Men's Hockey - ECAC Quarterfinals (11/12 Mar)

Throughout his career at RPI, Jason Kasdorf has been the most important player on the team, period. When healthy, and playing well, the Engineers were difficult for even the very best teams in the country to beat. When he was not healthy, RPI was a far less dangerous team. Perhaps the final three games of his college career against Harvard illustrate this perfectly. Healthy on February 12, he backstopped an improbable victory by making 49 saves. After injuring his groin ahead of the ECAC Quarterfinals, he was far less effective on Friday, giving up four goals before coming out of what would become a 5-2 loss, and unable to go on Saturday, the Crimson simply overwhelmed the Engineers, ending their season with an 8-2 drubbing that was difficult to swallow not because of the way it happened, but because of what could have been different.

Game 1
Bourbonnais-Schroeder-Nanne
Liljegren-Bubela-DeVito
Wood-Miller-Ohrvall
Rodriguez-Fulton-Gillespie

Bradley-Prapavessis
Wilson-Grant
Moore-Hampton

Kasdorf

We didn't know really anything about Kasdorf's injury on Friday. He started, fully as expected, and the Engineers fielded the same lineup they had against the Crimson when they pulled off the big upset a few weeks earlier in Boston.

And, early on, things actually looked much better for RPI than they had back on February 12, where they were absolutely manhandled in practically every possible statistic, save one - the score. The first period, by and large, was about as evenly played as you can get. The Engineers actually outshot Harvard 11-10 in the opening 20 minutes and were practically even on faceoffs.

RPI was unlucky not to have picked up the game's first goal on a number of different opportunities in the game's opening 15 minutes or so. The biggest difference maker was Harvard's Merrick Madsen, who brought his "A" game all weekend long as perhaps the best young netminder in the ECAC. He constantly frustrated the Engineers all weekend long, but his strong play early in Game 1 set the tone for what was to come.

The Crimson struck first late in the first period as another Harvard hero-to-be, Sean Malone, scored seconds after an RPI penalty to Mike Prapavessis ended to put the home team ahead 1-0, but even once the first period was over, things appeared to be setting up for a good back-and-forth game.

Harvard quickly disabused everyone of that notion in the middle frame, which looked far more like their dominating performance the last time these sides met in Boston. The Crimson unleashed 22 shots on goal in the second period, scoring three times in the first 15 minutes of the period to grab a commanding 4-0 edge, many on shots that Kasdorf frequently would get to under normal situations.

It did seem that the game was pretty much over when Jake Wood picked up a five-minute major and a game misconduct for kneeing at 13:27 of the second, setting up the fourth goal for Harvard on the power play. Following that goal, Kasdorf was pulled from the net in favor of Cam Hackett, who hadn't played since beating Arizona State in December. It was thought at the time that it was a similar move to what happened against Clarkson in last year's playoffs - where Kasdorf was pulled from a game that had gotten away from the Engineers if only to keep him mentally fresh for the next night's elimination game. It would ultimately be the final moments of ice time for his collegiate career.

Despite the huge hole, RPI did not quit. Later on the major penalty, with about two minutes remaining in the period, Milos Bubela slipped past Harvard's five-forward power play unit and had a breakaway before he was at the center red line, and he beat Madsen to get the Engineers on the board. In the final minute of the period, back at even strength, Madsen had to be keen with his glove to keep RPI out of the goal - an important save that could have clawed the Engineers within two, a more manageable deficit, with 20 minutes left.

That second goal for the Engineers did come early in the third period as Phil Hampton put back a rebound off a shot by Mark Miller to make the score 4-2 after Harvard came out rather flat for the beginning of the period. For a few minutes, it looked like RPI had some of the same fight they had in their previous game to effect a big comeback, but Malone scored his second of the night against the flow of play five minutes after Hampton's goal to re-open a three-goal edge. That was as close as the Engineers would get, but at no time did they look like they were ready to give in.

Game 2
Bourbonnais-Schroeder-Nanne
Liljegren-Bubela-DeVito
Wood-Miller-Ohrvall
Rodriguez-Fulton-Gillespie

Bradley-Prapavessis
Wilson-Grant
Moore-Hampton

Hackett

Expectations that Kasdorf would be back in net were not immediately dismissed before Game 2, with Seth Appert even indicating in a pre-game interview that he would be back in net. However, something changed between warmups and the beginning of the game, as the alert came just before the teams took the ice for the start of the game that Hackett would be starting - the first inkling that something was not quite right, although the full explanation (a groin injury) didn't come out until after the game was over.

The first period in Game 2 played out largely the same as it had in Game 1, with RPI again unable to establish the 1-0 lead in the first despite the lion's share of the quality scoring opportunity in the opening 15 minutes, once again squelched by the terrific play of Madsen in net for Harvard. And, once again, it was Harvard scoring first with Jake Horton beating Hackett at 15:02 to give the Crimson the 1-0 edge for the second night in a row.

Things began to get hectic seconds later, as Jake Wood was sent off for a hook and Seb Lloyd followed behind on the subsequent dive, setting up a 4-on-4 situation. About a minute later, Riley Bourbonnais struck for his 15th goal of the year, a rebound off a shot by Lou Nanne to tie things back up at one, although a lengthy review persisted afterwards.

The Engineers attacked off the ensuing faceoff, and just 23 seconds later, a goal by Jesper Ohrvall had RPI ahead 2-1, and it seemed that their hard work and dedication was beginning to pay off just a bit. But that lead held for all of 59 seconds. Just a few moments after Wood and Lloyd returned to the ice, Viktor Dombrovskiy scored his first collegiate goal on a bomb of a shot from the blue line, tying the game back up. Regardless of the sequence, a 2-2 scoreline heading into the first intermission was still a bit of an improvement over the previous night's showing.

Perhaps it was some kind of karmic balance being struck for RPI's win against the Crimson in February - a dominant performance by Harvard, yet all but even (and uneven in RPI's favor) on the scoreboard. The remaining 40 minutes, honestly, were very, very even in most respects except the scoreboard - which was instead dominated soundly by the home team. The Crimson would go on to score six goals against none scored by the Engineers (although an apparent RPI goal in the second period, when it still would have very much mattered for the Engineers, was waved off with no real explanation).

Malone potted his third goal of the weekend a minute and a half into the second period to break the tie, and then Harvard really established their dominance on the scoresheet eight minutes later on a horrifying turnover by Prapavessis in front of his own net while the Engineers were looking to break out of their own end. Just moments after Bourbonnais missed the net on a breakaway shot that beat Madsen (and would have tied the game), the miscue deep in their own end was buried by Harvard's Clay Anderson, turning the game significantly by making it 4-2.

Even as the game, the series, and the season were slipping away, the Engineers notably never showed even the slightest little drop of quit, even though Harvard began racking up the goals in the third period, frequently on odd-man rushes as RPI pushed forward in vain search of a breakthrough chance. Another defensive zone turnover in the opening seconds of the third period ended up on Jimmy Vesey's stick, and the Hobey Baker finalist from last year finally made his presence felt, scoring on a pro shot that slipped through the smallest crack between Hackett and the post to make it 5-2.

An aforementioned push forward allowed Vesey to score a second unassisted goal 13 minutes later, a goal that looked very similar to Bubela's from the previous night as the Harvard senior was broken away before reaching the center red line. The Crimson would add a power play goal three minutes later and an 8th tally a minute after that to put a serious seal on things and send a message to the remainder of the league - they will be a force to be reckoned with in Lake Placid.

That Hackett stayed in the game throughout the onslaught pretty much confirmed that an injury had sidelined Kasdorf. With no hope remaining in the final minute, Seth Appert did at least pull him from the cage to allow senior Sam Goodman to log some official Division I playing time. The third-string netminder for the last three seasons, Goodman played the final 46 seconds and did not face any shots as RPI held the puck in the attacking zone late, still probing the Harvard net in search of a futile but still desired goal - a microcosm of a season for a team that never gave up.

Lake Placid waits another season for a team that, had they been blessed with this level of dedication in some previous years, could have broken its drought already. Ultimately, the story was the injury to Kasdorf combined with a road series against a very, very strong Harvard team that simply could not be denied. The lesson is simple - sometimes, the other team is just better, and RPI ran into a better team. But hope lives on that in the near future, RPI will be that better team.

