Earning road weekend splits is a good way to position yourself for a first-round bye, as long as you're taking care of business at home as well. RPI finished off their ECAC road schedule with another split, giving them four splits and a 3-point weekend among their five league road weekends. In the North Country, the Engineers had to endure a tough 5-3 loss to a very game St. Lawrence team, but they picked up a convincing 5-1 victory over Clarkson the next night.
St. Lawrence
Lee/Polacek/Helfrich
Cullen/Higgs/Rabbani
Angers-Goulet/O'Grady/Brutlag
Halpern/Malchuk/Smith
Koudys/Foss
Kennedy/Dolan
Leboeuf/Bailen
York
All eyes were on Allen York as he made his return to the RPI lineup after missing three full games and part of a fourth due to a concussion. Meanwhile, hopes that Mike Bergin would return to the lineup were not realized, as he would miss his fifth and sixth consecutive games since picking up a leg injury in the Freakout!.
The game could not have started off much worse for the Engineers. St. Lawrence won the faceoff and immediately started pressuring in the RPI zone, keeping the puck in almost as though they were on the power play until they scored the first goal of the game just 1:24 in to make it 1-0.
The Engineers responded three and a half minutes later on the power play, as Josh Rabbani scored on a rebound a minute into RPI's first man advantage of the night to tie the score. That would not last terrible long, however, as Guy Leboeuf was called for roughing about two minutes later, and St. Lawrence's freshman phenom Greg Carey gave them the lead back on the ensuing faceoff, scoring just 4 seconds into the Leboeuf penalty to put the Saints back on top.
RPI would have plenty of chances to tie things up again during the remainder of the first period, especially when SLU was called for too many men while they were already killing a penalty, giving the Engineers a 5-on-3 for over a minute for the third consecutive game, and like the previous two, they did not convert. They even had third power play opportunity before the end of the period that was also wasted. Despite starting off the night 1-for-1, RPI ultimately went 1-for-4 on the advantage in the first period and finished the night 1-for-6.
Carey scored his second goal of the night with a pinpointed laser of a shot that simply placed the puck in a part of the net where York wasn't to make it 3-1 early in the 2nd period. Later on in the period, as a penalty to Pat Koudys was expiring, the Saints got a fourth goal that was at least inspired by the power play if not technically a power play goal, giving SLU a commanding 4-1 lead that they would hold after two periods.
It wasn't so much that the Engineers were playing poorly per se, although they did have some top players who had rough games, it was more an issue with St. Lawrence playing exceptionally well as a team. That was displayed in lights early in the third period. Just one minute after Jeff Foss scored his third goal of the year of the year off a rip from the point to cut the lead to 4-2 (the much ballyhooed "worst lead in hockey"), the Saints answered right back, scoring on an impossible angle shot that Allen York appeared to either not see, or straight gave up on. At any rate, the fifth goal of the night for St. Lawrence ended York's night, and Bryce Merriam made his fifth consecutive appearance in net for the Engineers.
Merriam stopped all seven shots he saw, but the Engineers could not claw their way back. C.J. Lee did net his fifth goal of the season with four and a half minutes to play and Merriam was pulled for much of the remainder of the game, but it was too little too late for RPI as they fell, 5-3. It was RPI's third consecutive loss, the first time this season they have dropped more than two in a row.
Clarkson
Higgs/Polacek/Brutlag
Angers-Goulet/O'Grady/Rabbani
Cullen/Malchuk/Burgdoerfer
Tinordi/Rogic/Helfrich
Bailen/Foss
Leboeuf/Kennedy
Koudys/Dolan
York
The shakeup to the lineup was immediate and intriguing. Although C.J. Lee appeared to be favoring his shoulder late in the Friday game, he was scratched due to a coach's decision rather than an injury. Brock Higgs, for the first time, was moved off to the left wing, and Tyler Helfrich was placed on the fourth line alongside Matt Tinordi and Johnny Rogic.
For the second night in a row - and the third consecutive game - the Engineers got off to a bad start by giving up the first goal of the night. This one came in similar fashion to one of St. Lawrence's goals as the Golden Knights scored just three seconds into an elbowing penalty against Nick Bailen, giving Clarkson a 1-0 lead only 2:48 into the contest.
The Engineers started off slowly, but gradually began putting pucks on net, ending the first period with the shot totals tied 8-8 despite being down 1-0. The second period was a different story, as RPI outshot Clarkson 4 to 1 during the middle stanza. The persistence paid off midway through the period as RPI finally got on the board with a putback goal from Marty O'Grady, who notched his sixth goal of the year to bring things level.
RPI was the beneficiary of a late penalty to Clarkson in the second period, called at 20:00 to give them fresh legs and a fresh sheet of ice for a full two-minute power play to start the third, but they were unable to take advantage. That didn't matter two minutes later as Johnny Rogic scored on a rebound following a wraparound try by Matt Tinordi, putting the Engineers in front for the first time on the weekend, 2-1.
The Engineers killed a pair of penalties during the period, and Allen York was brilliant in the third, showing that exceptional lateral movement that has served him well all season. He made 20 saves on 21 shots during the course of the game.
Greg Burgdoerfer's third goal of the year midway through the third gave RPI an important two-goal cushion, and Guy Leboeuf sealed it with his first career goal into an empty net with under two minutes remaining, lofting it high in the air from just over the red line in the neutral zone and watching it bounce down and into the net.
That wasn't the end, however, though the final goal was more of a testament to the forechecking, defensive, and penalty killing ability of Alex Angers-Goulet. A slashing call against Joel Malchuk put Clarkson on the power play for the remainder of the game, but in the final seconds, a pokecheck while forechecking from Angers-Goulet resulted in a breakaway in the Clarkson zone, which he put away with 4.2 seconds left in the game, giving RPI a 5-1 victory.
RPI now sits in fifth place, one point behind Cornell and Dartmouth, who are tied for third. Things are very simple for RPI from here - if they win a pair this weekend and see Cornell drop at least one, they won't have to hit the road again until a potential trip down the Garden State Parkway to the Atlantic City Expressway. Sure, it's a bit of a longer drive than the 10-minute trip down I-787 that we never got to take, but it's the new goal.
Other junk - No movement for RPI this week in the USCHO.com poll, as the split weekend kept them ranked #14 in the nation. Ranked past opponents this week are #3 Yale (no change, swept Quinnipiac/Princeton), #5 Union (up two, swept Clarkson/SLU), #15 Boston University (no change), #18 Dartmouth (down two, swept by Colgate/Cornell), and #19 Colorado College (down one). Also receiving votes this week were Princeton (33), Cornell (24), RIT (20), and Northeastern (3).
Congratulations to Tyler Helfrich, who earned his 100th career point on Saturday with an assist on Johnny Rogic's goal. He is the 61st member of the RPI Century Club.
A very rare pointless weekend for Chase Polacek leaves him tied with Barry Martinelli '76, for 20th all time with 155 points. He needs two points to tie Larry Landon '81 for 19th with 157.
I was mistaken about the all-time lead for games played in an RPI uniform - apparently RPI's online records have not been updated to reflect last year, when Peter Merth set the record with 151 games. That does still put Polacek and Jeff Foss on pace to set the all-time record provided they stay healthy and in the lineup - they would break the record in the team's second playoff game.
With Matt Tinordi and Guy Leboeuf breaking onto the scoresheet for the first time in their collegiate careers, Kevin Beauregard, who has appeared in only one game this season, is the only skater who has not registered a point this year.
14 different Engineers have registered at least 3 goals so far this year. That includes every forward that has scored a goal.
ECAC Standings
1. Union - 16-3-1 (33 pts)
2. Yale - 16-4-0 (32 pts)
3. Cornell - 11-7-2 (24 pts)
4. Dartmouth - 11-7-2 (24 pts)
5. RPI - 11-8-1 (23 pts)
6. Princeton - 10-8-2 (22 pts)
7. Clarkson - 8-11-1 (17 pts)
8. Quinnipiac - 6-9-5 (17 pts)
9. Brown - 6-11-2 (14 pts)
10. St. Lawrence - 6-12-1 (13 pts)
11. Colgate - 4-14-2 (10 pts)
12. Harvard - 4-14-1 (9 pts)
#14 RPI at St. Lawrence
ECAC Game - Appleton Arena (Canton, NY)
2/18/11 - 7:00pm
RESULT: St. Lawrence 5, RPI 3
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Watertown Daily Times
RECORD: 18-9-4 (10-8-1 ECAC, 21 pts)
Reale Deals
1. F Josh Rabbani, 1 G
2. D Jeff Foss, 1 G
3. F Joel Malchuk, 1 A, +1
#14 RPI at Clarkson
ECAC Game - Cheel Arena (Potsdam, NY)
2/19/11 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 5, Clarkson 1
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Watertown Daily Times
RECORD: 19-9-4 (11-8-1 ECAC, 23 pts)
Reale Deals
1. G Allen York, 20 saves
2. F Matt Tinordi, 1 A
3. F Alex Angers-Goulet, 1 G
Upcoming games
25 Feb - Princeton
26 Feb - Quinnipiac (Senior Night)
04 Mar - ECAC First Round Game 1 (if necessary)
05 Mar - ECAC First Round Game 2 (if necessary)
06 Mar - ECAC First Round Game 3 (if necessary)
Showing posts with label tyler helfrich. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tyler helfrich. Show all posts
Monday, February 21, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Men's Hockey - at Quinnipiac and Princeton (4/5 Feb)
A three-point weekend on the road is frequently better than expected. RPI accomplished that for the first time this past weekend, although it could have also been the much-sought road sweep if not for one bad play. As it is, the Engineers settled for a 3-3 tie at Quinnipiac and came back the next night to score a victory over #19 Princeton, 5-2 - their second consecutive Saturday win over a ranked opponent by that score.
Quinnipiac
Rabbani/Polacek/Helfrich
Cullen/Higgs/Malchuk
Angers-Goulet/O'Grady/Brutlag
Tinordi/Rogic/Burgdoerfer
Koudys/Bailen
Leboeuf/Foss
Kennedy/Dolan
York
Two injuries shaped the RPI lineup on Friday night - Mike Bergin's injury from the Freakout! which involved a deep cut on his leg, and an injury that C.J. Lee picked up in practice during the week. The Lee injury required a new winger for the Polacek line, and Josh Rabbani earned the spot.
Penalties have been a problem for the Engineers in the last several weeks, but they only made two trips to the penalty box on Friday night in Hamden. It still ended up getting them into trouble.
