Men's Hockey - Mariucci Classic (3/4 Jan)

It doesn't get much harder than facing the top two teams in the country on back to back nights on the same weekend, over a thousand miles from home, and taking on the #1 team on its own (larger) ice surface in front of 9,600 fans, but playing poorly for stretches of those games doesn't exactly make things easier. The Engineers didn't exactly look ready for prime time in a tough battle against Ferris State and Minnesota, showing flashes of brilliance but enduring rough stretches, especially in the 2nd period, that doomed them to a pair of 6-2 losses in the Mariucci Classic.

Ferris State
Neal-Higgs-Haggerty
Laliberte-Zalewski-Tinordi
McGowan-Bubela-Schroeder
Miller-Rogic-DeVito

Bradley-Dolan
Leboeuf-Leonard

Curadi-Reno

Diebold

The break certainly helped get the Engineers relatively healthy. Jacob Laliberte and Matt Neal, both injured during RPI's last game weekend against Denver and the U-18 team, were back in the lineup.

Early on against the Bulldogs, RPI actually looked pretty decent. They were getting shots on goal, they were taking offensive opportunities as they came, and they were generally controlling play. Then a bad bounce - from the RPI perspective, anyway - combined with spot errors to put the Engineers behind the eight-ball. Ferris State scored the game's first goal on a bounce which put the puck right on a forward's stick in front of the net, and Scott Diebold could do little to get to it. The Bulldogs had a 1-0 lead after just over seven minutes.

From there, unforced errors helped build the Ferris lead. A cross-checking call against Mike Zalewski made it 2-0 at 13:45, marking the first time all season that the Engineers, who have dominated the opening 20 minutes in most of their games, gave up two goals in the first period.

RPI would get one back with about 2:30 left in the period as Milos Bubela finally broke off his long goal scoring drought, netting his second of the year on the power play shortly after a 5-on-3 ended to make the score 2-1 heading into the second period. The Engineers came out of the first with momentum and an 11-9 shot edge, but that was not to carry over into the second period.

One of the keys to Ferris State's success throughout the game was in blocking shots. The Engineers, as strong as they had been offensively in the first half, needed to put more pucks on net, and while they took more shots against the Bulldogs, many of them were not getting through thanks to a concerted shot-blocking effort by the designated home team.

A holding call on the power play against Bo Dolan can probably go down as the full turning-point in the game. After several golden opportunities for the Engineers were met with iron or a big save, Dolan turned the puck over and picked up the penalty while tracking down the short-handed counter. Ferris State scored with the subsequent 4-on-4 on the larger ice surface, then netted one on the power play that followed to make it 4-1, putting the Engineers in a serious hole.

The Engineers put 11 pucks on net in the final period of the game to officially outshoot Ferris State 34-30, but an early Ferris goal in the period had already made it 5-1. Mike Zalewski picked up a short-handed goal midway through the period to bring RPI back within three, but that was as close as they would get. The Bulldogs gained an empty net tally with three minutes left on the clock to cinch things up and advance to the championship game.

Minnesota
Neal-Higgs-Haggerty
Laliberte-Zalewski-Tinordi
McGowan-Bubela-Schroeder
Wood-Rogic-DeVito

Leboeuf-Leonard

Bradley-Dolan
Curadi-Reno

Diebold

Colgate's shootout victory over Minnesota ensured that the Engineers' challenge would be the #1 team in the nation the next evening, a team that was getting its head coach and two top young players back on the bench following Team USA's unsuccessful conclusion to the World Junior Championship. The trio, unavailable for the first night due to their trip back from Sweden, were ready to go against the unlucky Engineers for the consolation game, which followed a much-maligned showing against the Raiders.

For the Engineers, Jake Wood returned from his knee injury, replacing Mark Miller in the lineup.

RPI had to weather the early storm from the Golden Gophers, a reversal of the usual script of the Engineers being the early aggressors, and for the most part things were looking good. Scott Diebold bounced back from a tough outing against Ferris State and picked up 14 saves in the first period alone against the high flying Gophers. The home team looked a bit frustrated in the early going.

Things looked bright indeed when Zach Schroeder and Brock Higgs linked up for the team's second shorthanded goal in as many nights with just over four minutes left in the first period, giving RPI a 1-0 lead against the general flow of play. After killing the penalty off, it even looked like the Engineers had the potential to take that lead into the locker room, but a shot from the blue line was redirected past Diebold in the final minute of the period, making it 1-1 after one.

The biggest knock on RPI all season long has revolved around poor play in the second period, and that poor play reared its ugly head again against the Gophers. The top team in the nation won't frequently fail to take advantage of a situation like that. Three goals in the first seven minutes of the second period made the score 4-1 for the second consecutive evening. All told, Minnesota scored four times in just under eight minutes of game time to seize control of the game. The RPI attack picked up slightly late in the second period, but the damage was done.

Unlike Friday's game, however, it was RPI who would score the first goal of the third period as Matt Neal put one away to make it 4-2 and bring the game within reach once more. However, another turning point was coming four minutes later.

Just as Ryan Haggerty appeared to have scored top-shelf off the faceoff to make the score 4-3, the Engineers were whistled instead for interference. The call was originally on Haggerty, who was at the point for the shot, then it was changed to Jimmy DeVito, who wasn't even on the ice. Regardless of the phantom call, RPI went from feeling back in the contest to having to kill a penalty, and only 28 seconds after they'd thought it was 4-3, the real score was 5-2 as the Gophers quickly converted. Another empty-netter given up by the Engineers made it back to back 6-2 losses, with neither score really doing justice to the work RPI put in, but both losses certainly deserved.

