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

Crossroads of a Season

Tonight, the Engineers get to take their best shot at the top - Quinnipiac. The Bobcats have been totally unreal this season, sitting a monumental 7 points ahead of RPI in 1st place and basically playing king of the mountain with the rest of college hockey. First in the RPI, first in KRACH, first in the Pairwise, first in the polls. They've lost only once all year. It ain't going to be easy. But glory awaits tonight in Hamden if the Engineers can do what they've done all year - find ways to win, and take down top-end squads. They did it at home just last weekend. Doing it on the road would be a huge (and we mean huge) boost, both in the ECAC and in the Pairwise.

RPI hasn't beaten Union three times in the same season since 1997, and even that year they were 3-1-1 against the Dutchmen (they swept a home playoff series, because that's what they did back then). Even when Union was horrible, they still found ways to produce a result against RPI. And these last couple of years, even more so than usual, you can just throw the records out the door. They don't even matter a little bit when these teams play. Both teams have a shot at skating away with the Mayor's Cup.

And last year, at least, it represented a bad turning point for the Engineers. Coming in on a 3-game winning streak after finally snapping a long 9-game losing streak and easily playing some of their best hockey of the season, RPI took a 3-2 edge into the 3rd period and promptly gave up six goals in 20 of the most painful minutes of hockey you'll ever see - and kicking off a brand new 9-game winless streak that wasn't broken until the last night of the regular season.

On the surface, there's not much to this weekend. An odd mid-week league game at a team RPI hasn't beaten since 2010, and then a non-conference game on neutral ice. But mark my words. Two losses at the end of this weekend will sour everyone on this team, while two wins would turn some serious heads. The final results of these two games won't have much more of a lasting impact than in how it propels the Engineers into the remainder of the season.

On the women's side, it's a road trip to Brown and Yale, and a couple of games the Engineers have got to come up with points in if they want to stay in the playoff hunt. Brown should present more of a challenge than Union did last week, but only slightly. Points lost there would hurt a lot. Yale, on the other hand, is a primary competitor for a playoff - and RPI's already coughed up a pair of points to the Bulldogs this year. This weekend's a crucial one in the playoff hunt for sure - they won't have nearly as many opportunities for easy points after this one's over.

No team wants to be peaking in January, but it's clear both teams have a lot to play for and need to be on top of their game now, more than ever before this year.

Men's Hockey - Mayor's Cup (24 Jan)

Last week we talked about how quickly a season can turn around, often in the span of a weekend's worth of games. This week, it was illustrated that a weekend itself can be an eternity - all it can take is one game, or in this case, just two periods. RPI looked very much the aggressor against Union in the first period of the annual Mayor's Cup game, in line with their upward trend and Union's general downward spiral. Then, as the second period started, it all seemed to vanish completely. Horrendous play by the Engineers coupled with some nice finishing by the Dutchmen conspired to result in an 8-3 defeat for an RPI team that actually had a lead after 40 minutes, a stunning turn of events that put the brakes on the optimistic outlook that the previous three games had produced.

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

Leonard-Prapavessis
Bradley-Bokenfohr
Curadi-Wilson

Kasdorf

With Mark Miller and Travis Fulton still out to injuries and the Engineers coming off a four-point weekend at home, it wasn't a shock to see RPI put the same lineup out against Union as was dressed for the Cornell game.

The Engineers struck first, scoring first for the fourth game in a row on Drew Melanson's fifth goal of the year just 2:07 into the game. That lead lasted for only 27 seconds, however, as Union went down right away off the ensuing faceoff to tie things up at one.

Late in the first, shortly after coming out of the penalty box, Jacob Laliberte entered the Union zone with plenty of ice in front of him on the right wing, but he pulled up instead, allowing a couple of Union defenders to get back, and waited instead for wingmate Matt Neal to get into position. With the Dutchmen defenders getting in place, Laliberte put the puck behind them, threading it to Neal who one-timed it to the back of the cage for his fourth goal of the season.

RPI took the 2-1 lead into the second period, where things started to come unraveled mighty quickly. The Engineers were lucky not to give up the lead early in the period, getting stuck in their own end and repeatedly being unable to change personnel due to the long change of the second period (with both benches on the same side of the ice). The Dutchmen dominated possession and shots, but Jason Kasdorf looked very solid in front of his cage.

Well against the flow of play, the Engineers picked up a 3-1 lead with a little under seven minutes left in the middle frame. Luke Curadi took a big slap shot from the blue line that missed the net to the left, but the rebound off the end boards caromed to Melanson to the right of the net, and he deposited in a gaping cage for his second goal of the night.

The goal did absolutely nothing to change the flow of the game, however, as Union continued to win faceoffs, pick up loose pucks, and dig pucks out of the corners. RPI's inability to stay out of the box finally started catching up as well. Union scored on the power play with just under three minutes left in the period to cut the RPI lead to one, and heading into the third period, it was clear the Engineers were going to need a serious energy jolt in order to maintain their edge.