Bryan Brutlag scored his eighth goal of the year at the 6:41 mark of the first period to give RPI a 1-0 lead, but they would soon give that up on the penalty kill after a penalty to John Kennedy two minutes later. Jeremy Langlois scored near the end of that man advantage to tie the game up at one. The only other penalty the Engineers would have for the remainder of the night came from Nick Bailen at the end of the second period, a penalty that carried over into the second period, but ultimately one that Quinnipiac could not convert. All told, there were only two penalties called after the first 20 minutes were over, and both were on Quinnipiac.
Brock Higgs scored 7:47 into the second period and Jeff Foss notched his second of the year a little over two minutes later to put RPI up 3-1, but another goal by Langlois with just over a minute left in the second cut the lead to 3-2 heading into the third period, which is where the game took a bad turn for the Engineers.
In the first minute of the period, after being hit making his first save, Allen York fell over in his crease and had to come out of the game, eventually heading off to the locker room with what would eventually be diagnosed as a concussion. That left sophomore Bryce Merriam in charge for the rest of the game. Overall, Merriam did very well in the third period, making 11 saves in relief of York.
The one shot that he did not stop, however, was a breakaway by QU freshman Connor Jones caused by a giveaway in the neutral zone by Guy Leboeuf. It's tough to say whether York would have stopped it, since breakaways are tough for even the very best goaltenders to deal with, but Merriam couldn't stop Jones, and the game was tied at three.
One of those two Quinnipiac penalties came in overtime as Zach Hansen was called for Slashing midway through the extra period, and the advantage helped RPI earn a 5-2 shooting advantage in overtime, but it didn't produce the winning goal as the Engineers had to settle for a 3-3 tie that snapped a win streak of five consecutive games.
After the game, the concern was with Allen York. News came out that he would not be available for the Princeton game (marking the second consecutive time Princeton would miss him) but that he was potentially available for next weekend's games.
Princeton
Angers-Goulet/O'Grady/Brutlag
Cullen/Higgs/Malchuk
Rabbani/Polacek/Helfrich
Tinordi/Rogic/Burgdoerfer
Leboeuf/Foss
Kennedy/Dolan
Koudys/Bailen
Merriam
Appert chose to face the Tigers with essentially the same lineup that played against Quinnipiac, with the obvious difference in net. With questions abounding about Merriam's ability after his terrible Freakout! against Princeton last season and giving up five goals in his only full game this season against UConn, the sophomore set about to quiet the critics, and played phenomenally.
The first period largely belonged to Princeton, as they outshot the Engineers 11-3. Merriam came up big, stopping all 11 as the game remained scoreless throughout the 30 minutes or so. Princeton's dominating shot total continued into the second period, where Merriam needed to stand even taller, making 18 saves in the second stanza alone.
Despite the lopsided shot totals (29-11 by the end of the second), it was RPI who would do the scoring in the second period, each time in a penalty situation. Josh Rabbani scored his fourth of the season on the power play from Tyler Helfrich and Chase Polacek at 9:54 of the second to finally open the scoring.
RPI's second goal came under bizarre circumstances. Pat Koudys and Joel Malchuk were called for penalties about 1:30 apart, giving Princeton a 5-on-3 opportunity, but somehow, despite being down two men, Marty O'Grady got a breakaway on Princeton goaltender Sean Bonar. He was hooked by Princeton's Taylor Fedun, creating RPI's second penalty shot opportunity of the season. O'Grady scored on the shot, putting RPI up 2-0. It had been 11 years since RPI had scored on a penalty shot when Chase Polacek did it in overtime against Colgate, now the Engineers have two in three weeks.
The Engineers killed off the Koudys and Malchuk penalties, and then another penalty to Bailen that soon followed. All told, they would go six-for-six on the penalty kill on Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, a Princeton penalty in the final minute of the second produced a power play that RPI quickly converted on, as Polacek netted his 17th of the season to make it 3-0 RPI despite that lopsided shot count.
Princeton made a game of it early in the third period, as they scored about three minutes in and then four minutes later to cut the RPI lead to 3-2. Sensing the lead slipping away, Appert called timeout to allow his charges to regroup, and regroup they did. They took control of the game and did not turn back. When Princeton took another penalty six minutes after scoring their second goal, Rabbani quickly put RPI back up 4-2 for the Engineers' third power play goal and Rabbani's second of the afternoon.
Those two goals would be the only ones Merriam would give up on the game. He made 39 saves on 41 shots and was instrumental to the RPI victory. Assuming Allen York is back in the lineup this weekend (or maybe even if he's not), his injury may ultimately prove to be a positive for the Engineers - it allowed Bryce Merriam to get out there and prove his worth, and showed the world that there's depth at goaltender in Troy as well.
Tyler Helfrich sealed it in the final minute with an empty netter, his 13th goal of the season. The victory extended RPI's unbeaten streak to seven games, the longest since... the one they had at the beginning of this season. This one, of course, has more wins (6) than ties (1) in it.
Next up for RPI is a home weekend against last-place Colgate, who finally earned their first ECAC win of the season last week at home against Clarkson. Can they make it two in a row? Let's hope not. Saturday's game is being broadcast on the NHL Network at 3:30 pm, and will be against a resurgent Cornell which is riding an unbeaten streak of their own and are only a point back. Hopefully Union will toss them around a little bit on Friday night and the Engineers will be ready for a little revenge from their worst outing of the season in Ithaca a few weeks back. At any rate, a sweep this coming weekend would give RPI 25 points, meaning they'd reach the magic number for the first-round bye with two weeks to spare. Certainly something to shoot for.
Other junk - The Engineers' rise in the USCHO.com poll continues. They are up one this week to #8. That's not the all-time high for RPI in the USCHO poll, that would be #5 in November 1999, but if they keep winning... who knows? Other ranked ECAC teams this week are #2 Yale (up one, swept Harvard and Dartmouth), #9 Union (up two, swept Princeton and Quinnipiac, their first ever Top 10 ranking), #17 Dartmouth (no change, beat Brown and lost to Yale) and #20 Princeton (down one, swept by Union and RPI). Also ranked are #14 Boston University (no change) and #19 Colorado College (up one). Receiving votes were RIT (17), Cornell (3), and Quinnipiac (1).
Chase Polacek is quickly narrowing the gap to the top 20 scorers in RPI history. Three more points this weekend give him 154 for his career, one behind Barry Martinelli '76, who currently occupies 20th with 155 points. Larry Landon '81 is in 19th with 157. If he continues scoring at his current pace, Polacek will reach at least the top 15.
With 144 career games played, Polacek and Jeff Foss have tied Pete Gardiner '00 and Seth Klerer '09 for 4th all time for the Engineers. Neither senior has ever been a scratch. They can tie Matt Angers-Goulet '09 for third on Friday against Colgate, and tie Brad Farynuk '06 for second against Cornell on Saturday. If all goes well (that is, they stay healthy), they will set the RPI record for games in a career a week from Saturday in Potsdam against Clarkson, moving in front of Kevin Croxton '06. Bryan Brutlag, on the other hand, has only been scratched three times in his career. As long as all three stay healthy and in the lineup, they will be the top three in games played for RPI at the end of their collegiate careers.
Polacek leads the nation in game-winning goals, collecting the winner against Princeton for his eighth of the year. No one else has more than six, and he is only two away from the all-time NCAA record of ten.
Tyler Helfrich's four point outburst at Princeton put him on the cusp of becoming the 61st member of the Century Club. He needs just two points in the minimum of 8 games that the Engineers have remaining to get there.
I'm dispensing with the adjusted standings from here on out, since most teams have about the same number of games played now, with a few exceptions. The adjusted standings actually mirror the actual standings.
ECAC Standings
1. Yale - 13-3-0 (26 pts)
2. Union - 12-3-1 (25 pts)
3. RPI - 10-5-1 (21 pts)
4. Dartmouth - 9-5-2 (20 pts)
5. Cornell - 9-5-2 (20 pts)
6. Princeton - 9-6-1 (19 pts)
7. Quinnipiac - 6-7-4 (16 pts)
8. Clarkson - 6-8-1 (13 pts)
9. Brown - 5-9-1 (11 pts)
10. St. Lawrence - 4-10-1 (9 pts)
11. Harvard - 3-13-0 (6 pts)
12. Colgate - 1-13-2 (4 pts)
#9 RPI at Quinnipiac
ECAC Game - TD Bank Sports Center (Hamden, CT)
2/4/11 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 3, Quinnipiac 3
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECAPS
RPI
USCHO
Troy Record
Albany Times Union
New Haven Register
The Quad News (QU Student Paper)
RECORD: 17-6-4 (9-5-1 ECAC, 19 pts)
Reale Deals
1. F Brock Higgs, 1 G
2. G Allen York, 26 saves
3. D Jeff Foss, 1 G
#9 RPI at #19 Princeton
ECAC Game - Hobey Baker Memorial Rink (Princeton, NJ)
2/5/11 - 4:00pm
RESULT: RPI 5, Princeton 2
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union
WNYT-TV
RECORD: 18-6-4 (10-5-1 ECAC, 21 pts)
Reale Deals
1. G Bryce Merriam, 39 saves
2. F Josh Rabbani, 2 G
3. F Tyler Helfrich, 1 G, 3 A
Upcoming games
11 Feb - Colgate
12 Feb - Cornell
18 Feb - at St. Lawrence
19 Feb - at Clarkson
25 Feb - #20 Princeton
Quinnipiac
Rabbani/Polacek/Helfrich
Cullen/Higgs/Malchuk
Angers-Goulet/O'Grady/Brutlag
Tinordi/Rogic/Burgdoerfer
Koudys/Bailen
Leboeuf/Foss
Kennedy/Dolan
York
Two injuries shaped the RPI lineup on Friday night - Mike Bergin's injury from the Freakout! which involved a deep cut on his leg, and an injury that C.J. Lee picked up in practice during the week. The Lee injury required a new winger for the Polacek line, and Josh Rabbani earned the spot.
Penalties have been a problem for the Engineers in the last several weeks, but they only made two trips to the penalty box on Friday night in Hamden. It still ended up getting them into trouble.
