It was a bit of a rough welcome to 2016 for RPI this weekend. Playing their first games in a month, the Engineers dropped a 3-1 decision to Mercyhurst on Saturday before scratching out a 2-2 tie on Sunday despite being heavily outshot and blowing a 2-0 lead.
Friday
Horwood/Gruschow/Thomas
Rooney/Tomlinson/Mankey
Grigsby/Hylewa/Tremblay
Orzechowski
Hansen/Godin
Behounek/Banks
Kimmerle/Renn
Selander
Shayna Tomlinson's goal early in the second period tied the game at one, but Mercyhurst picked up two more goals afterward en route to a 3-1 victory over RPI on Saturday afternoon. Lovisa Selander had 19 saves in the loss.
Jenna Dingeldein scored at 15:34 of the first period to give the homestanding Lakers a 1-0 lead, getting the puck from Megan Whiddon behind the net and putting it past Selander.
Tomlinson's goal came just 1:20 into the second period, tying the game and giving the Engineers some momentum. However a pair of penalties on the Engineers slowed things down and RPI finished with only three shots in the middle frame. Instead it was Mercyhurst taking control, with Sarah Hine scoring at 14:09 to retake the lead for Mercyhurst.
Whiddon added a goal to hear earlier assist at 1:44 of the third, putting the Lakers ahead by a 3-1 tally which would hold up as the final score in the first game of the weekend pair.
Saturday
Rooney/Tomlinson/Mankey
Horwood/Gruschow/Thomas
Grigsby/Hylwa/Tremblay
Orzechowski
Kimmerle/Renn
Hansen/Godin
Behounek/Banks
Selander
Despite being more thoroughly outshot (38-18) than they were the day before, RPI managed to cling to a 2-2 tie after blowing an early 2-0 lead over Mercyhurst. Lovisa Selander earned third star honors with a 36-save effort, while Mercyhurst netminder Sarah McDonnell picked up the first star with 16 saves, coming into the game in relief of Jessica Convery after RPI's two early goals. Katie Rooney was the second star with a goal and an assist.
That early 2-0 lead was opened up by RPI less than five minutes into the game, with Rooney scoring 2:45 in and Mari Mankey adding a tally at 4:38. Shanya Tomlinson assisted on Rooney's goal, while Rooney assisted on Mankey's - the RPI top line for the night combining for all the points the Engineers would earn, after doing the same the afternoon before.
The 2-0 lead didn't survive the first period, as Dingeldein cut the lead to 2-1 at 11:06 before Samantha Fieseler tied it up at 16:59.
An extended power play, including some 5-on-3 time, didn't prove fruitful for the Engineers in the second, and both the third period and overtime passed without penalties or scoring. The Engineers were outshot 9-4 in the third period and 5-1 in overtime.
It's nothing but league play for RPI from here on out, with 14 straight ECAC contests remaining as the Engineers push to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2013. But the road won't be an easy one, as it starts out with the current top two teams in the league.
First up on that list is red-hot Quinnipiac, riding a 10-game winning streak and 13-game unbeaten streak, good for the fourth spot in the national poll, while things won't get much easier against a Princeton team hovering just outside the top 10, rocking an eight-game winning streak of their own. Those teams will visit the Field House for matchups on 7pm Friday and 4pm Saturday respectively.
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RPI at Mercyhurst
Non-Conference Game - Mercyhurst Ice Center (Erie, PA)
1/2/16 - 3pm
Mercyhurst 3, RPI 1
BOX SCORES:
RPI: http://www.rpiathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?path=whock&id=5195
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1516/boxes/wmrcren1.j02
RECAPS:
RPI: http://www.rpiathletics.com/news/2016/1/2/WICE_0102161338.aspx?path=whock
Mercyhurst: http://www.hurstathletics.com/news/2016/1/2/WHOCK_0102160129.aspx?path=whockey
RECORD: 5-10-2 (3-4-1 ECAC)
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RPI at Mercyhurst
Non-Conference Game - Mercyhurst Ice Center (Erie, PA)
1/3/16 - 1pm
RPI 2, Mercyhurst 2 (OT)
BOX SCORES:
RPI: http://www.rpiathletics.com/boxscore.aspx?path=whock&id=5196
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1516/boxes/wmrcren1.j03
RECAPS:
RPI: http://www.rpiathletics.com/news/2016/1/3/WICE_0103163909.aspx?path=whock
Mercyhurst: http://www.hurstathletics.com/news/2016/1/3/WHOCK_0103160107.aspx?path=whockey
RECORD: 5-10-3 (3-4-1 ECAC)
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ECAC Standings
1. Quinnipiac - 20 pts (9-1-2) (.833)
2. Princeton - 15 pts (7-4-1) (.625)
3. Harvard - 11 pts (5-3-1) (.611)
4. Dartmouth - 10 pts (4-3-2) (.556)
5t. Colgate - 8 pts (2-1-4) (.571)
5t. Clarkson - 8 pts (3-3-2) (.500)
5t. St. Lawrence - 8 pts (4-4-0) (.500)
8t. Yale - 7 pts (3-4-1) (.438)
8t. RPI - 7 pts (3-4-1) (.438)
10. Cornell - 6 pts (2-3-2) (.429)
11t. Brown - 2 pts (1-7-0) (.125)
11t. Union - 2 pts (0-6-2) (.125)
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Upcoming Schedule
Jan. 8 - Quinnipiac (7pm)
Jan. 9 - Princeton (4pm)
Jan. 15 - Union (3pm)
Jan. 16 - at Union (3pm)
Showing posts with label mercyhurst. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mercyhurst. Show all posts
Monday, January 4, 2016
Monday, November 25, 2013
Men's Hockey - at Mercyhurst (22/23 Nov)
Road splits are usually acceptable, especially in league play, where averaging a split on the road and better at home is usually going to be enough to finish a team in the top four in the ECAC. A road split against an Atlantic Hockey team, if you're going to be one of those teams in the top four at least, is a lot less desirable, especially when you play especially poorly in the game where you lose. Mercyhurst may be expected to be one of the best teams in Atlantic Hockey this season, but the split the Engineers picked up in Erie still stings. Even though two of the goals on Friday night were empty-netters to account for the 5-2 loss, it was still a very rough game for the Engineers, even with their mirror-like 5-2 bounceback the next night.
Friday
Tinordi-Higgs-Rogic
Neal-Laliberte-Schroeder
Zalewski-Miller-Bubela
Fulton-McGowan-Bourbonnais
Leonard-Bradley
Saturday
Neal-Higgs-Haggerty
Wood-Rogic-Tinordi
Zalewski-Miller-Bubela
Laliberte, Bourbonnais
Leboeuf-Leonard
Curadi-Hampton
Bradley-Dolan
Bokenfohr
RPI rolled an unusual 11-forward, 7-defenseman look on Saturday, with Zach Schroeder, Mark McGowan, Travis Fulton, and Parker Reno coming out of the lineup and Ryan Haggerty, Jake Wood, Guy Leboeuf, and Craig Bokenfohr entering.
The returning players wasted no time in making up for their absences, as Leboeuf notched his third goal of the year three minutes into the game to put RPI up 1-0, then later in the period Haggerty upped his national goal scoring lead with his 14th of the year to make it 2-0 heading into the first break.
The lethargy looked like it was coming back in the second, as the Engineers registered just three shots on goal in the period, against 13 for Mercyhurst. The Lakers did score twice in the second period, bookending Haggerty's second of the night and 15th of the year (on the power play), the latter of which came in the waning moments of the second to cut the RPI lead to 3-2, a goal that looked like it could be a momentum swinger given the Engineers' difficulties and the Lakers' opportunism.
An early penalty to Mercyhurst allowed the Engineers to settle back in, however, and they turned the offense back on, peppering 15 shots in the third, two of which hit paydirt as Curtis Leonard notched his first goal of the year at 8:05 and Jacob Laliberte hitting his 3rd of the season at 13:50, both at even strength, to make it a 5-2 RPI edge. Scott Diebold made 23 saves on 25 shots in the game to pick up his 6th win of the season and salvage the weekend split for a team still striving to put together a complete 60 minutes of top-level hockey.
Other junk - For the second straight week, the Engineers dropped in the USCHO poll by four spaces, moving this time from #14 to #18 ahead of their idle week, where they are tied with Minnesota-Duluth. Other ranked ECAC teams this week are #5 Quinnipiac (split with Princeton, down one), #9 Yale (beat Colgate, lost to Cornell, no change), #10 Clarkson (idle, up one), #14 Cornell (swept Brown/Yale, up four), and #15 Union (idle, up two). St. Lawrence (3) also received votes. Other ranked teams on the RPI schedule include #1 Minnesota (no change, with just 22 first-place votes, fewer than #2 St. Cloud State, who they beat for the top spot by 1 vote), #6 Ferris State (up four, with one first place vote), #7 Boston College (no change), and #20 New Hampshire (no change). Boston University (14) and Denver (13) also received votes.
With two more goals on the weekend, Ryan Haggerty extends his national lead in total goals to 15, his nearest competitor for that title is Boston College junior Johnny Gaudreau, who has 12. Although Haggerty's goals per game total has slipped a bit - as was to be expected - he still leads the nation there with 1.15 per contest, Robert Morris junior Cody Wydo is the only other player in the nation with at least one goal per game with 11 in 11 games. Haggerty's 7 power play goals is also tops in the country, he is trailed by Northern Michigan senior Stephan Vigier with 6, then a whole slew of players who are tied for third with 4.
Haggerty is 4th in the nation in points per game at 1.54, Brock Higgs is tied for 27th in that category with 1.21. Haggerty's 20 points is tied for third nationally, trailing Gaudreau and SLU senior Greg Carey, tied with Quinnipiac freshman Sam Anas.
