Tinordi
Rogic/Malchuk/Burgdoerfer
Leonard/Bergin
Leboeuf/Bailen
Leboeuf/Bailen
Koudys/Dolan
Merriam
You go with what works sometimes in hockey... the lineup was exactly the same on Saturday as it was on Friday, and it paid off in spades for the Engineers.
After a first period in which the teams largely felt each other out, the second period included a barrage of shots from Yale thanks to some very solid puck possession by the Bulldogs. Merriam faced 19 shots in the second period alone, but turned away each and every one of them to maintain the 0-0 score through 40 minutes of play. Yale was able to maintain a 27-11 shooting advantage after two periods.
The main event of the second period involved a serious scrum in front of Merriam after Yale's Clinton Bourbonais ran into him. RPI got a power play out of it, but lost Mike Bergin for 10 minutes after he was assessed a misconduct for leaving the bench during the tussle.
That misconduct proved dangerous for the Engineers early in the third period as Pat Koudys was assessed a tripping penalty, putting the available complement of defensemen for the penalty kill down to four, but the penalty kill and Merriam stood tall once again, as the PK went a perfect 8-for-8 on the weekend.
Despite the wide disparity in shots, RPI was the first onto the scoreboard as Marty O'Grady finally broke the ice 5:45 into the third with his second goal of the weekend. Just over three minutes later, he did it again by stealing the puck right out from under Yale goaltender Jeff Malcolm's blocker, putting it into the empty net after Malcolm had thought it was covered, putting RPI up 2-0 on O'Grady's fourth goal of the season and third of the weekend.
Yale pulled Malcolm from the goal with just over two minutes left to play, and with the extra attacker the Bulldogs took complete control of the RPI zone, unleashing an absolute frenzy of shots that had Merriam scrambling to and fro, making save after save. He would finish with 18 saves in the third period for a total of 45 in the game, but he lost his shutout bid on a very weak shot that Yale's Kevin Limbert appeared to miss. Setting into position for the wrister, the puck instead trickled slowly between his legs and into the back of the net, making it 2-1 with 1:42 left in the game. The goal ended a shutout streak of 121:15 for Merriam.
The Bulldogs continued to push for the equalizer, but a tired RPI defense, led again by Merriam, stood up to the challenge and managed to escape with a 2-1 victory, the Engineers' first four-point weekend since hosting Brown and Yale (in that order) on January 28 and 29 of last year - last Freakout! weekend.
The immediate schedule does look promising for RPI if this past weekend's games are more than just a fluke. They have pulled within 2 points of getting themselves out of the cellar, and lo and behold, it's 11th place St. Lawrence, nursing a six-game winless streak in league play, coming to Houston Field House on Friday. After Clarkson on Saturday, it's then Freakout! weekend once again, which kicks off with a very difficult challenge in Cornell, but then features a Colgate team winless since the start of 2012 in the main event. Have we reached a turning point? We'll see.
You go with what works sometimes in hockey... the lineup was exactly the same on Saturday as it was on Friday, and it paid off in spades for the Engineers.
After a first period in which the teams largely felt each other out, the second period included a barrage of shots from Yale thanks to some very solid puck possession by the Bulldogs. Merriam faced 19 shots in the second period alone, but turned away each and every one of them to maintain the 0-0 score through 40 minutes of play. Yale was able to maintain a 27-11 shooting advantage after two periods.
The main event of the second period involved a serious scrum in front of Merriam after Yale's Clinton Bourbonais ran into him. RPI got a power play out of it, but lost Mike Bergin for 10 minutes after he was assessed a misconduct for leaving the bench during the tussle.
That misconduct proved dangerous for the Engineers early in the third period as Pat Koudys was assessed a tripping penalty, putting the available complement of defensemen for the penalty kill down to four, but the penalty kill and Merriam stood tall once again, as the PK went a perfect 8-for-8 on the weekend.
Despite the wide disparity in shots, RPI was the first onto the scoreboard as Marty O'Grady finally broke the ice 5:45 into the third with his second goal of the weekend. Just over three minutes later, he did it again by stealing the puck right out from under Yale goaltender Jeff Malcolm's blocker, putting it into the empty net after Malcolm had thought it was covered, putting RPI up 2-0 on O'Grady's fourth goal of the season and third of the weekend.
Yale pulled Malcolm from the goal with just over two minutes left to play, and with the extra attacker the Bulldogs took complete control of the RPI zone, unleashing an absolute frenzy of shots that had Merriam scrambling to and fro, making save after save. He would finish with 18 saves in the third period for a total of 45 in the game, but he lost his shutout bid on a very weak shot that Yale's Kevin Limbert appeared to miss. Setting into position for the wrister, the puck instead trickled slowly between his legs and into the back of the net, making it 2-1 with 1:42 left in the game. The goal ended a shutout streak of 121:15 for Merriam.
The Bulldogs continued to push for the equalizer, but a tired RPI defense, led again by Merriam, stood up to the challenge and managed to escape with a 2-1 victory, the Engineers' first four-point weekend since hosting Brown and Yale (in that order) on January 28 and 29 of last year - last Freakout! weekend.
The immediate schedule does look promising for RPI if this past weekend's games are more than just a fluke. They have pulled within 2 points of getting themselves out of the cellar, and lo and behold, it's 11th place St. Lawrence, nursing a six-game winless streak in league play, coming to Houston Field House on Friday. After Clarkson on Saturday, it's then Freakout! weekend once again, which kicks off with a very difficult challenge in Cornell, but then features a Colgate team winless since the start of 2012 in the main event. Have we reached a turning point? We'll see.
Other junk - Ranked teams on the RPI schedule this week are #4 Notre Dame (up three), #9 Cornell (no change), #10 Ferris State (up three), #11 UMass-Lowell (up three), #12 Colorado College (down one) and #14 Union (down two). Also receiving votes were Colgate (ex-#18, 43 votes), Quinnipiac (24), Harvard (8) and RIT (7).