Other junk - Losing games, even against the best, doesn't do much for a team outside of the rankings. The Engineers fell further in the vote tally, accruing only three this week. #4 Union (idle, up one), #7 Quinnipiac (beat Sacred Heart and Maine, up one), #10 Yale (tied Vermont, no change), #11 Clarkson (tied and lost to UMass-Lowell, no change), and #12 Cornell (idle, up three) were the ranked ECAC teams this week. Colgate (13) also received votes. Other ranked teams on RPI's schedule include #1 Minnesota (no change with 42 first-place votes), #3 Ferris State (down one), #5 Boston College (up one), #17 Denver (down one), and #20 New Hampshire (previously unranked). No other opponents received votes.

RPI is 1-6-3 against currently ranked teams. There it is. Not something that's going to be a bright spot on the NCAA resume, even if they can turn things around in ECAC play.

Despite his four-game goal drought, Ryan Haggerty continues to lead the nation in goals with 18. As of the Minnesota game, he has fallen under 1 goal per game. BC's Johnny Gaudreau is right on his heels now with 17. Brock Higgs is tied for 5th in the nation with 13 goals.

Haggerty's 1.37 points per game has him tied for 9th nationally. Higgs, Matt Neal, and Jacob Laliberte are all among the top 100 in the nation in points per game. Haggerty's 8 power play goals is now tied for first in the nation with Minnesota State's Jean-Paul Lafontaine.

Guy Leboeuf and Brock Higgs each have two short-handed goals this season. That's the first time the Engineers have had two players with two shorties in a season since Chase Polacek and Joel Malchuk in 2010-11. RPI had two as a team all of last year (Higgs had one of them), the six that the team has scored is the most since 10 in 1999-2000 (they had 6 in 2000-01 as well).

Defensively, the Engineers are now in the bottom half of the nation in a tie for 33rd with a team GAA of 2.85. The offense has slipped to 15th at 3.30 goals per game.

It's back to ECAC play for RPI this coming weekend with a road series at Princeton and Quinnipiac. The way the Tigers' season has gone, points are a must out of that game, while the Bobcats present another serious challenge as the Engineers tangle with their third high-flying offense in four games by the time they get to Hamden.

ECAC Standings
1. Union - 16 points (8-1-0)
2. Quinnipiac - 14 points (6-2-2)
3. Clarkson - 12 points (6-2-0)
4. Colgate - 11 points (5-3-1)
5. Cornell - 10 points (4-3-2)
6. Yale - 9 points (3-2-3)
7. RPI - 9 points (3-3-3)
8. Brown - 7 points (3-4-1)
9. St. Lawrence - 6 points (2-4-2)
10. Harvard - 6 points (2-6-2)
11. Dartmouth - 4 points (2-8-0, -16 GD)
12. Princeton - 4 points (2-8-0, -19 GD)

RPI vs. #2 Ferris State
Mariucci Classic Game - Mariucci Arena (Minneapolis, MN)
1/3/14 - 5:00pm

RESULT: Ferris State 6, RPI 2

BOX SCORES

College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union

RECORD: 8-7-4 (3-3-3 ECAC, 9 pts)

RPI at #1 Minnesota
Mariucci Classic Consolation - Mariucci Arena (Minneapolis, MN)
1/4/14 - 8:00pm

RESULT: Minnesota 6, RPI 2

BOX SCORES

College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
USCHO
Troy Record
Albany Times Union

RECORD: 8-8-4 (3-3-3 ECAC, 9 pts)

Upcoming games
10 Jan - at Princeton
11 Jan - at #7 Quinnipiac
24 Jan - Dartmouth
25 Jan - vs. #4 Union (Albany, NY)
31 Jan - at #11 Clarkson

Survive and Advance

(The end of our series on the NCAA Regionals will run on Tuesday of next week.)

The Engineers come off a long break this weekend - both the men and the women. For the women, it's a road series at Providence, a team that has run hot and cold this year with a fairly challenging schedule. For the men, it's nothing less than a possible weekend with the two best teams in the nation.

The ladies return from basically a full month off with games at Providence, who started the second half of their season on Tuesday with a loss at Dartmouth. Right away, that should be a warning sign. The Lady Friars also have losses to Yale and Union in their resume. But, then again, the Engineers managed a loss to Yale as well, so who knows what's in store at "The Coffin."

The men have a tall task this afternoon as they face off with #2 Ferris State at about 5pm Eastern time, 4pm local at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis. The college hockey world is watching to see if the Bulldogs get to face off with #1 Minnesota tomorrow night. Hopefully, the Engineers will be spoiling that dream - or, perhaps, helping to force it into the Mariucci consolation game provided that Colgate helps things along.

It's not going to be easy... but anything worthwhile rarely is.

It's Eminem for this weekend's pumpup... so be aware that it's obviously NSFW, but the lyrics seem to describe this team and this weekend fairly well (hopefully).

Know Your Enemy: Ferris State

This week's Know Your Enemy entry represents an opponent the Engineers should be quite familiar with when they face off against them in Minnesota come the first weekend in January. After all, it'll be the third consecutive season featuring a game between the Engineers and the head coach's alma mater after a 13-year separation between the teams' first meeting.

Ferris State
Nickname: Bulldogs
Location: Big Rapids, MI
Founded: 1884
Conference: WCHA
National Championships: 0
Last NCAA Appearance: 2012
Last Frozen Four: 2012
Coach: Bob Daniels (22nd season)
2012-13 Record: 16-16-5 (13-12-3-1 CCHA, 5th place)
Series: Ferris State leads, 3-1-1
First Game: January 23, 1998 (Big Rapids, MI)
Last RPI win: October 12, 2012 (Troy, NY)
Last FSU win: October 15, 2011 (Big Rapids, MI)

2013-14 game: January 3, 2014 (Minneapolis, MN)

Key players: D Scott Czarnowczan, sr.; F Justin DeMartino, sr.; F Andy Huff, sr.; F Cory Kane, sr.; F Garrett Thompson, sr.; F Justin Buzzeo, jr.; D Simon Denis, jr.; G C.J. Motte, jr.; D Jason Binkley, jr.; D Brandon Anselmini, so.; D Zach Dorer, so.; D Connor Schmidt, so.; F Tyler Andrew, fr.; D Ryan Lowney, fr.

