Men's Hockey - at Notre Dame (21 Oct)

Notre Dame has a truly impressive new cathedral of college hockey - an impressive tribute to the school's commitment to the sport, and RPI was given the honor of being the first opponent in the new rink this past weekend against a Notre Dame team coming off a Frozen Four appearance last season despite being one of the youngest teams in the nation. The Engineers continued their stretch of being banged up against tough squads, playing well given the circumstances but falling for the third consecutive game, 5-2.

Notre Dame
Angers-Goulet/Malchuk/Smith

Lee/Schroeder/Haggerty

Cullen/Rogic/Rabbani

McGowan/Neal/Burgdoerfer

Bergin/Leonard

Leboeuf/Bailen

Koudys/Dolan

Merriam

Injuries are still hampering the Engineers significantly, with freshman Jacob Laliberte added to the list of key forwards missing in action. He has the same affliction as Brock Higgs, a broken finger. Meanwhile, Marty O'Grady remains out with concussion symptoms. There was some good news, as Greg Burgdoerfer returned to the lineup.

There was, as expected, an awful lot of hoopla - and much deserved - surrounding the opening of the Compton Family Ice Arena. The place is, quite frankly, gorgeous.

Notre Dame committed to a fearsome forecheck for essentially the entire game and it paid off in spades for them. Once they gained the zone, they made it clear that the Engineers were going to have to fight for every inch of space if they gained control and they used their impressive size up front very well - perhaps a foreshadow of things to come in the future for RPI.

At any rate, it was that forecheck that helped the Irish get on the board first as Anders Lee got one past Bryce Merriam after an extended play in the RPI zone that was lengthened thanks to a forecheck that kept RPI from breaking out despite gaining the puck on two different occasions. That goal was the only major difference in an opening 10 minutes that definitely went both ways, giving the Irish the 1-0 advantage.

About four minutes later, RPI finally broke its scoreless streak thanks to some gritty play behind the Irish net by Joel Malchuk and Alex Angers-Goulet. Winning puck battles and keeping Irish goaltender Mike Johnson guessing, Angers-Goulet eventually worked the puck to Malchuk, who made Johnson guess wrong on which side he was moving to, and Malchuk stuffed it in the cage to tie the game at one.

Notre Dame won this one in the second period, smothering the Engineers defensively and limiting them to just two shots on goal during the entire period, even despite a pair of power plays during the middle frame. Anders Lee scored again early in the period to put the Irish back in front, and a rare defensive breakdown by RPI with about five minutes left in the second put Notre Dame up 3-1 heading into the second intermission.

The hole became 4-1 with another early period goal by the Irish, this time coming on the power play, and it looked like RPI was about to simply get outclassed by a better team. They didn't give up down three, however, and Johnny Rogic, whose play could certainly be described as inspired throughout, picked up his own rebound with about five minutes left to play to bring RPI back within one.

The comeback attempt was immediately muted, however, as Patrick Cullen went off for a slash immediately following the Rogic goal, and after that penalty was extinguished (thanks in part to a waved off goal by Anders Lee that went in off a high stick), RPI was unable to do much with Merriam out of his cage. Lee finished off his hat trick officially with an empty netter, a truly memorable accomplishment for a memorable night in South Bend.

All told, RPI definitely missed Higgs, Laliberte, and O'Grady in this game, but there were some bright moments, like Matt Neal, who won 11 of 15 faceoffs, Rogic's play, and Merriam, who made a number of clutch saves that kept things from getting out of hand against a very talented team. RPI may stand at 1-4-0, but all things being equal, they're still playing some pretty decent hockey against some very tough teams.

Other junk - It doesn't matter what your injury situation or your strength of schedule at this time of year - a 1-4-0 team probably isn't getting votes and that's RPI this week, no votes at all for the first time in quite a while. This time of year, good records get rewarded no matter what, and as evidence, Clarkson's 16 votes for a 4-1-1 record. Never mind that the four wins came against Sacred Heart and American International (with a weekend series at Bentley coming this weekend!). Shrug. They can enjoy them while they last. Ranked ECAC teams this week are #10 Yale (exhibition loss to Waterloo, down one with one first place vote), #11 Union (tied Niagara and beat RIT, up one), #16 Colgate (tied Army, no change), #19 Cornell (exhibition wins over Guelph and Carleton, up one), and #20 Quinnipiac (split at Robert Morris, unranked last week). #3 Colorado College (idle, up one with four first place votes), #5 Notre Dame (up one with one first place vote), and #6 Ferris State (swept Miami, up eight with one first place vote) are also ranked this week. Also receiving votes were Dartmouth (29) and UMass-Lowell (5).

Four different teams on RPI's schedule, including three of October's four non-conference opponents, received first place votes this week and are all ranked in the top 10. Think we've got a pretty solid non-conference slate?