ECAC Standings (by win% in parentheses)
1 (1). Cornell - 19 pts (8-1-3)
2 (2). Union - 17 pts (7-3-3)
2 (2). Union - 17 pts (7-3-3)
3 (7). Quinnipiac - 14 pts (5-5-4)
4 (3). Colgate - 13 pts (6-5-1)
5 (4). Clarkson - 13 pts (5-4-3)
5 (4). Clarkson - 13 pts (5-4-3)
6 (6). Brown - 12 pts (5-5-2)
7 (8). Harvard - 12 pts (3-4-6)
8 (10). Princeton - 12 pts (5-8-2)
8 (10). Princeton - 12 pts (5-8-2)
9 (5). Dartmouth - 11 pts (5-5-1)
10 (9). Yale - 11 pts (5-6-1)
10 (9). Yale - 11 pts (5-6-1)
11 (11). St. Lawrence - 9 pts (4-7-1)
12 (12). RPI - 7 pts (3-8-1)
RPI at Brown
ECAC Game - Meehan Auditorium (Providence, RI)
1/20/12- 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 3, Brown 0
BOX SCORES
ECAC Game - Meehan Auditorium (Providence, RI)
1/20/12- 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 3, Brown 0
BOX SCORES
RECAPS
RECORD: 5-17-1 (2-8-1 ECAC, 5 pts)
RPI at Yale
ECAC Game - Ingalls Rink (New Haven, CT)
1/21/12 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 2, Yale 1
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
ECAC Game - Ingalls Rink (New Haven, CT)
1/21/12 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 2, Yale 1
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECAPS
RECORD: 6-17-1 (3-8-1 ECAC, 7 pts)
Upcoming games
27 Jan - St. Lawrence
28 Jan - Clarkson
03 Feb - #9 Cornell
04 Feb - Colgate
10 Feb - at Harvard
04 Feb - Colgate
10 Feb - at Harvard
Monday, November 14, 2011
Men's Hockey - Yale & Brown (11/12 Nov)
Snapping a long losing streak often brings a sigh of relief, but RPI's first victory in nine games, which came on Saturday, was anything but relief for a team still struggling to put the puck in the net. The offensive woes returned in RPI's second league weekend, marring an otherwise outstanding game on Friday as the Engineers fell on Black Friday for the first time, dropping a closely played 2-0 contest with first-place Yale, but RPI's lone goal of the weekend on Saturday was enough to put the team in the win column for the first time in over a month as Bryce Merriam picked up his first career shutout in a 1-0 victory over Brown.
Yale
Lee/Higgs/Schroeder
Yale
Lee/Higgs/Schroeder
McGowan/O'Grady/Haggerty
Cullen/Laliberte/Rabbani
Angers-Goulet/Rogic/Malchuk
Merriam
Leboeuf/Bergin
Koudys/Bailen
Leonard/Dolan
Merriam
Black Friday is always an optimistic time for the Engineers, and with Jacob Laliberte returning to the lineup, the team became as close to 100% as they could possibly get, with freshman Matt Neal the only player still out with injury. Even with a tough task in Yale coming into the Field House, there was at least a little optimism that this could be the week that the Engineers made it out of their funk.
Unfortunately, the Engineers got behind early thanks to a bad defensive maneuver. Pat Koudys gave the puck away to Yale senior Josh Balch, who came in unmolested against Bryce Merriam, and the senior coolly faked Merriam out and stuck it in to give Yale a 1-0 lead just 1:51 into the game. When a team is struggling to score, scoring first can be a big help. But just like that, RPI was already in the hole.
From there, the game was actually pretty tight the rest of the way. The Engineers got plenty of power play opportunities practically start to finish, but the offensive woes, which have extended to the man advantage, continued. Despite 12 full minutes of power play chances, RPI simply could not put one in the net. Yale's outstanding penalty kill no doubt had much to do with it, but nothing at all was going to beat Yale's Jeff Malcolm, who appears to be stepping in to answer Yale's overriding question coming into the season about offense. He is on fire early this season, with three consecutive shutouts. Malcolm made 27 stops, including 13 in the second period, to keep RPI off the board for the second straight game.
Clinton Bourbonais (no relation to RPI recruit Riley Bourbonnais) gave Yale a two-goal cushion to seal it with under two minutes to play following an untimely slashing call against Ryan Haggerty. Merriam, who made 14 saves in the third period to keep RPI in the game, was pulled for the final 90 seconds, but RPI could not break Malcolm. For the second straight contest, a lengthy extra attacker situation did not result in an empty netter and ended in a 2-0 loss for the Engineers.
Brown
Lee/Higgs/Schroeder
Lee/Higgs/Schroeder
Tinordi/O'Grady/Haggerty
Cullen/Laliberte/Rabbani
Angers-Goulet/Rogic/Malchuk
Merriam
Leboeuf/Bergin
Koudys/Bailen
Leonard/Dolan
Merriam
Despite the struggles, only one change came down for Saturday's lineup against a Brown team that had upset Union the previous night - freshman Mark McGowan was replaced by sophomore Matt Tinordi, an expected move for a team that tends to play a more physical game like the Bears.
The first period was a veritable parade to the penalty box for RPI, as three penalties resulted in three power plays for Brown, but Merriam and the penalty killers stood tall as they have done all year - the penalty kill went 8-for-9 on the weekend. Merriam made 10 saves, but the RPI offense was stymied, racking up a ninth straight period without scoring a goal.
It appeared likely that the second period would become the 10th straight without a goal despite 11 shots in the middle frame, but a late penalty to Brown freshman Massimo Lamacchia put RPI on its second power play of the night, and Ryan Haggerty finally broke a scoreless streak of just over 200 minutes in the final minute with a laser of a one-timer from Nick Bailen and Jacob Laliberte to get RPI on the board and give them a 1-0 lead for only the second time this season.