Previous KYE installments:

• 2011-12
• 2012-13

There's practically nowhere to go but down from playing in the national championship game - the only improvement in 2013 would have been an actual national championship. That wasn't in the cards for Ferris State, who finished off their 35th and final season in the CCHA with a respectable 5th place finish but featured a bumpy finish in February and March as they were unable to reach the last CCHA Final Five.

The Bulldogs now pick up and move to the radically changed WCHA, where they have the potential to be one of the top teams in the coming seasons. Although Ferris State had a positively middling season last year, their overall showing was better than anyone else in the "new" WCHA with the exception of Minnesota State, the only team from the reconstituted conference that reached the NCAA tournament last season.

A major factor in Ferris State's inability to build on their epic 2012 season were early season injuries to Czarnowczan and top-returning scorer Matthew Kirzinger, two players that were expected to be key cogs in the Bulldogs' game. Kirzinger has graduated, and Ferris additionally loses their top two scorers from last season, Kyle Bonis and Travis Ouellette. That puts pressure on guys like Thompson, Kane, and DeMartino to pick up some of the scoring slack.

A healthy season for Czarnowczan and the rest of Ferris State's defense - all of which returns - could bode well for the Bulldogs' defense, still backstopped by Motte, who had a couple of tough-luck outings against the Engineers last season after blanking them for his first collegiate shutout in his freshman year.

This is a Ferris State team that could have the chops to compete for a WCHA title if they find the scoring touch they'll need - and they have options on that front. This is still a team with half of its roster having the experience of playing for a national championship, and as they move to a new conference, they look ready to put in another solid season.

There are four dynamics that change things considerably from the last two seasons that the Engineers and Bulldogs met. First, it's a neutral site game. Second, it's just one game rather than two. Third, it's taking place in January rather than October, so both teams should at least be into the swing of things. Finally, Ferris State is likely to get a look at Jason Kasdorf for the first time if he's healthy.

Might just be homerism here, but lean toward the Engineers to be the favorite in this game - looking at it before the season gets underway, of course. They should be plenty dangerous on their own, but if the Bulldogs pick up the scoring they need early in the season, this could be a barnburner.

Early Returns

So, what do we now know about RPI Hockey in mid-October? It's not always easy to extrapolate from just a weekend or two of results, but there's little question that if the men could keep things going the way they did against Ferris State, it would be a pretty outstanding year.

Consider the following:

• Jacob Laliberte's first freshman goal: December 2
• His first sophomore goal: October 12
• His third freshman goal: February 11
• His third sophomore goal: October 13
• Game in which RPI scored its fifth goal of the season in 2011-12: Fifth
• Game in which RPI scored its fifth goal of the season this year: Second
• Goals scored by sophomores against Ferris State this weekend: 5 out of 5
• Points by sophomores against Ferris State this weekend: 9 out of 14

What does it all mean? It all speaks to the heart of the offense for this team, which is actually exactly where it was last year - with the Class of 2015. It's no coincidence that last year's five freshman forwards practically always played when they were healthy - and none of the five managed to make it through the entire season without illness or injury sidelining them (all missed at least four games).

The quintet - Laliberte, Ryan Haggerty, Zach Schroeder, Mark McGowan, and Matt Neal - notched a combined 23 goals last season, which led the four classes (sophomore forwards scored 10 goals among three, juniors scored 14 among three, seniors 16 among five).

Are they going to be the end all, be all this season? No, almost certainly not - we should expect to see solid contributions from C.J. Lee, Marty O'Grady (when he comes back), Brock Higgs, and Matt Tinordi based on what we saw last year. Nick Bailen has proven to be a scoring threat from afar over the last two seasons, and there's no reason we won't see a lot of Milos Bubela and Mike Zalewski this season, a couple of freshmen with the bonafides to be contributors. (Aside, of course, from the injury potential, knock on wood.)

Whenever you have freshmen as the core of your scoring output, you're bound to have a struggle to score goals, especially early in the season, and that was exactly the case last year. Although there are exceptions - Brandon Pirri and Jerry D'Amigo come to mind - freshmen typically have a need to acclimate themselves to college hockey before they can perform at a high level. Pirri and D'Amigo, it should be noted, also benefited from the presence of a Hobey Baker finalist on the team.

As well, the marginal utility that the program got out of those two players in terms of on-ice production is actually pretty low - D'Amigo already ranks behind classmates Lee and O'Grady on the all-time points list, and Pirri will likely fall behind Lee this season. It took the two seniors three years to accomplish what those players did in one, but that merely has spread out their usefulness.

So on the basic assumption that RPI is unlikely to see players on the level of Pirri and D'Amigo with any striking regularity, most freshmen that arrive in Troy are going to have seasons like Laliberte did last year, when after much anticipation and expectation, he scored "just" five goals. Does his three goal weekend mean we're going to see more of what was anticipated and expected last year? Perhaps. But he's not likely to be the only one improving. There's no getting around the fact that RPI's frosh five from last year are getting more experienced and getting better - which could be very good news going forward.

Men's Hockey - Ferris State (12/13 Oct)

The Engineers concluded their season last year playing some very good team hockey, especially on the road. They arguably controlled play in their final nine road games of the year, going 5-3-1 in those contests and sparking a run to the ECAC Quarterfinals. At home, it was a very different story for RPI. Welcoming the national runners-up to Houston Field House, it didn't seem to be a good opportunity for the Engineers to shine in Troy, but instead they picked up their first home win since January 27, taking down 11th-ranked Ferris State 3-1 on Friday and picking up a 2-2 tie on Saturday.