The Engineers are idle for Thanksgiving weekend, they return to ECAC play in two weeks hosting national runners-up Quinnipiac and then Princeton in a pair of key league matchups, the final two of the 2013 calendar year for the Engineers, who are in need of league points after dropping five of the last eight of them.
ECAC Standings
1. Quinnipiac - 13 points (6-1-1)
2. Union - 10 points (5-1-0)
3. Colgate - 10 points (5-3-0)
4. Cornell - 9 points (4-3-1)
5. Clarkson - 8 points (4-2-0)
6. Yale - 8 points (3-1-2)
7. St. Lawrence - 6 points (2-2-2)
8. RPI - 6 points (2-3-2)
9. Harvard - 5 points (2-4-1)
10. Princeton - 4 points (2-6-0)
11. Brown - 3 points (1-4-1)
12. Dartmouth - 0 points (0-6-0)
By winning percentage
1. Union - .833
2. Quinnipiac - .812
3. Clarkson - .667
4. Yale - .667
5. Colgate - .625
6. Cornell - .562
7. St. Lawrence - .500
8. RPI - .429
9. Harvard - .357
10. Princeton - .250
11. Brown - .250
12. Dartmouth - .000
#14 RPI at Mercyhurst
Non-Conference Game - Mercyhurst Ice Center (Erie, PA)
11/22/13 - 7:00pm
RESULT: Mercyhurst 5, RPI 2
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
Upcoming games
06 Dec - #5 Quinnipiac
07 Dec - Princeton
13 Dec - Denver
14 Dec - Denver
15 Dec - US Under-18 Team (exhibition)
Tinordi-Higgs-Rogic
Neal-Laliberte-Schroeder
Zalewski-Miller-Bubela
Fulton-McGowan-Bourbonnais
Leonard-Bradley
Curadi-Reno
Hampton-Dolan
Hampton-Dolan
Diebold
A number of changes came to the RPI lineup on Friday night, not all of them based on injury or poor play. Jake Wood and Guy Leboeuf, both of whom picked up bad penalties against Union on Saturday night the previous week, were out of the lineup, while Ryan Haggerty had a legitimate excuse for not being in the lineup - a death in the family had him home in Connecticut, and his flight to Erie was canceled, so he did not arrive in time to suit up.
Regardless of the lineup, RPI certainly came out of the gate flat and paid for it four-and-a-half minutes in by giving up the first goal of the contest to the homestanding Lakers. The Engineers got things straightened out enough to take the lead into the first intermission, however, as the first collegiate goals for defensemen Phil Hampton and Chris Bradley, coming at 8:08 and 17:30 respectively, put RPI ahead. Hampton's goal came just one second after RPI's first power play of the game had expired.
Unfortunately, the Engineers' flat play that started the first period would return in the second period, and it never seemed to go away. Despite gaining the first power play of the second period, RPI managed just five shots on goal in the middle stanza. Meanwhile, Mercyhurst scored the tying goal about 13 minutes into the second on one of 15 shots they took during that same period.
Despite the rough play from a lethargic Engineers squad, the score remained tied until there were just five minutes left in the game. As a hooking penalty to Bo Dolan expired, Mercyhurst took the lead back, putting RPI in a hole that would only get worse with the extra skater, as the Lakers added empty net goals at 18:41 and 19:42 to ice things up, 5-2. Although RPI was certainly in the game on the scoreboard until very late, this was one of those rare occasions where the inflated final tally from the empty netters may have actually better described the flow of the game.
A number of changes came to the RPI lineup on Friday night, not all of them based on injury or poor play. Jake Wood and Guy Leboeuf, both of whom picked up bad penalties against Union on Saturday night the previous week, were out of the lineup, while Ryan Haggerty had a legitimate excuse for not being in the lineup - a death in the family had him home in Connecticut, and his flight to Erie was canceled, so he did not arrive in time to suit up.
Regardless of the lineup, RPI certainly came out of the gate flat and paid for it four-and-a-half minutes in by giving up the first goal of the contest to the homestanding Lakers. The Engineers got things straightened out enough to take the lead into the first intermission, however, as the first collegiate goals for defensemen Phil Hampton and Chris Bradley, coming at 8:08 and 17:30 respectively, put RPI ahead. Hampton's goal came just one second after RPI's first power play of the game had expired.
Unfortunately, the Engineers' flat play that started the first period would return in the second period, and it never seemed to go away. Despite gaining the first power play of the second period, RPI managed just five shots on goal in the middle stanza. Meanwhile, Mercyhurst scored the tying goal about 13 minutes into the second on one of 15 shots they took during that same period.
Despite the rough play from a lethargic Engineers squad, the score remained tied until there were just five minutes left in the game. As a hooking penalty to Bo Dolan expired, Mercyhurst took the lead back, putting RPI in a hole that would only get worse with the extra skater, as the Lakers added empty net goals at 18:41 and 19:42 to ice things up, 5-2. Although RPI was certainly in the game on the scoreboard until very late, this was one of those rare occasions where the inflated final tally from the empty netters may have actually better described the flow of the game.
Saturday
Neal-Higgs-Haggerty
Wood-Rogic-Tinordi
Zalewski-Miller-Bubela
Laliberte, Bourbonnais
Leboeuf-Leonard
Curadi-Hampton
Bradley-Dolan
Bokenfohr
Diebold
RPI rolled an unusual 11-forward, 7-defenseman look on Saturday, with Zach Schroeder, Mark McGowan, Travis Fulton, and Parker Reno coming out of the lineup and Ryan Haggerty, Jake Wood, Guy Leboeuf, and Craig Bokenfohr entering.
The returning players wasted no time in making up for their absences, as Leboeuf notched his third goal of the year three minutes into the game to put RPI up 1-0, then later in the period Haggerty upped his national goal scoring lead with his 14th of the year to make it 2-0 heading into the first break.
The lethargy looked like it was coming back in the second, as the Engineers registered just three shots on goal in the period, against 13 for Mercyhurst. The Lakers did score twice in the second period, bookending Haggerty's second of the night and 15th of the year (on the power play), the latter of which came in the waning moments of the second to cut the RPI lead to 3-2, a goal that looked like it could be a momentum swinger given the Engineers' difficulties and the Lakers' opportunism.
An early penalty to Mercyhurst allowed the Engineers to settle back in, however, and they turned the offense back on, peppering 15 shots in the third, two of which hit paydirt as Curtis Leonard notched his first goal of the year at 8:05 and Jacob Laliberte hitting his 3rd of the season at 13:50, both at even strength, to make it a 5-2 RPI edge. Scott Diebold made 23 saves on 25 shots in the game to pick up his 6th win of the season and salvage the weekend split for a team still striving to put together a complete 60 minutes of top-level hockey.
With two more goals on the weekend, Ryan Haggerty extends his national lead in total goals to 15, his nearest competitor for that title is Boston College junior Johnny Gaudreau, who has 12. Although Haggerty's goals per game total has slipped a bit - as was to be expected - he still leads the nation there with 1.15 per contest, Robert Morris junior Cody Wydo is the only other player in the nation with at least one goal per game with 11 in 11 games. Haggerty's 7 power play goals is also tops in the country, he is trailed by Northern Michigan senior Stephan Vigier with 6, then a whole slew of players who are tied for third with 4.
Haggerty is 4th in the nation in points per game at 1.54, Brock Higgs is tied for 27th in that category with 1.21. Haggerty's 20 points is tied for third nationally, trailing Gaudreau and SLU senior Greg Carey, tied with Quinnipiac freshman Sam Anas.
The Engineers are idle for Thanksgiving weekend, they return to ECAC play in two weeks hosting national runners-up Quinnipiac and then Princeton in a pair of key league matchups, the final two of the 2013 calendar year for the Engineers, who are in need of league points after dropping five of the last eight of them.
ECAC Standings
1. Quinnipiac - 13 points (6-1-1)
2. Union - 10 points (5-1-0)
3. Colgate - 10 points (5-3-0)
4. Cornell - 9 points (4-3-1)
5. Clarkson - 8 points (4-2-0)
6. Yale - 8 points (3-1-2)
7. St. Lawrence - 6 points (2-2-2)
8. RPI - 6 points (2-3-2)
9. Harvard - 5 points (2-4-1)
10. Princeton - 4 points (2-6-0)
11. Brown - 3 points (1-4-1)
12. Dartmouth - 0 points (0-6-0)
By winning percentage
1. Union - .833
2. Quinnipiac - .812
3. Clarkson - .667
4. Yale - .667
5. Colgate - .625
6. Cornell - .562
7. St. Lawrence - .500
8. RPI - .429
9. Harvard - .357
10. Princeton - .250
11. Brown - .250
12. Dartmouth - .000
#14 RPI at Mercyhurst
Non-Conference Game - Mercyhurst Ice Center (Erie, PA)
11/22/13 - 7:00pm
RESULT: Mercyhurst 5, RPI 2
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECORD: 6-5-2 (2-3-2 ECAC, 6 pts)
#14 RPI at Mercyhurst
Non-Conference Game - Mercyhurst Ice Center (Erie, PA)
11/23/13 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 5, Mercyhurst 2
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
Non-Conference Game - Mercyhurst Ice Center (Erie, PA)
11/23/13 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 5, Mercyhurst 2
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECORD: 7-5-2 (2-3-2 ECAC, 6 pts)
Upcoming games
06 Dec - #5 Quinnipiac
07 Dec - Princeton
13 Dec - Denver
14 Dec - Denver
15 Dec - US Under-18 Team (exhibition)
Friday, November 22, 2013
Show No Mercy
Last year's series against Mercyhurst came when RPI was at absolute rock bottom. They'd lost five games in a row and were winless in seven. Two of them were bad losses to Union. The last two were win 4-0 losses on the road to Dartmouth and Harvard, the latter of which included a "message sending" game in which a number of players were healthy scratches.