ECAC Semifinals
#7 Dartmouth vs #1 Quinnipiac
#4 St. Lawrence vs #3 Harvard

RPI at #12 Harvard

ECAC Quarterfinals Game 1 - Bright-Landry Hockey Center (Boston, MA)
3/11/16 - 7:00pm

RESULT: Harvard 5, RPI 2

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
USCHO
Troy Record
Albany Times Union

RECORD: 18-14-7

RPI at #12 Harvard
ECAC Quarterfinals Game 2 - Bright-Landry Hockey Center (Boston, MA)
3/12/16 - 7:00pm

RESULT:  Harvard 8, RPI 2

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union

RECORD: 18-15-7

Men's Hockey - at Quinnipiac/vs. Union (21/23 Jan)

The Engineers came out of a big weekend with a couple of great results, though they were mere inches and scant seconds away from coming away with an even bigger result. On Thursday of last week, RPI gave #1 Quinnipiac all they could handle, taking a (brief) 2-0 lead and very nearly pulling off the second upset over a #1 team this year, but gave up the lead with less than 10 seconds remaining, settling for a 2-2 tie. They rebounded nicely two days later, picking up a third win this year over Union in a solid if frequently not exceptional game in Albany, 5-2.

Quinnipiac
Melanson-Schroeder-Nanne
Miller-Bubela-Wood
Ohrvall-DeVito-Liljegren
Rodriguez-Fulton-Gillespie

Bradley-Prapavessis
Wilson-Grant
Moore-Hampton

Kasdorf

Quinnipiac came into Thursday's conference game just two days removed from a harrowing 3-3 tie at Maine in which the Bobcats had to notch two goals in the final 7:01 - including an extra-attacker goal on the power play with less than a minute remaining - to keep their 1-loss record intact. The Engineers, on the other hand, were in need of a far better performance than they had at home against Colgate the previous Saturday.

Onslaught is the best word to describe the first period from Quinnipiac's perspective. The Bobcats maintained puck control for a majority of the period, and unleashed 13 shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes, all turned aside by Jason Kasdorf. The first period was a question of survival for RPI as the Q looked to establish dominance early. They did look the better of the two teams, but getting out of the period at a score of 0-0 was a huge boost to the Engineers.

As the 2nd period rolled on, the storm drew down and RPI was able to start operating on more or less equal footing with the home team - and they got the first bounce for a goal to go their way as Zach Schroeder opened the scoring with just over three minutes left in the period on an odd man rush, putting the Engineers ahead 1-0 despite being outshot 30-16 in the first two periods.

Five minutes into the third, RPI got an insurance tally when a shot by Milos Bubela banked off Mark Miller's chest and into the net, putting the Engineers up 2-0. But that lead would last only 31 seconds, as Quinnipiac got themselves on the board with Soren Jonzzon scoring moments after a draw in the RPI end to bring the Bobcats back within one.

Kasdorf led the charge defensively, but the Engineers gave him plenty of support as Quinnipiac pushed for the tying goal. It started to look like a potential redux of Tuesday for the Bobcats when Jared Wilson was called for slashing with 3:01 left in regulation. The Q immediately pulled their netminder to create the same 6-on-4 situation that had helped them tie the score in the final minute against the Black Bears.

RPI's penalty kill, strong all season long, held up once again, and very nearly sealed up the victory. The usual caveat on pulling your goaltender while on the power play is that the penalty killers can take shots on the open net without worrying about icing - and the Engineers came oh so close to potting one when Lou Nanne sent one the length of the ice, and missed the net by mere inches with about 30 seconds left on the Wilson penalty.

The Engineers killed the penalty completely, but still had 60 more seconds to survive with the extra attacker on the ice. Ultimately, they would need to make it a total of 181 seconds with six skaters attacking for the #1 team in the nation. They made it 172. Sam Anas, one of Quinnipiac's most dangerous attackers, poked in a loose puck on the goal line with 9.3 seconds remaining in regulation to break the hearts of Engineer Nation and send the game into overtime.

Just 14 seconds into the overtime period, QU gained a golden opportunity to steal the win when Schroeder was called for boarding - a penalty the officials discussed at length but chose to call a minor. Again, the RPI penalty kill stood strong, and the Engineers themselves got a power play chance with just over a minute left in the OT period, but neither team were able to put one home for the victory. Kasdorf made 3 saves in overtime to give him a total of 46 saves on 48 shots for the evening.

To come so close to victory on the road against a team RPI hasn't beaten since 2010 was rough, but ultimately, it was a solid result in the grand scheme of things.

Union
Melanson-Schroeder-Nanne
Miller-Bubela-Wood
Ohrvall-DeVito-Liljegren
Rodriguez-Fulton-Gillespie

Bradley-Prapavessis
Wilson-Grant
Moore-Hampton

Kasdorf

Hampered by injuries and perhaps emboldened by the figurative level of success RPI found two days prior against Quinnipiac, the Engineers ran the same lineup against Union in the Mayor's Cup game.

It took RPI just 50 seconds to open the scoring at the Times Union Center as Lou Nanne jumped on a rebound from a shot by Chris Bradley for his third goal of the year, making it 1-0 Engineers before many in the crowd even had the time to settle into their seats. But that lead didn't last terribly long - Eli Lichtenwald jumped on a rebound that should have been cleared into the corner about a minute and a half later, and just like that, it was a 1-1 game.

Mike Prapavessis showed off some sweet moves with about 7 minutes left in the first, toe dragging around his man to create open ice at the top of the slot, and he rifled one home to make it 2-1 Engineers. But once again, it would be a short-lived lead, as Union's Ryan Scarfo scored on the power play two minutes later to knot things up once again.

From there, the game devolved into a complete mess flow-wise, as neither team seemed able to exert any significant attacking pressure. Union managed only feeble attempts on goal, while RPI was at times utterly unable to win faceoffs anywhere on the ice. The deadlock would remain until 13 minutes into the second period, when Jimmy DeVito pounced on a loose puck and beat Alex Sakellaropoulos for his first goal of the year, making it 3-2 RPI.

The lack of flow persisted from that point well into the third period, and for the same reasons. As time ticked by, it seemed as though the game was setting up for an explosive ending, but once more RPI managed to control the right bounce at the right time to let things set up for a simply ugly victory instead. Phil Hampton saw a shot by Jesper Ohrvall deflect right to him in the faceoff circle to the left of Sakellaropoulos, and he one-timed that rebound home to give RPI a 4-2 edge with just under 4 minutes left to play.

Drew Melanson added an empty netter, his fourth goal of the season, with 1:10 left to seal things up tight for the Engineers, who won the Mayor's Cup for the second time in four tries and exorcised the demons of last year's abysmal third period, in which RPI allowed six goals in the final 20 minutes.

The Engineers have 6 of their last 10 games on the road, and that starts this coming weekend when they take on a Brown team they need to find a win against, and a Yale team that could provide a significant boost if RPI can manage to sweep the season series. They fell behind Harvard in the ECAC standings after the Crimson swept their weekend set at Colgate and Cornell, but they do still have a game in hand against Harvard. There's a bit of separation beginning to develop between the top 6 and the bottom 6 within the league, but there are only 3 points separating 2nd place from 6th.

Current ECAC Standings
1. Quinnipiac - 23 pts (10-0-3)
2. Harvard - 17 pts (7-3-3)
3. RPI - 16 pts (5-1-6)
4. Yale - 15 pts (6-3-3)
5. Dartmouth - 14 pts (7-5-0)
6. Cornell - 14 pts (6-4-2)
7. St. Lawrence - 11 pts (5-6-1)
8. Clarkson - 9 pts (3-6-3)
9. Princeton - 8 pts (3-7-2)
10. Colgate - 8 pts (3-8-2)
11. Union - 7 pts (2-7-3)
12. Brown - 6 pts (2-9-2)

By winning percentage
1. Quinnipiac (.885)
2. RPI (.667)
3. Harvard (.654)
4. Yale (.625)
5. Dartmouth (.583)
6. Cornell (.583)
7. St. Lawrence (.458)
8. Clarkson (.375)
9. Princeton (.333)
10. Colgate (.308)
11. Union (.292)
12. Brown (.231)

#16 RPI at #1 Quinnipiac 

ECAC Game - TD Banknorth Sports Center (Hamden, CT)
1/21/16 - 7:00pm

RESULT: RPI 2, Quinnipiac 2 (OT)

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
USCHO
Troy Record
Albany Times Union

RECORD: 12-7-6 (5-1-6 ECAC, 16 pts)

Union vs. #16 RPI
Mayor's Cup Game - Times Union Center (Albany, NY)
1/23/16 - 7:30pm

RESULT: RPI 5, Union 2

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union

VIDEO
RPI TV highlights
RPI TV full game

RECORD: 13-7-6 (5-1-6 ECAC, 16 pts)

Upcoming games
29 Jan - at Brown
30 Jan - at #11 Yale
05 Feb - St. Lawrence
06 Feb - Clarkson (Big Red Freakout!)
12 Feb - at #7 Harvard

None Shall Pass

No pumpup? No problem.

Missed posting this pumpup yesterday due to some family obligations, but the Engineers, both teams, made the song I was planning to use look mighty prescient.