Friday
Lee-McGowan-Schroeder
Zalewski-Higgs-Tinordi
Neal-Laliberte-Haggerty
Miller-Rogic-Bubela

Leboeuf-Bailen
Curadi-Leonard
Bradley-Dolan

Diebold

Friday's lines were actually just as advertised in the exhibition matchup against Acadia - the extra skaters of Andrew Commers, Greg Burgdoerfer, and Phil Hampton were dropped from the lineup, and sophomore Scott Diebold was given the surprise start in net for the Engineers in the season opener for both teams. Excluding both teams' exhibition matchups, it was RPI's first game since dropping Game 2 of the ECAC Quarterfinals, and Ferris State's first since falling to Boston College in the national championship.

Things started out very poorly for the Engineers, and it seemed a harbinger of things to come. The Bulldogs would score with their very first shot on goal just a minute and a half into the game, a tip-in after a spin-around pass from Diebold's left putting RPI behind the eight ball from the get-go, down 1-0.

Eight minutes in, the Engineers would finally notch their first ever goal against Ferris State (after failing to score in two games last year) to tie the game at one. Nick Bailen found Mark McGowan with a perfect cross-ice head-man pass, allowing McGowan to go in all alone on Ferris goaltender C.J. Motte. McGowan ripped a wrister from the top of the slot that beat Motte top shelf to knot the score.

Ryan Haggerty's first goal of the season midway through the second period broke the deadlock and gave the Engineers a lead they would not relinquish. After an initial shot from the point by Guy Leboeuf, Haggerty eventually picked up a rebound in the slot which he put past a sprawling Motte to make it 2-1 Engineers.

Ferris State was able to maintain some good puck control in the final 40 minutes, but Diebold proved up to the task, stopping 11 shots in the second and 12 in the third, having to make a number of outstanding saves in the final stanza to preserve the Engineers' lead. In total, he finished the contest with 30 saves.

There were a dearth of penalties in the game, with RPI taking only two minors in 60 minutes and Ferris State only three. The Bulldogs' third penalty could not have come at a worse time, as an interference call put them down a man with about two and a half minutes left in regulation, forcing FSU to kill a penalty for most of the time they had left to find the tying goal.

The RPI power play sealed things up about a minute into that man advantage, as a sharp shot by Bailen from the top of the left faceoff circle was redirected in front by Jacob Laliberte to make it 3-1 with just a minute and a half left, giving the Engineers the upset victory at home in the first game of the season.

Saturday
Lee-McGowan-Schroeder
Zalewski-Higgs-Tinordi
Neal-Laliberte-Haggerty
Miller-Rogic-Bubela

Leboeuf-Bailen
Curadi-Leonard
Bradley-Dolan

Merriam

Not surp risingly, the same lines that worked on Friday were rolled out again on Saturday, and on a team with three legitimate goaltenders, a new goalie was between the pipes for RPI in senior Bryce Merriam.

Where Friday's game had seen a low number of penalties, the Bulldogs managed to match their total from that contest in Saturday's first period alone, and much like on Friday, it was RPI's third power play opportunity that would lead to a goal - albeit a goal that had a little controversy to it. After extended pressure in the Ferris State zone, Matt Neal took a shot from the top of the left faceoff circle that Motte stopped, and while Ryan Haggerty and Laliberte tried to work the puck free, the net was knocked off its pegs by a defender. Laliberte put the puck across the goal line, and the goal was upheld after review. The defender knocking the net loose was key; this would not have been a goal last year but the situation was changed as part of the new "Union rule," so-named because Union nullified a Michigan State goal in last year's NCAA Tournament in a similar fashion.

Ferris State's first goal of the game came with the Bulldogs pouncing on RPI at the outset of the second period. Just 39 seconds into the middle frame, a tight angle shot from the boards on Merriam's right side bounced in to tie the score at one. For the second straight night, it would be a solid second for Ferris State as Merriam made 10 saves over the course of the period to maintain the tie.

After a slow start to the third period, Ferris State picked up their first lead of the game midway through the period on a rip from the blue line, making it 2-1 and giving them a very serious edge given the way the third period had been playing out to that time. Things didn't look promising for the Engineers to crawl back into things.

However, it took only 24 seconds for RPI to find the equalizer, and it was Laliberte notching his third consecutive goal. After a turnover in the Ferris State zone, Laliberte poked at the puck while fading back toward the blue line to bring the game level again, 2-2.

The Engineers maintained an even keel heading into overtime, even though they managed only three shots on goal in the entire third period. The final five minutes was a different story, as RPI blasted Ferris State with five shots on goal in the extra stanza. Motte was up to the task, however, and the game ended in a 2-2 tie which completed a virtual three-point weekend for the Engineers.

Other junk - The surprise showing vaulted the Engineers up in the consideration for the always volatile early season polls, picking up 40 votes in this week's USCHO rankings. #6 Cornell (idle, down one), #8 Union (swept Bowling Green, up two with one first-place vote for some reason), #17 Harvard (idle, no change), and #20 Quinnipiac (split with Robert Morris, down two) are the ranked ECAC teams this week, St. Lawrence (6) and Yale (3) are the other league teams receiving votes this week. Other ranked teams on RPI's schedule are #11 Boston University (up one), #15 New Hampshire (previously unranked), and #16 Ferris State (down five). St. Cloud State (9) and Minnesota State (3) also received votes.

RPI's penalty kill was 4-for-4 on the weekend, but 17 teams have a similar 100% penalty kill ratings (including Quinnipiac, who has killed all 15 penalties they've taken in three games). RPI's 10 total penalty minutes in two games has them 46th out of 48 teams that have played games thus far in penalties, which won't last given the Engineers' reputation for penalties.

Boston College fell in their first game of the season (to Northeastern), ending their 19-game winning and unbeaten streak. Northeastern, ironically, was the only other team in the nation that won their last game of the season last year, and now has the longest unbeaten streak in the nation with three wins in a row.

Next on the docket for RPI is a trip to Mankato, MN for the second half of the home-and-home series with Minnesota State. The teams split in Troy last year, with the Mavericks winning 1-0 in the season opener for both sides last year and the Engineers winning 4-1 in the Saturday game. Minnesota State also picked up a win and a tie to open this season, taking three points at Alabama-Huntsville over the weekend 4-1 and 2-2.