The goal, however, was not enough to fully jumpstart the offense, which remains a concern going forward. Two early opportunities to grab a cushion with power plays starting in the second and fourth minutes of the third went for naught. RPI successfully killed two penalties later in the period, and though they couldn't put the puck in the net despite 1:26 of extra attacker time at the end of the period for Brown, the Engineers still held on for the 1-0 victory, gaining their first two points in league play.
The victory is obviously important for RPI as they try to regain their confidence, but just one goal on the weekend, and only two in the last two weekends, both by Ryan Haggerty, leads one to believe that there is still more work to be done to shake the offensive problems that have plagued the team.
It's a quick turnaround for RPI, as they host Route 7 rivals Union tomorrow night in the fall semester finale at Houston Field House. The Engineers have, for several years, always "gotten up" for Union, and we've seen some real doozies between RPI and the Dutchmen over the last couple of seasons, including three memorable meetings last season. Might this be the moment that offense breaks loose from the icy grip of despair? We'll see. These are two important points, with the Engineers currently sitting in last place after four games. A win would at least bounce them out of the doldrums.
Other junk - For the second week in a row, Union and Yale have swapped positions in the USCHO poll - meaning they're back where they started the ECAC season. #9 Yale (swept RPI/Union, up four) and #13 Union (swept by Brown/Yale, down four) are joined in the rankings this week by #17 Colgate (beat Dartmouth, lost to Harvard, up one) and #18 Cornell (swept Harvard/Dartmouth, previously unranked). Also ranked this week are #4 Notre Dame (swept Alaska, up three with one first place vote), #5 Colorado College (lost to #11 Denver, down two), and #6 Ferris State (beat and tied #12 Lake Superior State, up two). Receiving votes this week were Ex-#19 Quinnipiac (56), Ex-#17 Dartmouth (37), Clarkson (26), and Harvard (3).
RPI's offense is about to hit rock bottom, with 10 goals in 11 games, their 0.91 goals per game average is besting only Alabama-Huntsville's 0.83 (10 in 12 games). Every other team in the nation is scoring at least a goal and a half per game.
Fueling the problem is a total of four goals in the last six contests, and the Engineers haven't scored an even strength goal since Patrick Cullen's tally with 4 seconds left in the second period in the first game against Colorado College - a drought of 320:04, over five hours of game time. Also, it's worth recalling that a full 40% of RPI's goals scored this year came in just one of their games, the 4-1 victory over Minnesota State. We're certainly a long way from that 7-0 goal bonanza of an exhibition game against Acadia.
And, oh yeah. We're a third of the way through the season already.
ECAC Standings
1. Cornell - 6 pts (3-1-0, +6 GD)
2. Yale - 6 pts (3-1-0, +4 GD)
3. St. Lawrence - 6 pts (3-1-0, +2 GD)
4. Colgate - 4 pts (2-2-0, +2 GD)
5. Brown - 4 pts (2-2-0, -1 GD, 10 GF)
6. Union - 4 pts (2-2-0, -1 GD, 6 GF)
7. Dartmouth - 4 pts (2-2-0, -2 GD)
8. Princeton - 4 pts (2-3-0)
9. Quinnipiac - 4 pts (1-2-2)
10. Harvard - 3 pts (1-2-1, -1 GD)
11. Clarkson - 3 pts (1-2-1, -2 GD)
12. RPI - 2 pts (1-3-0)
#13 Yale at RPI
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/11/11 - 7:00pm
RESULT: Yale 2, RPI 0
BOX SCORES
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/11/11 - 7:00pm
RESULT: Yale 2, RPI 0
BOX SCORES
RECAPS
RECORD: 1-9-0 (0-3-0 ECAC, 0 pts)
Reale Deals
Reale Deals
1. G Bryce Merriam, 27 saves
2. F Brock Higgs, 6 shots
3. D Nick Bailen, 5 shots
Brown at RPI
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/12/11 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 1, Brown 0
BOX SCORES
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/12/11 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 1, Brown 0
BOX SCORES
RECAPS
RECORD: 2-9-0 (1-3-0 ECAC, 2 pts)
Reale Deals
Reale Deals
1. F Ryan Haggerty, 1 G
2. G Bryce Merriam, 22 saves, SO
3. F Jacob Laliberte, 1 A
Upcoming games
15 Nov - #13 Union
25 Nov - at RIT
02 Dec - at Princeton
03 Dec - at Quinnipiac
10 Dec - vs. Union (Lake Placid, NY)
Monday, October 10, 2011
Men's Hockey - Minnesota State (7/8 Oct)
The season officially got underway this past weekend with a pair of home games against a WCHA opponent, the first time that's happened since November 2003, when St. Cloud State visited for a pair of non-league games. This time, the opponent was Minnesota State, a program which the Engineers had never faced before. The Mavericks were picked in both the media and coaches polls to finish 11th in the 12 team league, so there was a bit of optimism that the Engineers might be able to get out of the gate quickly. They did, but were unable to finish on Friday (hindered in part by a hot goaltender) and had to settle for a weekend split, falling 1-0 late in the Friday game before bouncing back for a 4-1 victory on Saturday night.
Friday
Cullen/O'Grady/Haggerty
Friday
Cullen/O'Grady/Haggerty
Laliberte/Higgs/Lee
Tinordi/Malchuk/Rabbani
Koudys/Bergin
Leboeuf/Bailen
Diebold
Angers-Goulet/Neal/Schroeder
Koudys/Bergin
Leboeuf/Bailen
Leonard/Dolan
Diebold
Greg Burgdoerfer and Mark McGowan were ruled out of this game due to injuries, while Bryce Merriam was considered questionable before ultimately dressing as the backup. Otherwise, the line sheets were almost the same as they had been against Acadia with the exception of the extra skaters.