A 2-0 win for the ladies over Union was followed by a 1-0 win for the gentlemen over Cornell. Lovisa Selander and Jason Kasdorf became the first RPI netminding duo to post shutouts on the same day since Brianna Piper and Bryce Merriam did it on November 12, 2011 - which also happens to be the same day the men last won a game 1-0.

Now, we see if the teams can engineer the first double sweep since October 19-20, 2007, when the men swept Army and Sacred Heart while the women swept Maine - it's never happened that both teams have swept an ECAC weekend at the same time.

Let's make some history tonight, eh?

Men's Hockey - Dartmouth/Harvard (4/5 Dec)

A mixed bag weekend is nothing new for Engineer fans, but returning home for the last ECAC weekend of the calendar year, it's possible that RPI's string of good luck when it comes to bounces may have run its course - or maybe there's a bit of regression to the mean to be done. Still, despite a 1-point weekend courtesy of the team's first ECAC loss (2-1 to Dartmouth) and a fairly thrilling goaltender's duel (a scoreless draw with Harvard), there's plenty of reasons for optimism when it comes to handicapping the Engineers the rest of the way.

Dartmouth
Liljegren-Bubela-Rodriguez
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Bourbonnais-Schroeder-Wood
Ohrvall, Gillespie

Bradley-Prapavessis
Wilson-Reno
Moore-Hampton
Grant

Hackett

Alex Rodriguez earned an upgrade to the top line thanks to his outstanding play in his first four college outings, while Seth Appert chose to return to the 11x7 lineup that RPI had run so well during its stretch of injuries, pulling Travis Fulton out and replacing him with Tommy Grant in order to better matchup with Dartmouth's size.

The Engineers came out flat in their return to home ice, and Dartmouth pounced, challenging Cam Hackett with 11 shots in the opening period, picking up the game's first goal thanks to some very strong forechecking which persisted throughout the opening 20. Carl Hesler dug out a puck by acing Kenny Gillespie to the punch and quickly rifling it through traffic in front and past Hackett on the short-side to put the Big Green ahead 1-0.

RPI responded much better in the second period, putting a little bit more pressure on Dartmouth sophomore Devin Buffalo, who was in just his second collegiate game (following a 1-1 draw with Michigan a week prior). While the Big Green did a decent job all game long of shutting down the wings, the Engineers pounced on a turnover in the neutral zone for a solid counter-attack that tied the game up. Mike Prapavessis picked out Rodriguez well on the wing, and the freshman burst up the boards to get off a shot that rebounded off Buffalo and right to a trailing Milos Bubela, who put it home for his third of the season.

Dartmouth's wing control helped them secure what proved to be the game winner in the third period. As freshman Karan Toor pinched the wall to keep the puck in the zone following an RPI clearance attempt, he moved it quickly to Grant Opperman, who found Brett Patterson with lots of open ice. Patterson took his shot from the top of the faceoff circle, simply beating Hackett to the same side that produced Dartmouth's first goal of the night, making it 2-1 with 11 minutes left in the third period.

The RPI comeback effort was seriously hampered by an odd five-minute call against Lou Nanne for hitting from behind. Off a faceoff in the Dartmouth end, Nanne went into the corner with a Big Green defenseman and seemed to trip near the zamboni entrance, going head first into the boards and colliding with the defender. Despite being the one shaken up by the play, Nanne was called for the major by the trailing referee, requiring the Engineers to kill five minutes of penalty time while trailing, and leaving their top scoring line without one of its dynamic cogs.

The Engineers had their chances late to tie it up, rolling with the extra attacker for 96 seconds, but they were unable to put one past Buffalo, who finished with 28 saves on 29 shots for his first collegiate win as RPI fell for the first time in seven ECAC matches.

Harvard
Liljegren-Bubela-Rodriguez
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Bourbonnais-Schroeder-Wood
Ohrvall-Fulton-Clary

Bradley-Prapavessis
Wilson-Reno
Moore-Hampton

Kasdorf

With RPI mired in back-to-back losses for the first time in over a month, things were switched up a little with Kasdorf returning between the pipes for the first time since his injury on November 6, fully rested and fully healed. He did not disappoint.

Much as with the Friday night game, RPI came out sluggish in the first period, and Harvard looked ready to capitalize throughout the opening minutes. The high-powered Crimson offense controlled the puck and the RPI zone for much of the first 20, winning puck battles and peppering Kasdorf with 20 shots. The Engineer senior looked calm and at times even casual in turning aside every single one. There would be more work ahead for him, but getting out of the first period without allowing a goal was crucial.

Slowly, over the course of the game, RPI picked up momentum. The second period was a bit more even, but Harvard sill outshot the Engineers 33-12 across the first 40 minutes. Nevertheless, RPI had its scoring opportunities in the second, perhaps coming closest when Meirs Moore rang one off the inside of the post after getting his shot to elude sophomore Merrick Madsen, but it stayed out of the net.

Moore would hit the post again in the third, and Hobey finalist from last season Jimmy Vesey would touch iron twice in the third period himself without scoring. The tide really started to move RPI's way in puck possession during the final frame, yet still, neither team was able to connect. The Engineers had a full two minute power play chance after a slashing call to Sean Malone with less than 10 minutes to play, but couldn't find a way to nab the game's first goal - though Jared Wilson would hit the crossbar as the penalty expired. RPI was themselves fortunate not to give the Crimson a late power play of their own as a late charge went uncalled.

Jake Wood and Wiley Sherman had opportunities to score in the overtime period for RPI and Harvard respectively, but both netminders continued to be on their game in the extra period. Madsen made 4 stops for the Crimson and Kasdorf added 2 for the Engineers as they finished with 32 and 43 saves to combined for a total of 75 in a scoreless draw.

It was the first 0-0 game for RPI in nearly 90 years, since a scoreless draw with the Amherst Lord Jeffs in 1927, and the first one to take place in Troy in nearly a century, since a 0-0 tie with Mass. Agricultural (now UMass) in 1917. Oddly enough, it was also the 3rd 0-0 draw in ECAC play this season, following similar performances from Cornell/Yale and St. Lawrence/Quinnipiac, all of whom also boast top-end goaltending.

With the ECAC done until after Christmas, the Engineers next finish up their 2015 schedule with a visit from Arizona State for a pair this coming weekend. The Sun Devils are in their first season as a Division I program, but they've picked up three wins against Division I teams already this year - one against the same Alaska Nanooks who went on to beat RPI the following week, and two against Lake Superior State in the Upper Peninsula. The Engineers should be solid favorites against ASU, but they've got to watch against let downs against the upstarts from the southwest.

Current ECAC Standings
1. Quinnipiac - 14 pts (6-0-2)
2. Cornell - 13 pts (6-1-1)
3. Harvard - 11 pts (4-1-3)
4. RPI - 11 pts (4-1-3)
5. St. Lawrence - 9 pts (4-2-1)
6. Yale - 8 pts (3-3-2)
7. Princeton - 6 pts (3-5-0)
8. Dartmouth - 6 pts (3-5-0)
9. Brown - 6 pts (2-5-2)
10. Union - 5 pts (2-5-1)
11. Colgate - 5 pts (2-6-1)
12. Clarkson - 2 pts (0-5-2)

By winning percentage
1. Quinnipiac (.875)
2. Cornell (.812)
3. Harvard (.688)
4. RPI (.688)
5. St. Lawrence (.643)
6. Yale (.500)
7. Princeton (.375)
8. Dartmouth (.375)
9. Brown (.333)
10. Union (.312)
11. Colgate (.278)
12. Clarkson (.143)

Dartmouth at RPI

ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
12/4/15 - 7:00pm

RESULT: Dartmouth 2, RPI 1

BOX SCORES
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RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union

VIDEO
Full game
Highlights
Post-game interviews

RECORD: 8-6-2 (4-1-2 ECAC, 10 pts)

#8 Harvard at RPI
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
12/5/15 - 7:00pm

RESULT: RPI 0, Harvard 0 (OT)

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
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RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union

VIDEO
Full game
Highlights
Post-game interviews

RECORD: 8-6-3 (4-1-3 ECAC, 11 pts)

Upcoming games
11 Dec - Arizona State
12 Dec - Arizona State
02 Jan - at Miami
03 Jan - at Miami
07 Jan - at Princeton

Men's Hockey - at Clarkson/St. Lawrence (6/7 Nov)

Adversity has arrived in Troy, and one week into said adversity, the Engineers are holding up pretty well. Losing two of their top centermen in the Halloween night game against Union, heading on a long road trip, losing their netminder during Friday's game, blowing a two-goal lead, picking up penalty after penalty on Saturday, and allowing late goals in both the first and second periods, one would be forgiven for expecting that the outcome for RPI was pretty bad. Instead, the Engineers returned home from the North Country with three big points, holding on after an injury to Jason Kasdorf on Saturday for a distasteful but acceptable 2-2 draw with Clarkson, followed by a gutsy, come-from-behind and never-say-die effort in Canton that resulted in a 4-3 overtime win.