#11 Ferris State at RPI
Non-Conference Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
10/12/12 - 7:00pm

RESULT: RPI 3, Ferris State 1

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union

VIDEO
Highlights (YouTube, no audio)
Post-game press conference (YouTube)
Full game (RPI TV)

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

#11 Ferris State at RPI
Non-Conference Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
10/13/12 - 7:00pm

RESULT: RPI 2, Ferris State 2

BOX SCORES

College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS

RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union

VIDEO

Highlights (YouTube, no audio)
Post-game press conference (YouTube)
Full game (RPI TV)

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

Upcoming games
19 Oct - at Minnesota State
20 Oct - at Minnesota State
02 Nov - #8 Union (Black Friday)
03 Nov - at #8 Union
09 Nov - at Dartmouth

Staring Down the Best

You want tough early weekends? We've got two of them to show off to you... in one weekend. (The math works, trust me.)

For the women, a Boston University team two years removed from the national championship game looms large tonight at Agganis Arena - the Terriers have been to the national tournament three years in a row now, and would have to be considered a legitimate national power at this point. It's going to be a tough test for RPI no matter what, especially after a couple of closer games last weekend against a UConn team we probably wanted to be convincing against. Following BU, the Engineers move across town to take on Northeastern tomorrow afternoon.

For the men, it's a weekend with Ferris State for the second straight October, this time in Troy, but also this time with the Bulldogs having come within a game of hoisting the national championship - and this is Ferris State's first competitive hockey game since that experience in Tampa. The Bulldogs won their exhibition last week by a similar 8-2 over Ryerson, so at least last week the offense appeared ready to go, and the team does bring back much of the defense that brought it to the Frozen Four last season. It's a heck of a difficult way to start the season, much the same way RPI did last year with Ferris and Colorado College.

A wise man once said, to be the best, (woo!) you've got to beat the best. Both teams put that to the test this weekend. We'll have the live tweets you need to stay on top of things, but honestly, if you're in Troy or Boston, you should have your tickets in hand already.

Let's rock.

In honor of the winner of our pump-up poll late last month... here's the jam of the moment.

Know Your Enemy: Ferris State

If there's one word that could be said about RPI's schedule last season, it was... brutal. Seven of the Engineers' losses came against teams who played in the Frozen Four, and we start this year's Know Your Enemy with a team responsible for two of those losses, the national runners-up, who will kick off RPI's 2012-13 schedule in October.

Ferris State
Nickname: Bulldogs
Location: Big Rapids, MI
Founded: 1884
Conference: CCHA
National Championships: 0
Last NCAA Appearance: 2012
Last Frozen Four: 2012
Coach: Bob Daniels (21st season)
2011-12 Record: 26-12-5 (16-7-5-1 CCHA, 1st place)
Series: Ferris State leads, 3-0-0
First Game: January 23, 1998 (Big Rapids, MI)
Last RPI win: None
Last FSU win: October 15, 2011 (Big Rapids, MI)

2012-13 games: October 12-13, 2012 (Troy, NY)

Key players: F Kyle Bonis, sr.; F Matthew Kirzinger, sr.; F Travis Ouellette, sr.; F Eric Alexander, sr; D Scott Czarnowczan, jr.; F Garrett Thompson, jr.; F T.J. Schlueter, so.; G C.J. Motte, so.; D Jason Binkley, so.;  F Josh Henke, fr.; D Zach Dorer, fr.

Previous KYE installment:

• 2011-12

Last year, we mentioned that Ferris State fans would be unanimous in their assessment of the Bulldogs' greatest season. That's still true, but the answer has changed. While FSU won five fewer games last year than they did in 2003, they still managed to skate to their second CCHA regular season title, earning their first ever #1 national ranking and winning three NCAA games to post their first appearances in the Frozen Four and the national championship game. They ran into a juggernaut Boston College team that may be destined to go down in history as one of the greatest ever, but they held their own, keeping things close until late.

Interestingly, on their way to the national championship game, the Bulldogs played eight games against ECAC opponents, winning every single one of them - sweeping St. Lawrence and RPI on back to back weeks in October (outscoring them 15-3), sweeping Colgate in early January, and knocking off Cornell and Union in the NCAA tournament. Tack on FSU's sweep of St. Lawrence in 2010-11, and the Bulldogs have won 10 straight games against the ECAC, all in regulation.

Ferris was a defensive power, especially in the NCAA tournament, but they are losing some of their top defenders. Gone are senior goaltender Taylor Nelson and top defenders Brett Wysopal and Chad Billins. The cupboard is hardly bare, however - Czarnowczan's absence late in the national championship game due to injury was a huge blow, and Motte did well in his 12 freshman appearances, which included a 26-save shutout of RPI in just his second collegiate contest.

Offensively, FSU does lose their top point scorer in Jordie Johnston, but three of their top five scorers from last season return as seniors, including 19-goal scorer Bonis who notched two goals in the first game against the Engineers. Expect a very difficult opening weekend for RPI - they are not nearly as battle tested as this Bulldogs squad, which still returns many of the key components of a team that was very difficult to beat in a CCHA that could make a claim for being the toughest league in the nation last year.

This will be Ferris State's final season in the CCHA, which disbands at the end of the year. They join the new look WCHA in 2013, and could be well positioned to be one of the top teams in that league once the conference shuffle goes into effect. Barring an NCAA berth, the Bulldogs will be the final CCHA opponent that the Engineers face - they have played 10 of 11 current CCHA teams, with Northern Michigan the only one that has never played RPI.

Tentative Men's 2012-13 Schedule

RPI's tentative 2012-13 schedule has been released in mailers to season ticket holders. Game times are 7pm unless otherwise indicated. ECAC games are starred.