It didn't take long to realize that the second period would not be the aberration in this contest. 17 seconds into the third, Union had tied it, and a power play goal three minutes later put Union in front for the first time. From there, the floodgates opened as lethargic defensive play by the Engineers was added to the same woes they had been fighting in the second period. Two more Union goals were reviewed over the next six minutes - one was put in with a stick that was just below being a high stick, the other was initially called a glove save by Jason Kasdorf but later proved to have crossed into the goal. 8:58 into a period RPI had led entering, they trailed by three.

Kasdorf would be pulled from the net following Union's fifth goal of the period at 10:43, but literally none of the goals given up by the Engineers could be classified as being his fault. Screens, power plays, extended possessions in the RPI zone, and odd-man rushes simply added up, and he came out of the game if for no other reason than to keep his psyche fresh.

Union completed the scoring against Scott Diebold, who allowed one goal on two shots.

In the game's final minute, after Luke Curadi had been slashed, Jake Wood took out his frustrations on Union captain Charlie Vasaturo, who was hit from behind into the Union net. Wood received a major for hitting from behind and a game misconduct, but the league would later assess him a 2 game suspension, meaning he'll miss road games at Dartmouth and St. Lawrence. The Engineers, defending Mayor's Cup champions who had led heading into the final 20 minutes, departed without even as much as a whimper.

Despite the rough game there were a few bright spots. Kenny Gillespie picked up his first two collegiate points with assists on both of Melanson's goals. The Neal goal, and the pass from Laliberte, was probably the prettiest of the night. Four of the defensemen managed to have a plus rating for the night (we won't get into who the other two are - you can see for yourself in the box score anyway).

But regardless, the game wasn't completely meaningless. The good news is that it doesn't count in the league standings, but games against Union are never just throwaway outings. The challenge now for RPI is to put this awful performance behind them and focus on the final nine games of the regular season, the most crucial part of the stretch run is ahead. Despite the struggles this year, the Engineers find themselves in a good place for home ice in the first round at least, and potentially within striking distance of a lower-end first round bye position if they can get back to the form they had against Colgate and Cornell. Whether the Mayor's Cup represents another turning point in a season that has been full of them will help determine their fate.

Current ECAC Standings
1. Quinnipiac - 20 points (10-2-0)
2. St. Lawrence - 18 points (9-4-0)
3. Harvard - 18 points (8-3-2)
4. Clarkson - 16 points (7-4-2)
5. Colgate - 14 points (6-4-2)
6. RPI - 14 points (7-6-0)
7. Yale - 13 points (6-5-1)
8. Cornell - 12 points (6-6-0)
9. Dartmouth - 10 points (4-6-2)
10. Union - 9 points (4-7-1)
11. Princeton - 2 points (1-11-0)
12. Brown - 2 points (1-11-0)

By winning percentage
1. Quinnipiac (.833)
2. St. Lawrence (.692)
3. Harvard (.692)
4. Clarkson (.615)
5. Colgate (.583)
6. Yale (.542)
7. RPI (.538)
8. Cornell (.500)
9. Dartmouth (.417)
10. Union (.375)
11. Princeton (.083)
12. Brown (.083)

RPI vs. Union
Non-Conference Game - Times Union Center (Albany, NY)
1/27/15 - 7:30pm

RESULT: Union 8, RPI 3

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union

RECORD: 9-17-1 (7-6-0, 14pts)

Upcoming games
30 Jan - at Dartmouth
06 Feb - at St. Lawrence
07 Feb - at Clarkson
13 Feb - Brown
14 Feb - #16 Yale (Big Red Freakout!)

#HateUnionWeek

Yes, friends, it's that time of year again.

For the women, this week is going to tell us whether they've still got a ghost of a chance at extending their season by an extra week. The reality is that the Engineers are 6 points out of a playoff spot with 10 games left to play, and 9 points out of 7th. If they somehow manage to nab a playoff berth, they're probably not sticking around for long. That's just being realistic. But the goal right now still has to be that #8 spot, and if they can't collect 4 points against Union this weekend, the playoffs are going to be almost impossible to attain.

For the men, it's all about pride and bragging rights. Sure, we've got plenty already that come in a fashion that'll still be meaningful come March after having swept Union earlier in the year (boy that feels good to say). But remember how good winning the Mayor's Cup felt last season after being swept? Let's finish this, and complete the real sweep. They're saying the attendance could top 10,000 at the TU Center. They're not likely to see a repeat of the "FU at the TU" from last year, but they're likely to see yet another encounter between RPI and Union where the records don't matter.

Sure, the Mayor's Cup still looks like a glorified bowling trophy. But it's our glorified bowling trophy right now.

It's a battle for both teams for regional dominance. Let's lower the hammer.

(a few F-bombs are dropped in this song, in case you're at work)

Aftermath

The supplemental discipline came down from the league on Monday for the tussle at the TU Center on Saturday night, and it generated plenty of additional discussion - enough that another round of suspensions came down last night.

The ECAC did get some things right. The referees deserve credit for getting it right when they issued game DQs to Mat Bodie, Mike Zalewski, Eli Lichtenwald, and Luke Curadi. Each certainly was guilty of an offense that, by the book, warranted such a penalty. The league got it right by sanctioning Bodie an extra game considering he was the genesis of the whole thing, and by banning Bo Dolan for tomorrow's game since the RPI senior was pretty out of control coming off the bench.