Ken Ralph and Colorado College come to Troy this weekend - it's going to be another tough row to hoe for the Engineers for sure, but hopefully the payoff comes the following weekend where we get a tomato-can tested Clarkson team to kick off the ECAC schedule.

RPI at #6 Notre Dame
Non-Conference Game - Compton Family Ice Arena (South Bend, IN)
10/21/11 - 7:35pm

RESULT: Notre Dame 5, RPI 2

BOX SCORES

College Hockey Stats

USCHO

RECAPS

RPI

Troy Record

Albany Times Union

South Bend Tribune

Irish Illustrated

WNDU-TV

RECORD: 1-4-0 (0-0-0 ECAC)

Reale Deals

1. F Johnny Rogic, 1 G, 3 shots

2. F Joel Malchuk, 1 G

3. G Bryce Merriam, 21 saves

Upcoming games

28 Oct - #3 Colorado College

29 Oct - #3 Colorado College

04 Nov - at Clarkson

05 Nov - at St. Lawrence

11 Nov - #10 Yale (Black Friday)

Men's Hockey - Boston University (11 Dec)

There's no time like a game on national television to make a statement, and that's exactly what the RPI Engineers did this weekend with their lone outing at home against the BU Terriers. With Time Warner's cameras broadcasting their exploits around North America, RPI came through with a solid 4-1 victory partially spoiled by a ridiculous display by the referees, but ultimately earned on the ice with good hustle and outstanding special teams play.

Boston University
Angers-Goulet/Rogic/Brutlag
Cullen/Polacek/Helfrich
Lee/Higgs/Rabbani
Tinordi/Malchuk/Burgdoerfer

Bergin/Foss
Bailen/Dolan
Koudys/Leboeuf

York

The big news at the outset was the return of C.J. Lee and Joel Malchuk, fully one half of the injured quartet that was out against Yale and Brown. There was a bit of good news about John Kennedy as well - he has had his cast removed. He probably won't play next week in the exhibition as a precaution, but he may well be back in time for the Alabama-Huntsville games. Marty O'Grady, however, is an unknown going forward.

The game got off to a rough start for RPI as Joel Malchuk and Guy Leboeuf were each called for tripping early on, giving BU a short 5-on-3 power play opportunity. The penalty kill was up to the challenge though, and the Engineers escaped unharmed. Two minute later, a BU penalty set up RPI's first chance on the man advantage, but a penalty to Pat Koudys for interference just a minute later negated the chance and eventually gave BU it's third power play opportunity only midway through the first period.

That was when the Engineers struck. A clearing pass out of the zone by Mike Bergin was taken by Lee, who raced forward with Malchuk. The two players returning from injury raced into the attacking zone two-on-two, with Lee making a drop pass to Malchuk, who promptly blasted it from near the top of the zone, beating BU's Grant Rollheiser to put the Engineers up 1-0 on a shorthanded tally.

In the final minute of the first period, BU defenseman David Warsofsky was called on a cross-checking call that put RPI on its 2nd power play of the game, and the Engineers responded quickly. Tyler Helfrich scored his 9th goal of the season after being left all alone on the doorstep to Rollheiser's right. He one-timed a cycling pass from Chase Polacek to give RPI a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

Right off the bat in the second period, another BU penalty led to an RPI goal. Polacek scored with one of his signature "one-timer near the goal line from a sick angle" shots for his 8th goal of the year to make it 3-0. After the next whistle, BU coach Jack Parker decided that 3 goals on 13 shots was too much, and pulled Rollheiser in favor of his classmate, Kieran Millan. The move did seem to get the Terriers back into things, as the game opened up and became more of a two-way affair than the one-sided tilt the Engineers had turned it into at that point.

Midway through the period, BU's Matt Nieto got a great breakaway opportunity to score, but was stoned cold by Allen York to keep the shutout intact. Each team got a power play chance following the Polacek goal, but neither scored until Wade Megan was able to put back a big rebound that York had let up, putting the Terriers on the board and ending the night for York's stick, as he smashed it against the pipe out of frustration for giving up the rebound. For the remainder of the period - a good four minutes - momentum was definitely in BU's favor.

The 3-1 score carried over into the third period, where things really started to get out of hand. The referees, led by Bryan Hicks of Union wave-off fame, appeared ready to swallow their whistles, but it was a bad move given the myriad calls that had not been made for both teams in the first two periods, and the smattering of bogus calls both teams were called for as well. The game had already been chippy, but it got much worse during the third period. The Terriers worked hard looking for another goal to put them back in the thick of things, but Allen York did what he has increasingly been able to do - clamp things down. He made another big breakaway save during the period to preserve the 2-goal lead.