October
Saturday, 6 October - Acadia (Exhibition)
Friday, 12 October - Ferris State
Saturday, 13 October - Ferris State
Friday, 19 October - at Minnesota State
Saturday, 20 October - at Minnesota State
Friday, 26 October - Western Michigan
Saturday, 27 October - Western Michigan

November
Friday, 02 November - Union* (Black Friday)
Saturday, 03 November - at Union*
Friday, 09 November - at Dartmouth*
Saturday, 10 November - at Harvard*
Friday, 16 November - Mercyhurst
Saturday, 17 November - Mercyhurst
Friday, 30 November - Princeton*

December
Saturday, 01 December - Quinnipiac*
Friday, 07 December - at Yale*
Saturday, 08 December - at Brown*
Monday, 31 December - Sacred Heart, 4pm

January
Friday, 04 January - at Boston University
Sunday, 06 January - at New Hampshire, 4pm
Friday, 11 January - at Quinnipiac*
Saturday, 12 January - at Princeton, 4pm*
Friday, 18 January - Colgate*
Saturday, 19 January - Cornell*
Saturday, 26 January - vs. Union (site TBD)

February
Friday, 01 February - Harvard*
Saturday, 02 February - Dartmouth*
Friday, 08 February - at St. Lawrence*
Saturday, 09 February - at Clarkson*
Friday, 15 February - Brown*
Saturday, 16 February - Yale*
Friday, 22 February - at Cornell*
Saturday, 23 February - at Colgate*

March
Friday, 01 March - Clarkson*
Saturday, 02 March - St. Lawrence* (Senior Night)
Fri-Sun, 08-10 March - ECAC First Round (at higher seeds)
Fri-Sun, 15-17 March - ECAC Quarterfinals (at higher seeds)
Friday, 22 March - ECAC Semifinals (Atlantic City, NJ)
Saturday, 23 March - ECAC Championship (Atlantic City, NJ)
Fri-Sun, 29-31 March - NCAA Regionals (Providence, RI; Manchester, NH; Toledo, OH; Grand Rapids, MI)

April
Thursday, 11 April - NCAA Frozen Four (Pittsburgh, PA)
Saturday, 13 April - NCAA Championship (Pittsburgh, PA)

This may be subject to change, especially if the Engineers end up hosting St. Cloud State, as the recent rumor out of Central Minnesota indicated. They do, however, have all 34 regular season games covered at present.

It is suspected that the third Union game may take place at the Times Union Center in Albany, subject to the AHL schedule for the Albany Devils.

The 36th Freakout! is likely to take place against either Dartmouth or Yale.

Unless something changes, or the Engineers reach the NCAA Tournament, Western Michigan will be the last CCHA team to face RPI. They would be favorites to also be the first NCHC team to face RPI in 2013-14 given the Engineers' almost certain return trip that season, unless fellow NCHCers St. Cloud State are also on the schedule that season.

The women's schedule generally isn't known until late in the summer, but based on previous schedules we can estimate that they will open the season with an exhibition in the afternoon on September 29, and should probably have non-conference weekends at Syracuse and Robert Morris and one at home against UConn. RPI has had four straight seasons of non-conference weekends against Niagara, it is unknown if that will continue.

Expect the women's season to wrap up the weekend of February 22/23. The 2013 Women's Frozen Four takes place at Ridder Arena on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN, taking place March 22 and 24.

Men's Hockey - at Ferris State (14/15 Oct)

There's a lot to the game of hockey. There's hitting, there's speed, there's passing. There's defense, there's goaltending, there's stickhandling. And, of course, there's scoring goals. You can be exceptionally good at all of the other stuff that goes into hockey, but if you aren't scoring goals, you can't win hockey games, and RPI underlined that truth with exclamation points all around it this weekend, playing technically sound hockey for the majority of their long road trip to face Seth Appert's alma mater at Ferris State, but never finding the scoresheet on their way to back-to-back shutouts, 4-0 and 2-0.

Friday
Rogic/Malchuk/Rabbani

McGowan/Neal/Smith

Cullen/Angers-Goulet/Haggerty

Lee/Laliberte/Schroeder

Leonard/Bergin

Leboeuf/Bailen

Curadi/Koudys

Merriam

The big news heading into the weekend continued to be the Engineers' early injury situation. Starting off the season with injury problems is always difficult, and RPI has never been close to being 100% healthy. In practice during the week, Marty O'Grady and Brock Higgs suffered injuries that ultimately put them out for the Ferris State games, though Higgs was at least given the possibility of being in the lineup. The one bit of good news saw Mark McGowan healthy enough to make his Engineers debut on Friday; Greg Burgdoerfer (arm) and Jeremy Coupal are the only Engineers that have yet to see action after four games.

The first game of the weekend was very closely played through the first 40 minutes or so. Both teams were about even in shots and both had plenty of opportunities on the man advantage, but neither was able to convert in part thanks to outstanding play from Bryce Merriam and his counterpart on the other end, Taylor Nelson. Notably, Pat Koudys was called for RPI's first three penalties on the evening - two trips and a cross-check - and neither he nor Appert were very impressed with the calls, with Appert later calling them penalties for hard hits.

Ferris State scored the game's first goal at a very bad time for the Engineers (or for anyone, for that matter) - with just over a minute to go in the second period, when Travis Ouellette got the Bulldogs on the board. When a game is played very closely for so long and the first goal is given up that close to the intermssion, it's a serious blow to the psyche no matter who you are.

A penalty to Joel Malchuk just 35 seconds into the third period didn't do anything to help things, and Ouellette notched his second of the night 40 seconds later to make it 2-0. A Kyle Bonis tally four and a half minutes after that made it 3-0, and from there Ferris State went into lockdown mode, forcing RPI to finish the game with a whimper - just three shots in the final 20 minutes after going down late in the second - and Bonis would add an empty netter with just under three minutes left to play to produce the final 4-0 tally.