The story of Friday's game was mostly of the goaltending, as Scott Diebold and Minnesota State's Austin Lee put on a show. The Engineers controlled play for much of the game and peppered Lee with shots throughout - especially in the third period - but simply could not gain a leg up on the Mavericks.
In stark contrast to their 5-for-7 power play performance against Acadia, the Engineers' power play was completely shut down on Friday, finishing without a single goal in 10 opportunities with the man advantage. That's not to say that RPI wasn't taking their chances, especially many of the younger players. Ryan Haggerty did everything but score for RPI, once hitting the post and once being robbed on the doorstep by Lee. The freshman forward had six shots on goal to lead RPI, Nick Bailen had four, while Patrick Cullen, Jacob Laliberte, Brock Higgs, Matt Neal and Mike Bergin all had three a piece, many in decent opportunities to put the puck in the net. Each time, they simply couldn't place the puck where they needed to, or Lee came up with a fantastic save.
Diebold was doing very well in more limited action at the other end of the ice as well. On more than one occasion, the freshman kept the Engineers from giving up the first goal with some brilliant play, including some outstanding lateral movement through the crease. Again, many observers compared his play to that of Allen York, with the main exception being a lack of proclivity for wandering out of the crease to play the puck.
Ultimately, as many of these games tend to conclude, the winning goal came on a very bad defensive play, and the responsible party, somewhat shockingly, was Bailen, RPI's returning All-American. A bad pass during a late four-on-four ended up on the stick of MSU's Eriah Hayes, who was in the zone with Cameron Cooper and only Bailen and Diebold to beat. Hayes' shot was kept out of the net by a brilliant save from Diebold, but the rebound bounced directly to Cooper, and Diebold's save left him unable to get to Cooper's shot (although he certainly tried), which went in just under the crossbar with 1:22 remaining in regulation.
Diebold was pulled for the extra skater almost immediately, but the five-on-four became a five-on-five just 22 seconds later, and the Engineers spent most of their time trying to keep the puck out of the empty net. They were successful in that task, but still had to swallow the pain of a late-goal loss.
Saturday
Rogic/Malchuk/Rabbani
Rogic/Malchuk/Rabbani
Lee/O'Grady/Schroeder
Cullen/Higgs/Haggerty
Laliberte/Angers-Goulet/Smith
Leonard/Bergin
Leboeuf/Bailen
Curadi/Koudys
Merriam
The next day, Johnny Rogic got his first taste of the ice, replacing Matt Tinordi on the grind line, while Luke Curadi replaced Bo Dolan in the lineup. With assistant captain Justin Smith joining in as well and Bryce Merriam deemed healthy enough to get the start, the Engineers already have just two players - Mark McGowan and Jeremy Coupal - who haven't seen the ice at all this season.
Minnesota State also switched things up in net, turning on Saturday to Phil Cook, and replacing captain Tyler Elbrecht, who suffered a broken arm in Friday's game.
Unlike Friday's game, we didn't have to wait until the 59th minute of the game to get the first goal. 11 minutes in, Minnesota State went up 1-0 on a goal by Johnny McInnis. The Mavericks outshot the Engineers for the first and only time on the weekend in the 1st period, but Bryce Merriam showed early that he was up to the task of being RPI's top goaltender by stopping 12 out of 13 in the opening frame.
If you had Guy Leboeuf in the pool for RPI's first scorer of the season, you're weird, but that's exactly who finally landed the Engineers' first tally with a blistering slapper from the top of the faceoff circle in the final minute of the first, tying the score at one heading into the intermission.
The second period got off with a bang, as well as groans from the RPI faithful. 15 seconds in, a scrum in front of the Mankato net caused by a quick stop in front of the goaltender by speedy Johnny Rogic somehow resulted in a two minute five-on-three for the Mavericks - and RPI backers will be unsurprised to learn that Bryan Hicks was in the stripes for this one. Despite a number of long and difficult defensive situations in the RPI zone, the Engineers held firm, and kept the game tied by the end of the penalties.
Mankato would get a tough call in their direction as well just a couple of minutes later, as Eriah Hayes was sent to the dressing room early for a contact-to-the-head penalty, which is an area of emphasis this season. That put RPI on a five minute power play, and they capitalized late in that long advantage with a goal from the power play quarterback, Nick Bailen, putting the Engineers up 2-1.
In the final minute of the period, a fortuitous bounce gave RPI some insurance. With the puck heading to the back of the net, Cook went back to retrieve it and tried to clear the zone himself, but it ended up on Joel Malchuk's stick, who quickly fired it into the open net before Cook could return to give the Engineers a 3-1 lead at the second intermission.
A holding penalty against Cameron Cooper in the third period led to RPI's second power play tally of the night when Pat Koudys ripped a laser from near the blue line that managed to evade everyone and everything in front to find the back of the net and give the Engineers a rock-solid 4-1 edge that they would not relinquish.
Bryce Merriam, just as Scott Diebold had the night before, looked very comfortable in net, and RPI appears to have two fantastic options in goal behind a set of blueliners that not only was very capable in allowing just one goal each night, but showed ability in shooting from the outside as well with three of RPI's four goals coming from defensemen.
The Engineers now hit the road for three straight games in the midwest, starting this coming weekend at Seth Appert's alma mater, Ferris State. The Bulldogs had a solid year last season and got their season started with a weekend sweep in Canton against St. Lawrence. They're part of a difficult set of upcoming games that will challenge the team in advance of the start of league games at the beginning of November.