Bryan Brutlag scored his eighth goal of the year at the 6:41 mark of the first period to give RPI a 1-0 lead, but they would soon give that up on the penalty kill after a penalty to John Kennedy two minutes later. Jeremy Langlois scored near the end of that man advantage to tie the game up at one. The only other penalty the Engineers would have for the remainder of the night came from Nick Bailen at the end of the second period, a penalty that carried over into the second period, but ultimately one that Quinnipiac could not convert. All told, there were only two penalties called after the first 20 minutes were over, and both were on Quinnipiac.
Brock Higgs scored 7:47 into the second period and Jeff Foss notched his second of the year a little over two minutes later to put RPI up 3-1, but another goal by Langlois with just over a minute left in the second cut the lead to 3-2 heading into the third period, which is where the game took a bad turn for the Engineers.
In the first minute of the period, after being hit making his first save, Allen York fell over in his crease and had to come out of the game, eventually heading off to the locker room with what would eventually be diagnosed as a concussion. That left sophomore Bryce Merriam in charge for the rest of the game. Overall, Merriam did very well in the third period, making 11 saves in relief of York.
The one shot that he did not stop, however, was a breakaway by QU freshman Connor Jones caused by a giveaway in the neutral zone by Guy Leboeuf. It's tough to say whether York would have stopped it, since breakaways are tough for even the very best goaltenders to deal with, but Merriam couldn't stop Jones, and the game was tied at three.
One of those two Quinnipiac penalties came in overtime as Zach Hansen was called for Slashing midway through the extra period, and the advantage helped RPI earn a 5-2 shooting advantage in overtime, but it didn't produce the winning goal as the Engineers had to settle for a 3-3 tie that snapped a win streak of five consecutive games.
After the game, the concern was with Allen York. News came out that he would not be available for the Princeton game (marking the second consecutive time Princeton would miss him) but that he was potentially available for next weekend's games.
Princeton
Angers-Goulet/O'Grady/Brutlag
Cullen/Higgs/Malchuk
Rabbani/Polacek/Helfrich
Tinordi/Rogic/Burgdoerfer
Leboeuf/Foss
Kennedy/Dolan
Koudys/Bailen
Merriam
Appert chose to face the Tigers with essentially the same lineup that played against Quinnipiac, with the obvious difference in net. With questions abounding about Merriam's ability after his terrible Freakout! against Princeton last season and giving up five goals in his only full game this season against UConn, the sophomore set about to quiet the critics, and played phenomenally.
The first period largely belonged to Princeton, as they outshot the Engineers 11-3. Merriam came up big, stopping all 11 as the game remained scoreless throughout the 30 minutes or so. Princeton's dominating shot total continued into the second period, where Merriam needed to stand even taller, making 18 saves in the second stanza alone.
Despite the lopsided shot totals (29-11 by the end of the second), it was RPI who would do the scoring in the second period, each time in a penalty situation. Josh Rabbani scored his fourth of the season on the power play from Tyler Helfrich and Chase Polacek at 9:54 of the second to finally open the scoring.
RPI's second goal came under bizarre circumstances. Pat Koudys and Joel Malchuk were called for penalties about 1:30 apart, giving Princeton a 5-on-3 opportunity, but somehow, despite being down two men, Marty O'Grady got a breakaway on Princeton goaltender Sean Bonar. He was hooked by Princeton's Taylor Fedun, creating RPI's second penalty shot opportunity of the season. O'Grady scored on the shot, putting RPI up 2-0. It had been 11 years since RPI had scored on a penalty shot when Chase Polacek did it in overtime against Colgate, now the Engineers have two in three weeks.
The Engineers killed off the Koudys and Malchuk penalties, and then another penalty to Bailen that soon followed. All told, they would go six-for-six on the penalty kill on Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, a Princeton penalty in the final minute of the second produced a power play that RPI quickly converted on, as Polacek netted his 17th of the season to make it 3-0 RPI despite that lopsided shot count.
Princeton made a game of it early in the third period, as they scored about three minutes in and then four minutes later to cut the RPI lead to 3-2. Sensing the lead slipping away, Appert called timeout to allow his charges to regroup, and regroup they did. They took control of the game and did not turn back. When Princeton took another penalty six minutes after scoring their second goal, Rabbani quickly put RPI back up 4-2 for the Engineers' third power play goal and Rabbani's second of the afternoon.
Those two goals would be the only ones Merriam would give up on the game. He made 39 saves on 41 shots and was instrumental to the RPI victory. Assuming Allen York is back in the lineup this weekend (or maybe even if he's not), his injury may ultimately prove to be a positive for the Engineers - it allowed Bryce Merriam to get out there and prove his worth, and showed the world that there's depth at goaltender in Troy as well.
Tyler Helfrich sealed it in the final minute with an empty netter, his 13th goal of the season. The victory extended RPI's unbeaten streak to seven games, the longest since... the one they had at the beginning of this season. This one, of course, has more wins (6) than ties (1) in it.
Next up for RPI is a home weekend against last-place Colgate, who finally earned their first ECAC win of the season last week at home against Clarkson. Can they make it two in a row? Let's hope not. Saturday's game is being broadcast on the NHL Network at 3:30 pm, and will be against a resurgent Cornell which is riding an unbeaten streak of their own and are only a point back. Hopefully Union will toss them around a little bit on Friday night and the Engineers will be ready for a little revenge from their worst outing of the season in Ithaca a few weeks back. At any rate, a sweep this coming weekend would give RPI 25 points, meaning they'd reach the magic number for the first-round bye with two weeks to spare. Certainly something to shoot for.
Other junk - The Engineers' rise in the USCHO.com poll continues. They are up one this week to #8. That's not the all-time high for RPI in the USCHO poll, that would be #5 in November 1999, but if they keep winning... who knows? Other ranked ECAC teams this week are #2 Yale (up one, swept Harvard and Dartmouth), #9 Union (up two, swept Princeton and Quinnipiac, their first ever Top 10 ranking), #17 Dartmouth (no change, beat Brown and lost to Yale) and #20 Princeton (down one, swept by Union and RPI). Also ranked are #14 Boston University (no change) and #19 Colorado College (up one). Receiving votes were RIT (17), Cornell (3), and Quinnipiac (1).
Chase Polacek is quickly narrowing the gap to the top 20 scorers in RPI history. Three more points this weekend give him 154 for his career, one behind Barry Martinelli '76, who currently occupies 20th with 155 points. Larry Landon '81 is in 19th with 157. If he continues scoring at his current pace, Polacek will reach at least the top 15.
With 144 career games played, Polacek and Jeff Foss have tied Pete Gardiner '00 and Seth Klerer '09 for 4th all time for the Engineers. Neither senior has ever been a scratch. They can tie Matt Angers-Goulet '09 for third on Friday against Colgate, and tie Brad Farynuk '06 for second against Cornell on Saturday. If all goes well (that is, they stay healthy), they will set the RPI record for games in a career a week from Saturday in Potsdam against Clarkson, moving in front of Kevin Croxton '06. Bryan Brutlag, on the other hand, has only been scratched three times in his career. As long as all three stay healthy and in the lineup, they will be the top three in games played for RPI at the end of their collegiate careers.
Polacek leads the nation in game-winning goals, collecting the winner against Princeton for his eighth of the year. No one else has more than six, and he is only two away from the all-time NCAA record of ten.
Tyler Helfrich's four point outburst at Princeton put him on the cusp of becoming the 61st member of the Century Club. He needs just two points in the minimum of 8 games that the Engineers have remaining to get there.
I'm dispensing with the adjusted standings from here on out, since most teams have about the same number of games played now, with a few exceptions. The adjusted standings actually mirror the actual standings.
ECAC Standings
1. Yale - 13-3-0 (26 pts)
2. Union - 12-3-1 (25 pts)
3. RPI - 10-5-1 (21 pts)
4. Dartmouth - 9-5-2 (20 pts)
5. Cornell - 9-5-2 (20 pts)
6. Princeton - 9-6-1 (19 pts)
7. Quinnipiac - 6-7-4 (16 pts)
8. Clarkson - 6-8-1 (13 pts)
9. Brown - 5-9-1 (11 pts)
10. St. Lawrence - 4-10-1 (9 pts)
11. Harvard - 3-13-0 (6 pts)
12. Colgate - 1-13-2 (4 pts)
#9 RPI at Quinnipiac
ECAC Game - TD Bank Sports Center (Hamden, CT)
2/4/11 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 3, Quinnipiac 3
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECAPS
RPI
USCHO
Troy Record
Albany Times Union
New Haven Register
The Quad News (QU Student Paper)
RECORD: 17-6-4 (9-5-1 ECAC, 19 pts)
Reale Deals
1. F Brock Higgs, 1 G
2. G Allen York, 26 saves
3. D Jeff Foss, 1 G
#9 RPI at #19 Princeton
ECAC Game - Hobey Baker Memorial Rink (Princeton, NJ)
2/5/11 - 4:00pm
RESULT: RPI 5, Princeton 2
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union
WNYT-TV
RECORD: 18-6-4 (10-5-1 ECAC, 21 pts)
Reale Deals
1. G Bryce Merriam, 39 saves
2. F Josh Rabbani, 2 G
3. F Tyler Helfrich, 1 G, 3 A
Upcoming games
11 Feb - Colgate
12 Feb - Cornell
18 Feb - at St. Lawrence
19 Feb - at Clarkson
25 Feb - #20 Princeton
Monday, December 6, 2010
Men's Hockey - at Yale and Brown (3/4 Dec)
This is was the "island" ECAC weekend for the Engineers. After getting things started in early November with a road trip and the Union home-and-home, this was the one weekend separated from all the rest by at least three weeks on either side - and yet, it was more than likely the most difficult and key road weekend of the season. RPI earned a split, but still came out smelling like roses on the other side, dropping a close-fought battle to high-flying Yale, 4-2 before coming out on top in the grudge match with Brown the following afternoon, 6-2.
Yale
Cullen/Polacek/Brutlag
Angers-Goulet/Higgs/Helfrich
Tinordi/Rogic/Rabbani
Burgdoerfer/Halpern/Smith
Bergin/Foss
Bailen/Dolan
Koudys/Leboeuf
York
Injuries limited the Engineer lineup at the worst possible time. With C.J. Lee, Joel Malchuk, and John Kennedy all out already, sophomore Marty O'Grady picked up a concussion in practice to add to the Engineers' injury woes. That necessitated another reshuffle of the lines.
With Yale's dynamic offense and power play, it was always going to be important to stay out of the penalty box to avoid trouble, and that's exactly what the Engineers didn't manage from the very beginning. Jeff Foss was called for tripping just 34 seconds into the game to put Yale on the power play from the get-go, and with just 11 seconds left on the penalty, the Bulldogs converted as Broc Little gave Yale a 1-0 lead after a well executed power play.