Saturday
Tinordi/Angers-Goulet/Smith

Rogic/Malchuk/Rabbani

Cullen/Neal/Haggerty

Lee/Laliberte/Schroeder

Leboeuf/Bailen

Leonard/Bergin

Koudys/Dolan

Merriam

No notable changes despite the shutout were seen the next day - Merriam, who played well on Friday despite the loss, was back in net, and the only lineup changes were Matt Tinordi in for Mark McGowan and Bo Dolan in for Luke Curadi. Matt Neal and Alex Angers-Goulet also swapped the lines they were centering.

It's hard to start a game off much worse than the Engineers did on Saturday night, allowing an unassisted goal on the second shift of the evening, coming off a turnover in the first minute of the game to put Ferris State ahead 1-0.

That's where the game stayed basically throughout the contest. Holding that one goal lead early, Ferris State played ample defense to keep RPI from having decent opportunities throughout the first and second period, and the Engineers were only able to uncork 13 shots across the first 40 minutes of game play despite three power play opportunities.

The third period had RPI pushing harder for the tying goal, and a pair of critical power play opportunities were probably the best chances they had on the entire weekend, but they simply could not put the puck past freshman C.J. Motte, who finished with 26 saves after stopping 13 in the final period. The most golden opportunity came with just under three minutes left in the game after Jordie Johnston tripped up Bryce Merriam (who was having a sensational game of his own). College-type fisticuffs ensued after Josh Rabbani took exception, and the whole thing ended with an RPI power play after C.J. Lee and FSU's Matthew Kirzinger were dismissed as part of the episode.

Late in that power play, Appert pulled Merriam to create a 6-on-4, but that still was not enough to break onto the scoreboard. Ferris State cinched things with an empty netter with 8 seconds left in the game for the final result, leaving RPI to return to Troy completely empty-handed from their trip.

Other junk - To nobody's great surprise, a 1-3 team scoring one goal per game and getting shut out three times is no longer among the teams ranked in the USCHO.com poll. The Engineers somehow managed to still pick up 2 votes in this week's poll, but are certainly nowhere near the point of being ranked, and for cause. There are still, however, four ECAC teams in the top 20, led by #9 Yale (idle, up one with one first place vote), #12 Union (tied Western Michigan twice, down one), #16 Colgate (split with Miami, previously unranked), and #20 Cornell (idle, down one). Other teams on the RPI schedule this season are #4 Colorado College (swept Bemidji State, up three with four first place votes), #6 Notre Dame (split with Ohio State, down four), and #14 Ferris State (previously unranked). Also receiving votes were Quinnipiac (42), Dartmouth (33), UMass-Lowell (12), RIT (9), and Harvard (8).

The numbers are not pretty. RPI is 2-for-26 on the power play, a 7.7% conversion rate. The offense is at 1.00 GPG, and it's worse when you consider that all of the scoring has taken place in one game.

It could certainly be worse, though. New Hampshire has one goal in three games (0.33 GPG), and at least the penalty kill is going well - 21-for-22 (95.5%), tops in the nation for those with more than 10 attempts.

Things do not get easier from here for the Engineers, however. They face three consecutive games against Top 10 teams in Notre Dame and Colorado College. Unless they can pull an upset or two, they could be staring at a 1-5 start. To do that requires finding the back of the net, something the forwards have not done during normal play (with Malchuk's goal coming on an open net) in the first four games.

#20 RPI at Ferris State
Non-Conference Game - Ewigleben Ice Arena (Big Rapids, MI)

10/14/11 - 7:00pm

RESULT: Ferris State 4, RPI 0

BOX SCORES

College Hockey Stats

USCHO

RECAPS

RPI

USCHO

Troy Record

Albany Times Union

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

Reale Deals

1. F Patrick Cullen, 4 shots

2. G Bryce Merriam, 26 saves

3. D Pat Koudys, E, 2 shots

#20 RPI at Ferris State
Non-Conference Game - Ewigleben Ice Arena (Big Rapids, MI)
10/15/11 - 7:00pm

RESULT: Ferris State 2, RPI 0

BOX SCORES

College Hockey Stats

USCHO

RECAPS

RPI

USCHO

Albany Times Union

RECORD: 1-3-0 (0-0-0 ECAC)

Reale Deals

1. G Bryce Merriam, 28 saves

2. F Jacob Laliberte, 4 shots

3. F Matt Neal, 4 shots

Upcoming games
21 Oct - at #6 Notre Dame

28 Oct - #4 Colorado College

29 Oct - #4 Colorado College

04 Nov - at Clarkson

05 Nov - at St. Lawrence

Game #4: Ferris State

Oy. It has not been a good weekend thus far. The women were swept out at Niagara to fall to 2-2-2 on the season. The men dropped a tough 4-0 decision last night after once again finding themselves unable to finish during the first two periods. Can we end on a high note? Maybe. We'll be right here breaking things down.

Game #3: Ferris State

Here it is - tonight's live blog, complete with all the Twitter feeds you want, plus WaP commentary.

Save Ferris

You knew this was coming.

No, this is not original. Just ask anyone from Ferris State - which, by amazing coincidence, is where the Engineers will be playing this weekend as Seth Appert returns to his alma mater.

The Bulldogs are very popular. The sportos, the motorheads, the geeks, sluts, bloods, wasteoids, dweebies, dickheads, they all adore them. They think they're righteous dudes.

Alright, enough of that.

Also this weekend, the women try to stay hot, taking a four-game road unbeaten streak in to Dwyer Arena for a weekend series with Niagara. It's the fourth straight year that the Engineers have a series with the Purps, and they're 3-0-3 against them in the last three seasons (though two of the ties were last year in Troy). Can the fab frosh continue their outstanding play?

Know Your Enemy: Ferris State

The first full weekend series between RPI and Ferris State has likely been in the workings ever since Ferris State alum Seth Appert was named as RPI's 12th head coach back in 2006. Appert told WaP during the 2009-10 season that he'd been working to get his alma mater on the schedule for a while, but he hadn't been able to make the schedules match up properly. Looks like the stars have finally aligned, with Appert set to make his homecoming in October.