For the life of me, after reviewing the videos, I can't figure out what exactly it was that Daniel Ciampini and Ryan Haggerty did during the whole mess that would have warranted a suspension. The worst thing Ciampini did seems to have been to pull Jake Wood's helmet off his head. But if that's all it takes, why not Brock Higgs for pulling Bodie's helmet off, or Mike Vecchione for pulling Bo Dolan's off?

As for Haggerty, there are only two things I can see - he was the first one off the bench to engage a Union player, but then again, he was also sized up and popped in the grill by Daniel Carr. If what Haggerty did was suspendable, where's Carr's suspension? The other is that he may have been taunting Rick Bennett after the majority of the blowup near the benches was over, he's seen on camera kind of waving Bennett away. That's... pretty thin.

I'm not saying that Higgs or Vecchione or Carr should have been suspended, mind you, I'm only making direct comparisons.

Seth Appert originally was not suspended for his actions when the league put out its supplemental discipline on Monday. That surprised us a little bit, we thought he'd get at least a game off. He did, after all, have to be restrained by his own players - while Bennett was going after him, he did seem to have an eye on going after Bennett. So the game that the league suspended him for yesterday was appropriate, but it should have been sent down on Monday in order to give the team enough time to properly prepare.

But the most glaring omission - originally - was the league's failure to tack any additional games onto the suspension handed down by Union College to Bennett. He struck an opposing student-athlete.

Mike Eidelbes from INCH wrote a good argument for a lengthy suspension being appropriate. He suggested that Bennett should have been suspended for the remainder of the season. That's not an exaggerated or overblown idea.

This isn't a personal thing against Rick Bennett by any stretch of the imagination. If all of this could simply be based on Bennett generally being a soft-spoken, nice guy (and he is), that no one got hurt, that he's genuinely remorseful for his actions (and he is), that Milos Bubela was wearing his helmet when he was struck, that he wasn't intending to hit Bubela (and he almost certainly wasn't), then yes, perhaps just the two-game suspension would have been fair enough.

But the basic description is difficult to swallow. A head coach threw a punch, and struck an opposing student-athlete. That's an extremely unconscionable action, no matter who's doing it, why, and whether it was intentional. Taking swings in the first place is a huge part of the problem.

The incident immediately conjured up thoughts of the 1978 Gator Bowl, the infamous incident in which legendary and long-time Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes was fired after punching Clemson's Charlie Bauman following an interception that basically clinched the game for Clemson. It called to mind Mark Morris' firing in 2002 by Clarkson for assaulting one of his own players in practice. Both of those incidents outline an important element - it simply is not OK for a coach to act with violence upon a student-athlete.

The caveats listed above are true. It wasn't an intentional move, but would it have been somehow better if he'd hit his likely target instead, Seth Appert? What if Bubela's helmet had come off at some point and instead of making contact with the helmet, he'd socked him right in the side of the head?

I like Rick Bennett as a person - I've had the opportunity twice to interview him and he seems like a nice guy. But coaches must be held to a higher standard. Having an equivalent penalty to that of the player on his team responsible for starting the whole conflagration isn't fitting of that higher standard.

I've never been sure exactly what the appropriate punishment was supposed to be. I've never thought termination was the appropriate response, considering the above caveats. But one weekend? The league originally missed an opportunity to reinforce the notion that coaches set an example for their team, and should be held to a higher standard. If the entire season was too much, you'd think a suspension that lasted at least through a couple of weekends, meaning a home and a road weekend in this case, might have been in order. Thankfully, even if it was a bit late, that appears to be the message the ECAC now sees fit to send.

Men's Hockey - Dartmouth and the Mayor's Cup (24/25 Jan)

In a weekend where a reeling team desperately needed a jumpstart, the RPI Engineers took steps to put the season back on track with a big pair of victories. The first win, a 4-2 victory against Dartmouth on Friday night, gave the Engineers two important ECAC points, while the second one, a 2-1 victory in the Mayor's Cup game against Union, finally got a monkey off the team's back and provided a solid upset victory that is likely to serve as some kind of turning point in the season, depending on the impact of the much talked about aftermath.

Dartmouth
Higgs-Zalewski-Haggerty
Laliberte-Bubela-Neal
Wood-Miller-Schroeder
Tinordi-Rogic-DeVito

Leboeuf-Leonard
Bradley-Dolan

Curadi-Bokenfohr

Diebold

A jumbling of the lines from the last time the Engineers were on the ice nearly two weeks prior was in the cards for RPI's first home game in over a month. The jumble created a pair of scoring lines and what Seth Appert called "two third lines." Craig Bokenfohr also made the lineup for just the second time this year.

The first period consisted mostly of a feeling out process for both teams, neither playing overly physical and neither contesting too many decent scoring opportunties. The period ended with the Engineers holding a 10-6 shot edge.

RPI got things going quickly in the second period with Ryan Haggerty snapping his goal-scoring drought with his first goal since December 7. He scored off the post and in on a one-timer in the slot from a pass by Brock Higgs to make it 1-0 with his 19th goal of the season.

From there the physical play picked up significantly on both sides, but it was RPI being called for all of the penalties, taking three penalties in a row (two to Johnny Rogic), but the Big Green power play was unable to convert on any of them.