Clarkson
Liljegren-Bourbonnais-Wood
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Fulton-Schroeder-Gillespie
Ohrvall, Clary

Bradley-Prapavessis
Wilson-Reno
Moore-Hampton
Grant

Kasdorf

Evan Tironese and Milos Bubela both sustained injuries against Union on Black Saturday that would keep them out for the weekend road-trip to the North Country. Combined with the injuries to Jimmy DeVito and Alex Rodriguez that have kept the junior from making his season debut and the freshman from making his collegiate debut, and the Engineers have 11 healthy forwards. All of them dressed against Clarkson. While Meirs Moore has played forward this season when pressed into it, Seth Appert chose to keep him on the blue line and dress seven defensemen instead.

RPI struck first for the fourth time in five games as Travis Fulton scored his second goal of the season at 7:12 of the first period, the lone assist going to Moore as the Engineers took a 1-0 lead against the Golden Knights. On the other side of the ice in the first period, Kasdorf made 13 saves on as many shots to preserve the lead into the first intermission.

Early in the second period, Riley Bourbonnais fed Jake Wood to create a breakaway opportunity that the resurgent junior pairing cashed in with to put the Engineers ahead 2-0, Wood's third goal of the year five minutes into the period. But that cushion did not last long as Clarkson's Brett Gervais put one past Kasdorf three and a half minutes later to cut the RPI lead in half at 2-1.

The momentum gradually shifted in Clarkson's direction, and the RPI penalty kill had a big moment at the start of the third period by killing off a penalty to Bourbonnais that had been assessed at 20:00 of the second period. The Golden Knights kept up the pressure, and the turning point came at 7:05 of the third - not on a goal, and not even on a penalty, although one was called on the play.

Near the end of an RPI power play, Clarkson's Jeff DiNallo attempted a counter-attack. Holding the puck, DiNallo went straight in on net and plowed into Kasdorf full force. DiNallo would come out of the game immediately, although he would return. A minute later, after trying to play through, Kasdorf too would come out of the game. No penalty was called on DiNallo for goaltender interference or charging the goaltender, but a penalty was assessed to Bourbonnais instead for slashing.

RPI, now being backed by freshman Cam Hackett making his collegiate debut in relief, killed the ensuing penalty and a questionable matching minor call moments later, but the Clarkson momentum continued to build. Hackett made the first eight saves he was called upon to make in the period, but the ninth shot eluded him, a blast from the point by Clarkson's Terrance Amorosa that he was just out of position to nab with 1:56 left in the third period. That tied the game at two.

Hackett and the Engineers managed to escape from Cheel with a solid point after holding up during the overtime period, but there was certainly a feeling of a bad tie despite the circumstances, as RPI did briefly hold a two-goal edge and the tying goal was widely seen as one that Kasdorf (or any other goaltender who wasn't coming into the game cold) likely would have been able to stop. The allowed goal was hardly a knock on Hackett, however, who looked very good despite the pressure point at which he made his debut.

After the game was over, DiNallo was issued a one-game suspension - to be served against Union the following night - for running Kasdorf.

St. Lawrence
Liljegren-Bourbonnais-Wood
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Fulton-Schroeder-Gillespie
Ohrvall, Clary

Bradley-Prapavessis
Wilson-Reno
Moore-Hampton
Grant

Hackett

Kasdorf would go on to be listed on the next night's lineup chart with the hope that he could at least skate during warmups and see if he was ready to go, but that skate did not end up taking place and from the very start, it was Hackett ready to make his first collegiate start, with Sam Goodman as the backup for the evening.

While Friday's game featured relatively few penalties being called, Saturday night's officials began getting involved very quickly and frequently. For the second time in four games, Jake Wood was called for a penalty in the opening 30 seconds of the game, this time taking a boarding call 20 seconds in. St. Lawrence would ultimately pick up three power plays, and the Engineers two, during the game's first 16 minutes, leading to a relatively total lack of momentum build in the first 20 minutes.

St. Lawrence would, however, open the game's scoring in the waning seconds of the period as Jacob Pritchard scored with 7.5 seconds remaining on the clock to give SLU the 1-0 edge heading into the locker room. But the late goal didn't keep RPI in a funk as was so often the case last season. After killing yet another penalty early in the period, the Engineers struck twice in the span of 1:03 to turn the tables. 13 minutes into the period, Jared Wilson's second goal of the season tied the game, and shortly thereafter, Drew Melanson finally snapped a very long scoreless drought - 12 games - by scoring on a rebound to make it 2-1 Engineers.

Once again, a late goal threatened to derail RPI - St. Lawrence's Michael Ederer tied the score with 1:02 left in the period, and it got worse as SLU took the lead about six minutes into the third period on a goal by Drew Smolcynski. But as in the second period, the late goal and the trailing score did not put RPI away as in the recent past. With just under seven minutes left in regulation, Riley Bourbonnais struck for the Engineers, knotting the game back up at three.

Meanwhile, Hackett especially coming up especially big for the Engineers throughout the second and third periods. In the final 40 minutes alone, Hackett made 29 saves on 31 shots, finishing the night with a solid 37 saves, more than doing his part to not only keep RPI alive, but well in the game.

Both teams had individual power play opportunities late in the third period following the Bourbonnais goal, but neither were able to convert. For the second night running, the Engineers were off to overtime, this time as the team tying the game rather than the team losing the lead. A second draw surely would have led to a relatively successful conclusion to a very trying weekend, but just a minute into the extra time, the local boy stepped up again for RPI.

Mark Miller, a native of nearby Massena who has frequently had some outstanding moments in the North Country, added another memorable one by shoveling home a shot by Drew Melanson, giving RPI a 4-3 victory and, against all expectation coming into the weekend and given what happened over the course of the weekend, three ECAC points in two road games.

Kasdorf's availability (along with that of Bubela and Tironese) isn't known for sure for the upcoming home weekend against Yale and Brown. One report by the Troy Record suggests that he's unlikely to play against Yale, but a report from Canton had it that Kasdorf could have played against St. Lawrence if it had been a playoff game. Both could be accurate.

At any rate, Yale represents the biggest challenge to the Engineers in terms of a power team since they welcomed Boston College to the Field House. The Bulldogs have opened the season with solid offensive numbers and have yet to allow three goals in a game. But RPI is at least playing closer to their potential than their more frequently expected floor, and they're starting to turn a couple of heads. Another strong ECAC weekend, especially on Friday, and expectations change.

Current ECAC Standings
1. Harvard - 7 pts (3-0-1)
2. RPI - 7 pts (3-0-1)
3. Quinnipiac - 4 pts (2-0-0)
4. Yale - 3 pts (1-0-1)
5. St. Lawrence - 2 pts (1-1-0)
6. Cornell - 2 pts (1-1-0)
7. Colgate - 2 pts (1-1-0)
8. Union - 2 pts (1-3-0)
9. Dartmouth - 2 pts (1-3-0)
10. Clarkson - 1 pt (0-1-1)
11. Princeton - 0 pts (0-2-0)
12. Brown - 0 pts (0-2-0)

By winning percentage
1. Quinnipiac (1.000)
2. Harvard (.875)
3. RPI (.875)
4. Yale (.750)
5. St. Lawrence (.500)
6. Cornell (.500)
7. Colgate (.500)
8. Clarkson (.250)
9. Union (.250)
10. Dartmouth (.250)
11. Princeton (.000)
12. Brown (.000)

RPI at #17 Clarkson

ECAC Game - Cheel Arena (Potsdam, NY)
11/6/15 - 7:00pm

RESULT: RPI 2, Clarkson 2 (OT)

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Watertown Daily Times

RECORD: 3-4-1 (2-0-1 ECAC, 5 pts)

RPI at #15 St. Lawrence
ECAC Game - Appleton Arena (Canton, NY)
11/7/15 - 7:00pm

RESULT: RPI 4, St. Lawrence 3 (OT)

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS

RPI
USCHO
Troy Record
Watertown Daily Times
North Country Now

RECORD:4-4-1 (3-0-1 ECAC, 7 pts)

Upcoming games
13 Nov - #10 Yale
14 Nov - Brown
20 Nov - at Bentley
24 Nov - New Hampshire
27 Nov - vs. Western Michigan (South Bend, IN)

Men's Hockey - Brice Alaska Goal Rush (16/17 Oct)

Right off a big upset of #1 Boston College, the Engineers were off to Alaska for a pair of games against the two teams from the Last Frontier. 0-3 all time against those schools on their home turf, RPI did quite a bit to put themselves into a position to succeed on both nights, but couldn't follow through, as uneven play and penalties in the third periods against both the Seawolves and the Nanooks doomed the Engineers to move to 0-5 against Alaskan teams in Alaska, falling 4-3 to UAA on Friday and 4-2 to UAF on Saturday.