Then, the Lakers. A weekend before Thanksgiving. Two wins heading into a two week break for the holiday. It was the start of a 5-2-2 stretch through New Year's, the start of a fire that eventually led to a 2nd place finish in the ECAC for a team that was 0-4-0 in league play at that point. The Saturday game against Mercyhurst was the first start for a young goaltender named Jason Kasdorf, who made 30 saves on 31 shots.
Let us hope that, for this year's version of the Engineers, their rock bottom is now - because where they are now, as rough as last weekend was, is quite far ahead of where they were this time last year.
If nothing else, the hijinks that ended Saturday's game against Union did reveal one key fact about RPI. They're ticked off. Woe be to the team that has the misfortune to go up against a team that has shown at minimum, a competent defense, and an offense that has had the ability to score in bunches, that's PO'd to boot.
That team happens to be Mercyhurst once again. This time, it's on their ice, and this time, they come into this game as one of the favorites in Atlantic Hockey. There are always teams in that conference that are pushovers, but the top teams now invariably present a solid challenge to most teams from the more established conferences.
Nonetheless, for a team ranked in the Top 20 looking for a response to last weekend, these games are important - for the soul as much as for the national jockeying for position.
If this team is going to reach its goals for the year, last weekend needs to be a hiccup instead of a trend. Getting back to it and picking up wins right away is important for that to be true. Let's get to it.
Then, the Lakers. A weekend before Thanksgiving. Two wins heading into a two week break for the holiday. It was the start of a 5-2-2 stretch through New Year's, the start of a fire that eventually led to a 2nd place finish in the ECAC for a team that was 0-4-0 in league play at that point. The Saturday game against Mercyhurst was the first start for a young goaltender named Jason Kasdorf, who made 30 saves on 31 shots.
Let us hope that, for this year's version of the Engineers, their rock bottom is now - because where they are now, as rough as last weekend was, is quite far ahead of where they were this time last year.
If nothing else, the hijinks that ended Saturday's game against Union did reveal one key fact about RPI. They're ticked off. Woe be to the team that has the misfortune to go up against a team that has shown at minimum, a competent defense, and an offense that has had the ability to score in bunches, that's PO'd to boot.
That team happens to be Mercyhurst once again. This time, it's on their ice, and this time, they come into this game as one of the favorites in Atlantic Hockey. There are always teams in that conference that are pushovers, but the top teams now invariably present a solid challenge to most teams from the more established conferences.
Nonetheless, for a team ranked in the Top 20 looking for a response to last weekend, these games are important - for the soul as much as for the national jockeying for position.
If this team is going to reach its goals for the year, last weekend needs to be a hiccup instead of a trend. Getting back to it and picking up wins right away is important for that to be true. Let's get to it.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Know Your Enemy: Mercyhurst
The craziness that exuded the conference tournaments this season carried into Atlantic Hockey as well, and a team on RPI's schedule last season, Mercyhurst, were one of the beneficiaries. They didn't grab the brass ring - owing to the presence of another unexpectedly successful team, Canisius - but an outstanding March has left the Lakers in a good position to take another run at glory in Atlantic Hockey.
Mercyhurst
Nickname: Lakers
Location: Erie, PA
Founded: 1926
Conference: Atlantic Hockey
National Championships: 0
Last NCAA Appearance: 2005
Last Frozen Four: 1995 (Division II)
Coach: Rick Gotkin (26th year)
2012-13 Record: 19-17-5 (12-11-4 Atlantic Hockey, 6th place)
Series: RPI leads, 6-2-0
First Game: November 25, 2000 (Troy, NY)
Last RPI win: November 17, 2012 (Troy, NY)
Last MU win: November 28, 2008 (Troy, NY)
2013-14 games: November 22-23, 2013 (Erie, PA)
Key players: D Nick Jones, sr.; F Daniel O'Donoghue, sr.; F Kyle Just, sr.; G Jordan Tibbett, sr.; F Daniel Bahntge, jr.; F Chris Bodo, jr.; F Zac Frischmon, jr.; D Grant Gettinger, jr.; F Ryan Misiak, jr.; F Nardo Nagtzaam, jr.; D Tyler Shiplo, jr.; F Matthew Zay, jr.; F Kyle Cook, so.; F Mike Sones, fr.; F Kyle Dutra, fr.; D Philippe Drouin, fr.
Previous KYE installment:
After a 4-1 win over a resurgent UConn team that was supposed to be Niagara's only real competition in the Atlantic Hockey tournament, the Lakers ended up squaring off not against the Purple Eagles, but against one of their long-time rivals from back in the days of the MAAC - Canisius. The Golden Griffins put a serious hurting on Mercyhurst as the Lakers fell 7-2 in a lopsided championship game, but the disappointing end was part of a final month that saw Mercyhurst go 5-2-2 to close out the team's second straight solid year.
The Lakers had a younger squad last season, but it was a team largely led by its juniors and sophomores, players who are now seniors and juniors. Of the team's top seven scorers, five return. That includes Zay, the overall leading scorer last season, and Misiak and Bodo, who paced the team with 18 goals each.
However, as much scoring as Mercyhurst brings back, they're probably going to want to be a little less top-heavy when it comes to putting the puck in the net. Outside of the top seven scorers, the Lakers got just 12 goals all season from their forwards farther down the depth chart. Part of that is due to injury - Nagtzaam, who had a stellar freshman season, missed most of the year, as did Cook during his freshman campaign.
Throw in the other top forwards - O'Donoghue and Bahntge - and it makes for a solid top few lines when it comes to scoring ability. Jones (7 goals, 19 assists) and Shiplo (4 goals, 10 assists) represent some offensive ability from the blue line as well. If the Lakers find a way to spread the scoring out a bit more, they could be a dangerous squad overall, but coming into the season opponents certainly have their targets to shut down.
Defensively, the Lakers' top goaltender from last year has graduated, but Tibbett, who saw action against the Engineers in the second game last season, got a solid amount of work in last season as the top backup. Gettinger is the team's top defensive defenseman and Jones is competent on both sides of the puck, but Mercyhurst could well have problems stopping RPI's balanced attack.
The Mercyhurst series last year represented something of a turnaround moment for the Engineers - off a road league weekend at Dartmouth and Harvard in which RPI were shutout twice while playing some dreadful hockey, the Engineers got things going with a sweep of the Lakers at home, 4-2 and 4-1, the start of a run that saw the 'Tute go 16-7-3 through the end of the regular season.
This series represents RPI's first ever trip to Erie after having hosted Mercyhurst eight times in Troy since the turn of the millennium. It represents something of an advancement for the Lakers to be drawing a home series against the Engineers, but they've certainly earned it by being one of the more quality programs in their conference for quite some time. RPI should be favored in this series, but Mercyhurst is a team they can't afford to sleep on, especially now that they're playing them on the road, since they have the capacity to strike well from their top lines.
Mercyhurst
Nickname: Lakers
Location: Erie, PA
Founded: 1926
Conference: Atlantic Hockey
National Championships: 0
Last NCAA Appearance: 2005
Last Frozen Four: 1995 (Division II)
Coach: Rick Gotkin (26th year)
2012-13 Record: 19-17-5 (12-11-4 Atlantic Hockey, 6th place)
Series: RPI leads, 6-2-0
First Game: November 25, 2000 (Troy, NY)
Last RPI win: November 17, 2012 (Troy, NY)
Last MU win: November 28, 2008 (Troy, NY)
2013-14 games: November 22-23, 2013 (Erie, PA)
Key players: D Nick Jones, sr.; F Daniel O'Donoghue, sr.; F Kyle Just, sr.; G Jordan Tibbett, sr.; F Daniel Bahntge, jr.; F Chris Bodo, jr.; F Zac Frischmon, jr.; D Grant Gettinger, jr.; F Ryan Misiak, jr.; F Nardo Nagtzaam, jr.; D Tyler Shiplo, jr.; F Matthew Zay, jr.; F Kyle Cook, so.; F Mike Sones, fr.; F Kyle Dutra, fr.; D Philippe Drouin, fr.
Previous KYE installment:
After a 4-1 win over a resurgent UConn team that was supposed to be Niagara's only real competition in the Atlantic Hockey tournament, the Lakers ended up squaring off not against the Purple Eagles, but against one of their long-time rivals from back in the days of the MAAC - Canisius. The Golden Griffins put a serious hurting on Mercyhurst as the Lakers fell 7-2 in a lopsided championship game, but the disappointing end was part of a final month that saw Mercyhurst go 5-2-2 to close out the team's second straight solid year.
The Lakers had a younger squad last season, but it was a team largely led by its juniors and sophomores, players who are now seniors and juniors. Of the team's top seven scorers, five return. That includes Zay, the overall leading scorer last season, and Misiak and Bodo, who paced the team with 18 goals each.
However, as much scoring as Mercyhurst brings back, they're probably going to want to be a little less top-heavy when it comes to putting the puck in the net. Outside of the top seven scorers, the Lakers got just 12 goals all season from their forwards farther down the depth chart. Part of that is due to injury - Nagtzaam, who had a stellar freshman season, missed most of the year, as did Cook during his freshman campaign.
Throw in the other top forwards - O'Donoghue and Bahntge - and it makes for a solid top few lines when it comes to scoring ability. Jones (7 goals, 19 assists) and Shiplo (4 goals, 10 assists) represent some offensive ability from the blue line as well. If the Lakers find a way to spread the scoring out a bit more, they could be a dangerous squad overall, but coming into the season opponents certainly have their targets to shut down.
Defensively, the Lakers' top goaltender from last year has graduated, but Tibbett, who saw action against the Engineers in the second game last season, got a solid amount of work in last season as the top backup. Gettinger is the team's top defensive defenseman and Jones is competent on both sides of the puck, but Mercyhurst could well have problems stopping RPI's balanced attack.