About a minute after the second Rogic penalty ended, RPI made it 2-0 on a tic-tac-toe play. Haggerty, with the puck behind the RPI net, passed to Jacob Laliberte near the slot, and Laliberte one-touched a pass to Milos Bubela on the side of the cage. Bubela's one-timer hit a wide open net to double the RPI lead.

Three minutes later, Dartmouth scored shortly after a faceoff in the RPI zone with a shot from the point that went through a screen, forcing Diebold to dive too late to his left to stop the puck. That goal made it 2-1.

With the next goal crucial, RPI regained their two-goal edge a little under eight minutes into the third period as Matt Neal scored down low with his 10th goal of the season to make it 3-1 Engineers. But four minutes later, Dartmouth would get the goal back shortly after killing a penalty. With the penalized player streaking out of the box, the Big Green found him with a head-man pass, creating a breakaway that they scored to Diebold's left.

With Dartmouth's goaltender pulled late in the game, it looked like the Engineers were in for another nailbiting ending as the Big Green pushed hard for the tying goal. The pressure wasn't truly relieved until there were only about 10 seconds left as Mike Zalewski jumped on a loose puck and brought it down ice, getting an open look at the empty net before being hauled down from behind while coming up the boards. The referees, after initial consultation, awarded a penalty shot which was registered as an automatic goal since there was no goaltender in the net, sealing the win for the Engineers with about six seconds left in the game.

The victory snapped a six-game winless streak and a four-game losing streak for the Engineers, producing their first win since a 5-2 triumph over Princeton in early December.

Union
Higgs-Zalewski-Haggerty
Laliberte-Bubela-Neal
Wood-Miller-Schroeder
Tinordi-Rogic-DeVito

Leboeuf-Leonard
Bradley-Dolan

Curadi-Bokenfohr

Diebold

The challenge of one of the top-ranked teams in the nation, and the Engineers' most fierce rival, was next on neutral turf. The designated home team this year, RPI rolled with the same lineup on Saturday night that had procured victory on Friday.

The Engineers actually controlled much of the play in the first 20 minutes but, as can happen against a solid team like Union, ended up trailing 1-0 due to a spot error that was pounced upon. After an early penalty kill, RPI got a power play of their own and were looking fairly decent on that advantage until the puck squirted away and into the neutral zone behind all five members of the top power play unit, all forwards. Shayne Gostisbehere raced after the puck, which preceded him down ice and into the RPI zone. Diebold elected not to play the puck, and the Union junior took it behind the RPI net and wrapped it around and in without any challenge from Engineer skaters, making it 1-0 on a shorthanded goal.

Union appeared to come out of the locker room flat in the second period, and the Engineers pounced to capitalize, dominating possession in the Union zone before Bubela notched his second goal of the weekend about five minutes in to make it 1-1. For the next five minutes, it appeared that a 2-1 RPI lead was inevitable, so out of sorts were the Dutchmen on defense. Interestingly, a Union penalty to Matt Hatch seemed to be the spark that snapped the Dutchmen out of their funk, as the ensuing power play by the Engineers never got out of the gate, only once even gaining the attacking zone and never truly getting set up.

That kill, along with a pair of RPI penalties that created a tense 3-on-5 penalty killing situation for the Engineers, definitely swung all the momentum back in the Union direction, but Diebold and his defense stood strong through the onslaught, making 9 saves in the final 10 minutes of the second period to preserve the 1-1 tie.

The referees swallowed their whistles during the third period, though they didn't have much of an excuse to use them anyway in what was definitely turning into a solid back and forth battle between the rivals. Union appeared to mostly have the upperhand for the third period, but RPI was getting their own scoring opportunities from time to time as well. The breakthrough came with 3:38 left in regulation, as Zalewski scored his second goal of the weekend to give the Engineers a 2-1 lead somewhat against the flow of play.

Union wasted no time in pulling their goaltender, going with six skaters just over a minute later. The Dutchmen buzzed the RPI zone, looking for that tying goal, and the Engineers could scarcely move the puck out of the zone. The Engineers iced the puck a few times, but that was the best they seemed to be able to do. Scott Diebold continued coming up large, including making a diving glove save with just about 30 seconds left on the clock.

An icing call with 1.7 seconds left created one final chance in the RPI zone for Union, but Zalewski won the faceoff back into an empty corner to kill the rest of the clock and give the Engineers the weekend sweep, the Mayor's Cup, and their first victory over Union in 11 tries over the last three seasons.

There were other things that happened in the immediate interim, you may have heard about them.

The victory completed RPI's first weekend sweep since twin victories over Sacred Heart and BU in late October, and marked the Engineers' first win of the season that did not include a goal by Ryan Haggerty.