Ferris State
Nickname: Bulldogs
Location: Big Rapids, MI
Founded: 1884
Conference: CCHA
National Championships: 0
Last NCAA Appearance: 2003
Last Frozen Four: None
Coach: Bob Daniels (20th season)
2010-11 Record: 18-16-5 (12-12-4-3 CCHA)
Series: Ferris State leads, 1-0-0
First Game: January 23, 1998 (Big Rapids, MI)
Last RPI win: None
Last FSU win: January 23, 1998 (Big Rapids, MI)

2011-12 games: October 14-15, 2011 (Big Rapids, MI)

Key players: D Chad Billins, sr.; F Jordie Johnston, sr.; G Taylor Nelson, sr.; D Aaron Schmit, sr.; D Brett Wysopal, sr.; F Eric Alexander, jr; F Kyle Bonis, jr.; F Matthew Kirzinger, jr.; F Travis Ouellette, jr.; D Scott Czarnowczan, so.; F Justin Buzzeo, fr.

Here's the story with Ferris State: it's a state school named after its founder in a city roughly the size of Plattsburgh and a student population about the size of UAlbany (larger than the town's permanent population) about 50 miles north of Grand Rapids. It does not appear as though the founder, former Michigan Governor Woodbridge Nathan Ferris, is related to prominent RPI alumnus George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr., inventor of the Ferris wheel.

Varsity hockey at Ferris State began in 1975, when the school was a member of the NAIA. They played four years under the NAIA banner. In 1978, as the school prepared to move from the NAIA to the NCAA, the Bulldogs joined the nascent CCHA, at the time a small regional conference with only Ohio State and Bowling Green as full Division I schools, finishing in last place as an associate member in the 1978-79 season but rebounding the next year.

The Bulldogs had two very successful seasons in their second and third seasons in the CCHA, winning 20 games in each year, including 26 in 1980, which would be a school record for more than 20 years. Both years, they finished a respectable third in the six team league.

1981, however, brought significant changes to the CCHA, growing its stature as a league but putting the Bulldogs largely behind the eight-ball with some very tough, powerful programs joining up. Most notably, Michigan and Michigan State joined the league, although further down the road the additions of Notre Dame and Miami proved equally daunting. While the addition of these top programs added prestige to the league, it also made things difficult for some of the smaller schools.

Perhaps not surprisingly, Ferris State frequently struggled to keep up in the newer, more powerful league even as Lake Superior State started its dynasty in the late 1980s. Despite the hiring of Cornell coach Dick Bertrand in 1982, the Bulldogs endured 10 consecutive losing seasons during the 1980s.

Under Bob Mancini in 1991, the Bulldogs, led by future NHLers Dave Karpa and John Gruden, snapped out of their funk with a 21-win season, finishing 3rd in the conference for the first time since the 1981 expansion. But Mancini only stuck around in Big Rapids for two seasons, leaving in 1992 to take over at Michigan Tech.

Mancini's replacement, Bob Daniels, brought some much needed stability to the program, for the most part keeping the Bulldogs at least fairly competitive in the CCHA even if not always able to overcome the conference's beasts. The Bulldogs won 21 games in his first season of 1992-93, and while they would not be able to put together another winning season until 2000, the truly poor seasons in Big Rapids were fewer and more far between than they had been in the 1980s. It was during this stretch that two goaltenders who eventually became D-I head coaches, Seth Appert and Jeff Blashill, were roommates at Ferris State.

Ask any Ferris State fan what their best season was and the answer is going to be unanimous: 2003. Led by Hobey Baker finalist Chris Kunitz, who has since produced a solid NHL career, the Bulldogs climbed to the top of the CCHA, finishing on top of the regular season table for the first time in school history, besting Michigan by six points during a 22-5-1 CCHA season. Though they lost the CCHA Championship Game to the Wolverines, the Bulldogs still gained their first NCAA tournament appearance, coming just a game away from the Frozen Four as they defeated North Dakota 5-2 before falling 7-4 against a Minnesota team that was not only the defending national champions, but were on their way to becoming the first back-to-back national champs in 30 years, and were playing on their home ice to boot. They finished the year with an impressive record of 31-10-1.

The team has yet to return to that lofty pinnacle. The following season, Ferris State plummeted to 10th in the 12-team CCHA, and did not register another winning season until 2008. More recently, the Bulldogs have been generally solid while not quite approaching the top of the CCHA again. There is recent cause for optimism, however. In 2010 and 2011, the team registered consecutive winning seasons for the first time since the CCHA's expansion, making three winning seasons in the last four. Both years, they were a bubble team for a second NCAA bid.

A major reason for the Bulldogs' relative success in the last two years, unfortunately for them, has graduated: goaltender Pat Nagle, who anchored a Ferris State defense that was among the Top 10 defenses in the nation in each of the last two seasons. That defense could take a step back without him, but at the same time, the returning defensive corps is chock full of experienced blueliners (including three prominent seniors and five total), most of whom help out the Bulldogs offensively as well.

With Nagle gone, the goaltending duties will likely fall to senior Taylor Nelson, who split time with Nagle in 2009 and 2010 before being relegated to backup for much the same reason Bryce Merriam didn't see much action in 2011 - the other goaltender had the team on his back.

Offensively, the Bulldogs didn't have any individual players put up striking numbers - leading scorer Travis Ouellette returns for his junior year with just 21 points last season and the only Bulldog to reach double digits in goals with just 10, but while Ferris State didn't have individuals lighting the lamp with abandon, as a team they spread the scoring around very well: 14 different players had at least 10 points, including six defensemen. That tends to require opposing teams to focus less on stopping individuals and more on a game plan that can stop anyone.

This series in Michigan, besides being a homecoming for Seth Appert, should prove to be another good challenge for RPI's young forwards. It's not exactly the easiest road trip for fans (even diehards) to make, but this should be a couple of interesting games that could help decipher exactly what the Engineers are capable of this season.