Alaska-Anchorage
Liljegren-Bubela-Ohrvall
Melanson-Tironese-Nanne
Bourbonnais-Schroeder-Gillespie
Wood-Fulton-Clary

Bradley-Prapavessis
Wilson-Reno
Moore-Hampton

Kasdorf

A fast-paced but even first period between the Engineers and Seawolves was mostly a feeling-out for both teams, the first whistle not coming until the period was nearly half over. Shots were only 10-9 in favor of UAA, but the Seawolves earned the game's first goal with about five and a half minutes left in the opening frame as UAA's Dylan Hubbs scored to put the nominal home side ahead 1-0.

The second period was much more to RPI's liking, a dominant period for the Engineers that saw them taking a lead into the final 20. Evan Tironese scored his first collegiate goal five minutes into the second to tie the game, striking on a great give-and-go with linemate Lou Nanne. Not long after Tironese's goal, UAA began getting into a bit of penalty trouble, taking a tripping call and a kneeing call for back-to-back man advantage opportunities for the Engineers. Late in the latter penalty, RPI got a glimpse of the future as Meirs Moore, competing in his first collegiate game on the blue line as the Engineers' power play quarterback of the future, notched his first college goal to put RPI ahead 2-1.

RPI came out slow for the third period and they paid for it almost immediately. Austin Azurdia took advantage of an opening to tie the game at two just 1:24 into the third period. Seconds later, A hooking penalty to Milos Bubela put RPI on the penalty kill, a place they'd been with some frequency starting just a minute after Moore's goal had put them ahead. The Bubela penalty was killed off, and Bubela himself would score during a penalty kill minutes later to give RPI the lead back at 3-2. But a march to the box that included Nanne and Tironese gave UAA an opening, and during a 4-on-3 on Fairbanks' Olympic-sized ice surface, Seawolves freshman Wyatt Ege struck to tie the score, then just three minutes later hit again with a laser of a shot that put UAA up for good at 4-3.

Kasdorf was pulled for the final 1:15, but RPI could not find the tying goal, and despite a solid early 40 minutes, the Engineers had to swallow a loss due to poorly timed penalties and an overall sub-par effort in the final period.

Alaska
Liljegren-Bubela-Wood
Nanne-Tironese-Ohrvall
Bourbonnais-Schroeder-Gillespie
Melanson-Fulton-Clary

Bradley-Prapavessis
Wilson-Reno
Moore-Hampton

Kasdorf

Fresh off a solid performance against UAA, Jake Wood was graduated to the top line, while Drew Melanson, who has struggled to find his pace early this season, was moved to the grind line. With both Alaska schools winning on Friday night, the title was definitively out of reach, but RPI still had their sights set on what could have at least been a worthwhile victory.

The Engineers were the ones who pounced on Saturday night against the actual hosts. An early penalty against the Nanooks was cashed in on quickly by Riley Bourbonnais, who netted his team-leading third goal of the season just six seconds into the man advantage off a faceoff win by Tironese to put RPI up 1-0 3:25 into the game. Five and a half minutes later, Wood scored his first of the year on a shorthanded breakaway. With Zach Schroeder off for tripping, a UAF shot was blocked at the blue line and Wood pounced on it, giving him a long breakaway that he put home to put the Engineers up 2-0 nine minutes into the game.

From there, however, it was a slow bleed for RPI. The Nanooks had two power play chances late in the first period, including one that carried over into the second. The Engineers eventually went 6-for-6 on the penalty kill, but the penalties certainly helped swing momentum at inopportune times. The carried-over penalty helped UAF establish control early in the second period, and the home team cut the lead in half with a goal by Tayler Munson at 5:30 of the middle frame.

Another RPI penalty early in the third period set the table for the tying goal. While the Nanooks didn't score on the tripping penalty to Jared Wilson, they did put one past Jason Kasdorf 10 seconds after the penalty expired, so it's not too much of a stretch to say that the penalty at least put them in a good spot to create a scoring opportunity. Colton Sparrow's first goal of the season tied the game up, then UAF took the lead on a 4-on-4 tally four and a half minutes later as Peter Krieger scored his first of the year.

RPI looked fairly beaten at that point, even just down a goal. The Nanooks poured on the shots all night long, especially in the third period where Kasdorf made an incredible 21 saves to keep the Engineers alive. They were given a golden opportunity with 1:46 left as Zach Frye took a roughing call for UAF, but with Kasdorf out of the net on the ensuing draw in the Nanooks zone, UAF won the faceoff and proceeded to shoot the puck the length of the ice and directly into the net for the 4-2 win on Munson's second goal of the night.

Kasdorf finished with a career-high 47 saves on 49 shots, an effort that led to his being named goaltender of the tournament despite RPI's two losses.

The Engineers will be looking for a bit of home-cooking and perhaps a bit of whatever magic they had against Boston College as they come home to face another Power 5 conference ranked opponent in Michigan. It should be a raucous crowd at least for Saturday, as the game is expected to be sold out. It's not a must win by any stretch of the imagination, but they're going to have to show a little more heart up front against a top-level opponent.

RPI vs. Alaska-Anchorage
Non-conference Game - Carlson Center (Fairbanks, AK)
10/16/15 - 8:00pm

RESULT: Alaska-Anchorage 4, RPI 3

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
KTUU-TV

RECORD: 1-2-0

RPI at Alaska
Non-conference Game - Carlson Center (Fairbanks, AK)
10/17/15 - 11:00pm

RESULT: Alaska 4, RPI 2

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

RECORD: 1-3-0

Upcoming games
24 Oct - #11 Michigan
30 Oct - at #18 Union
31 Oct - #18 Union (Black Saturday)
06 Nov - at Clarkson
07 Nov - at #17 St. Lawrence

Men's Hockey - at UML & Boston College, 9 & 11 Oct

Apologies for the extreme lateness of the recap of last week's games - I've been traveling overseas and didn't return until Thursday morning. Jet lag to account for the rest of it, but here it is nonetheless - an opening weekend to the RPI season that typifies all of our expectations for the team this season. A punchless loss followed by a world-beating moment, and an underscoring that this team will live and die by its defense. The year kicked off with a barely-there game against UMass-Lowell in which the Engineers rarely looked competitive in a 3-0 loss, followed two days later in the home opener by a 2-1 victory over the #1 team in the nation that turned heads.

UMass-Lowell
Melanson-Liljegren-Ohrvall
Nanne-Bubela-Schroeder
Wood-Bourbonnais-Gillespie
Moore-Fulton-Clary

Bradley-Prapavessis
Bell-Reno
Wilson-Hampton

Kasdorf

One thing mentioned from the very outset of the season was that RPI needed to stay healthy this season in order to be competitive. With game one beginning, injuries were already a big part of the story. Senior Mark Miller is recovering from a wrist injury, and freshmen Evan Tironese and Alex Rodriguez are also in the infirmary, the latter suffering an injury in the exhibition game a week prior. With Jimmy DeVito also sidelined, offensive-minded defenseman Miers Moore made his RPI debut not on the blue line, but playing left-wing on the Engineers' fourth line.

For the fifth time in six seasons, the Engineers gave up their first goal of the season before scoring their first. 4:03 into the game, with a delayed hooking penalty coming to Jared Wilson, the River Hawks drew first blood with a goal by A.J. White to go ahead 1-0. UML would not score on the ensuing power play, but they did strike again on the power play before the opening 20 minutes were over. An unassisted goal by Evan Campbell with 32 seconds left made it 2-0 as Viktor Liljegren served an elbowing penalty.

Another power play goal early in the second period put the home team up 3-0 with Milos Bubela off for cross-checking. Adam Chapie's goal made the game look pretty much over with only 22:06 ticked off the clock.

From there, it was fairly academic for UML's Kevin Boyle to pitch a first-time out shutout. The Engineers came alive slightly in the third period, putting 13 shots on net, but none of them got through as Boyle made 27 saves to earn the victory. Jason Kasdorf picked up 35 saves on 38 shots - 28 in the first two periods - in defeat. Dominated at the faceoff circle and effectively bottled up, RPI simply never looked competitive against one of Hockey East's top teams.

Boston College
Liljegren-Bubela-Ohrvall
Melanson-Tironese-Nanne
Bourbonnais-Schroeder-Gillespie
Moore-Fulton-Wood

Bradley-Prapavessis
Wilson-Reno
Bell-Hampton

Kasdorf

Tironese was added to the lineup two days later, replacing Lonnie Clary, and a minor line shakeup was in order as well to take on the Eagles, the #1 team in the most recent national polls. Tironese was added to a line that included Drew Melanson and Lou Nanne, the sophomore duo that regularly teamed with Miller on a dynamic line last season (when they were healthy). Additionally, the Engineers' top line was retooled, adding Milos Bubela to a combination that already included RPI's two Swedish forwards, Liljegren and Jesper Ohrvall, creating the first-ever all-European line in team history.