Other junk - Despite the rebound, the Engineers are only at .500, still not enough to garner any votes in the latest USCHO poll. Ranked ECAC teams include #3 Quinnipiac (idle, up one), #4 Union (beat Harvard and lost to RPI, down one), #11 Cornell (tied SLU and beat Clarkson, up one), #13 Yale (split with Brown, down three), #15 Clarkson (swept at Colgate/Cornell, down two), and #18 Colgate (swept Clarkson/SLU, previously unranked). No other ECAC teams picked up votes. Eight different ECAC teams have been ranked this season with the addition of Colgate, including all six New York teams. Other ranked teams on the RPI schedule include #1 Minnesota (no change with 44 of 50 first place votes), #2 Boston College (no change with 6 of 50 first place votes), #6 Ferris State (no change), and #16 Denver (no change). New Hampshire (7) and Mercyhurst (2) also received votes.

Mike Zalewski and Luke Curadi picked up game-disqualifications in the unpleasantness after the Mayor's Cup game was over, they will not be able to play this coming Friday. Supplemental discipline handed down by the ECAC on Monday will also make Ryan Haggerty and Bo Dolan ineligible on Friday.

At 19 goals, Haggerty is tied for 2nd in the nation with Boston College's Kevin Hayes. Hayes' teammate, Johnny Gaudreau, leads with 22. Haggerty is 11th in the nation in points per game (1.30), second in goals per game (0.83), and fifth in power-play goals with 8.

Jacob Laliberte has jumped into the top 20 in the nation in assists per game at 0.78.

Jake Wood has 53 penalty minutes this season, Brock Higgs has 49 and Mike Zalewski 47, all more than Milos Bubela last season, the team leader with 43. Wood leads a team that is currently 3rd in the nation in total penalty minutes per game (17.3).

The North Country trip beckons at one of the most difficult points in the season to go - when it's massively cold out. The far tougher game will come on Friday, against nationally ranked Clarkson with four regular starters serving a suspension. They will all be available on Saturday, against a struggling St. Lawrence squad.

ECAC Standings
1. Union - 20 points (10-2-0)
2. Colgate - 19 points (9-3-1)
3. Quinnipiac - 19 points (8-2-3)
4. Clarkson - 16 points (8-4-0)
5. Cornell - 16 points (6-3-4)
6. Yale - 13 points (5-4-3)
7. Brown - 11 points (5-6-1)
8. RPI - 11 points (4-5-3)
9. St. Lawrence - 7 points (2-7-3)
10. Harvard - 7 points (2-9-3)
11. Princeton - 6 points (3-9-0)
12. Dartmouth - 5 points (2-10-1)

Dartmouth at RPI
ECAC Game - Hobey Baker Memorial Rink (Princeton, NJ)
1/24/14 - 7:00pm

RESULT: RPI 4, Dartmouth 2

BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Albany Times Union

RECORD: 9-10-4 (4-5-3 ECAC, 11 pts)

RPI vs. #3 Union
Mayor's Cup Game - Times Union Center (Albany, NY)
1/25/14 - 7:30pm

RESULT: RPI 2, Union 1

BOX SCORES

College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union

Deadspin

RECORD: 10-10-4 (4-5-3 ECAC, 11 pts)

Upcoming games
31 Jan - at #15 Clarkson
01 Feb - at St. Lawrence
07 Feb - #13 Yale
08 Feb - Brown (Big Red Freakout!)
14 Feb - at #18 Colgate

A Breakdown of Discipline

Before too much time has gone by, and before we get to the actual hockey part of the weekend, here's what we saw on video in the already much-discussed blowup that took place at the end of the Mayor's Cup game in Albany on Saturday night.

The game itself was not televised, but it took place in front of a passionate (reported) crowd of 7,100 fans. Two fans and a member of the media caught enough video of what happened to be able to string together a solid narrative on how things transpired.

These are the three videos we've used to piece everything together:
Justin Andrews
Frank Charbonier
calvertthedad

Here's how it all appears to have gone down. I've tried to be as dispassionate as possible at what I was looking at, bearing in mind that there's no way to know what was being said on the ice.

--

Brock Higgs gained possession after a 6-on-5 sequence in the RPI zone as the waning seconds of the third period ticked down. He shot it down ice to kill more of the clock, causing an icing call after Union raced to the faceoff dots with 1.7 seconds remaining.

Mike Vecchione and Mike Zalewski squared off in the faceoff circle to Scott Diebold's left. The RPI setup was twofold. Plan A was for Zalewski to win the faceoff back into an empty corner, which would be enough to drain the remainder of the clock and win the game. Plan B, if Union won the draw, was to move the remaining four players lined up in the slot to cut down on shooting lanes and block any shots. For Union it was fairly straight forward - win the puck back to either Mat Bodie near the boards or Daniel Carr in the slot, who would then seek to whip a shot on net.

Zalewski won the draw back to the corner and basically stayed in position at the dot. To their credit, Max Novak and Vecchione didn't give up, as Novak streaked into the corner to try and grab the puck - it looked like his job from the start was to get behind Zalewski in case he won the draw in the first place - while Vecchione cut to the net to try and take a pass, but realistically there wasn't enough time to get that done. The horn sounded before Novak could get to the puck, giving the Engineers the 2-1 victory.

Higgs was lined up next to Novak, but his task was to cut down Mat Bodie's shooting options. Once the puck was dropped, he strode through the faceoff circle toward Bodie, and once he didn't see the puck coming backwards, he turned to see it over in the corner. Once he was facing away, Bodie hit him with a two-fisted cross-check to the side of the head. The hit didn't put Higgs down, and the RPI senior took some swipes at Bodie's helmet, pulling it off his head from the back on the second try. Bodie backed off after losing his lid, with Carr coming to his aid. Referee Chip McDonald stood in front of Higgs at that point to try and end things right there.