The Mercyhurst series last year represented something of a turnaround moment for the Engineers - off a road league weekend at Dartmouth and Harvard in which RPI were shutout twice while playing some dreadful hockey, the Engineers got things going with a sweep of the Lakers at home, 4-2 and 4-1, the start of a run that saw the 'Tute go 16-7-3 through the end of the regular season.
This series represents RPI's first ever trip to Erie after having hosted Mercyhurst eight times in Troy since the turn of the millennium. It represents something of an advancement for the Lakers to be drawing a home series against the Engineers, but they've certainly earned it by being one of the more quality programs in their conference for quite some time. RPI should be favored in this series, but Mercyhurst is a team they can't afford to sleep on, especially now that they're playing them on the road, since they have the capacity to strike well from their top lines.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Tentative 2013-14 Men's Hockey Schedule
Here it is, the tentative schedule for next year. The exhibition game in October should be against a Canadian school as usual, the game against Boston College is rumored to be part of a doubleheader with BU/Cornell at Madison Square Garden (if it doesn't pan out, the game will likely take place in Chestnut Hill), and the second opponent in the Minnesota tournament in January is not known for sure, though it is believed the first opponent will be the Golden Gophers. Freakout! is presumed to be Brown, given the usual time of year for the event, though Harvard and Clarkson are outside possibilities.
Game times are at 7pm unless otherwise indicated, but are subject to change due to television scheduling.
October
Saturday, 05 October - EXHIBITION
Saturday, 12 October - at Sacred Heart (Bridgeport, CT)
Sunday, 13 October - at Boston College (time TBD)
Friday, 18 October - at Boston University
Saturday, 19 October - SACRED HEART (Parents Weekend)
Saturday, 26 October - NEW HAMPSHIRE
November
Friday, 01 November - at Harvard*
Saturday, 02 November - at Dartmouth*
Friday, 08 November - CORNELL* (Black Friday)
Saturday, 09 November - COLGATE*
Friday, 15 November - at Union*
Saturday, 16 November - UNION*
Friday, 22 November - at Mercyhurst
Saturday, 23 November - at Mercyhurst
December
Friday, 06 December - QUINNIPIAC*
Saturday, 07 December - PRINCETON* (4pm)
Friday, 13 December - DENVER
Saturday, 14 December - DENVER
Sunday, 15 December - US UNDER-18 TEAM (exhibition)
Friday, 20 December - vs. Union (Albany, NY)
January
Friday, 03 January - at Minnesota (8pm)
Saturday, 04 January - at Minnesota Tournament (Minneapolis, MN) (5pm)
Friday, 10 January - at Princeton*
Saturday, 11 January - at Quinnipiac*
Friday, 24 January - DARTMOUTH*
Saturday, 25 January - HARVARD*
Friday, 31 January - at Clarkson*
February
Saturday, 01 February - at St. Lawrence*
Friday, 07 February - YALE*
Saturday, 08 February - BROWN* (Big Red Freakout!)
Friday, 14 February - at Colgate*
Saturday, 15 February - at Cornell*
Friday, 21 February - ST. LAWRENCE*
Saturday, 22 February - CLARKSON* (Senior Night)
Friday, 28 February - at Brown*
March
Saturday, 01 March - at Yale*
Fri-Sun, 07-09 March - ECAC First Round (at campus sites)
Fri-Sun, 14-16 March - ECAC Quarterfinals (at campus sites)
Friday, 21 March - ECAC Semifinals (Lake Placid, NY)
Saturday, 22 March - ECAC Championship (Lake Placid, NY)
Fri-Sun 28-30 March - NCAA Regionals (Bridgeport, CT; Worcester, MA; Cincinnati, OH; St. Paul, MN)
April
Thursday, 10 April - NCAA Frozen Four (Philadelphia, PA)
Saturday, 12 April - NCAA Championship (Philadelphia, PA)
Game times are at 7pm unless otherwise indicated, but are subject to change due to television scheduling.
October
Saturday, 05 October - EXHIBITION
Saturday, 12 October - at Sacred Heart (Bridgeport, CT)
Sunday, 13 October - at Boston College (time TBD)
Friday, 18 October - at Boston University
Saturday, 19 October - SACRED HEART (Parents Weekend)
Saturday, 26 October - NEW HAMPSHIRE
November
Friday, 01 November - at Harvard*
Saturday, 02 November - at Dartmouth*
Friday, 08 November - CORNELL* (Black Friday)
Saturday, 09 November - COLGATE*
Friday, 15 November - at Union*
Saturday, 16 November - UNION*
Friday, 22 November - at Mercyhurst
Saturday, 23 November - at Mercyhurst
December
Friday, 06 December - QUINNIPIAC*
Saturday, 07 December - PRINCETON* (4pm)
Friday, 13 December - DENVER
Saturday, 14 December - DENVER
Sunday, 15 December - US UNDER-18 TEAM (exhibition)
Friday, 20 December - vs. Union (Albany, NY)
January
Friday, 03 January - at Minnesota (8pm)
Saturday, 04 January - at Minnesota Tournament (Minneapolis, MN) (5pm)
Friday, 10 January - at Princeton*
Saturday, 11 January - at Quinnipiac*
Friday, 24 January - DARTMOUTH*
Saturday, 25 January - HARVARD*
Friday, 31 January - at Clarkson*
February
Saturday, 01 February - at St. Lawrence*
Friday, 07 February - YALE*
Saturday, 08 February - BROWN* (Big Red Freakout!)
Friday, 14 February - at Colgate*
Saturday, 15 February - at Cornell*
Friday, 21 February - ST. LAWRENCE*
Saturday, 22 February - CLARKSON* (Senior Night)
Friday, 28 February - at Brown*
March
Saturday, 01 March - at Yale*
Fri-Sun, 07-09 March - ECAC First Round (at campus sites)
Fri-Sun, 14-16 March - ECAC Quarterfinals (at campus sites)
Friday, 21 March - ECAC Semifinals (Lake Placid, NY)
Saturday, 22 March - ECAC Championship (Lake Placid, NY)
Fri-Sun 28-30 March - NCAA Regionals (Bridgeport, CT; Worcester, MA; Cincinnati, OH; St. Paul, MN)
April
Thursday, 10 April - NCAA Frozen Four (Philadelphia, PA)
Saturday, 12 April - NCAA Championship (Philadelphia, PA)
Monday, November 19, 2012
Men's Hockey - Mercyhurst (16/17 Nov)
A turnaround was practically a necessity for the Engineers heading into a home non-conference weekend series against Mercyhurst, and with luck, that's exactly what they gained. RPI pulled off its first home weekend sweep since January 2011 and its first home non-conference sweep since October 2010 with 4-2 and 4-1 victories over Atlantic Hockey's Mercyhurst, a result that probably is not a cure-all but certainly helped to stop the bleeding from three consecutive weekends of bad results for the Engineers.
Friday
Neal-Laliberte-Haggerty
Higgs-Miller-Lee
Zalewski-McGowan-Bubela
Fulton-O'Grady-Burgdoerfer
Leonard-Bailen
Leboeuf-Bokenfohr
Curadi-Hampton
Upcoming games
30 Nov - Princeton
1 Dec - #18 Quinnipiac
7 Dec - at Yale
8 Dec - at Brown
27 Dec - at #12 St. Cloud State
Friday
Neal-Laliberte-Haggerty
Higgs-Miller-Lee
Zalewski-McGowan-Bubela
Fulton-O'Grady-Burgdoerfer
Leonard-Bailen
Leboeuf-Bokenfohr
Curadi-Hampton
Merriam
With Jacob Laliberte's return from injury and a "message received" return to the lineup by several regular starters, RPI's starting lineup looked much more impressive than it had in its last outing against Harvard. Laliberte and Ryan Haggerty specifically returned to reunite the "NHL line," RPI's top scoring line this year.
Milos Bubela got things going six minutes into the game with his second career goal, snapping RPI's scoreless stretch of 138:26 dating back to, interestingly enough, Bubela's first career goal, which was against Union in Schenectady. Craig Bokenfohr picked up his first collegiate point with an assist on the play, which put the Engineers ahead 1-0. Bubela redirected Bokenfohr's initial blast from the blueline into the net.
Nick Bailen notched his third tally of the year about four minutes later to put RPI up 2-0 by ripping a shot from the top of the slot that beat the goaltender on the stick side. All was looking pretty rosy for the Engineers at that point.
Unfortunately, the offense seemed to go into hibernation for the next 30 minutes or so. RPI mustered just 16 shots on goal in the game's first two periods, failing to score on any of five shots in the second despite two power play opportunities. Fortunately, Bryce Merriam continued his strong play in net for RPI, carrying over from a good showing at Harvard with 14 saves in the first 40 minutes.
Three minutes into the third period, some good stickwork behind the net by Mike Zalewski ended with the freshman registering his first point. Zalewski dished the puck quickly to Mark McGowan in front of the net, who one-timed it to the back of the net before his defender could react, giving RPI their first 3-0 lead of the season. Luke Curadi picked up the secondary assist, which was also his first collegiate point.
Mercyhurst didn't just roll over and play dead, however. In all, they put 15 shots on Merriam in the final period, including two in a span of 4:23 that eluded him, making it a 3-2 contest with nine and a half minutes left to play. The first Laker goal came on a power play that started with a somewhat dubious hooking call against Bubela, the second was a shorthanded goal off a too many men penalty against Mercyhurst, marking the third time in four games that the RPI power play had given up a shorthanded goal.