Things definitively unraveled late in the period after an interference call against BU. It was one of those "had to" penalties, given that the Engineers had come into the zone on a lightening-fast 3-on-0, which you don't see every day. The penalty came with about two-and-a-half minutes left in the 3rd, putting a serious damper on BU's ability to come back. Then, the referees lost control of the game, as BU's frustrations began to boil over. Parker's argument with the referees after the interference call - more than likely, an argument stemming from things not called rather than the actual call - resulted in a bench minor to go along with the interference, putting RPI on a 5-on-3 for two minutes holding the 2-goal lead.

Less than a minute later, BU was whistled again for cross-checking (which was really iffy given that they were already down a player) and the brawling began. No player was issued a game DQ, but several were sent to the locker rooms early, including Lee, Nick Bailen, and BU's Alex Chiasson.

About a minute later, as the 5-on-3 was about to expire, Bryan Brutlag scored on a one-timer in the slot to make it 4-1, putting the seal on the victory. In the immediate aftermath, Warsofsky was shown the gate. Seconds after the ensuing faceoff, Bo Dolan was called for roughing, and seconds after that, a 5-minute major and a game misconduct was assessed to BU's Garrett Noonan for grasping the facemask in another scrum with 16 seconds left. The game was essentially over, but the referees had lost control well before. Jack Parker was furious after the final horn, talking to one of the linesmen during the hand-shake and making a sarcastic gesture to Bryan Hicks, a move which saw him slapped with a game misconduct of his own at the 20:00 mark of the 3rd period.

The ugliness and the terrible officiating aside, it was a monster mid-season win for RPI hockey, scoring a solid victory against one of the top teams in the nation - a team which was ranked #1 just a few weeks ago. The win continued the Engineers' unbeaten streak at Houston Field House this season to 7-0-0.

Next up for the Engineers is a bit of a treat - they play an exhibition this Sunday against the US Junior Team in their first preparation game for the World Junior Championships in Buffalo, which run from December 26 to January 5 at the Sabres' HSBC Arena and Niagara's Dwyer Arena. This is the team on which Jerry D'Amigo won a gold medal last year - and D'Amigo will be back to lead the United States in its quest for a second straight gold. This game will be something of a valedictory for D'Amigo at the Field House. Expect an ovation for the Toronto Marlies forward when he is announced on Sunday. If you're going to be in the Capital District, you are advised not to miss it.

Other junk - The upward mobility continues for the Engineers; another week, another rise in the polls. The win over BU propelled RPI up one place to #14 in the nation. The loss was a bit more of a hit for the Terriers, however, as they dropped three to #10. Other ECAC teams ranked this week are #1 Yale (up to 45/50 first place votes, idle) and #12 Union (up one, blew out AIC and Army at home). Ex-#19 Dartmouth dropped out after just one week as a ranked team after losing to one-win Vermont last night. #20 Colorado College is ranked for the first time in over a month. Other RPI opponents receiving votes are Clarkson (41, the second straight week with the most votes for an unranked team), Dartmouth (36), Princeton (23), and Niagara (1).

With a goal and two assists on Saturday, Chase Polacek has seven points in the last two games. His goal tied him with Don Hearns '75 and Brian Ferreira '90 for 33rd in RPI history with 134 points, and he is now tied with Trevor Kaye '62 for 32nd with 135 points. Next on the list, tied for 30th, are two big names - Mo Mosco '55 and Richard Scammell '69, who have 137 points each.

Joel Malchuk's second goal of the year was also his second shorthanded goal of the year. He is one of only 17 players in the nation with multiple shorties on the season.

The Capital District may be turning into Fort Neverlose. RPI and Union are a combined 14-0-1 at home this season - the lone blemish being Union's tie with UConn.

The ECAC league schedule is finished for 2010, it picks back up on January 3 with a travel-partner game between Quinnipiac and Princeton in New Jersey, then goes to a full 12-game weekend January 7th and 8th.

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

Adjusted Standings
1. Yale (1.000)
2. Dartmouth (.688)
3. Princeton (.667)
4. Clarkson (.643)
5. Union (.583)
6. RPI (.500)
7. Quinnipiac (.450)
8. St. Lawrence (.429)
9. Brown (.417)
10. Cornell (.333)
11. Harvard (.222)
12. Colgate (.083)

#7 Boston University at #15 RPI
Nonconference Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
12/11/10 - 3:30pm

RESULT: RPI 4, Boston University 1

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union
BU Daily Free Press
Boston Herald
College Hockey News
Inside Hockey

VIDEO
Goals (no audio, includes one York breakaway save)
Post-game interviews

RECORD: 9-4-3 (3-3-0 ECAC, 6 pts)

Reale Deals
1. G Allen York, 28 saves
2. F Chase Polacek, 1 G, 2 A
3. D Nick Bailen, 2 A, 5 shots

Upcoming games
19 Dec - US Junior National Team (exhibition)
30 Dec - at Alabama-Huntsville
31 Dec - at Alabama-Huntsville
07 Jan - Clarkson
08 Jan - St. Lawrence