By this time, RPI players are coming off the bench to celebrate the victory, led by Johnny Rogic and Ryan Haggerty, making a beeline toward the crease as most teams do after any win. The initial Bodie-Higgs confrontation was playing out directly in the route. The next contact is made by Carr, who sized up Haggerty coming off the bench and gave him a shot right to the cage as RPI players behind Rogic began running into each other as Rogic skated to a halt in front of McDonald and Higgs.

Bo Dolan, meanwhile, maneuvered around Rogic and went after Bodie, who quickly had two linesmen separating him from most of the Engineers. Carr put Haggerty in a headlock and put him down on the ice, and dominos started falling from there. Jake Wood arrived to try and pull Carr off Haggerty, and that earned him a glancing blow from Daniel Ciampini, who was joining the fray. That then got Jimmy DeVito involved as he put a blindside hit on Ciampini. Vecchione then went after DeVito, followed by Dolan who was tracking down the Union freshman. Dolan pulled Vecchione away, toward the far corner away from the benches, trying to fight him. Dolan tossed his gloves off as Vecchione pulled his helmet off, beckoning for Vecchione to come at him. Nothing really came of it as referee Scott Whittemore came over to shut down the confrontation.

About the same time as the Dolan-Vecchione flareup, while Ciampini was near the blue line pulling Wood's helmet off his head and then getting in a shoving match with Guy Leboeuf, Bodie was skating through the area and got grabbed by Zalewski, who initially looked to be simply trying to keep Bodie from joining the Ciampini-Wood dustup. The two glided out towards center ice, eventually with Zalewski dropping his stick and his gloves in response to some heated shoving going back and forth as they jawed at each other. Eventually, Bodie grabbed Zalewski by the cage and ripped his helmet off his head, which was followed by a couple of punches being thrown by Zalewski. Bodie than let go of Zalewski and shoved him, ending the confrontation.

Shayne Gostisbehere eventually grabbed DeVito shortly after his hit on Vecchione and pulled him over by the penalty box area, they seemed to mostly grab each others' jerseys and had a minor shoving match later on.

Meanwhile, as a scuffle started in the bench area between the coaches, Luke Curadi was standing next to Cole Ikkala watching the growing confrontation near the RPI bench. At one point, Curadi turns to Ikkala and gives him a hard shove, followed by a second one after Ikkala started moving toward the coach battle. This draws the ire of Carr and Novak nearby, who both shove Curadi backwards. Curadi and Novak get into a shoving match, and are joined by Eli Lichtenwald and Matt Wilkins, though Wilkins quickly returns to the benches near the coaches flareup. Lichtenwald begins doing battle with Curadi after Matt Tinordi and Charlie Vasaturo come and pull Novak off of Curadi. While this is going on, Curtis Leonard and Kevin Sullivan appear to be engaged in a shouting match, separated by Chip McDonald.

Curadi becomes the aggressor against Lichtenwald, who grabs Curadi in a bear hug shortly after the RPI junior delivers a gloved right to the Union freshman. Curadi then drags Lichtenwald down to the ice, they wrestle on the ground as RPI and Union players surround them until linesman Joe Testa comes and pulls Curadi off of Lichtenwald.

The Rick Bennett incident appears to start shortly after Bodie and Zalewski push away from each other. Seth Appert stepped off the RPI bench and started walking toward center ice. As he stood on the red line, near Curadi (ahead of his shoving of Ikkala) gesturing to his team, Rick Bennett exits the Union bench and walks briskly toward Appert. Bennett seems to be shouting and animated as he approaches, making a gesture with his right arm and then pointing at Appert with his left. As he reaches grasping distance he shoves Appert with his right arm. Appert looks like he's semi-retaliating with his left arm as Milos Bubela and Craig Bokenfohr arrive to push him away from Bennett. Linesman Glen Cooke tries to restrain Bennett.

Bennett maneuvered around Cooke and continued to advance toward Appert, who was being protected by Bubela in front of him and Bokenfohr behind him. Haggerty was also nearby. As Scott Whittemore steps in to try and provide additional barrier, Bennett grabs Bokenfohr's jersey as he tries to get to Appert. At this point RPI assistant coach Kirk MacDonald is on the ice and trying to keep Haggerty away from the situation and help Whittemore keep Bennett away from Appert. A Union assistant coach, John Ronan, is also trying to restrain Bennett as a mess of players from both sides behind the situation begins reacting to the twin issues of the coach melee and the Curadi-Ikkala incident nearby.

Bennett throws a right hand that hits Milos Bubela in the side of his cage, and MacDonald begins furiously shouting at Bennett. Ronan appears to start trying to get past Whittemore while gesturing to MacDonald. An unknown RPI assistant (or potentially, a player who was not in the game) restrains MacDonald near the bench, and Bennett is pushed back toward the Union bench. Haggerty then stood by while Bokenfohr and another unknown RPI assistant continued to restrain Appert, who was gesturing toward Bennett during the entire affair. At one point, Appert grabbed Bubela by the bottom of the jersey, but Bubela skated over toward the rest of the team near center ice dispersing from the Curadi-Lichtenwald fight.