The Bulldogs controlled play for much of the first period through their solid puck control and passing. The Engineers did not back down from the challenge, putting up a solid defensive front with good forechecking and allowing no quarter past the center red line, but they would find themselves in a 2-0 hole a little over halfway through the first period as Chris Cahill scored on a nice shot.
The second period got ugly fast for RPI. The Engineers gave up three power plays, including another quick one on a penalty to Bryan Brutlag just 20 seconds into the period that almost turned into a disaster. The Bulldogs just missed on a breakaway, then hit the inside of the post, then forced Allen York to make a save with his hand after he'd lost his stick moments prior. RPI most certainly bent but they did not break despite a near total onslaught in the second period.
The turnaround began in the final minute of the period. With momentum slightly shifting toward the Engineers, they finally scored their first goal of the game as Nick Bailen ripped a blast from the point that went straight to the back of the net. The flow of the game had been with Yale all the way, but the lead was only one at 2-1. RPI pushed for the tying goal immediately, even before the end of the period, nearly tying it on a shot by Chase Polacek and ultimately drawing a penalty that was called at 20:00, giving RPI a power play to start the 3rd period.
RPI would come close to scoring on that power play, but was unable to put it home. A couple of minutes later, that didn't matter as Mike Bergin glided down to the faceoff circle to one-time a pass from Alex Angers-Goulet into the back of the net, tying the game at two. From there, it appeared the momentum may have shifted to the Engineers, and that the upset could well be brewing.
But then the penalty woes returned with three straight penalties. The Engineers killed a penalty to Brock Higgs, but when Guy Leboeuf and Bailen were called for tripping about a minute apart, it set up a long 5-on-3 against Yale's impressive power play. 11 seconds later, it was fairly academic as Andrew Miller scored on a textbook 5-on-3 implementation, putting Yale back in front, 3-2.
The Engineers' best chance to catch back up about a minute later as they got another power play, but they were unable to draw square for a second time, finishing the evening 0-for-4 on the man advantage, giving Yale's rough penalty kill a boost. The Bulldogs uncharacteristically stayed out of the box pretty well, while RPI's penalty woes ended their shot at an upset. The Bulldogs added a late empty netter to secure a 4-2 victory.
At even-strength, missing four key players, the Engineers hung with the Bulldogs, forced them to adapt their game, and even outscored the #2 team in the country, 2-1. The penalties, especially the 5-on-3, were the dagger, but it was a loss that the Engineers could at least take a little bit of pride in. It was only the second time this season a team had brought Yale down to the wire (their 15 minute collapse at Air Force notwithstanding), and the first time they'd had a close game at home.
The one issue after the game was the health of Allen York, who was slow to get up after his final action of the night - he was pulled right away and did not see the ice again as the Engineer net was empty for the remainder of the game.
Brown
Angers-Goulet/Rogic/Brutlag
Cullen/Polacek/Helfrich
Tinordi/Higgs/Rabbani
Burgdoerfer/Beauregard/Halpern
Bergin/Foss
Bailen/Dolan
Koudys/Leboeuf
York
More line shuffling was in order after the Yale loss, with Johnny Rogic finding his first opportunity to center a scoring line. Tyler Helfrich was put back on the wing with Chase Polacek. York did start despite injury concerns, but observers at the game noted that he often rested on one of his knees during the game.
The Engineers got a 5-on-3 opportunity about 8 minutes into the first period, and they capitalized with a goal as Helfrich scored his 7th of the year from Brock Higgs and Polacek to give RPI a 1-0 lead. The goal actually came as the first Brown penalty expired, so they did not have an opportunity for a follow-up 5-on-4 chance.
The penalty problems persisted in the first frame as Patrick Cullen and Matt Tinordi both earned minor penalties late in the period that resulted in Brown power plays, but both were killed off. Shortly after Tinordi left the penalty box, Johnny Rogic cashed in with his first collegiate goal with just four seconds left in the period, giving RPI a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
RPI didn't let up as the second period began, as Helfrich notched his second of the game in a 4-on-4 situation to make it 3-0. 90 seconds later, everyone's favorite Brown captain, Harry Zolnierczyk was called for holding (a call he most likely protested vehemently), and Nick Bailen scored another goal from the point with 2 seconds left on the ensuing power play to put RPI up 4-0 after just over 25 minutes of play. The rout, it seemed, was on.
But Brown would get one back about three minutes later, beating Allen York on a defensive breakdown to make it 4-1, a score that would hold up into the third period. The Engineers came out poorly early in the final stanza, allowing another goal 2:23 in to make it 4-2, and Brown appeared to have the initiative for much of the period, with York forced to make a total of 17 shots in the period. A penalty to Polacek with about 7 minutes left looked like a key opportunity for Brown to pull within a goal, but the RPI penalty kill stood firm.
Seconds after the penalty expired, the Engineers closed the door firmly, as Greg Burgdoerfer landed his first goal as an Engineer to give RPI their three-goal lead back with just over 4 minutes left in the game, and an exclamation point was put on the win just under 2 minutes later when defenseman Pat Koudys scored his first collegiate goal to make the final score 6-2.
For the second time this season, the Engineers earned a road split. That bodes well moving forward. If they can continue their dominance at home (where they are undefeated and untied) in league play and continue to churn out two points at a minimum in their remaining three road weekends, they will be in a very good position to end the season.
There is no rest for the weary, not right away at least. A huge non-conference tilt is coming up this weekend, as RPI faces traditional rivals Boston University at the Field House in a game that could go a long way towards making the Engineers national contenders with the right result. The Terriers were swept by their hated nemeses from Boston College last weekend and must face Northeastern on Wednesday before taking their trip down the Masspike to Troy.
That game, it should be mentioned, will be broadcast live around North America on the NHL Network. Puck drop is at 3:30pm.
Other junk - The valiant stand against Yale and the solid win over Brown impressed the voters in the USCHO.com poll to move the Engineers up yet again - they are now ranked #15 in the nation, up one from last week with 260 votes. The Bulldogs' sweep of RPI and Union (beating the Dutchmen by an impressive 5-0 score on national TV) propelled them into the top spot for the first time in school history - #1 Yale (34 first place votes, up one) is the 17th school in the history of the poll to hold the top position and only the second ECAC team (Cornell was ranked #1 in the final poll in 2003). Two other ECAC schools are ranked this week - #13 Union (no change, beat Brown and lost to Yale) and #19 Dartmouth (previously unranked, idle). The Engineers' opponent this week is #7 Boston University (down five, swept by Boston College). Other RPI opponents earning votes were Clarkson (42, the most by an unranked team), Colorado College (17), Princeton (3), and Niagara (1).
With his assist on Helfrich's second goal on Saturday, Polacek moved past Neil Hernberg '87 and Tim Regan '96 to move into 35th in scoring all time at RPI. He now has 132 points for his career. Next on the list is Don Hearns '75 and Brian Ferreira '90, tied for 33rd with 134 points, and Trevor Kaye '62, 32nd with 135 points. The four assist night on Saturday helped move him up to 17th in the nation in points per game with 1.33 PPG.
Helfrich needs 16 more points this season to become the 61st member of the RPI Century Club. If he can continue scoring at his current pace, he will reach it.
Nick Bailen's goal on Saturday was his 7th in 15 games as an Engineer. He scored only six in 37 games at Bowling Green in 2008-09. It is already the most goals scored by an Engineer defenseman in a season since Keith MCWilliams scored 9 in the 2005-06 season and Scott Basiuk netted 11 in 2003-04. He has scored a goal in three straight games, and five of the last six. With 17 points, he is 4th in the nation in scoring by a defenseman, and his 7 goals are 2nd in the nation behind Wisconsin's Justin Schultz.
With Kevin Beauregard's appearance in Saturday's game, the only player on the roster that has not seen ice time is third-string goaltender Jeremy Coupal. Beauregard, Justin Smith, Matt Tinordi, and Guy Leboeuf are the only skaters yet to record a point thus far.
ECAC Standings
1. Yale - 6-0-0 (12 pts)
2. Princeton - 6-3-0 (12 pts)
3. Dartmouth - 5-2-1 (11 pts)
4. Clarkson - 4-2-1 (9 pts)
5. Union - 3-2-1 (7 pts)
6. Quinnipiac - 3-5-1 (7 pts)
7. RPI - 3-3-0 (6 pts)
8. St. Lawrence - 3-4-0 (6 pts)
9. Brown - 2-3-1 (5 pts)
10. Cornell - 2-4-0 (4 pts)
11. Harvard - 2-6-0 (4 pts)
12. Colgate - 0-5-1 (1 pt)
Adjusted Standings
1. Yale (1.000)
2. Dartmouth (.688)
3. Princeton (.667)
4. Clarkson (.643)
5. Union (.583)
6. RPI (.500)
7. St. Lawrence (.429)
8. Brown (.417)
9. Quinnipiac (.389)
10. Cornell (.333)
11. Harvard (.250)
12. Colgate (.083)
#16 RPI at #2 Yale
ECAC Game - Ingalls Rink (New Haven, CT)
12/3/10 - 7:00pm
RESULT: Yale 4, RPI 2
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Yale Daily News
RECORD: 7-4-3 (2-3-0 ECAC, 4 pts)
Reale Deals
1. D Nick Bailen, 1 G
2. D Mike Bergin, 1 G
3. F Alex Angers-Goulet, 1 A, 2 shots
#16 RPI at Brown
ECAC Game - Meehan Auditorium (Providence, RI)
12/4/10 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 6, Brown 2
BOX SCORES
College Hockey News
USCHO
RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union
RECORD: 8-4-3 (3-3-0 ECAC, 6 pts)
Reale Deals
1. F Chase Polacek, 4 A
2. F Tyler Helfrich, 2 G
3. G Allen York, 33 saves
Upcoming games
11 Dec - #7 Boston University
19 Dec - US Junior National Team (exhibition)
30 Dec - at Alabama-Huntsville
31 Dec - at Alabama-Huntsville
07 Jan - Clarkson
Yale
Cullen/Polacek/Brutlag
Angers-Goulet/Higgs/Helfrich
Tinordi/Rogic/Rabbani
Burgdoerfer/Halpern/Smith
Bergin/Foss
Bailen/Dolan
Koudys/Leboeuf
York
Injuries limited the Engineer lineup at the worst possible time. With C.J. Lee, Joel Malchuk, and John Kennedy all out already, sophomore Marty O'Grady picked up a concussion in practice to add to the Engineers' injury woes. That necessitated another reshuffle of the lines.