Defense was the name of the game for much of the first 40 minutes, as the Engineers bared down against the Eagles' high-flying offense. Jason Kasdorf was sharp throughout the game, picking up 29 saves in the first two periods on as many shots, but the shot-blocking in front of him was equally important to the defensive effort against BC. All night long, players gave up the body, especially Mike Prapavessis and Chris Bradley, to keep the visitors off the scoreboard.

Riley Bourbonnais opened the scoring in the final minute of the second period, notching his first goal of the season with 46 seconds left to put RPI ahead 1-0 on a bouncing puck that BC's Thatcher Demko usually can get himself in front of. Just before the second intermission, it was a huge boost to an Engineers team that was still very much an underdog despite the heroic defensive stand.

Bourbonnais struck again on the power play early in the third period. With Ryan Fitzgerald serving an elbowing penalty for the Eagles, Bourbonnais took a pass from Tironese a 3-on-2 break and whipped it past Demko to give RPI an improbable 2-0 edge with 17 minutes left in the game.

But one doesn't just put away the #1 team in the nation that easily. With solid puck control throughout the game, it seemed inevitable that BC would eventually find a way to put one past Kasdorf and they managed to halve the RPI lead five-and-a-half minutes later on the man advantage. Zach Sanford's second goal of the season made it 2-1 and turned the pucker factor up to 11 for the crowd at Houston Field House.

Far from being rattled, however, the Engineers stayed in their lanes when it came to their defensive stand. Indeed, despite trailing and their talent and possession edges, BC was ultimately able to get only 8 shots on Kasdorf in the final 20 minutes. While holding the 2-1 lead, RPI continued blocking shots and otherwise frustrating the Eagle offense. With Demko pulled in the final 1:20, BC managed to hold the attacking zone for nearly the entire end of the game, but still were unable to find a quality scoring opportunity to get the game tied, and the Engineers escaped with their first victory over a #1 ranked team in five seasons.

The weekend was a true microcosm - RPI must get healthy to be successful, and Tironese's debut was crucial for the Engineers. The freshman dominated in the faceoff circle and assisted on both of Bourbonnais' goals. They need defense in order to be successful, and the shot-blocking and top-end play by the combined defense powered the victory more than anything. The way the Engineers can become truly dangerous is to start scoring goals with more regularity - despite the high-caliber opponents they played in the opening weekend, averaging a goal per game isn't going to lead to a lot of wins.

They get the opportunity to try scoring goals against slightly lower-caliber opponents this weekend, as they face Alaska-Anchorage and the University of Alaska, WCHA teams who were a combined 1-3-0 to start the year, in the Brice Alaska Goal Rush. With American International as the fourth team, if the RPI team that played against Boston College shows up both nights in Fairbanks, the Engineers would be the likely favorites in the tournament.

RPI players swept the ECAC weekly awards this week on the strength of their win over BC. Riley Bourbonnais' two goals made him Player of the Week, Tironese's two assists and faceoff excellence won him Rookie of the Week, and Kasdorf's superior play in the pips earned him Goalie of the Week honors.

RPI at #14 UMass-Lowell
Non-conference Game - Tsongas Center (Lowell, MA)
10/9/15 - 7:15pm

RESULT: UMass-Lowell 3, RPI 0

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union
Lowell Sun

RECORD: 0-1-0

#1 Boston College at RPI
Non-conference Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
10/11/15 - 2:00pm

RESULT: RPI 2, Boston College 1

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union
BC Interruption

RECORD: 1-1-0

Upcoming games
16 Oct - vs. Alaska-Anchorage (Fairbanks, AK)
17 Oct - at Alaska
24 Oct - #11 Michigan
30 Oct - at Union
31 Oct - Union (Black Saturday)

Men's Hockey - ECAC First Round (6-8 Mar)

One bad weekend in the ECAC tournament can turn what had been an outstanding season into a bitter one. The opposite, with some frequency, is also true. RPI may not yet be at the level where they can declare their season fully resurrected, but over the span of 180 minutes of game play in Potsdam, things at least feel a little bit better on the whole. The Engineers got out of the gate with a Game 1 victory over Clarkson, endured a throttling in Game 2, but bounced back well with three first period goals to provide victory in Game 3, allowing them to advance to the ECAC Quarterfinals for the first time since 2013.

Game 1
Liljegren-Schroeder-Bubela
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Neal-McGowan-Laliberte

Wood-Bourbonnais-DeVito

Leonard-Bradley
Curadi-Bell
Prapavessis-Wilson

Kasdorf

Fresh off the team's first victory in over a month, the lines and defensive pairings stayed the same not just for Game 1, but ultimately for the entire weekend. The major question was in net, where Jason Kasdorf had struggled for large sections of the late season and where Scott Diebold had backstopped that senior night victory over St. Lawrence. Ultimately, Seth Appert chose to roll with Kasdorf, who when "on" provides a significant spark for the Engineers.

Kasdorf would have to be strong early on for RPI in Game 1, and he delivered with a strong performance that would run through the night. The RPI junior stopped all 12 Clarkson shots he faced in the first period to keep the game scoreless into the second.

Clarkson netted the game's first tally of the night 4:30 into the second period off the stick of Pat Megannety, but the Engineers wouldn't stay down for long. Zach Schroeder connected with Milos Bubela on a nifty 2-on-1 pass to score RPI's first goal of the night a little under five minutes later. The second period again required sharp skill from Kasdorf, and he responded with another 12 saves that kept the Engineers in the game.

With the score still knotted at one at the start of the third period a heads up play by Bradley Bell to poke the puck before it exited the Clarkson zone allowed Mark Miller, playing not far from his hometown of Massena, to carry the Engineers to the lead as he grabbed the puck and burst back toward the net against the flow of the Clarkson forwards exiting the zone. He found a seam and put it home to give the Engineers their first lead of the night.

Once more, it fell to Jason Kasdorf to help shoulder the lead. With Clarkson pushing to find the tying goal, he proved equal to the task once more with a third consecutive 12-save period. He got a little more breathing room with 3:10 left in regulation, as Bubela scored his second goal of the night unassisted to put RPI up 3-1. It would prove to be a very important tally.

The Golden Knights pulled netminder Greg Lewis from the cage as soon as they won the ensuing faceoff, and got a power play off a faceoff in the RPI end as Miller was called for delay of game with 2:30 left on the clock. Kasdorf valiantly fought off the 6-on-4 attack together with his penalty killers, and the Engineers managed to kill off the penalty without allowing a power play goal. Clarkson would manage to pull back within one on a goal by Brett Gervais, but it came with only 11 seconds left in the third period. RPI won the center ice faceoff, securing Game 1 victory.

Kasdorf ended with 36 saves on 38 shots in a valiant performance that certainly backstopped RPI's second consecutive Game 1 victory, and got outstanding offense from the top two lines to power the win.

Game 2
Liljegren-Schroeder-Bubela
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Neal-McGowan-Laliberte

Wood-Bourbonnais-DeVito

Leonard-Bradley
Curadi-Bell
Prapavessis-Wilson

Kasdorf

It's never easy to win two games in a row against the same opponent, a problem that faced Clarkson as it pertained to the series as a whole but also impacted RPI significantly on Saturday night as they sought to complete their first series sweep since 2009.

The Golden Knights got out of the gate quickly with a goal that would become a running theme throughout the evening - a goal in the first two minutes of play. The first one came just 1:35 in as Jeff DiNallo gave Clarkson the 1-0 lead for the second time in as many nights, taking advantage of a horrible RPI line change to create an odd-man rush opportunity. That would prove to be the lone blemish on either team's ledger for the first 20 minutes, as Jason Kasdorf continued his busy weekend in net for RPI, stopping 13 of 14 shots in the first period to keep the Engineers alive.

Joe Zarbo scored 1:17 into the second period to put Clarkson ahead 2-0, and the Golden Knights took a commanding 3-0 edge three minutes later on a goal by Troy Josephs. While RPI hadn't played generally poorly to that point, it was shortly after going down by three that the wheels began to come off. Jake Wood was assessed a major and a game misconduct for kneeing, a penalty that, like in the Clarkson/RPI game a week prior, was mitigated by a retaliation penalty from the Golden Knights. That lessened the amount of major power play time to three minutes, and that was killed off by the Engineers.