Cooler heads appear to be prevailing at this point as Cooke and Whittemore get Bennett well away from Appert, but the two coaches are still clearly shouting at each other. Unknown RPI assistant (or player) #1, who had been restraining MacDonald, gets onto the ice. Cooke leaves the situation and heads toward center ice. Bokenfohr skates toward center ice but hesistates as Bennett walks around the Whittemore and Ronan and continues barking.

Whittemore continued to stay in Bennett's path, trying to keep the situation from flaring up again. The unknown RPI assistant (or player) then has a few choice words and shoves Bennett with his left hand. That redirects Bennett's ire toward the assistant, and Whittemore restrains Bennett again as the Union coach tries to reach for the URA(P). MacDonald steps in again, and Appert grabs URA(P), pulling him away from the situation before giving him a hard shove. RPI assistant Nolan Graham pushes MacDonald away from the flareup as Ronan and Whittemore do the same with Bennett.

Appert then sort of nudged Haggerty toward center ice as he began walking in the direction. The Engineers began their two-minute delayed celebration, and the fisticuffs were pretty much over. Union began shuffling toward the hallway to the locker room. The RPI coaches stood on the ice, outside the bench, having a discussion, which was joined by linesman Joe Testa.

Wilkins, Michael Pontarelli, and Dillon Pieri all appeared to reverse and try to line up for a handshake, but they were rebuffed by Whittemore, who held his hand out toward them while shaking his head, pointing back toward the Union bench. They turned around, but Bodie then came back out on the ice, holding his hand out and talking to Chip McDonald, who had been standing at center ice since the fracas broke. He seems to have been asking about the handshake and McDonald did nod his head at one point.

Both teams lined up for the handshake, separated by Testa, but Whittemore and Cooke skated back to center ice, and after all four referees conferred, Testa appeared to wave Union back to the locker room. Bennett stood between the line and the bench making a similar gesture, but it's not exactly clear who is making the call. The referees do appear to gesture the team back to the locker room before making eye contact with Bennett. The handshake line dissipated, and Union returned to the locker room ahead of the trophy presentation.

Do We Need a Miracle?

Let's be honest. Union has RPI figured out pretty good. They've got their system and they play it pretty well against the Tute and the Engineers haven't figured them out nearly as well despite all the opportunities they've had.

RPI is not playing overly well right now. Even with the 4-2 victory against Dartmouth finally ending the long schneid, if you were at the game last night you know you saw a team that didn't exactly look ready to take on a program that has lost only once in the last 15 games.

It's obvious from player interviews and on-ice demeanor that Union treats beating RPI as the end-all, be-all. Perhaps we may want to start acting in kind if we want to get this done.

No one thinks the Engineers have much of a chance. This kind of a speech does seem to be in order.

Men's Hockey - vs. Union (26 Jan)

Even when you're playing well, you can still be stopped - that much we've learned over the last couple of months when it pertains to the Engineers. On Saturday, RPI played well for the most part against a team that certainly was not playing well largely speaking, but when it came to going up against one of the better teams on the power play and the penalty kill in the nation, the difference was made, and despite playing a tight game for much of the night, a questionable late penalty provided the opening for Union to pick up a 3-2 win in the inaugural Mayor's Cup game.

Union
Lee-Laliberte-Haggerty
Zalewski-Higgs-Bubela
Neal-McGowan-Tinordi
Rogic-Miller-O'Grady

Leonard-Bailen
Leboeuf-Bradley
Curadi-Dolan

Kasdorf

Greg Burgdoerfer came out of the lineup for Brock Higgs, and essentially all of the centers were juggled to make an accommodation for it.

Guy Lebeouf's cross-checking penalty two minutes into the game put Union on the power play for the first time, and they delivered the game's first goal with a shot from the point that glanced off Jason Kasdorf's glove and into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. That was about the only high point for the Dutchmen during the first period, as RPI controlled the puck well after going down on the scoreboard. Troy Grosenick made the difference, stopping all 16 shots that he saw in the first period, keeping Union ahead despite the 16-7 shot differential.

RPI got themselves on the board quickly in the second as Ryan Haggerty notched his 10th goal of the year just 16 seconds into the period to tie the game up. After that, things settled in with both teams getting plenty of possession opportunities in the attacking zone, but fewer decent scoring opportunities both ways.

The third period was where things started to unravel. Early in the period, icing was called against the Engineers despite a Union player choosing not to play the puck in the neutral zone. The ensuing faceoff (after an RPI timeout) was won by the Dutchmen, and just a few seconds later resulted in Union's second goal of the contest.

The Engineers didn't give up, but the power play was very ineffective all night long thanks to some good penalty killing by Union. RPI had two opportunities on the man advantage after going down 2-1, but they could not convert on either, going 0-for-5 on the evening.

RPI was fortunate not to go down a man or even worse just a few minutes after falling behind, as an Engineer basically assaulted Grosenick behind the play, shaking up the goaltender for a little bit. Nothing was called.