With Yale's dynamic offense and power play, it was always going to be important to stay out of the penalty box to avoid trouble, and that's exactly what the Engineers didn't manage from the very beginning. Jeff Foss was called for tripping just 34 seconds into the game to put Yale on the power play from the get-go, and with just 11 seconds left on the penalty, the Bulldogs converted as Broc Little gave Yale a 1-0 lead after a well executed power play.
The Bulldogs controlled play for much of the first period through their solid puck control and passing. The Engineers did not back down from the challenge, putting up a solid defensive front with good forechecking and allowing no quarter past the center red line, but they would find themselves in a 2-0 hole a little over halfway through the first period as Chris Cahill scored on a nice shot.
The second period got ugly fast for RPI. The Engineers gave up three power plays, including another quick one on a penalty to Bryan Brutlag just 20 seconds into the period that almost turned into a disaster. The Bulldogs just missed on a breakaway, then hit the inside of the post, then forced Allen York to make a save with his hand after he'd lost his stick moments prior. RPI most certainly bent but they did not break despite a near total onslaught in the second period.
The turnaround began in the final minute of the period. With momentum slightly shifting toward the Engineers, they finally scored their first goal of the game as Nick Bailen ripped a blast from the point that went straight to the back of the net. The flow of the game had been with Yale all the way, but the lead was only one at 2-1. RPI pushed for the tying goal immediately, even before the end of the period, nearly tying it on a shot by Chase Polacek and ultimately drawing a penalty that was called at 20:00, giving RPI a power play to start the 3rd period.
RPI would come close to scoring on that power play, but was unable to put it home. A couple of minutes later, that didn't matter as Mike Bergin glided down to the faceoff circle to one-time a pass from Alex Angers-Goulet into the back of the net, tying the game at two. From there, it appeared the momentum may have shifted to the Engineers, and that the upset could well be brewing.
But then the penalty woes returned with three straight penalties. The Engineers killed a penalty to Brock Higgs, but when Guy Leboeuf and Bailen were called for tripping about a minute apart, it set up a long 5-on-3 against Yale's impressive power play. 11 seconds later, it was fairly academic as Andrew Miller scored on a textbook 5-on-3 implementation, putting Yale back in front, 3-2.
The Engineers' best chance to catch back up about a minute later as they got another power play, but they were unable to draw square for a second time, finishing the evening 0-for-4 on the man advantage, giving Yale's rough penalty kill a boost. The Bulldogs uncharacteristically stayed out of the box pretty well, while RPI's penalty woes ended their shot at an upset. The Bulldogs added a late empty netter to secure a 4-2 victory.
At even-strength, missing four key players, the Engineers hung with the Bulldogs, forced them to adapt their game, and even outscored the #2 team in the country, 2-1. The penalties, especially the 5-on-3, were the dagger, but it was a loss that the Engineers could at least take a little bit of pride in. It was only the second time this season a team had brought Yale down to the wire (their 15 minute collapse at Air Force notwithstanding), and the first time they'd had a close game at home.
The one issue after the game was the health of Allen York, who was slow to get up after his final action of the night - he was pulled right away and did not see the ice again as the Engineer net was empty for the remainder of the game.
Brown
Angers-Goulet/Rogic/Brutlag
Cullen/Polacek/Helfrich
Tinordi/Higgs/Rabbani
Burgdoerfer/Beauregard/Halpern
Bergin/Foss
Bailen/Dolan
Koudys/Leboeuf
York
More line shuffling was in order after the Yale loss, with Johnny Rogic finding his first opportunity to center a scoring line. Tyler Helfrich was put back on the wing with Chase Polacek. York did start despite injury concerns, but observers at the game noted that he often rested on one of his knees during the game.
The Engineers got a 5-on-3 opportunity about 8 minutes into the first period, and they capitalized with a goal as Helfrich scored his 7th of the year from Brock Higgs and Polacek to give RPI a 1-0 lead. The goal actually came as the first Brown penalty expired, so they did not have an opportunity for a follow-up 5-on-4 chance.
The penalty problems persisted in the first frame as Patrick Cullen and Matt Tinordi both earned minor penalties late in the period that resulted in Brown power plays, but both were killed off. Shortly after Tinordi left the penalty box, Johnny Rogic cashed in with his first collegiate goal with just four seconds left in the period, giving RPI a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
RPI didn't let up as the second period began, as Helfrich notched his second of the game in a 4-on-4 situation to make it 3-0. 90 seconds later, everyone's favorite Brown captain, Harry Zolnierczyk was called for holding (a call he most likely protested vehemently), and Nick Bailen scored another goal from the point with 2 seconds left on the ensuing power play to put RPI up 4-0 after just over 25 minutes of play. The rout, it seemed, was on.
But Brown would get one back about three minutes later, beating Allen York on a defensive breakdown to make it 4-1, a score that would hold up into the third period. The Engineers came out poorly early in the final stanza, allowing another goal 2:23 in to make it 4-2, and Brown appeared to have the initiative for much of the period, with York forced to make a total of 17 shots in the period. A penalty to Polacek with about 7 minutes left looked like a key opportunity for Brown to pull within a goal, but the RPI penalty kill stood firm.
Seconds after the penalty expired, the Engineers closed the door firmly, as Greg Burgdoerfer landed his first goal as an Engineer to give RPI their three-goal lead back with just over 4 minutes left in the game, and an exclamation point was put on the win just under 2 minutes later when defenseman Pat Koudys scored his first collegiate goal to make the final score 6-2.
For the second time this season, the Engineers earned a road split. That bodes well moving forward. If they can continue their dominance at home (where they are undefeated and untied) in league play and continue to churn out two points at a minimum in their remaining three road weekends, they will be in a very good position to end the season.
There is no rest for the weary, not right away at least. A huge non-conference tilt is coming up this weekend, as RPI faces traditional rivals Boston University at the Field House in a game that could go a long way towards making the Engineers national contenders with the right result. The Terriers were swept by their hated nemeses from Boston College last weekend and must face Northeastern on Wednesday before taking their trip down the Masspike to Troy.
That game, it should be mentioned, will be broadcast live around North America on the NHL Network. Puck drop is at 3:30pm.
Other junk - The valiant stand against Yale and the solid win over Brown impressed the voters in the USCHO.com poll to move the Engineers up yet again - they are now ranked #15 in the nation, up one from last week with 260 votes. The Bulldogs' sweep of RPI and Union (beating the Dutchmen by an impressive 5-0 score on national TV) propelled them into the top spot for the first time in school history - #1 Yale (34 first place votes, up one) is the 17th school in the history of the poll to hold the top position and only the second ECAC team (Cornell was ranked #1 in the final poll in 2003). Two other ECAC schools are ranked this week - #13 Union (no change, beat Brown and lost to Yale) and #19 Dartmouth (previously unranked, idle). The Engineers' opponent this week is #7 Boston University (down five, swept by Boston College). Other RPI opponents earning votes were Clarkson (42, the most by an unranked team), Colorado College (17), Princeton (3), and Niagara (1).
With his assist on Helfrich's second goal on Saturday, Polacek moved past Neil Hernberg '87 and Tim Regan '96 to move into 35th in scoring all time at RPI. He now has 132 points for his career. Next on the list is Don Hearns '75 and Brian Ferreira '90, tied for 33rd with 134 points, and Trevor Kaye '62, 32nd with 135 points. The four assist night on Saturday helped move him up to 17th in the nation in points per game with 1.33 PPG.
Helfrich needs 16 more points this season to become the 61st member of the RPI Century Club. If he can continue scoring at his current pace, he will reach it.
Nick Bailen's goal on Saturday was his 7th in 15 games as an Engineer. He scored only six in 37 games at Bowling Green in 2008-09. It is already the most goals scored by an Engineer defenseman in a season since Keith MCWilliams scored 9 in the 2005-06 season and Scott Basiuk netted 11 in 2003-04. He has scored a goal in three straight games, and five of the last six. With 17 points, he is 4th in the nation in scoring by a defenseman, and his 7 goals are 2nd in the nation behind Wisconsin's Justin Schultz.
With Kevin Beauregard's appearance in Saturday's game, the only player on the roster that has not seen ice time is third-string goaltender Jeremy Coupal. Beauregard, Justin Smith, Matt Tinordi, and Guy Leboeuf are the only skaters yet to record a point thus far.
ECAC Standings
1. Yale - 6-0-0 (12 pts)
2. Princeton - 6-3-0 (12 pts)
3. Dartmouth - 5-2-1 (11 pts)
4. Clarkson - 4-2-1 (9 pts)
5. Union - 3-2-1 (7 pts)
6. Quinnipiac - 3-5-1 (7 pts)
7. RPI - 3-3-0 (6 pts)
8. St. Lawrence - 3-4-0 (6 pts)
9. Brown - 2-3-1 (5 pts)
10. Cornell - 2-4-0 (4 pts)
11. Harvard - 2-6-0 (4 pts)
12. Colgate - 0-5-1 (1 pt)
Adjusted Standings
1. Yale (1.000)
2. Dartmouth (.688)
3. Princeton (.667)
4. Clarkson (.643)
5. Union (.583)
6. RPI (.500)
7. St. Lawrence (.429)
8. Brown (.417)
9. Quinnipiac (.389)
10. Cornell (.333)
11. Harvard (.250)
12. Colgate (.083)
#16 RPI at #2 Yale
ECAC Game - Ingalls Rink (New Haven, CT)
12/3/10 - 7:00pm
RESULT: Yale 4, RPI 2
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Yale Daily News
RECORD: 7-4-3 (2-3-0 ECAC, 4 pts)
Reale Deals
1. D Nick Bailen, 1 G
2. D Mike Bergin, 1 G
3. F Alex Angers-Goulet, 1 A, 2 shots
#16 RPI at Brown
ECAC Game - Meehan Auditorium (Providence, RI)
12/4/10 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 6, Brown 2
BOX SCORES
College Hockey News
USCHO
RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times Union
RECORD: 8-4-3 (3-3-0 ECAC, 6 pts)
Reale Deals
1. F Chase Polacek, 4 A
2. F Tyler Helfrich, 2 G
3. G Allen York, 33 saves
Upcoming games
11 Dec - #7 Boston University
19 Dec - US Junior National Team (exhibition)
30 Dec - at Alabama-Huntsville
31 Dec - at Alabama-Huntsville
07 Jan - Clarkson
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Eh, Why Not
See the title. Feel the title.