Sam Vigneault scored for Clarkson 26 seconds into the third to make the score 4-0. Although he hadn't really been to blame for any of the goals given up on the night, Jason Kasdorf came out in favor of Scott Diebold, more to keep him physically and mentally fresh for Sunday night than to try and stem the tide. Diebold would have a quiet night, facing only four shots for the remainder of the period, one a shot by Zarbo that found the back of the net to give Clarkson a 5-0 lead with 6 minutes left.

The third period, more or less, was a matter of survival for both teams as play got more and more chippy. Both were able to make it out without any serious injuries, ejections, or suspensions following the point where the game was out of reach. Wood, despite some dicey behavior after his penalty, was not further sanctioned by the league. Clarkson did have one serious injury from earlier in the game, however, as defenseman Kelly Summers was injured in an awkward collision with Jared Wilson. He came out and did not return, and was unavailable for Game 3.

Game 3
Liljegren-Schroeder-Bubela
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Neal-McGowan-Laliberte

Wood-Bourbonnais-DeVito

Leonard-Bradley
Curadi-Bell
Prapavessis-Wilson

Kasdorf

With both teams now in a do or die situation, the first goal loomed crucial on Sunday night. It was the Engineers who picked it up for the first time in the series.

Mark Miller's second goal of the weekend came 7:45 into the contest to put RPI ahead 1-0 for the first time in four games, but the real backbreaker may have come just 20 seconds later, as Zach Schroeder and Milos Bubela switched things up a little bit from their Game 1 link-up, with Bubela feeding Schroeder this time to give the Engineers a very sudden 2-0 edge.

After surviving back to back penalties to Miller and Bell, RPI took a 3-0 lead with about three minutes left in the first as Jimmy DeVito finally notched his first goal of the season - the second of his collegiate career - on a terrific pass from behind the Clarkson net by Riley Bourbonnais. For the second time in four games over two weekends, the Engineers had three goals in the first period and chased netminder Steve Perry from the cage.

As is the norm, it fell to Jason Kasdorf to make that lead hold, and he would manage to do that for the remainder of the game. He stopped all 18 shots that he saw in the first two periods, then knuckled down as Clarkson pulled the netminder for the extra attacker with seven minutes to play, down by three. The Golden Knights managed to maintain control of the puck for most of that final seven minutes, RPI rarely getting a chance on the open net on the other end. Kasdorf, meanwhile, continued to play some of his best hockey of the season, ultimately making 15 saves in the final 20 minutes.

The Golden Knights would not be shut out in Game 3, as Joe Zarbo hit his third goal of the weekend with three minutes left to bring Clarkson back within two, but that was as close as Clarkson would come, in part because Zarbo himself was called for tripping with just under two minutes left in the game (and subsequently issued a misconduct for dissent as well), bringing things back to five on five play as Clarkson removed the goaltender again once the puck was out of their zone. That advantage was not enough to get another one past Kasdorf, and for the second time in four years, the Engineers won a playoff series in Potsdam.

RPI/Clarkson was the only series that went the distance, as Dartmouth and Harvard picked up home sweeps over Princeton and Brown respectively, while Union shocked Cornell in Ithaca with a two-game demolition of the Big Red.

It's another trip to the North Country for the Engineers, their third of the season, as they now move to face St. Lawrence, the team they defeated in their final home game of the year. SLU presents a more daunting challenge, the final roadblock to RPI potentially ending the longest semifinal drought in the league.

Quarterfinal matchups
#10 Union at #1 Quinnipiac
#9 RPI at #2 St. Lawrence
#6 Harvard at #3 Yale
#5 Dartmouth at #4 Colgate

RPI at Clarkson
ECAC First Round, Game 1 - Cheel Arena (Potsdam, NY)
3/6/15 - 7:00pm

RESULT: RPI 3, Clarkson 2

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Watertown Daily Times

RECORD: 11-23-3 (8-12-2, 18pts)

RPI at Clarkson
ECAC First Round, Game 2 - Cheel Arena (Potsdam, NY)
3/7/15 - 7:30pm

RESULT: Clarkson 5, RPI 0

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Watertown Daily Times

RECORD: 11-24-3 (8-12-2, 18pts)

RPI at Clarkson
ECAC First Round, Game 3 - Cheel Arena (Potsdam, NY)
3/8/15 - 7:00pm

RESULT: RPI 3, Clarkson 1

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Watertown Daily Times

RECORD: 12-24-3 (8-12-2, 18pts)

Upcoming games
13 Mar - at St. Lawrence
14 Mar - at St. Lawrence
15 Mar - at St. Lawrence (if necessary)
20 Mar - ECAC Semifinals (Lake Placid, NY - if qualified)
21 Mar - ECAC Championship (Lake Placid, NY - if qualified)

Men's Hockey - Colgate & Cornell (16/17 Jan)

It's pretty impressive how much perceptions can change in college hockey in a very short period of time. Some of it can be described as overreaction swinging from one direction to the other, but make no mistake - one good weekend can certainly make a season's outlook an awful lot brighter. Two weeks ago, RPI was mired in a long losing streak and being roundly written off. This past weekend, the Engineers are suddenly being toasted again after a dominating pair of games at home, upsetting nationally-ranked Colgate 4-1 on Friday night and then shutting out Cornell 3-0 on Saturday. There's still a long way to go, but suddenly a long season looks considerably more interesting.

Colgate
Liljegren-DeVito-McGowan
Neal-Bubela-Laliberte
Melanson-Schroeder-Nanne
Wood-Bourbonnais-Gillespie

Leonard-Prapavessis
Bradley-Bokenfohr
Curadi-Wilson

Kasdorf

Returning home for the first league games in Troy since mid-November, the Engineers were just about back to full strength. Still missing from the previous outing due to injury were Travis Fulton and Mark Miller, it's still unknown when either will be back in the lineup.

The Engineers jumped on Colgate early on Friday night, picking up a goal by Mark McGowan on a redirect of a shot by Luke Curadi to take a 1-0 lead just 2:08 into the contest. It was the senior's 3rd goal of the season. Colgate would get it back late in the first on a one-timed shot by Kevin Lough after a faceoff in the Engineers' zone to tie things back up heading into the first intermission.

The first two periods were practically devoid of offensive chances for either team. Colgate held a 12-8 edge in shots 40 minutes into the game, meaning that the teams were averaging only a single shot every 2 minutes.

RPI busted things open in the third period, with the senior forwards leading the way. Matt Neal's second goal of the season - and second in as many games - came 56 seconds into the third to put the Engineers back in front and a tally by Jacob Laliberte about two and a half minutes later made it 3-1 in favor of the home team.

That was all the Engineers would need to pick up their second consecutive ECAC win. RPI dominated the third period, keeping the puck down in the Colgate end for most of the final 20 minutes and outshooting the Raiders 15-6. Neal would pick up a second goal on an empty netter with 29 seconds remaining to clinch the victory. Jason Kasdorf stopped 17 of 18 shots to pick up the victory in net.

Cornell
Liljegren-DeVito-McGowan
Neal-Bubela-Laliberte
Wood-Schroeder-Nanne
Melanson-Bourbonnais-Gillespie

Leonard-Prapavessis
Bradley-Bokenfohr
Curadi-Wilson

Kasdorf

No changes were made to the lineup heading into the Cornell game with the exception of a switch between the third and fourth lines, as Jake Wood was moved up to play on the third line as the left wing with Drew Melanson moving to the fourth line.

The first period on Saturday was similar to the first period on Friday, just without the goals. Not a lot of offensive chances for either team as RPI took a 8-7 edge in shots. The Engineers tended to dominate play at even strength, but were hampered by three penalties taken during the opening frame that gave the Big Red plenty of opportunity to open the scoring, but the penalty kill did its job early on. Ultimately, these would be the only three penalties of the game for RPI.

Jake Wood broke the scoreless deadlock 7:45 into the second period with a shot that looped up and over Cornell goaltender Mitch Gillam's shoulder and into the net to give the Engineers their third straight 1-0 lead (after having only accomplished that edge three times prior to last weekend). Wood was being hooked at the time of his shot, which gave RPI their only power play of the game immediately following the goal, but it was a poor effort on the man advantage.

The score remained 1-0 heading into the final period of play, but RPI came out quickly for the final period once again to take a more commanding lead. Jacob Laliberte's second goal of the weekend and fourth of the season was generated by Matt Neal, who kept a clearance attempt banked off the glass from leaving the zone, then quickly zipped it up to his classmate, who beat Gillam five-hole for the 2-0 lead.

Two and a half minutes later, the Engineers scored on a 2-on-1 break as Mark McGowan dished to Jared Wilson across the crease, and the freshman put it past a badly positioned Gillam to make the score 3-0. Gillam, who had the nation's best goals against average and save percentage coming into the game, was pulled in favor of Hayden Stewart following the goal by Wilson, his third of the year.