Mark McGowan's fifth goal of the year, and second in as many games, lifted RPI back into a tie at just the right time, putting the score at 2-2 with just under five minutes to play. Things started shifting down toward the Union end just a little following the goal, and as time ticked down it started to appear as though overtime was inevitable.

Then, against play, Union brought the puck down ice. Nick Bailen, marking the man with the puck, shoved him down at the blue line, and was whistled for interference despite the fact that the puck was sitting at both men's feet. The penalty came with 1:23 left in regulation, and put Union in exactly the position they wanted to be in late in the game - on special teams. Just under a minute later, with 37 seconds left until overtime, the Dutchmen scored their second power play tally of the game, lifting them to a 3-2 victory - though RPI nearly scored on a late flurry off the ensuing faceoff.

Other junk - Quinnipiac very nearly earned the #1 ranking in the nation this week, as it is they are ranked #2 with 22 first place votes after defeating UConn on Tuesday. Other ranked ECAC teams include #8 Yale (beat Cornell and lost to Colgate, no change), #16 Dartmouth (lost to SLU and beat Clarkson, down four), and #18 Union (beat Harvard and RPI, up one). Also receiving votes were Colgate (19) and Cornell (5). Other ranked teams on the RPI schedule are #3 New Hampshire (up one), #11 Boston University (no change), #12 St. Cloud State (up four), and #15 Minnesota State (down one). Also receiving votes was Ferris State (42).

RPI has had the most difficult schedule in the ECAC (and 12th most difficult in the nation) according to KRACH, but the way forward from here is significantly easier than it has been on the whole so far. The Engineers will not leave the state of New York until March at the earliest (if at all), and face only two teams currently ranked nationally the rest of the way - Dartmouth and Yale, both at home. That could be beneficial going forward, especially since RPI has been playing some very good hockey of late, even in defeat.

Most immediately, it's Freakout! weekend, which produces two games RPI will need to bounce back into a home-ice playoff spot. Sitting in 11th but only 4 points out of 5th, a game against last-place Harvard at home is followed by Freakout! against nationally ranked but also struggling Dartmouth. For the Engineers, the time is now to make a move.

ECAC Standings
1. Quinnipiac - 23 points (11-0-1)
2. Yale - 17 points (8-4-1)
3. Dartmouth - 15 points (7-5-1)
4. Union - 15 points (6-4-3)
5. Princeton - 13 points (5-4-3)
6. Colgate - 11 points (5-6-1)
7. St. Lawrence - 11 points (4-5-3)
8. Clarkson - 10 points (4-6-2, 0 GD)
9. Cornell - 10 points (4-6-2, -6 GD)
10. Brown - 10 points (3-6-4)
11. RPI - 9 points (3-6-3)
12. Harvard - 6 points (3-11-0)

#19 Union vs. RPI
Non-Conference Game - Times Union Center (Albany, NY)
1/26/13 - 7:30pm

RESULT: Union 3, RPI 2

BOX SCORES

College Hockey Stats
USCHO

RECAPS

RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union

RECORD: 8-11-5 (3-6-3 ECAC, 9 points)

Upcoming games
01 Feb - Harvard
02 Feb - #16 Dartmouth (Big Red Freakout!)
08 Feb - at St. Lawrence
09 Feb - at Clarkson
15 Feb - Brown

Dutch Oven

There's been a little bit of complaining about the timing of this year's non-conference game against Union - some complaining that it's still going on. That can pretty much cease, folks. First off, the non-conference game isn't going anywhere. Not sure if you've noticed, but it's been in place in some fashion since 2006 and before that it existed for a few years as well between 1996 and 2000, so... enough already. It's a local rivalry and whereas it used to be a joke, now it means something and it's only for the benefit of college hockey in the area now that Union sucks less than they used to. OK?

And yeah, we're going to rag on the Mayor's Cup because the physical trophy is probably the most generic thing ever, no one cared about the last "trophy" these teams played for (I bet most of you didn't even realize there was such a thing, or could name it) and no one is probably going to care about this one, least of which the players who have never needed a reason to get up for RPI-Union, but at least they're trying to market this game to the general public, which are the ones who need it marketed. So in that spirit, game on.

The Albany Devils are taking on their rivals in an afternoon game at the TU Center as the precursor to RPI-Union. Compare attendance accordingly and then understand why this game needs a future.

It worked out perfectly, by the way, that the non-conference game ends up being the same weekend as the women's home-and-home against the Dutchwomen. These are a couple of must wins for the Engineers, and considering that they lost to them for the first time in Division I back in October during their non-conference game. Then again, the Dutchwomen have been... treated poorly in the last couple of weeks, so it's time for RPI to strike while the iron is how. They're playing well, Union isn't, and these are four points the Engineers will want when they're counting them up at the end of the season and finding out if they get to go to the playoffs.

Two pump-ups for you this weekend due to the staggered start, and due to the fact that there wasn't much we felt the need to talk about this week. Enjoy the lame homemade video that goes with it (though it gets an A for effort).

Behold the Majesty of the Mayor's Cup

Presented without (further) commentary.

Captions welcome (and highly encouraged), both in the comments below and on Twitter.

Photo shamelessly ripped off from @slapschotts.