The Lakers pushed hard late for the tying goal, but Merriam stayed up to the task until an iffy cross-checking call against Mercyhurst with 1:45 remaining in regulation basically doomed their chances of tying the game. The Engineers deftly spent much of the power play's first minute simply playing keepaway in the Mercyhurst end, but Bailen eventually found a shooting lane at the top of the right faceoff circle and put a wrister into the back of the net, providing RPI with a little extra insurance and a 4-2 final score. The win snapped a five-game losing streak and a seven-game winless streak for the Engineers dating back to the first week of the season.
The one downside for the Engineers was the loss of C.J. Lee to injury at the end of the second period. Lee tried to make a check in the RPI zone, but hit the boards hard on his back instead. He favored his left leg as he was helped off the ice, he did not return to the game.
Saturday
Neal-Laliberte-Haggerty
Higgs-Miller-Tinordi
Zalewski-McGowan-Bubela
Fulton-O'Grady-Burgdoerfer
Leonard-Bailen
Leboeuf-Bradley
Curadi-Hampton
With Jacob Laliberte's return from injury and a "message received" return to the lineup by several regular starters, RPI's starting lineup looked much more impressive than it had in its last outing against Harvard. Laliberte and Ryan Haggerty specifically returned to reunite the "NHL line," RPI's top scoring line this year.
Milos Bubela got things going six minutes into the game with his second career goal, snapping RPI's scoreless stretch of 138:26 dating back to, interestingly enough, Bubela's first career goal, which was against Union in Schenectady. Craig Bokenfohr picked up his first collegiate point with an assist on the play, which put the Engineers ahead 1-0. Bubela redirected Bokenfohr's initial blast from the blueline into the net.
Nick Bailen notched his third tally of the year about four minutes later to put RPI up 2-0 by ripping a shot from the top of the slot that beat the goaltender on the stick side. All was looking pretty rosy for the Engineers at that point.
Unfortunately, the offense seemed to go into hibernation for the next 30 minutes or so. RPI mustered just 16 shots on goal in the game's first two periods, failing to score on any of five shots in the second despite two power play opportunities. Fortunately, Bryce Merriam continued his strong play in net for RPI, carrying over from a good showing at Harvard with 14 saves in the first 40 minutes.
Three minutes into the third period, some good stickwork behind the net by Mike Zalewski ended with the freshman registering his first point. Zalewski dished the puck quickly to Mark McGowan in front of the net, who one-timed it to the back of the net before his defender could react, giving RPI their first 3-0 lead of the season. Luke Curadi picked up the secondary assist, which was also his first collegiate point.
Mercyhurst didn't just roll over and play dead, however. In all, they put 15 shots on Merriam in the final period, including two in a span of 4:23 that eluded him, making it a 3-2 contest with nine and a half minutes left to play. The first Laker goal came on a power play that started with a somewhat dubious hooking call against Bubela, the second was a shorthanded goal off a too many men penalty against Mercyhurst, marking the third time in four games that the RPI power play had given up a shorthanded goal.
The Lakers pushed hard late for the tying goal, but Merriam stayed up to the task until an iffy cross-checking call against Mercyhurst with 1:45 remaining in regulation basically doomed their chances of tying the game. The Engineers deftly spent much of the power play's first minute simply playing keepaway in the Mercyhurst end, but Bailen eventually found a shooting lane at the top of the right faceoff circle and put a wrister into the back of the net, providing RPI with a little extra insurance and a 4-2 final score. The win snapped a five-game losing streak and a seven-game winless streak for the Engineers dating back to the first week of the season.
The one downside for the Engineers was the loss of C.J. Lee to injury at the end of the second period. Lee tried to make a check in the RPI zone, but hit the boards hard on his back instead. He favored his left leg as he was helped off the ice, he did not return to the game.
Saturday
Neal-Laliberte-Haggerty
Higgs-Miller-Tinordi
Zalewski-McGowan-Bubela
Fulton-O'Grady-Burgdoerfer
Leonard-Bailen
Leboeuf-Bradley
Curadi-Hampton
Kasdorf
Lee's injury forced Matt Tinordi back into the lineup, taking the captain's place on the second line after he was unable to skate in the warmups - this was a game-time decision. Tinordi appeared likely to return to the lineup anyway, Greg Burgdoerfer was listed as the extra skater on the lineup sheet and simply returned to his place on the fourth line when Lee couldn't go.
Although Scott Diebold had been listed on the sheet as the likely starter, word came down early that freshman Jason Kasdorf would get his first collegiate start instead, giving the Houston Field House crowd their first real-game look at the Engineers' lone NHL draft pick.
RPI completely dominated pretty much every facet of the game in the first period on Saturday, outshooting Mercyhurst 12-3 in the opening 20 minutes. They were assisted by two almost back-to-back power play chances midway through the period, but they were unable to break onto the board.
A boarding call on Bubela six minutes into the second period changed the face of the game completely. While the Lakers had been continuing to trail RPI in shots significantly up to that point, the Mercyhurst power play unloaded an outright barrage on Kasdorf, eventually scoring on a poor defensive showing by the RPI penalty kill to go up 1-0 and practically even the shot output for the game.
Things threatened to get worse minutes later as a RPI turnover on the power play led to a breakaway for the Lakers, but Kasdorf came up with a huge save to preserve the one-goal deficit and keep the Engineers from giving up yet another shorthanded goal.
Just two minutes after the RPI power play opportunity expired, Bailen set up the Engineers' first goal by carrying the puck into the zone and behind the net before dishing it to Mark Miller in front, setting up the freshman's first collegiate goal, which knotted the game at one.
The Engineers would pull ahead early in the third period with Jacob Laliberte's team-leading fifth goal of the season. The sophomore picked up a beautiful pass from Bailen to the Mercyhurst goaltender's left and slammed it home to put RPI up 2-1. Minutes later, a second effort by Greg Burgdoerfer after a wraparound attempt hit paydirt, giving the senior his first goal of the year and putting RPI up 3-1.
Again, Mercyhurst refused to die, eventually putting up a total of 13 shots on RPI's freshman goaltender, but he was equal to the task, sucking up a number of shots that might have otherwise led to rebounds on his way to a 30-save night and his first collegiate win. Marty O'Grady would hit his first goal of the year on an empty-netter with 1:10 left to produce the final 4-1 score.
The back-to-back victories were the first for RPI since they closed out the ECAC regular season with a shocking road sweep at Colgate and Cornell back in February (and extended to three games with a win in Game 1 of the ECAC First Round against Clarkson).
Lee's injury forced Matt Tinordi back into the lineup, taking the captain's place on the second line after he was unable to skate in the warmups - this was a game-time decision. Tinordi appeared likely to return to the lineup anyway, Greg Burgdoerfer was listed as the extra skater on the lineup sheet and simply returned to his place on the fourth line when Lee couldn't go.
Although Scott Diebold had been listed on the sheet as the likely starter, word came down early that freshman Jason Kasdorf would get his first collegiate start instead, giving the Houston Field House crowd their first real-game look at the Engineers' lone NHL draft pick.
RPI completely dominated pretty much every facet of the game in the first period on Saturday, outshooting Mercyhurst 12-3 in the opening 20 minutes. They were assisted by two almost back-to-back power play chances midway through the period, but they were unable to break onto the board.
A boarding call on Bubela six minutes into the second period changed the face of the game completely. While the Lakers had been continuing to trail RPI in shots significantly up to that point, the Mercyhurst power play unloaded an outright barrage on Kasdorf, eventually scoring on a poor defensive showing by the RPI penalty kill to go up 1-0 and practically even the shot output for the game.
Things threatened to get worse minutes later as a RPI turnover on the power play led to a breakaway for the Lakers, but Kasdorf came up with a huge save to preserve the one-goal deficit and keep the Engineers from giving up yet another shorthanded goal.
Just two minutes after the RPI power play opportunity expired, Bailen set up the Engineers' first goal by carrying the puck into the zone and behind the net before dishing it to Mark Miller in front, setting up the freshman's first collegiate goal, which knotted the game at one.
The Engineers would pull ahead early in the third period with Jacob Laliberte's team-leading fifth goal of the season. The sophomore picked up a beautiful pass from Bailen to the Mercyhurst goaltender's left and slammed it home to put RPI up 2-1. Minutes later, a second effort by Greg Burgdoerfer after a wraparound attempt hit paydirt, giving the senior his first goal of the year and putting RPI up 3-1.
Again, Mercyhurst refused to die, eventually putting up a total of 13 shots on RPI's freshman goaltender, but he was equal to the task, sucking up a number of shots that might have otherwise led to rebounds on his way to a 30-save night and his first collegiate win. Marty O'Grady would hit his first goal of the year on an empty-netter with 1:10 left to produce the final 4-1 score.
The back-to-back victories were the first for RPI since they closed out the ECAC regular season with a shocking road sweep at Colgate and Cornell back in February (and extended to three games with a win in Game 1 of the ECAC First Round against Clarkson).
Other junk - Ranked teams in the ECAC this week include #8 Union (idle, down one), #11 Dartmouth (lost to Colgate and tied Cornell, up one), #13 Cornell (lost to Harvard and tied Dartmouth, down three), #17 Harvard (beat Cornell and lost to Colgate, no change), and #18 Quinnipiac (swept Clarkson/SLU, previously unranked). Also receiving votes were Yale (66), St. Lawrence (57) and Colgate (1). Other ranked opponents on the RPI schedule include #3 New Hampshire (up two, one first place vote), #10 Boston University (up one), #12 St. Cloud State (up three), and #16 Ferris State (up four). Minnesota State received one vote.
Cornell is off to a horrendous start in ECAC play. They lost four ECAC games all last season, they have already lost three just six games into this year's schedule.
The ranks of the ironmen continue to fall as C.J. Lee was sidelined by injury on Saturday, leaving Matt Neal, Nick Bailen, Brock Higgs, Mark Miller, Guy Leboeuf, and Milos Bubela as the only players on the roster who have seen ice time in all 10 games this season. All but two players on the roster have played in at least three games this season, Andrew Commers is the only one who has appeared just once and Jason Kasdorf the only one who has appeared just twice.