Other junk - With the split weekend, the Engineers fell to the edge of the USCHO poll, staying in at number 20, just a few votes ahead of ECAC rivals Colgate, who impressed by winning the Maverick Stampede in Omaha with victories over Robert Morris and Nebraska-Omaha. Ranked ECAC teams are #10 Yale (idle, down one with one first place vote), #11 Union (beat Army, no change), and #19 Cornell (idle, up one). Other ranked teams on the RPI schedule are #2 Notre Dame (split with Minnesota-Duluth, down one with seven first place votes) and #7 Colorado College (idle, no change). Colgate (71 votes), Ferris State (60), Dartmouth (31), RIT (8), Harvard (6), Quinnipiac (3), and Minnesota State (2) each received consideration this week.
On injuries, with Merriam and Haggerty already returning to action, the word is that Burgdoerfer and McGowan will be able to return in the near future, with the Colorado College weekend at the end of the month eyed as the potential return point for both players.
Also, it's worth pointing out that the reported "eighth defenseman" position was not filled before the season began. It had been expected that a walk-on would join the team in an emergency role.
Minnesota State at #18 RPI
Non-Conference Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
10/7/11 - 7:00pm
RESULT: Minnesota State 1, RPI 0
BOX SCORES
Minnesota State at #18 RPI
Non-Conference Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
10/7/11 - 7:00pm
RESULT: Minnesota State 1, RPI 0
BOX SCORES
RECAPS
VIDEO
RECORD: 0-1-0 (0-0-0 ECAC)
Reale Deals
Reale Deals
1. G Scott Diebold, 19 saves
2. F Ryan Haggerty, 6 shots
3. F Brock Higgs, 3 shots
Minnesota State at #18 RPI
Non-Conference Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
10/8/11 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 4, Minnesota State 1
BOX SCORES
Non-Conference Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
10/8/11 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 4, Minnesota State 1
BOX SCORES
RECAPS
VIDEO
RECORD: 1-1-0 (0-0-0 ECAC)
Reale Deals
Reale Deals
1. F Ryan Haggerty, 2 A, 5 shots
2. G Bryce Merriam, 31 saves
3. D Guy Leboeuf, 1 G, 3 shots
Upcoming games
14 Oct - at Ferris State
15 Oct - at Ferris State
21 Oct - at #2 Notre Dame
14 Oct - at Ferris State
15 Oct - at Ferris State
21 Oct - at #2 Notre Dame
28 Oct - #7 Colorado College
29 Oct - #7 Colorado College
Monday, February 7, 2011
Men's Hockey - at Quinnipiac and Princeton (4/5 Feb)
A three-point weekend on the road is frequently better than expected. RPI accomplished that for the first time this past weekend, although it could have also been the much-sought road sweep if not for one bad play. As it is, the Engineers settled for a 3-3 tie at Quinnipiac and came back the next night to score a victory over #19 Princeton, 5-2 - their second consecutive Saturday win over a ranked opponent by that score.
Quinnipiac
Rabbani/Polacek/Helfrich
Cullen/Higgs/Malchuk
Angers-Goulet/O'Grady/Brutlag
Tinordi/Rogic/Burgdoerfer
Koudys/Bailen
Leboeuf/Foss
Kennedy/Dolan
York
Two injuries shaped the RPI lineup on Friday night - Mike Bergin's injury from the Freakout! which involved a deep cut on his leg, and an injury that C.J. Lee picked up in practice during the week. The Lee injury required a new winger for the Polacek line, and Josh Rabbani earned the spot.
Penalties have been a problem for the Engineers in the last several weeks, but they only made two trips to the penalty box on Friday night in Hamden. It still ended up getting them into trouble.
Bryan Brutlag scored his eighth goal of the year at the 6:41 mark of the first period to give RPI a 1-0 lead, but they would soon give that up on the penalty kill after a penalty to John Kennedy two minutes later. Jeremy Langlois scored near the end of that man advantage to tie the game up at one. The only other penalty the Engineers would have for the remainder of the night came from Nick Bailen at the end of the second period, a penalty that carried over into the second period, but ultimately one that Quinnipiac could not convert. All told, there were only two penalties called after the first 20 minutes were over, and both were on Quinnipiac.
Brock Higgs scored 7:47 into the second period and Jeff Foss notched his second of the year a little over two minutes later to put RPI up 3-1, but another goal by Langlois with just over a minute left in the second cut the lead to 3-2 heading into the third period, which is where the game took a bad turn for the Engineers.
In the first minute of the period, after being hit making his first save, Allen York fell over in his crease and had to come out of the game, eventually heading off to the locker room with what would eventually be diagnosed as a concussion. That left sophomore Bryce Merriam in charge for the rest of the game. Overall, Merriam did very well in the third period, making 11 saves in relief of York.
The one shot that he did not stop, however, was a breakaway by QU freshman Connor Jones caused by a giveaway in the neutral zone by Guy Leboeuf. It's tough to say whether York would have stopped it, since breakaways are tough for even the very best goaltenders to deal with, but Merriam couldn't stop Jones, and the game was tied at three.
One of those two Quinnipiac penalties came in overtime as Zach Hansen was called for Slashing midway through the extra period, and the advantage helped RPI earn a 5-2 shooting advantage in overtime, but it didn't produce the winning goal as the Engineers had to settle for a 3-3 tie that snapped a win streak of five consecutive games.
After the game, the concern was with Allen York. News came out that he would not be available for the Princeton game (marking the second consecutive time Princeton would miss him) but that he was potentially available for next weekend's games.
Princeton
Angers-Goulet/O'Grady/Brutlag
Cullen/Higgs/Malchuk
Rabbani/Polacek/Helfrich
Tinordi/Rogic/Burgdoerfer
Leboeuf/Foss
Kennedy/Dolan
Koudys/Bailen
Merriam
Appert chose to face the Tigers with essentially the same lineup that played against Quinnipiac, with the obvious difference in net. With questions abounding about Merriam's ability after his terrible Freakout! against Princeton last season and giving up five goals in his only full game this season against UConn, the sophomore set about to quiet the critics, and played phenomenally.