Yeah, it's just two games, but come on. It's been nine years. Just enjoy the moment.
All Tournament Team
G - Allen York, RPI
D - Nick Bailen, RPI
D - Jeff Foss, RPI
F - Jordan Samuels-Thomas, Bowling Green
F - Chase Polacek, RPI
F - Tyler Helfrich, RPI
MVP - Bryan Brutlag, RPI
Yeah, it's just two games, but come on. It's been nine years. Just enjoy the moment.
All Tournament Team
G - Allen York, RPI
D - Nick Bailen, RPI
D - Jeff Foss, RPI
F - Jordan Samuels-Thomas, Bowling Green
F - Chase Polacek, RPI
F - Tyler Helfrich, RPI
MVP - Bryan Brutlag, RPI
Monday, November 1, 2010
Men's Hockey - vs. Union (30 Oct)
The Route 7 Rivalry was rekindled in unfamiliar territory, as the two teams played each other outside of the Capital District for the first time since meeting in the Catamount Cup in 2006 in Burlington - this time clashing on the hallowed ice of Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, a venue the Engineers hadn't visited since the 2002 ECAC Championships, which was also the last time they played in that tournament. With an eye on two weeks from now, when the Engineers and Dutchmen will go head to head for ECAC points, the teams skated to a 3-3 tie in a well played, back-and-forth affair.
Union
Lee/Polacek/Helfrich
Angers-Goulet/Malchuk/Brutlag
Rabbani/Higgs/O'Grady
Tinordi/Rogic/Halpern
Bergin/Foss
Kennedy/Leboeuf
Koudys/Bailen
York
The forward lines seem to be settling in nicely - which is bad news for the guys who are now becoming regular scratches, especially Patrick Cullen and Greg Burgdoerfer, who are continuing to have trouble cracking the lineup. Meanwhile, the rotation of the three freshmen defensemen continues, and this time it was Bo Dolan's turn to sit out.
After an early feeling out period, the first major event was an interference penalty to Bryan Brutlag, which gave us our first taste of the crucial Union power play vs. RPI penalty kill matchup, and the first round went definitively to the Dutchmen. Shortly after the man advantage got underway, Greg Coburn scored on a rocket from the point to put Union up 1-0.
A penalty to Union captain Brock Matheson shortly thereafter gave RPI their first power play of the afternoon, but they were unable to convert. Brutlag hit the box again on a tripping call about a minute after the RPI advantage ended, and Union made it 2-for-2 on the power play with a little help from a defensive miscue. Nick Bailen checked a Union forward in front of the net, and the Dutchman, perhaps seeing a golden opportunity after the hit, sprawled into Allen York in front fairly easily, putting the RPI netminder on his back for the shot that came in from senior Adam Presizniuk, giving Union the 2-0 lead that they would carry into the second period.
The Engineers finally killed a penalty early in the 2nd period when they successfully got through an elbowing call against Bailen. The increasingly famous Union slow-down kept things difficult for RPI through the majority of the period, as shots became few and far between, but a penalty late in the period to Justin Pallos opened the door, and the RPI power play walked through it. Just one second after the penalty expired, a laser of a shot from Bailen hit the back of the net. His second goal as an Engineer made it 2-1 heading into the third period.
The Union slow-down continued into the third as the Dutchmen clung to their one-goal lead. What appeared to be an RPI power play chance on a hooking call to Presizniuk was wiped away when the referees called Bailen for embellishment on the play. But a minute after the teams returned to 5-on-5, C.J. Lee came into the zone with Polacek and Helfrich on a 3-on-2, keeping the puck himself as he drove to the net and jammed it past Keith Kincaid to tie the score at two.
With the RPI faithful still cheering Lee's goal, the Engineers attacked immediately on the center-ice faceoff. Just 11 seconds after Lee had tied the game, Tyler Helfrich continued his personal renaissance with his team leading 4th goal of the season, sneaking a Chase Polacek pass between Kincaid and the post to put RPI ahead, 3-2.
From there, the Engineers seemed to have broken the Dutchmen's backs, as they continued pressing and looking for another goal, exhibiting good puck control and keeping Union from having any decent looks. But a late icing call on the Engineers with exactly 60 seconds left in regulation provided the opening they needed. Previously unable to pull Kincaid, Nate Leaman called timeout and set up a play with the extra attacker - a situation in which the Dutchmen have been dangerous all season long, as their excellent power play statistics (and their 2-for-3 record on the night) underscore. 30 seconds later, before the Engineers had ever been able to clear the zone, freshman Mat Bodie scored his first career goal on a shot from the blue line with traffic in front to tie things up at three.
Both teams had opportunities to score in the overtime period, but neither were able to get any quality chances, and the first battle between the Route 7 rivalry ended without resolution. The Dutchmen led most of the way but were fortunate to get the tie - in some respects, both teams were disappointed with the final result. John Kennedy told Ed Weaver after the game that "the team was more PO'd than disappointed." That chip on the shoulder will be important in two weeks.
Other junk - The tie with Union, coupled with some bad weeks from other teams in the rankings, helped the Engineers rise two spots in the USCHO.com poll, they now sit as the 18th ranked team in the nation. Also ranked this week from the ECAC are #5 Yale (one first place vote, no change, beat Brown and Dartmouth at home), #15 Union (up one, tied UConn and RPI), and #19 Cornell (down five, lost at home to UNH and RIT). #3 Boston University (seven first place votes, up three) is the only other ranked RPI opponent this week, but also receiving votes were Quinnipiac (38), Colorado College (18), Clarkson (7), and RIT (6).
The ECAC schedule starts this week with a full slate of games, including RPI/Union visiting Dartmouth/Harvard. The Big Green got two games under their belts last weekend, beating Princeton before falling to Yale in the Ivy Shootout, but this will be the first weekend of competitive hockey for the Crimson.
#20 RPI vs. #16 Union
Nonconference Game - Herb Brooks Arena at Olympic Center (Lake Placid, NY)
10/30/10 - 4:00pm
RESULT: RPI 3, Union 3
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times-Union
WNYT-TV (Albany)
VIDEO
Goals (Union goals first, RPI goals after)
RECORD: 3-1-3 (0-0-0 ECAC)
Reale Deals
1. F Tyler Helfrich, 1 G, 1 A
2. F Chase Polacek, 2 A
3. D Nick Bailen, 1 G, 1 A
Upcoming games
05 Nov - at Dartmouth
06 Nov - at Harvard
12 Nov - at #15 Union
13 Nov - #15 Union (Black Saturday)
26 Nov - UConn (RPI Invitational)
Union
Lee/Polacek/Helfrich
Angers-Goulet/Malchuk/Brutlag
Rabbani/Higgs/O'Grady
Tinordi/Rogic/Halpern
Bergin/Foss
Kennedy/Leboeuf
Koudys/Bailen
York
The forward lines seem to be settling in nicely - which is bad news for the guys who are now becoming regular scratches, especially Patrick Cullen and Greg Burgdoerfer, who are continuing to have trouble cracking the lineup. Meanwhile, the rotation of the three freshmen defensemen continues, and this time it was Bo Dolan's turn to sit out.
After an early feeling out period, the first major event was an interference penalty to Bryan Brutlag, which gave us our first taste of the crucial Union power play vs. RPI penalty kill matchup, and the first round went definitively to the Dutchmen. Shortly after the man advantage got underway, Greg Coburn scored on a rocket from the point to put Union up 1-0.
A penalty to Union captain Brock Matheson shortly thereafter gave RPI their first power play of the afternoon, but they were unable to convert. Brutlag hit the box again on a tripping call about a minute after the RPI advantage ended, and Union made it 2-for-2 on the power play with a little help from a defensive miscue. Nick Bailen checked a Union forward in front of the net, and the Dutchman, perhaps seeing a golden opportunity after the hit, sprawled into Allen York in front fairly easily, putting the RPI netminder on his back for the shot that came in from senior Adam Presizniuk, giving Union the 2-0 lead that they would carry into the second period.
The Engineers finally killed a penalty early in the 2nd period when they successfully got through an elbowing call against Bailen. The increasingly famous Union slow-down kept things difficult for RPI through the majority of the period, as shots became few and far between, but a penalty late in the period to Justin Pallos opened the door, and the RPI power play walked through it. Just one second after the penalty expired, a laser of a shot from Bailen hit the back of the net. His second goal as an Engineer made it 2-1 heading into the third period.
The Union slow-down continued into the third as the Dutchmen clung to their one-goal lead. What appeared to be an RPI power play chance on a hooking call to Presizniuk was wiped away when the referees called Bailen for embellishment on the play. But a minute after the teams returned to 5-on-5, C.J. Lee came into the zone with Polacek and Helfrich on a 3-on-2, keeping the puck himself as he drove to the net and jammed it past Keith Kincaid to tie the score at two.
With the RPI faithful still cheering Lee's goal, the Engineers attacked immediately on the center-ice faceoff. Just 11 seconds after Lee had tied the game, Tyler Helfrich continued his personal renaissance with his team leading 4th goal of the season, sneaking a Chase Polacek pass between Kincaid and the post to put RPI ahead, 3-2.
From there, the Engineers seemed to have broken the Dutchmen's backs, as they continued pressing and looking for another goal, exhibiting good puck control and keeping Union from having any decent looks. But a late icing call on the Engineers with exactly 60 seconds left in regulation provided the opening they needed. Previously unable to pull Kincaid, Nate Leaman called timeout and set up a play with the extra attacker - a situation in which the Dutchmen have been dangerous all season long, as their excellent power play statistics (and their 2-for-3 record on the night) underscore. 30 seconds later, before the Engineers had ever been able to clear the zone, freshman Mat Bodie scored his first career goal on a shot from the blue line with traffic in front to tie things up at three.
Both teams had opportunities to score in the overtime period, but neither were able to get any quality chances, and the first battle between the Route 7 rivalry ended without resolution. The Dutchmen led most of the way but were fortunate to get the tie - in some respects, both teams were disappointed with the final result. John Kennedy told Ed Weaver after the game that "the team was more PO'd than disappointed." That chip on the shoulder will be important in two weeks.