Zach Schroeder has missed four consecutive games with injuries, Ken Schott of the Daily Gazette reports that junior Johnny Rogic is also sidelined due to injury.
Jacob Laliberte remains near the top of the national race in scoring, he has 11 points in 8 games for a 1.38 points per game average, tying him for 11th in the nation alongside Dartmouth's Eric Robinson.
With three power play goals on the season, Nick Bailen is tied for 9th in the nation - the eight players ahead of him are tied for first with four. His nine points in 10 games has him tied for 11th in the nation in scoring among defensemen.
The defense has rebounded a bit, but is still down in the national doldrums, at a 3.20 GAA, RPI is tied for 48th in the nation out of 59 teams.
The Engineers have their second bye weekend of the still-fairly-young season coming up for Thanksgiving weekend, but their next two weekends will be key going forward, as they face four more ECAC games before the New Year. They've found ways to win against Mercyhurst, now they have to find a way to handle the somehow-always-monstrous-in-Troy Princeton Tigers on the last day of November before tangling with the as-yet-undefeated-in-the-ECAC Quinnipiac Bobcats on the first day of December. Then they hit the road to take on Yale and Brown. Points are a must, because the Engineers are the only team left in the league without any. In two weeks' time, we'll find out if this is a team that has a shot at the middle of the ECAC table, or whether it's going to be another scrape-and-claw for home ice in the first round season.
ECAC Standings
1. Dartmouth - 9 points (4-1-1)
2. Quinnipiac - 8 points (4-0-0)
3. Union - 6 points (3-1-0)
4. Harvard - 6 points (3-3-0)
5. Clarkson - 5 points (2-1-1, +3 GD)
6. Princeton - 5 points (2-1-1, +1 GD)
7. Colgate - 5 points (2-3-1)
8. Yale - 4 points (2-2-0)
9. Cornell - 4 points (1-3-2)
10. Brown - 2 points (0-2-2, -2 GD)
11. St. Lawrence - 2 points (0-2-2, -6 GD)
12. RPI - 0 points (0-4-0)
Mercyhurst at RPI
Non-Conference Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/16/12 - 7:05pm
RESULT: RPI 4, Mercyhurst 2
BOX SCORES
Cornell is off to a horrendous start in ECAC play. They lost four ECAC games all last season, they have already lost three just six games into this year's schedule.
The ranks of the ironmen continue to fall as C.J. Lee was sidelined by injury on Saturday, leaving Matt Neal, Nick Bailen, Brock Higgs, Mark Miller, Guy Leboeuf, and Milos Bubela as the only players on the roster who have seen ice time in all 10 games this season. All but two players on the roster have played in at least three games this season, Andrew Commers is the only one who has appeared just once and Jason Kasdorf the only one who has appeared just twice.
Zach Schroeder has missed four consecutive games with injuries, Ken Schott of the Daily Gazette reports that junior Johnny Rogic is also sidelined due to injury.
Jacob Laliberte remains near the top of the national race in scoring, he has 11 points in 8 games for a 1.38 points per game average, tying him for 11th in the nation alongside Dartmouth's Eric Robinson.
With three power play goals on the season, Nick Bailen is tied for 9th in the nation - the eight players ahead of him are tied for first with four. His nine points in 10 games has him tied for 11th in the nation in scoring among defensemen.
The defense has rebounded a bit, but is still down in the national doldrums, at a 3.20 GAA, RPI is tied for 48th in the nation out of 59 teams.
The Engineers have their second bye weekend of the still-fairly-young season coming up for Thanksgiving weekend, but their next two weekends will be key going forward, as they face four more ECAC games before the New Year. They've found ways to win against Mercyhurst, now they have to find a way to handle the somehow-always-monstrous-in-Troy Princeton Tigers on the last day of November before tangling with the as-yet-undefeated-in-the-ECAC Quinnipiac Bobcats on the first day of December. Then they hit the road to take on Yale and Brown. Points are a must, because the Engineers are the only team left in the league without any. In two weeks' time, we'll find out if this is a team that has a shot at the middle of the ECAC table, or whether it's going to be another scrape-and-claw for home ice in the first round season.
ECAC Standings
1. Dartmouth - 9 points (4-1-1)
2. Quinnipiac - 8 points (4-0-0)
3. Union - 6 points (3-1-0)
4. Harvard - 6 points (3-3-0)
5. Clarkson - 5 points (2-1-1, +3 GD)
6. Princeton - 5 points (2-1-1, +1 GD)
7. Colgate - 5 points (2-3-1)
8. Yale - 4 points (2-2-0)
9. Cornell - 4 points (1-3-2)
10. Brown - 2 points (0-2-2, -2 GD)
11. St. Lawrence - 2 points (0-2-2, -6 GD)
12. RPI - 0 points (0-4-0)
Mercyhurst at RPI
Non-Conference Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/16/12 - 7:05pm
RESULT: RPI 4, Mercyhurst 2
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union
Erie Times-News
RECORD: 2-5-2 (0-4-0 ECAC)
USCHO
RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union
Erie Times-News
RECORD: 2-5-2 (0-4-0 ECAC)
Mercyhurst at RPI
Non-Conference Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/17/12 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 4, Mercyhurst 1
BOX SCORES
Non-Conference Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
11/17/12 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 4, Mercyhurst 1
BOX SCORES
RECORD: 3-5-2 (0-4-0 ECAC)
Upcoming games
30 Nov - Princeton
1 Dec - #18 Quinnipiac
7 Dec - at Yale
8 Dec - at Brown
27 Dec - at #12 St. Cloud State
Friday, November 16, 2012
Have Mercy
It's a full weekend of college hockey at Houston Field House this weekend as both the men and the women have a pair of games for you to feast your eyes on tonight and tomorrow. Translation: get thyself to Troy.
Both teams are in a bad way right now - the men, perhaps, a little more than the women. Both have now started off their ECAC schedules with an 0-4-0 record, the women with a -6 goal differential (three of the losses were one goal games) and the men with... a -14 goal differential. Remember, that is in four games, the last three of which were four goal losses. Both are the only teams in the ECAC with no points.
Unfortunately, none of that is set to change this weekend, as both teams are playing a non-conference series, but it does give both sides the opportunity to get things right before heading back out on the hunt for points.
The ladies will take to this ice this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon (3pm starts for both) against College Hockey America's Robert Morris (5-2-1). The Engineers have a few opponents in common with the Colonials, but it's hard to draw much from it - both teams beat Vermont (RMU doing it twice) and both lost to BU, though RMU was able to pull out a tie with Northeastern while RPI lost.
Similarity reigns on the men's side as they battle Atlantic Hockey's Mercyhurst (3-2-1). In this case, it's just Ferris State as a mutual opponent, the Lakers lost and tied with the Bulldogs a week after RPI beat and tied them. They're not quite pushovers, as they went into RIT last week and pulled out a win in a tough barn, besides, it's not like the Engineers are playing well enough lately to take anyone for granted.
It's deja vu around here... the men and women opened last season going a combined 2-7-2 in league play by this point last year, but it's pretty obvious that 0-8-0 is even worse. At any rate, here's a song you can tap your foot to and get the weekend off to the right start, even while it sort of describes the current situation on the hill.
BTW, all four games this weekend are on WRPI... so if you can't be there, be sure to tune in.
Both teams are in a bad way right now - the men, perhaps, a little more than the women. Both have now started off their ECAC schedules with an 0-4-0 record, the women with a -6 goal differential (three of the losses were one goal games) and the men with... a -14 goal differential. Remember, that is in four games, the last three of which were four goal losses. Both are the only teams in the ECAC with no points.
Unfortunately, none of that is set to change this weekend, as both teams are playing a non-conference series, but it does give both sides the opportunity to get things right before heading back out on the hunt for points.
The ladies will take to this ice this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon (3pm starts for both) against College Hockey America's Robert Morris (5-2-1). The Engineers have a few opponents in common with the Colonials, but it's hard to draw much from it - both teams beat Vermont (RMU doing it twice) and both lost to BU, though RMU was able to pull out a tie with Northeastern while RPI lost.
Similarity reigns on the men's side as they battle Atlantic Hockey's Mercyhurst (3-2-1). In this case, it's just Ferris State as a mutual opponent, the Lakers lost and tied with the Bulldogs a week after RPI beat and tied them. They're not quite pushovers, as they went into RIT last week and pulled out a win in a tough barn, besides, it's not like the Engineers are playing well enough lately to take anyone for granted.
It's deja vu around here... the men and women opened last season going a combined 2-7-2 in league play by this point last year, but it's pretty obvious that 0-8-0 is even worse. At any rate, here's a song you can tap your foot to and get the weekend off to the right start, even while it sort of describes the current situation on the hill.
BTW, all four games this weekend are on WRPI... so if you can't be there, be sure to tune in.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Know Your Enemy: Mercyhurst
The third entry on this year's "Know Your Enemy" series is the first one that is new to KYE, although not too long ago they were a regular opponent on the RPI schedule. Back when they were one of the top teams in what was then known as the MAAC, Mercyhurst made regular trips to Troy, and frequently gave the hosts all they could ask for, occasionally escaping with victories, too. This year, they come for a full weekend series for the first time.