The first period largely belonged to Princeton, as they outshot the Engineers 11-3. Merriam came up big, stopping all 11 as the game remained scoreless throughout the 30 minutes or so. Princeton's dominating shot total continued into the second period, where Merriam needed to stand even taller, making 18 saves in the second stanza alone.
Despite the lopsided shot totals (29-11 by the end of the second), it was RPI who would do the scoring in the second period, each time in a penalty situation. Josh Rabbani scored his fourth of the season on the power play from Tyler Helfrich and Chase Polacek at 9:54 of the second to finally open the scoring.
RPI's second goal came under bizarre circumstances. Pat Koudys and Joel Malchuk were called for penalties about 1:30 apart, giving Princeton a 5-on-3 opportunity, but somehow, despite being down two men, Marty O'Grady got a breakaway on Princeton goaltender Sean Bonar. He was hooked by Princeton's Taylor Fedun, creating RPI's second penalty shot opportunity of the season. O'Grady scored on the shot, putting RPI up 2-0. It had been 11 years since RPI had scored on a penalty shot when Chase Polacek did it in overtime against Colgate, now the Engineers have two in three weeks.
The Engineers killed off the Koudys and Malchuk penalties, and then another penalty to Bailen that soon followed. All told, they would go six-for-six on the penalty kill on Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, a Princeton penalty in the final minute of the second produced a power play that RPI quickly converted on, as Polacek netted his 17th of the season to make it 3-0 RPI despite that lopsided shot count.
Princeton made a game of it early in the third period, as they scored about three minutes in and then four minutes later to cut the RPI lead to 3-2. Sensing the lead slipping away, Appert called timeout to allow his charges to regroup, and regroup they did. They took control of the game and did not turn back. When Princeton took another penalty six minutes after scoring their second goal, Rabbani quickly put RPI back up 4-2 for the Engineers' third power play goal and Rabbani's second of the afternoon.
Those two goals would be the only ones Merriam would give up on the game. He made 39 saves on 41 shots and was instrumental to the RPI victory. Assuming Allen York is back in the lineup this weekend (or maybe even if he's not), his injury may ultimately prove to be a positive for the Engineers - it allowed Bryce Merriam to get out there and prove his worth, and showed the world that there's depth at goaltender in Troy as well.
Tyler Helfrich sealed it in the final minute with an empty netter, his 13th goal of the season. The victory extended RPI's unbeaten streak to seven games, the longest since... the one they had at the beginning of this season. This one, of course, has more wins (6) than ties (1) in it.
Next up for RPI is a home weekend against last-place Colgate, who finally earned their first ECAC win of the season last week at home against Clarkson. Can they make it two in a row? Let's hope not. Saturday's game is being broadcast on the NHL Network at 3:30 pm, and will be against a resurgent Cornell which is riding an unbeaten streak of their own and are only a point back. Hopefully Union will toss them around a little bit on Friday night and the Engineers will be ready for a little revenge from their worst outing of the season in Ithaca a few weeks back. At any rate, a sweep this coming weekend would give RPI 25 points, meaning they'd reach the magic number for the first-round bye with two weeks to spare. Certainly something to shoot for.
Other junk - The Engineers' rise in the USCHO.com poll continues. They are up one this week to #8. That's not the all-time high for RPI in the USCHO poll, that would be #5 in November 1999, but if they keep winning... who knows? Other ranked ECAC teams this week are #2 Yale (up one, swept Harvard and Dartmouth), #9 Union (up two, swept Princeton and Quinnipiac, their first ever Top 10 ranking), #17 Dartmouth (no change, beat Brown and lost to Yale) and #20 Princeton (down one, swept by Union and RPI). Also ranked are #14 Boston University (no change) and #19 Colorado College (up one). Receiving votes were RIT (17), Cornell (3), and Quinnipiac (1).
Chase Polacek is quickly narrowing the gap to the top 20 scorers in RPI history. Three more points this weekend give him 154 for his career, one behind Barry Martinelli '76, who currently occupies 20th with 155 points. Larry Landon '81 is in 19th with 157. If he continues scoring at his current pace, Polacek will reach at least the top 15.
With 144 career games played, Polacek and Jeff Foss have tied Pete Gardiner '00 and Seth Klerer '09 for 4th all time for the Engineers. Neither senior has ever been a scratch. They can tie Matt Angers-Goulet '09 for third on Friday against Colgate, and tie Brad Farynuk '06 for second against Cornell on Saturday. If all goes well (that is, they stay healthy), they will set the RPI record for games in a career a week from Saturday in Potsdam against Clarkson, moving in front of Kevin Croxton '06. Bryan Brutlag, on the other hand, has only been scratched three times in his career. As long as all three stay healthy and in the lineup, they will be the top three in games played for RPI at the end of their collegiate careers.
Polacek leads the nation in game-winning goals, collecting the winner against Princeton for his eighth of the year. No one else has more than six, and he is only two away from the all-time NCAA record of ten.
Tyler Helfrich's four point outburst at Princeton put him on the cusp of becoming the 61st member of the Century Club. He needs just two points in the minimum of 8 games that the Engineers have remaining to get there.
I'm dispensing with the adjusted standings from here on out, since most teams have about the same number of games played now, with a few exceptions. The adjusted standings actually mirror the actual standings.