Other junk - The tie with Union, coupled with some bad weeks from other teams in the rankings, helped the Engineers rise two spots in the USCHO.com poll, they now sit as the 18th ranked team in the nation. Also ranked this week from the ECAC are #5 Yale (one first place vote, no change, beat Brown and Dartmouth at home), #15 Union (up one, tied UConn and RPI), and #19 Cornell (down five, lost at home to UNH and RIT). #3 Boston University (seven first place votes, up three) is the only other ranked RPI opponent this week, but also receiving votes were Quinnipiac (38), Colorado College (18), Clarkson (7), and RIT (6).
The ECAC schedule starts this week with a full slate of games, including RPI/Union visiting Dartmouth/Harvard. The Big Green got two games under their belts last weekend, beating Princeton before falling to Yale in the Ivy Shootout, but this will be the first weekend of competitive hockey for the Crimson.
#20 RPI vs. #16 Union
Nonconference Game - Herb Brooks Arena at Olympic Center (Lake Placid, NY)
10/30/10 - 4:00pm
RESULT: RPI 3, Union 3
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECAPS
RPI
Troy Record
Albany Times-Union
WNYT-TV (Albany)
VIDEO
Goals (Union goals first, RPI goals after)
RECORD: 3-1-3 (0-0-0 ECAC)
Reale Deals
1. F Tyler Helfrich, 1 G, 1 A
2. F Chase Polacek, 2 A
3. D Nick Bailen, 1 G, 1 A
Upcoming games
05 Nov - at Dartmouth
06 Nov - at Harvard
12 Nov - at #15 Union
13 Nov - #15 Union (Black Saturday)
26 Nov - UConn (RPI Invitational)
Monday, October 18, 2010
Men's Hockey - at Northeastern, Bentley (15/16 Oct)
A week after a successful (if not materially successful) trip to Colorado, the RPI season rolled on with the only away/home weekend of the season with another interesting matchup in Boston before heading home for reunion weekend and an early evening game to kick off the Houston Field House schedule. It was a "three point weekend" for the Engineers, as they earned a tie for the second consecutive game against Northeastern, 2-2, before beating Bentley 3-0 on Saturday night.
Northeastern
Helfrich/Polacek/Lee
Angers-Goulet/Malchuk/Brutlag
Cullen/Higgs/O'Grady
Rabbani/Rogic/Burgdoerfer
Bergin/Foss
Koudys/Kennedy
Leboeuf/Bailen
York
The Northeastern Huskies came into the season with fairly high expectations in Hockey East, with the coaches of the league believing they can finish somewhere in the middle of the table as one of the best teams outside of the league's traditional "Big Four" of BC, BU, UNH, and Maine. Given the Engineers' similar aspirations (picked fifth in the ECAC), this promised to be a game of very evenly matched teams, and it played out that way for the most part.
Penalties were an issue for both teams in Colorado, and it was no different in this game, especially in the first period as the Engineers and Huskies both took 5 minor penalties in the first 20 minutes with three power plays each. RPI would score on their third chance on the man advantage, taking their first lead of the season as Bryan Brutlag scored from Tyler Helfrich and Nick Bailen on a two-man advantage that was brilliantly executed. But three minutes later, on a delayed penalty to Greg Burgdoerfer, Northeastern scored after an extended 6x5 opportunity to tie the score, and then went on the power play to boot thanks to the new rule requiring penalties to be assessed even after goals on delayed calls.
Northeastern came out firing in the second period, earning an even strength goal on a blast from the point by 6'7" behemoth Jamie Oleksiak to put the Huskies up 2-1. From there, penalties continued to rule the day. Burgdoerfer took his third penalty of the night less than a minute after the Husky goal, which would pretty much end his night as he didn't see the ice much after that. The chippiness started getting nasty shortly thereafter, as Northeastern's Zak Stone was issued five for a hit from behind and a game misconduct for a hit that left Alex Angers-Goulet prone on the ice for a few minutes. That long power play was mitigated shortly thereafter by a too many men call on RPI (served by Johnny Rogic who, along with Burgdoerfer, became scarce after the first period). A second penalty to NU a minute later eventually gave the Engineers a long 5x3 power play, but unlike their first period opportunity, they were unable to convert.
After a questionable "instigating" call on Brutlag (who apparently was managing to instigate from being flat on the ice, where he was put at the end of the play), the Engineers were the beneficiary of a questionable call on Northeastern, and they capitalized on the ensuing power play as Chase Polacek scored from a pretty extreme angle, almost on the goal line, for his first goal of the year to tie the game at two.
The referees looked as though they wanted to swallow the whistle in the 3rd period, but early on Northeastern's Randy Guzior made a dangerous play, checking Brutlag into the RPI bench from behind, and he earned the 2nd major penalty of the night for Northeastern. But as on the first major, the Engineers squandered the opportunity with penalties of their own, actually giving the Huskies a 4x3 power play after penalties to Marty O'Grady and Jeff Foss. All told, both teams were assessed a total of 13 penalties, although the Huskies ended up with far more in minutes thanks to the two majors. Neither team scored for the duration of the penalties, and after that, the whistles were put away.
The goaltenders put on a show in the third period, with Allen York making a total of 7 saves, while Northeastern's Chris Rawlings made 9 of his own. The Engineers got a late power play on a blatant hooking call, but it was evened up about a minute later with a tripping call against Helfrich. Neither team was able to break the deadlock, though RPI did manage 3 shots in the overtime period. Overall, an evenly played game marred by lots of penalties, but an even tie with neither team really having much to be disappointed with in the result.
Bentley
Lee/Polacek/Helfrich
Angers-Goulet/Malchuk/Brutlag
Rabbani/Higgs/O'Grady
Tinordi and Halpern
Koudys/Kennedy
Bergin/Foss
Leboeuf/Bailen
Dolan
York
The next night, Seth Appert came out with an interesting combination of 7 defensemen (the entirety of the RPI defensive corps) and 11 forwards, leaving Bo Dolan as an extra defenseman and only three centers - Polacek, Malchuk, and Higgs - dressed with Matt Tinordi seeing his first action as an Engineer. Rogic and Burgdoerfer, who did not see action in the second half against Northeastern, were in the stands, as was Patrick Cullen, who had not in three games been the force RPI partisans had hoped he would be.
Once again, it was penalties, penalties, penalties in the first period, especially for RPI. Four penalties gave Bentley two 5x3 chances of a minute or more, but the Engineers stood firm down two men. The Falcons were aggressive both on and off the power play, putting 8 shots on Allen York in the first period. The penalty killing necessitated a focus on defense in the first period, and the Engineers did not score on 7 shots.
A late penalty to Bentley in the first period carried over into the second, and on the fresh ice, it was Chase Polacek scoring his second of the weekend to put RPI on the board on the man advantage. The Engineers' penalties suddenly dried up for the remainder of the game, as they took only one penalty in both the 2nd and 3rd period, but now it was the Falcons' turn to take a slew of penalties. Tyler Helfrich converted on another opportunity midway through the 2nd period to make it 2-0, and after missing a wide-open net on Friday and again earlier in the game on Saturday, C.J. Lee finally got the proverbial monkey off his back, scoring early in the 3rd period for his first collegiate goal to make it 3-0.
Meanwhile, Allen York was lights out. Bentley fed him a steady diet of shots all game long, but the junior netminder was up to the task. 8 more shots in the 2nd period and 7 in the 3rd gave him a 23-save shutout, the third of his career. It was also the 20th victory of his career.
Bentley is a team that has potential to be outstanding within Atlantic Hockey in the near future, but they are young and were definitely a team RPI needed to beat. The Engineers are now 1-1-2 on the season. They executed well against the Falcons, getting a good combination of offense and defense, where they needed more offense in the first three games they played but were very much in those games thanks to their defense.
Next on the docket are RIT and Niagara, two teams both looking for their first wins of the season in a psuedo-travel partner weekend as both teams also face Union in Schenectady. These are also games the Engineers should win if they hope to make splashes in the ECAC this season, developing that finishing touch on offense while maintaining a solid defensive front. The combination, applied within the ECAC, would make them a very dangerous team to play.
Other junk - RPI gained votes in the weekly USCHO.com poll, earning 27, up from 13 last week, tying them with Ferris State for the unofficial #23 in the nation. Ranked ECAC teams this week are #5 Yale (no change, idle), #13 Cornell (down one, idle), and #18 Union (down two, lost to #14 Alaska and beat Alaska-Anchorage). Also ranked are #8 Boston University (up two) and #19 Colorado College (down one). Also receiving votes were Colgate (25), RIT (10), and Quinnipiac (2).
The RPI penalty kill has been incredibly effective, even despite its frequent use. That's obviously not something that they should be relying on as often as they have been, but it's good to know it's there. The Engineers are 27 for 29 on the penalty kill, a 93.1% rate that has them ranked 6th in the nation on the kill. Only Boston College (23/23, 100%) and Notre Dame (21/22, 95.5%) have a better kill percentage with 20 or more penalty kill opportunities, and only Michigan (26/30, 86.7%) has had more opportunities overall.
Of course, the Engineers have had plenty of power play chances too, and their combined 57 special teams chances in just four games is tops in the nation, only Maine and Wisconsin with 53 each also have more than 50.
Allen York has a shutout streak of 90:36 heading into this weekend's games, which goes back to 4:24 of the 2nd period in Boston. His 1.45 GAA is 8th in the nation, his .947 save percentage is 9th, and his 248:32 of time in net is more than any other goaltender thus far this season. He has been nothing short of superb for the Engineers in all four of their games thus far.
The Lee/Polacek/Helfrich combination has been pretty sensational - Polacek does what he does, but Lee and Helfrich are not squandering their opportunities playing with the team's star, as they are helping drive the Engineers' efforts on offense. Although the goals haven't been there for the most part, the Angers-Goulet/Malchuk/Brutlag combination is also showing signs of life. If they can start producing, that would go a long way toward being the "answer" to the Pirri and D'Amigo departures.
An interesting tidbit from Saturday night's game - former Engineer C.J. Hanafin '05 is now an ECAC linesman, and he worked the Bentley game in that capacity.
Four RPI home games will now be broadcast on Time Warner Cable in the Albany area, with two of them being picked up for broadcast across North America on the NHL Network. This Saturday's game against Niagara and the January 29 game against Yale will be available exclusively on TW3, while the December 11 game against BU and the February 12 game against Cornell will air on NHL Network. The latter two games will now start at 3:30pm to accommodate the NHL Network's schedule. Tim Heiman '10 and Kevin Broad '07 will be on the call for all four games.