Mercyhurst
Nickname: Lakers
Location: Erie, PA
Founded: 1926
Conference: Atlantic Hockey
National Championships: 0
Last NCAA Appearance: 2005
Last Frozen Four: 1995 (Division II)
Coach: Rick Gotkin (25th year)
2011-12 Record: 20-16-4 (15-8-4 Atlantic Hockey, 3rd place)
Series: RPI leads, 4-2-0
First Game: November 25, 2000 (Troy, NY)
Last RPI win: October 30, 2004 (Troy, NY)
Last MU win: November 28, 2008 (Troy, NY)
2012-13 games: November 16-17, 2012 (Troy, NY)
Key players: F Paul Chiasson, sr.; D Nick Jones, jr.; F Daniel O'Donoghue, jr.; G Jordan Tibbett, jr.; F Daniel Bahntge, so.; F Nardo Nagtzaam, so.; F Chris Bodo, so.; D Grant Gettinger, so.; F Ryan Misiak, so.; D Tyler Shiplo, so.; F Kyle Cook, fr.; F Alec Shields, f.; D Justin Stevens, fr.
Interesting little factoid - in the growing NCAA/CHL talent war, Mercyhurst's home of Erie could be considered ground zero: it is the only municipality in North America hosting both a Division I hockey program and a major junior team, the OHL's Erie Otters. Sadly, the Otters outdraw the Lakers significantly, with the OHL side drawing around 3,000 fans per game, while Mercyhurst draws a little under 1,000 a game.
Hockey at Mercyhurst isn't nearly as old as it is at most of Division I's hockey playing institutions, but it can at least make a claim on being the oldest still-playing program in the state of Pennsylvania, which adds its third Division I program this year with Penn State. The first season in Erie took place in 1987-88. Under coach Fred Lane, the Lakers got off to a good start, going 16-7 in their first season in Division III.
The Lakers hired then-RPI assistant coach Rick Gotkin in 1988 to be their head coach, and he has been in Erie ever since - now there for a full quarter-century. With 434 career wins, Gotkin is among the top coaches in that category in college hockey history, but only 204 of them have come in Division I, ranking him 76th all time.
Gotkin's put the Lakers on top in short order. After a tough first season, Mercyhurst went 18-8-4 in 1990, and a year later took part in the Division III national tournament, just four seasons into their existence as a program.
With the Division II championship restarting in 1993, the Lakers moved up to their school-wide classification and immediately became one of the contenders for the re-established crown. Mercyhurst got the opportunity to play for the national championship in that season, but fell 10-6 and 5-0 in a best-of-three series to Bemidji State.
Two seasons on, the Lakers put together an even better showing, amassing a 23-1-1 regular season record (with no losses at all after early December) on their way to their second national championship showing, but again they were bested by Bemidji State as the Beavers - in the midst of a run of four titles in five years - swept the series 6-2 and 5-4.
Mercyhurst remained one of the strongest teams in Division II through the end of its most recent run with a national championship in 1999, putting together four straight seasons with less than 10 losses. That strength served them well when they moved up to Division I with several other soon-to-be championship-less programs, joining the MAAC in its second season in 1999 and continuing to put together solid outings, eventually making it 12 in a row from 1995 to 2006.
In just their second season in the league - their first as a full D-I program and the first in which the MAAC had an autobid to the NCAA tournament - the Lakers won the league title with a 6-5 win over Quinnipiac in the MAAC championship game, giving Mercyhurst the right to play in the national championship as the first representative from the upstart league. The feat made Gotkin the first (and still the only) coach in NCAA history to take a team to the national tournament at all three NCAA classifications, a feat he managed in just 11 seasons. That year, the Lakers held their own in the NCAAs, falling 4-3 to a Michigan team that would reach the Frozen Four.
Mercyhurst and Quinnipiac were the early beasts of the MAAC, later Atlantic Hockey, facing off against each other in the championship from 2001 to 2003, and also in 2005. The Lakers came out on top on each occasion with the exception of a 6-4 loss in 2002. In 2003, the Lakers were trounced 9-2 by Minnesota (who were on their way to a second straight national championship) in the NCAA tournament, and in 2005 fell 5-4 to Boston College.
The 2006 arrival of RIT and Air Force to Atlantic Hockey ended the Lakers reign atop the league, coinciding with the roughest stretch of Gotkin's career in Erie. Mercyhurst won just 9 games in 2007, reaching 20 losses and failing to notch 10 wins for the first time in school history. This was the first of four losing seasons in five years for Mercyhurst between 2007 and 2011.
Last year, the Lakers rebounded to post their seventh 20-win season since moving to Division I, accomplishing the feat with a rather young team. They reached the Atlantic Hockey semifinal, but ran into a tough Air Force team that also had ended their NCAA dreams in 2008 and 2009.
This past January, the school underwent a name change, going from Mercyhurst College to Mercyhurst University.
Notably, Mercyhurst is the only school sponsoring both men's and women's hockey at which the women's team outdraws the men. While the men have been among the more successful programs in Atlantic Hockey, the women are typically one of the best teams in the nation, lacking only a national championship to their pedigree.
Like last week's team, the Lakers had a pair of freshmen leading the team in scoring in Bahntge and Nagtzaam. Bodo tied for third with Chiasson, making it three frosh in the top four. In fact, pretty much all of the skaters that made Mercyhurst successful last season will return for this campaign, and while they still qualify as a young team, they have the advantage of having already been successful together, and that could again help them be a legitimate challenger to the RIT/Air Force dominance of their league.
The major hangup for the 'Hurst is likely in net with the graduation of their goaltender, Max Strang, who put up some very good numbers as one of the best goaltenders in Atlantic Hockey. Junior-to-be Jordan Tibbett, however, put up almost as good figures in much more limited action. If he can pick up where Strang left off, the Lakers will be a very formidable team in their league.
Outside of their league, however, is a different story. Like most Atlantic Hockey teams, the Lakers have never had a winning non-conference record in Division I, and the Engineers should be the favorites in these games, especially as the home team, unless they are limping into the middle of November with only a couple of wins. RPI saw their 6-game winning streak against Atlantic Hockey teams snapped last year against Army at the UConn tournament, but they haven't lost at home to an AHA team since falling 2-1 to Army in the 2009-10 season, which at the time was their third home loss in two seasons to the AHA.
The Engineers and Lakers played a yearly game from the 2000-01 season through 2005. They also posted two wins over the home team in the RPI Tournament, becoming the first MAAC/AHA team to beat RPI during the 2003 edition, and winning the 2008 version by beating Princeton in the final - so Rick Gotkin certainly has fond memories of his last business trip to Troy.
Mercyhurst
Nickname: Lakers
Location: Erie, PA
Founded: 1926
Conference: Atlantic Hockey
National Championships: 0
Last NCAA Appearance: 2005
Last Frozen Four: 1995 (Division II)
Coach: Rick Gotkin (25th year)
2011-12 Record: 20-16-4 (15-8-4 Atlantic Hockey, 3rd place)
Series: RPI leads, 4-2-0
First Game: November 25, 2000 (Troy, NY)
Last RPI win: October 30, 2004 (Troy, NY)
Last MU win: November 28, 2008 (Troy, NY)
2012-13 games: November 16-17, 2012 (Troy, NY)
Key players: F Paul Chiasson, sr.; D Nick Jones, jr.; F Daniel O'Donoghue, jr.; G Jordan Tibbett, jr.; F Daniel Bahntge, so.; F Nardo Nagtzaam, so.; F Chris Bodo, so.; D Grant Gettinger, so.; F Ryan Misiak, so.; D Tyler Shiplo, so.; F Kyle Cook, fr.; F Alec Shields, f.; D Justin Stevens, fr.
Interesting little factoid - in the growing NCAA/CHL talent war, Mercyhurst's home of Erie could be considered ground zero: it is the only municipality in North America hosting both a Division I hockey program and a major junior team, the OHL's Erie Otters. Sadly, the Otters outdraw the Lakers significantly, with the OHL side drawing around 3,000 fans per game, while Mercyhurst draws a little under 1,000 a game.
Hockey at Mercyhurst isn't nearly as old as it is at most of Division I's hockey playing institutions, but it can at least make a claim on being the oldest still-playing program in the state of Pennsylvania, which adds its third Division I program this year with Penn State. The first season in Erie took place in 1987-88. Under coach Fred Lane, the Lakers got off to a good start, going 16-7 in their first season in Division III.
The Lakers hired then-RPI assistant coach Rick Gotkin in 1988 to be their head coach, and he has been in Erie ever since - now there for a full quarter-century. With 434 career wins, Gotkin is among the top coaches in that category in college hockey history, but only 204 of them have come in Division I, ranking him 76th all time.
Gotkin's put the Lakers on top in short order. After a tough first season, Mercyhurst went 18-8-4 in 1990, and a year later took part in the Division III national tournament, just four seasons into their existence as a program.
With the Division II championship restarting in 1993, the Lakers moved up to their school-wide classification and immediately became one of the contenders for the re-established crown. Mercyhurst got the opportunity to play for the national championship in that season, but fell 10-6 and 5-0 in a best-of-three series to Bemidji State.
Two seasons on, the Lakers put together an even better showing, amassing a 23-1-1 regular season record (with no losses at all after early December) on their way to their second national championship showing, but again they were bested by Bemidji State as the Beavers - in the midst of a run of four titles in five years - swept the series 6-2 and 5-4.
Mercyhurst remained one of the strongest teams in Division II through the end of its most recent run with a national championship in 1999, putting together four straight seasons with less than 10 losses. That strength served them well when they moved up to Division I with several other soon-to-be championship-less programs, joining the MAAC in its second season in 1999 and continuing to put together solid outings, eventually making it 12 in a row from 1995 to 2006.
In just their second season in the league - their first as a full D-I program and the first in which the MAAC had an autobid to the NCAA tournament - the Lakers won the league title with a 6-5 win over Quinnipiac in the MAAC championship game, giving Mercyhurst the right to play in the national championship as the first representative from the upstart league. The feat made Gotkin the first (and still the only) coach in NCAA history to take a team to the national tournament at all three NCAA classifications, a feat he managed in just 11 seasons. That year, the Lakers held their own in the NCAAs, falling 4-3 to a Michigan team that would reach the Frozen Four.