ECAC Standings
1. Yale - 13-3-0 (26 pts)
2. Union - 12-3-1 (25 pts)
3. RPI - 10-5-1 (21 pts)
4. Dartmouth - 9-5-2 (20 pts)
5. Cornell - 9-5-2 (20 pts)
6. Princeton - 9-6-1 (19 pts)
7. Quinnipiac - 6-7-4 (16 pts)
8. Clarkson - 6-8-1 (13 pts)
9. Brown - 5-9-1 (11 pts)
10. St. Lawrence - 4-10-1 (9 pts)
11. Harvard - 3-13-0 (6 pts)
12. Colgate - 1-13-2 (4 pts)
#9 RPI at Quinnipiac
ECAC Game - TD Bank Sports Center (Hamden, CT)
2/4/11 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 3, Quinnipiac 3
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECAPS
RPI
USCHO
Troy Record
Albany Times Union
New Haven Register
The Quad News (QU Student Paper)
RECORD: 17-6-4 (9-5-1 ECAC, 19 pts)
Reale Deals
1. F Brock Higgs, 1 G
2. G Allen York, 26 saves
3. D Jeff Foss, 1 G
#9 RPI at #19 Princeton
ECAC Game - Hobey Baker Memorial Rink (Princeton, NJ)
2/5/11 - 4:00pm
RESULT: RPI 5, Princeton 2
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union
WNYT-TV
RECORD: 18-6-4 (10-5-1 ECAC, 21 pts)
Reale Deals
1. G Bryce Merriam, 39 saves
2. F Josh Rabbani, 2 G
3. F Tyler Helfrich, 1 G, 3 A
Upcoming games
11 Feb - Colgate
12 Feb - Cornell
18 Feb - at St. Lawrence
19 Feb - at Clarkson
25 Feb - #20 Princeton
Quinnipiac
Rabbani/Polacek/Helfrich
Cullen/Higgs/Malchuk
Angers-Goulet/O'Grady/Brutlag
Tinordi/Rogic/Burgdoerfer
Koudys/Bailen
Leboeuf/Foss
Kennedy/Dolan
York
Two injuries shaped the RPI lineup on Friday night - Mike Bergin's injury from the Freakout! which involved a deep cut on his leg, and an injury that C.J. Lee picked up in practice during the week. The Lee injury required a new winger for the Polacek line, and Josh Rabbani earned the spot.
Penalties have been a problem for the Engineers in the last several weeks, but they only made two trips to the penalty box on Friday night in Hamden. It still ended up getting them into trouble.
Bryan Brutlag scored his eighth goal of the year at the 6:41 mark of the first period to give RPI a 1-0 lead, but they would soon give that up on the penalty kill after a penalty to John Kennedy two minutes later. Jeremy Langlois scored near the end of that man advantage to tie the game up at one. The only other penalty the Engineers would have for the remainder of the night came from Nick Bailen at the end of the second period, a penalty that carried over into the second period, but ultimately one that Quinnipiac could not convert. All told, there were only two penalties called after the first 20 minutes were over, and both were on Quinnipiac.
Brock Higgs scored 7:47 into the second period and Jeff Foss notched his second of the year a little over two minutes later to put RPI up 3-1, but another goal by Langlois with just over a minute left in the second cut the lead to 3-2 heading into the third period, which is where the game took a bad turn for the Engineers.
In the first minute of the period, after being hit making his first save, Allen York fell over in his crease and had to come out of the game, eventually heading off to the locker room with what would eventually be diagnosed as a concussion. That left sophomore Bryce Merriam in charge for the rest of the game. Overall, Merriam did very well in the third period, making 11 saves in relief of York.
The one shot that he did not stop, however, was a breakaway by QU freshman Connor Jones caused by a giveaway in the neutral zone by Guy Leboeuf. It's tough to say whether York would have stopped it, since breakaways are tough for even the very best goaltenders to deal with, but Merriam couldn't stop Jones, and the game was tied at three.
One of those two Quinnipiac penalties came in overtime as Zach Hansen was called for Slashing midway through the extra period, and the advantage helped RPI earn a 5-2 shooting advantage in overtime, but it didn't produce the winning goal as the Engineers had to settle for a 3-3 tie that snapped a win streak of five consecutive games.
After the game, the concern was with Allen York. News came out that he would not be available for the Princeton game (marking the second consecutive time Princeton would miss him) but that he was potentially available for next weekend's games.
Princeton
Angers-Goulet/O'Grady/Brutlag
Cullen/Higgs/Malchuk
Rabbani/Polacek/Helfrich
Tinordi/Rogic/Burgdoerfer
Leboeuf/Foss
Kennedy/Dolan
Koudys/Bailen
Merriam
Appert chose to face the Tigers with essentially the same lineup that played against Quinnipiac, with the obvious difference in net. With questions abounding about Merriam's ability after his terrible Freakout! against Princeton last season and giving up five goals in his only full game this season against UConn, the sophomore set about to quiet the critics, and played phenomenally.
The first period largely belonged to Princeton, as they outshot the Engineers 11-3. Merriam came up big, stopping all 11 as the game remained scoreless throughout the 30 minutes or so. Princeton's dominating shot total continued into the second period, where Merriam needed to stand even taller, making 18 saves in the second stanza alone.
Despite the lopsided shot totals (29-11 by the end of the second), it was RPI who would do the scoring in the second period, each time in a penalty situation. Josh Rabbani scored his fourth of the season on the power play from Tyler Helfrich and Chase Polacek at 9:54 of the second to finally open the scoring.
RPI's second goal came under bizarre circumstances. Pat Koudys and Joel Malchuk were called for penalties about 1:30 apart, giving Princeton a 5-on-3 opportunity, but somehow, despite being down two men, Marty O'Grady got a breakaway on Princeton goaltender Sean Bonar. He was hooked by Princeton's Taylor Fedun, creating RPI's second penalty shot opportunity of the season. O'Grady scored on the shot, putting RPI up 2-0. It had been 11 years since RPI had scored on a penalty shot when Chase Polacek did it in overtime against Colgate, now the Engineers have two in three weeks.