RPI at Northeastern
Nonconference Game - Matthews Arena (Boston, MA)
10/15/10 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 2, Northeastern 2
BOX SCORES
RECAPS
RECORD: 0-1-2 (0-0-0 ECAC)
Reale Deals
1. G Allen York, 26 saves
2. F Chase Polacek, 1 G
3. F Bryan Brutlag, 1 G
Bentley at RPI
Nonconference Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
10/16/10 - 5:00pm
RESULT: RPI 3, Bentley 0
BOX SCORES
RECAPS
RECORD: 1-1-2 (0-0-0 ECAC)
Reale Deals
1. F Tyler Helfrich, 1 G, 2 A
2. G Allen York, SO, 23 saves
3. F Chase Polacek, 1 G, 2 A
Upcoming games
22 Oct - RIT
23 Oct - Niagara
30 Oct - vs. #18 Union (Lake Placid, NY)
05 Nov - at Dartmouth
06 Nov - at Harvard
Northeastern
Helfrich/Polacek/Lee
Angers-Goulet/Malchuk/Brutlag
Cullen/Higgs/O'Grady
Rabbani/Rogic/Burgdoerfer
Bergin/Foss
Koudys/Kennedy
Leboeuf/Bailen
York
The Northeastern Huskies came into the season with fairly high expectations in Hockey East, with the coaches of the league believing they can finish somewhere in the middle of the table as one of the best teams outside of the league's traditional "Big Four" of BC, BU, UNH, and Maine. Given the Engineers' similar aspirations (picked fifth in the ECAC), this promised to be a game of very evenly matched teams, and it played out that way for the most part.
Penalties were an issue for both teams in Colorado, and it was no different in this game, especially in the first period as the Engineers and Huskies both took 5 minor penalties in the first 20 minutes with three power plays each. RPI would score on their third chance on the man advantage, taking their first lead of the season as Bryan Brutlag scored from Tyler Helfrich and Nick Bailen on a two-man advantage that was brilliantly executed. But three minutes later, on a delayed penalty to Greg Burgdoerfer, Northeastern scored after an extended 6x5 opportunity to tie the score, and then went on the power play to boot thanks to the new rule requiring penalties to be assessed even after goals on delayed calls.
Northeastern came out firing in the second period, earning an even strength goal on a blast from the point by 6'7" behemoth Jamie Oleksiak to put the Huskies up 2-1. From there, penalties continued to rule the day. Burgdoerfer took his third penalty of the night less than a minute after the Husky goal, which would pretty much end his night as he didn't see the ice much after that. The chippiness started getting nasty shortly thereafter, as Northeastern's Zak Stone was issued five for a hit from behind and a game misconduct for a hit that left Alex Angers-Goulet prone on the ice for a few minutes. That long power play was mitigated shortly thereafter by a too many men call on RPI (served by Johnny Rogic who, along with Burgdoerfer, became scarce after the first period). A second penalty to NU a minute later eventually gave the Engineers a long 5x3 power play, but unlike their first period opportunity, they were unable to convert.
After a questionable "instigating" call on Brutlag (who apparently was managing to instigate from being flat on the ice, where he was put at the end of the play), the Engineers were the beneficiary of a questionable call on Northeastern, and they capitalized on the ensuing power play as Chase Polacek scored from a pretty extreme angle, almost on the goal line, for his first goal of the year to tie the game at two.
The referees looked as though they wanted to swallow the whistle in the 3rd period, but early on Northeastern's Randy Guzior made a dangerous play, checking Brutlag into the RPI bench from behind, and he earned the 2nd major penalty of the night for Northeastern. But as on the first major, the Engineers squandered the opportunity with penalties of their own, actually giving the Huskies a 4x3 power play after penalties to Marty O'Grady and Jeff Foss. All told, both teams were assessed a total of 13 penalties, although the Huskies ended up with far more in minutes thanks to the two majors. Neither team scored for the duration of the penalties, and after that, the whistles were put away.
The goaltenders put on a show in the third period, with Allen York making a total of 7 saves, while Northeastern's Chris Rawlings made 9 of his own. The Engineers got a late power play on a blatant hooking call, but it was evened up about a minute later with a tripping call against Helfrich. Neither team was able to break the deadlock, though RPI did manage 3 shots in the overtime period. Overall, an evenly played game marred by lots of penalties, but an even tie with neither team really having much to be disappointed with in the result.
Bentley
Lee/Polacek/Helfrich
Angers-Goulet/Malchuk/Brutlag
Rabbani/Higgs/O'Grady
Tinordi and Halpern
Koudys/Kennedy
Bergin/Foss
Leboeuf/Bailen
Dolan
York
The next night, Seth Appert came out with an interesting combination of 7 defensemen (the entirety of the RPI defensive corps) and 11 forwards, leaving Bo Dolan as an extra defenseman and only three centers - Polacek, Malchuk, and Higgs - dressed with Matt Tinordi seeing his first action as an Engineer. Rogic and Burgdoerfer, who did not see action in the second half against Northeastern, were in the stands, as was Patrick Cullen, who had not in three games been the force RPI partisans had hoped he would be.
Once again, it was penalties, penalties, penalties in the first period, especially for RPI. Four penalties gave Bentley two 5x3 chances of a minute or more, but the Engineers stood firm down two men. The Falcons were aggressive both on and off the power play, putting 8 shots on Allen York in the first period. The penalty killing necessitated a focus on defense in the first period, and the Engineers did not score on 7 shots.
A late penalty to Bentley in the first period carried over into the second, and on the fresh ice, it was Chase Polacek scoring his second of the weekend to put RPI on the board on the man advantage. The Engineers' penalties suddenly dried up for the remainder of the game, as they took only one penalty in both the 2nd and 3rd period, but now it was the Falcons' turn to take a slew of penalties. Tyler Helfrich converted on another opportunity midway through the 2nd period to make it 2-0, and after missing a wide-open net on Friday and again earlier in the game on Saturday, C.J. Lee finally got the proverbial monkey off his back, scoring early in the 3rd period for his first collegiate goal to make it 3-0.
Meanwhile, Allen York was lights out. Bentley fed him a steady diet of shots all game long, but the junior netminder was up to the task. 8 more shots in the 2nd period and 7 in the 3rd gave him a 23-save shutout, the third of his career. It was also the 20th victory of his career.
Bentley is a team that has potential to be outstanding within Atlantic Hockey in the near future, but they are young and were definitely a team RPI needed to beat. The Engineers are now 1-1-2 on the season. They executed well against the Falcons, getting a good combination of offense and defense, where they needed more offense in the first three games they played but were very much in those games thanks to their defense.
Next on the docket are RIT and Niagara, two teams both looking for their first wins of the season in a psuedo-travel partner weekend as both teams also face Union in Schenectady. These are also games the Engineers should win if they hope to make splashes in the ECAC this season, developing that finishing touch on offense while maintaining a solid defensive front. The combination, applied within the ECAC, would make them a very dangerous team to play.
Other junk - RPI gained votes in the weekly USCHO.com poll, earning 27, up from 13 last week, tying them with Ferris State for the unofficial #23 in the nation. Ranked ECAC teams this week are #5 Yale (no change, idle), #13 Cornell (down one, idle), and #18 Union (down two, lost to #14 Alaska and beat Alaska-Anchorage). Also ranked are #8 Boston University (up two) and #19 Colorado College (down one). Also receiving votes were Colgate (25), RIT (10), and Quinnipiac (2).
The RPI penalty kill has been incredibly effective, even despite its frequent use. That's obviously not something that they should be relying on as often as they have been, but it's good to know it's there. The Engineers are 27 for 29 on the penalty kill, a 93.1% rate that has them ranked 6th in the nation on the kill. Only Boston College (23/23, 100%) and Notre Dame (21/22, 95.5%) have a better kill percentage with 20 or more penalty kill opportunities, and only Michigan (26/30, 86.7%) has had more opportunities overall.
Of course, the Engineers have had plenty of power play chances too, and their combined 57 special teams chances in just four games is tops in the nation, only Maine and Wisconsin with 53 each also have more than 50.
Allen York has a shutout streak of 90:36 heading into this weekend's games, which goes back to 4:24 of the 2nd period in Boston. His 1.45 GAA is 8th in the nation, his .947 save percentage is 9th, and his 248:32 of time in net is more than any other goaltender thus far this season. He has been nothing short of superb for the Engineers in all four of their games thus far.
The Lee/Polacek/Helfrich combination has been pretty sensational - Polacek does what he does, but Lee and Helfrich are not squandering their opportunities playing with the team's star, as they are helping drive the Engineers' efforts on offense. Although the goals haven't been there for the most part, the Angers-Goulet/Malchuk/Brutlag combination is also showing signs of life. If they can start producing, that would go a long way toward being the "answer" to the Pirri and D'Amigo departures.
An interesting tidbit from Saturday night's game - former Engineer C.J. Hanafin '05 is now an ECAC linesman, and he worked the Bentley game in that capacity.
Four RPI home games will now be broadcast on Time Warner Cable in the Albany area, with two of them being picked up for broadcast across North America on the NHL Network. This Saturday's game against Niagara and the January 29 game against Yale will be available exclusively on TW3, while the December 11 game against BU and the February 12 game against Cornell will air on NHL Network. The latter two games will now start at 3:30pm to accommodate the NHL Network's schedule. Tim Heiman '10 and Kevin Broad '07 will be on the call for all four games.
RPI at Northeastern
Nonconference Game - Matthews Arena (Boston, MA)
10/15/10 - 7:00pm
RESULT: RPI 2, Northeastern 2
BOX SCORES
RECAPS
RECORD: 0-1-2 (0-0-0 ECAC)
Reale Deals
1. G Allen York, 26 saves
2. F Chase Polacek, 1 G
3. F Bryan Brutlag, 1 G
Bentley at RPI
Nonconference Game - Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
10/16/10 - 5:00pm
RESULT: RPI 3, Bentley 0
BOX SCORES
RECAPS
RECORD: 1-1-2 (0-0-0 ECAC)
Reale Deals
1. F Tyler Helfrich, 1 G, 2 A
2. G Allen York, SO, 23 saves
3. F Chase Polacek, 1 G, 2 A
Upcoming games
22 Oct - RIT
23 Oct - Niagara
30 Oct - vs. #18 Union (Lake Placid, NY)
05 Nov - at Dartmouth
06 Nov - at Harvard
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