RPI continued to pour it on through the remainder of the third period, forcing the new Cornell goaltender to make nine saves, but it wasn't until an icing call against RPI with 3:44 remaining in the game that momentum shifted distinctly in Cornell's favor. Pulling the netminder for the extra attacker, they kept the Engineers pinned in their own zone for the remainder of the game, winning faceoffs, maintaining puck control, and peppering the RPI net with shots. Fortunately for the home team, Jason Kasdorf was right on top of his game. When all was said and done, the junior had made 14 saves in the final period as part of a 26 save night overall in picking up his first shutout of the season.

The schedule is somewhat unkind to the Engineers over the next two weeks, as they won't immediately get a chance to build on their three-game winning streak in league. This coming weekend, they fight for pride and local glory in defending the Mayor's Cup against Union in Albany - essentially, the only piece of hardware denied the Dutchmen last season. After that, they get just one game the following week at Dartmouth, as the corresponding game at Harvard was played at the end of December. Nevertheless, some folks are starting to compare this team with the 2012-13 team, which had a rough season until January and then went on a serious run to finish 2nd in the ECAC. That might be tough to duplicate and it's probably too early to say that the Engineers are that dangerous a team, but things certainly look a lot brighter than they did after losing to Quinnipiac to make it nine losses in a row. There's still so much to play for.

Current ECAC Standings
1. Quinnipiac - 20 points (10-2-0)
2. Harvard - 16 points (7-2-2)
3. St. Lawrence - 14 points (7-4-0)
4. RPI - 14 points (7-6-0)
5. Yale - 13 points (6-3-1)
6. Colgate - 13 points (6-3-1)
7. Clarkson - 12 points (5-4-2)
8. Cornell - 10 points (5-5-0)
9. Union - 9 points (4-7-1)
10. Dartmouth - 7 points (3-6-1)
11. Brown - 2 points (1-9-0)
12. Princeton - 2 points (1-11-0)

By winning percentage
1. Quinnipiac (.833)
2. Harvard (.727)
3. Yale (.650)
4. Colgate (.650)
5. St. Lawrence (.636)
6. Clarkson (.545)
7. RPI (.538)
8. Cornell (.500)
9. Union (.375)
10. Dartmouth (.350)
11. Brown (.100)
12. Princeton (.083)

#15 Colgate at RPI

ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
1/16/15 - 7:00pm

RESULT: RPI 4, Colgate 1

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union

RECORD: 8-16-1 (6-6-0, 12pts)

Cornell at RPI
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
1/17/15 - 7:07pm

RESULT: RPI 3, Cornell 0

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union

RECORD: 9-16-1 (7-6-0, 14pts)

Upcoming games
24 Jan - vs. Union (Albany, NY)
30 Jan - at Dartmouth
06 Feb - at St. Lawrence
07 Feb - at Clarkson
13 Feb - Brown

Men's Hockey - Union Home & Home (31 Oct/1 Nov)

From the lowest of lows to the highest for highs for the Engineers in just a two week span. While the previous weekend's affair with Bentley may mark one of the lowest results RPI has ever produced, the following weekend's home and home with Union may prove to be one of the best. With few pundits - including us - giving the Engineers much hope of accomplishing anything against the defending national champions, RPI instead turned around and gave an inspired performance that injected life into a moribund season, soundly defeating their archrivals on Friday in Troy 6-1 before turning around the next night on the road and coming from behind for a 2-1 victory in overtime.

Friday
Fulton-Neal-Bourbonnais
Laliberte-Schroeder- DeVito
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Liljegren-Bubela-McGowan

Leonard-Prapavessis
Bradley-Wilson
Curadi-Bokenfohr

Kasdorf

The line juggling continued into the Union weekend, with the Miller line the only one that was more or less kept intact from previous outings.

RPI played with the initiative from the very outset of the game and quickly began establishing themselves as the aggressors. The Engineers led very early in shots and ultimately accrued an 11-2 edge in the first period, a wide margin that had frequently been going the other way in most games. They broke onto the scoreboard with the game's first goal about seven and a half minutes in, marking the first time on the season that RPI struck for a 1-0 lead. Riley Bourbonnais brought the puck into the zone along the boards, bringing Matt Neal and Travis Fulton to his right. Bourbonnais ultimately took it himself, beating Colin Stevens on the short side for his first collegiate goal.

Late in the period, the Engineers took a two goal lead on a bizarre goal by Jared Wilson. The freshman defenseman netted his first career goal after taking a cross-ice pass from classmate Drew Melanson. Wilson flipped his shot up over Stevens' stick, over his shoulder and in from a tough angle.

Five minutes into the second period, the Engineers earned themselves a comfortable 3-0 edge on another goal by Bourbonnais, who was left alone along the boards and easily walked into the slot and put the shot home through a screen provided by Neal.

Union drew much closer in shots during the second period, but were unable to get anything past Jason Kasdorf, who stopped 15 in the middle frame. Meanwhile, RPI was making the most of their opportunities. Just seconds into their first power play opportunity of the night, Viktor Liljegren made it 4-0 on a one-timer in the slot off a feed by Lou Nanne. That ended Stevens' night early, as he departed with 4 goals given up on 18 shots.

Union got one back on the power play 4:24 into the third period, but RPI attacked off the ensuing faceoff. Bourbonnais moved into the zone along the boards and then just dropped the puck off in the slot. Union captain Charlie Vasaturo was there and tried to make a play with the puck, but instead he ended up putting the puck past his own goaltender and in to make it 5-1 RPI. Bourbonnais, as the last Engineer to touch the puck, was awarded the goal and the hat trick just seven seconds after Union had gotten onto the board.

RPI continued to pour it on. Three minutes later, Melanson set up his second goal of the night by speeding up the boards and past the defenders, then whipping a pass into the slot for an equally speedy Nanne to one-time to the back of the net, making it 6-1.

Both teams would have power play opportunities from there on out, but Union never looked about to claw their way back in. Kasdorf ended the night with 24 saves on 25 shots for the win.

Saturday
Fulton-Neal-Bourbonnais
Laliberte-Schroeder- DeVito
Melanson-Miller-Nanne
Liljegren-Bubela-McGowan

Leonard-Prapavessis
Bradley-Wilson
Curadi-Bokenfohr

Kasdorf

The concept of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" won out on Saturday night, as RPI put forward the exact same lineup they had on Friday.

RPI came out with intensity just as they had on Friday, but they weren't initially able to translate it to much offensive output. This time, it was Union who earned the early edge in shots, and they also nabbed the early lead on a goal by freshman Spencer Foo with a little under six minutes left in the first period, beating Kasdorf on the short side to make it 1-0.

Union would not take a single penalty all night, keeping the RPI power play out of commission, but they ended up with plenty of power play opportunities of their own as the Engineers took six penalties on the evening, including a double minor by Lou Nanne in the second period. However, the Union power play looked very anemic, and the RPI penalty kill frequently looked as though it would score a goal itself. None was forthcoming on the penalty kill, and the second period came to an end with RPI 4-for-4 on the kill but still trailing 1-0.

RPI didn't truly control the third period but they certainly earned the lion's share of the quality scoring opportunities. After a considerable amount of patience, the Engineers finally broke through for the tying goal with 3:49 left in regulation. A giveaway by Union to Mark McGowan in the slot was fired to the back of the cage to make it 1-1.

Union swarmed the RPI zone in the final minute of play with their sixth power play of the night after a penalty to Luke Curadi, but Kasdorf was equal to the task, making a number of saves to preserve the tie.

A Union turnover in overtime led to the Engineers keeping the puck in the attacking zone, and ultimately led to a wraparound attempt by Viktor Liljegren that was initially stopped, but eventually put in after a scrum in front by the freshman from Sweden, scoring his third goal of the year for the game winner as RPI completed the weekend sweep of Union for the first time in a decade.

The goal was reviewed to see if Stevens had his glove on the puck, but the goal was eventually upheld, giving the Engineers four key points to start the ECAC season.

RPI's season-long homestand (if one includes the hop, skip, and jump to Schenectady as not going on the road) concludes this coming weekend with two more ECAC games as they host Harvard and Dartmouth, looking to build upon the early lead they've given themselves in the league table.

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

#2 Union at RPI
ECAC Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
1031/14 - 7:00pm

RESULT: RPI 6, Union 1

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
USCHO
Troy Record
Albany Times Union

RECORD: 2-5-0 (1-0-0, 2pts)

RPI at #2 Union
ECAC Game - Messa Rink (Schenectady, NY)
11/1/14 - 7:00pm

RESULT: RPI 2, Union 1 (OT)

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union

RECORD: 3-5-0 (2-0-0, 4pts)

Upcoming games
7 Nov - Harvard
8 Nov - Dartmouth
14 Nov - Princeton
15 Nov - Quinnipiac
18 Nov - at UConn