Mercyhurst and Quinnipiac were the early beasts of the MAAC, later Atlantic Hockey, facing off against each other in the championship from 2001 to 2003, and also in 2005. The Lakers came out on top on each occasion with the exception of a 6-4 loss in 2002. In 2003, the Lakers were trounced 9-2 by Minnesota (who were on their way to a second straight national championship) in the NCAA tournament, and in 2005 fell 5-4 to Boston College.
The 2006 arrival of RIT and Air Force to Atlantic Hockey ended the Lakers reign atop the league, coinciding with the roughest stretch of Gotkin's career in Erie. Mercyhurst won just 9 games in 2007, reaching 20 losses and failing to notch 10 wins for the first time in school history. This was the first of four losing seasons in five years for Mercyhurst between 2007 and 2011.
Last year, the Lakers rebounded to post their seventh 20-win season since moving to Division I, accomplishing the feat with a rather young team. They reached the Atlantic Hockey semifinal, but ran into a tough Air Force team that also had ended their NCAA dreams in 2008 and 2009.
This past January, the school underwent a name change, going from Mercyhurst College to Mercyhurst University.
Notably, Mercyhurst is the only school sponsoring both men's and women's hockey at which the women's team outdraws the men. While the men have been among the more successful programs in Atlantic Hockey, the women are typically one of the best teams in the nation, lacking only a national championship to their pedigree.
Like last week's team, the Lakers had a pair of freshmen leading the team in scoring in Bahntge and Nagtzaam. Bodo tied for third with Chiasson, making it three frosh in the top four. In fact, pretty much all of the skaters that made Mercyhurst successful last season will return for this campaign, and while they still qualify as a young team, they have the advantage of having already been successful together, and that could again help them be a legitimate challenger to the RIT/Air Force dominance of their league.
The major hangup for the 'Hurst is likely in net with the graduation of their goaltender, Max Strang, who put up some very good numbers as one of the best goaltenders in Atlantic Hockey. Junior-to-be Jordan Tibbett, however, put up almost as good figures in much more limited action. If he can pick up where Strang left off, the Lakers will be a very formidable team in their league.
Outside of their league, however, is a different story. Like most Atlantic Hockey teams, the Lakers have never had a winning non-conference record in Division I, and the Engineers should be the favorites in these games, especially as the home team, unless they are limping into the middle of November with only a couple of wins. RPI saw their 6-game winning streak against Atlantic Hockey teams snapped last year against Army at the UConn tournament, but they haven't lost at home to an AHA team since falling 2-1 to Army in the 2009-10 season, which at the time was their third home loss in two seasons to the AHA.
The Engineers and Lakers played a yearly game from the 2000-01 season through 2005. They also posted two wins over the home team in the RPI Tournament, becoming the first MAAC/AHA team to beat RPI during the 2003 edition, and winning the 2008 version by beating Princeton in the final - so Rick Gotkin certainly has fond memories of his last business trip to Troy.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Tentative Men's 2012-13 Schedule
RPI's tentative 2012-13 schedule has been released in mailers to season ticket holders. Game times are 7pm unless otherwise indicated. ECAC games are starred.
October
Saturday, 6 October - Acadia (Exhibition)
Friday, 12 October - Ferris State
Saturday, 13 October - Ferris State
Friday, 19 October - at Minnesota State
Saturday, 20 October - at Minnesota State
Friday, 26 October - Western Michigan
Saturday, 27 October - Western Michigan
November
Friday, 02 November - Union* (Black Friday)
Saturday, 03 November - at Union*
Friday, 09 November - at Dartmouth*
Saturday, 10 November - at Harvard*
Friday, 16 November - Mercyhurst
Saturday, 17 November - Mercyhurst
Friday, 30 November - Princeton*
December
Saturday, 01 December - Quinnipiac*
Friday, 07 December - at Yale*
Saturday, 08 December - at Brown*
Monday, 31 December - Sacred Heart, 4pm
January
Friday, 04 January - at Boston University
Sunday, 06 January - at New Hampshire, 4pm
Friday, 11 January - at Quinnipiac*
Saturday, 12 January - at Princeton, 4pm*
Friday, 18 January - Colgate*
Saturday, 19 January - Cornell*
Saturday, 26 January - vs. Union (site TBD)
February
Friday, 01 February - Harvard*
Saturday, 02 February - Dartmouth*
Friday, 08 February - at St. Lawrence*
Saturday, 09 February - at Clarkson*
Friday, 15 February - Brown*
Saturday, 16 February - Yale*
Friday, 22 February - at Cornell*
Saturday, 23 February - at Colgate*
March
Friday, 01 March - Clarkson*
Saturday, 02 March - St. Lawrence* (Senior Night)
Fri-Sun, 08-10 March - ECAC First Round (at higher seeds)
Fri-Sun, 15-17 March - ECAC Quarterfinals (at higher seeds)
Friday, 22 March - ECAC Semifinals (Atlantic City, NJ)
Saturday, 23 March - ECAC Championship (Atlantic City, NJ)
Fri-Sun, 29-31 March - NCAA Regionals (Providence, RI; Manchester, NH; Toledo, OH; Grand Rapids, MI)
April
Thursday, 11 April - NCAA Frozen Four (Pittsburgh, PA)
Saturday, 13 April - NCAA Championship (Pittsburgh, PA)
This may be subject to change, especially if the Engineers end up hosting St. Cloud State, as the recent rumor out of Central Minnesota indicated. They do, however, have all 34 regular season games covered at present.
It is suspected that the third Union game may take place at the Times Union Center in Albany, subject to the AHL schedule for the Albany Devils.
The 36th Freakout! is likely to take place against either Dartmouth or Yale.
Unless something changes, or the Engineers reach the NCAA Tournament, Western Michigan will be the last CCHA team to face RPI. They would be favorites to also be the first NCHC team to face RPI in 2013-14 given the Engineers' almost certain return trip that season, unless fellow NCHCers St. Cloud State are also on the schedule that season.
The women's schedule generally isn't known until late in the summer, but based on previous schedules we can estimate that they will open the season with an exhibition in the afternoon on September 29, and should probably have non-conference weekends at Syracuse and Robert Morris and one at home against UConn. RPI has had four straight seasons of non-conference weekends against Niagara, it is unknown if that will continue.
Expect the women's season to wrap up the weekend of February 22/23. The 2013 Women's Frozen Four takes place at Ridder Arena on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN, taking place March 22 and 24.
October
Saturday, 6 October - Acadia (Exhibition)
Friday, 12 October - Ferris State
Saturday, 13 October - Ferris State
Friday, 19 October - at Minnesota State
Saturday, 20 October - at Minnesota State
Friday, 26 October - Western Michigan
Saturday, 27 October - Western Michigan
November
Friday, 02 November - Union* (Black Friday)
Saturday, 03 November - at Union*
Friday, 09 November - at Dartmouth*
Saturday, 10 November - at Harvard*
Friday, 16 November - Mercyhurst
Saturday, 17 November - Mercyhurst
Friday, 30 November - Princeton*
December
Saturday, 01 December - Quinnipiac*
Friday, 07 December - at Yale*
Saturday, 08 December - at Brown*
Monday, 31 December - Sacred Heart, 4pm
January
Friday, 04 January - at Boston University
Sunday, 06 January - at New Hampshire, 4pm
Friday, 11 January - at Quinnipiac*
Saturday, 12 January - at Princeton, 4pm*
Friday, 18 January - Colgate*
Saturday, 19 January - Cornell*
Saturday, 26 January - vs. Union (site TBD)
February
Friday, 01 February - Harvard*
Saturday, 02 February - Dartmouth*
Friday, 08 February - at St. Lawrence*
Saturday, 09 February - at Clarkson*
Friday, 15 February - Brown*
Saturday, 16 February - Yale*
Friday, 22 February - at Cornell*
Saturday, 23 February - at Colgate*
March
Friday, 01 March - Clarkson*
Saturday, 02 March - St. Lawrence* (Senior Night)
Fri-Sun, 08-10 March - ECAC First Round (at higher seeds)
Fri-Sun, 15-17 March - ECAC Quarterfinals (at higher seeds)
Friday, 22 March - ECAC Semifinals (Atlantic City, NJ)
Saturday, 23 March - ECAC Championship (Atlantic City, NJ)
Fri-Sun, 29-31 March - NCAA Regionals (Providence, RI; Manchester, NH; Toledo, OH; Grand Rapids, MI)
April
Thursday, 11 April - NCAA Frozen Four (Pittsburgh, PA)
Saturday, 13 April - NCAA Championship (Pittsburgh, PA)
This may be subject to change, especially if the Engineers end up hosting St. Cloud State, as the recent rumor out of Central Minnesota indicated. They do, however, have all 34 regular season games covered at present.
It is suspected that the third Union game may take place at the Times Union Center in Albany, subject to the AHL schedule for the Albany Devils.
The 36th Freakout! is likely to take place against either Dartmouth or Yale.
Unless something changes, or the Engineers reach the NCAA Tournament, Western Michigan will be the last CCHA team to face RPI. They would be favorites to also be the first NCHC team to face RPI in 2013-14 given the Engineers' almost certain return trip that season, unless fellow NCHCers St. Cloud State are also on the schedule that season.
The women's schedule generally isn't known until late in the summer, but based on previous schedules we can estimate that they will open the season with an exhibition in the afternoon on September 29, and should probably have non-conference weekends at Syracuse and Robert Morris and one at home against UConn. RPI has had four straight seasons of non-conference weekends against Niagara, it is unknown if that will continue.
Expect the women's season to wrap up the weekend of February 22/23. The 2013 Women's Frozen Four takes place at Ridder Arena on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN, taking place March 22 and 24.
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