The Engineers killed off the Koudys and Malchuk penalties, and then another penalty to Bailen that soon followed. All told, they would go six-for-six on the penalty kill on Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, a Princeton penalty in the final minute of the second produced a power play that RPI quickly converted on, as Polacek netted his 17th of the season to make it 3-0 RPI despite that lopsided shot count.
Princeton made a game of it early in the third period, as they scored about three minutes in and then four minutes later to cut the RPI lead to 3-2. Sensing the lead slipping away, Appert called timeout to allow his charges to regroup, and regroup they did. They took control of the game and did not turn back. When Princeton took another penalty six minutes after scoring their second goal, Rabbani quickly put RPI back up 4-2 for the Engineers' third power play goal and Rabbani's second of the afternoon.
Those two goals would be the only ones Merriam would give up on the game. He made 39 saves on 41 shots and was instrumental to the RPI victory. Assuming Allen York is back in the lineup this weekend (or maybe even if he's not), his injury may ultimately prove to be a positive for the Engineers - it allowed Bryce Merriam to get out there and prove his worth, and showed the world that there's depth at goaltender in Troy as well.
Tyler Helfrich sealed it in the final minute with an empty netter, his 13th goal of the season. The victory extended RPI's unbeaten streak to seven games, the longest since... the one they had at the beginning of this season. This one, of course, has more wins (6) than ties (1) in it.
Next up for RPI is a home weekend against last-place Colgate, who finally earned their first ECAC win of the season last week at home against Clarkson. Can they make it two in a row? Let's hope not. Saturday's game is being broadcast on the NHL Network at 3:30 pm, and will be against a resurgent Cornell which is riding an unbeaten streak of their own and are only a point back. Hopefully Union will toss them around a little bit on Friday night and the Engineers will be ready for a little revenge from their worst outing of the season in Ithaca a few weeks back. At any rate, a sweep this coming weekend would give RPI 25 points, meaning they'd reach the magic number for the first-round bye with two weeks to spare. Certainly something to shoot for.
Other junk - The Engineers' rise in the USCHO.com poll continues. They are up one this week to #8. That's not the all-time high for RPI in the USCHO poll, that would be #5 in November 1999, but if they keep winning... who knows? Other ranked ECAC teams this week are #2 Yale (up one, swept Harvard and Dartmouth), #9 Union (up two, swept Princeton and Quinnipiac, their first ever Top 10 ranking), #17 Dartmouth (no change, beat Brown and lost to Yale) and #20 Princeton (down one, swept by Union and RPI). Also ranked are #14 Boston University (no change) and #19 Colorado College (up one). Receiving votes were RIT (17), Cornell (3), and Quinnipiac (1).
Chase Polacek is quickly narrowing the gap to the top 20 scorers in RPI history. Three more points this weekend give him 154 for his career, one behind Barry Martinelli '76, who currently occupies 20th with 155 points. Larry Landon '81 is in 19th with 157. If he continues scoring at his current pace, Polacek will reach at least the top 15.
With 144 career games played, Polacek and Jeff Foss have tied Pete Gardiner '00 and Seth Klerer '09 for 4th all time for the Engineers. Neither senior has ever been a scratch. They can tie Matt Angers-Goulet '09 for third on Friday against Colgate, and tie Brad Farynuk '06 for second against Cornell on Saturday. If all goes well (that is, they stay healthy), they will set the RPI record for games in a career a week from Saturday in Potsdam against Clarkson, moving in front of Kevin Croxton '06. Bryan Brutlag, on the other hand, has only been scratched three times in his career. As long as all three stay healthy and in the lineup, they will be the top three in games played for RPI at the end of their collegiate careers.
Polacek leads the nation in game-winning goals, collecting the winner against Princeton for his eighth of the year. No one else has more than six, and he is only two away from the all-time NCAA record of ten.
Tyler Helfrich's four point outburst at Princeton put him on the cusp of becoming the 61st member of the Century Club. He needs just two points in the minimum of 8 games that the Engineers have remaining to get there.
I'm dispensing with the adjusted standings from here on out, since most teams have about the same number of games played now, with a few exceptions. The adjusted standings actually mirror the actual standings.
ECAC Standings
1. Yale - 13-3-0 (26 pts)
2. Union - 12-3-1 (25 pts)
3. RPI - 10-5-1 (21 pts)
4. Dartmouth - 9-5-2 (20 pts)
5. Cornell - 9-5-2 (20 pts)
6. Princeton - 9-6-1 (19 pts)
7. Quinnipiac - 6-7-4 (16 pts)
8. Clarkson - 6-8-1 (13 pts)
9. Brown - 5-9-1 (11 pts)
10. St. Lawrence - 4-10-1 (9 pts)
11. Harvard - 3-13-0 (6 pts)
12. Colgate - 1-13-2 (4 pts)
#9 RPI at Quinnipiac
ECAC Game - TD Bank Sports Center (Hamden, CT)
2/4/11 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 3, Quinnipiac 3
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECAPS
RPI
USCHO
Troy Record
Albany Times Union
New Haven Register
The Quad News (QU Student Paper)
RECORD: 17-6-4 (9-5-1 ECAC, 19 pts)
Reale Deals
1. F Brock Higgs, 1 G
2. G Allen York, 26 saves
3. D Jeff Foss, 1 G
#9 RPI at #19 Princeton
ECAC Game - Hobey Baker Memorial Rink (Princeton, NJ)
2/5/11 - 4:00pm
RESULT: RPI 5, Princeton 2
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union
WNYT-TV
RECORD: 18-6-4 (10-5-1 ECAC, 21 pts)
Reale Deals
1. G Bryce Merriam, 39 saves
2. F Josh Rabbani, 2 G
3. F Tyler Helfrich, 1 G, 3 A
Upcoming games
11 Feb - Colgate
12 Feb - Cornell
18 Feb - at St. Lawrence
19 Feb - at Clarkson
25 Feb - #20 Princeton
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