Same pumpup as last year. Hey, it fits.
Rumor has it that both of Union's top goaltenders are questionable for tonight. If neither can go, their untested third string gets his shot. Do you believe in miracles?
I don't, not anymore really.
Here's something harder if the brilliance of John Williams isn't enough to get your blood pumping. You're welcome. (Content Warning - language)
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
I Shall Call Him... Mini WaP
For your reading pleasure (or pain - we make no judgments here about your lifestyle), you can now take Without a Peer on the road with you.
We are delighted to announce that WaP can now be viewed with relative ease on your mobile device. Simply surf on over here with your smartphone and it'll automatically appear in a mobile friendly format.
Lookin' out for the little guy.
Also, not much has happened lately worth blogging about. Shoot us an email if you've got any ideas or news, or maybe if you're just bored... tomyousieve (at) gmail [dat] com.
Oh... one other thing... the podcast for yesterday's Slap Schotts (featuring WaP's Tom Reale) is available on demand at this link.
Oh... one other thing... the podcast for yesterday's Slap Schotts (featuring WaP's Tom Reale) is available on demand at this link.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
The Spirit of Radio
In lieu of this week's podcast, tune in to Fox Sports 980 on Thursday at 11:05am as Without a Peer's Tom Reale joins Union radio man Brian Unger to discuss the Festivus Faceoff with the Daily Gazette's Ken Schott on "Slap Schotts," the weekly college hockey segment of Rodger Wyland's "Big Board Sportstalk."
Union is coming off a disappointing two tie weekend, which isn't horrible considering how beat up they were, but... they probably still should have picked up four points. And of course, we know RPI's troubles. Last year in Lake Placid, these teams had another classic, with Union scoring in the last 10 seconds of regulation to earn the tie. Then again, both teams were doing pretty well heading into that one.
Anyway, we'll be talking about that and I'm sure we'll probably talk a little bit about the Engineers' struggles to date as well.
If you're away from your computer, that's AM 980 on your radio dial - click here to see if it'll work where you are.
Union is coming off a disappointing two tie weekend, which isn't horrible considering how beat up they were, but... they probably still should have picked up four points. And of course, we know RPI's troubles. Last year in Lake Placid, these teams had another classic, with Union scoring in the last 10 seconds of regulation to earn the tie. Then again, both teams were doing pretty well heading into that one.
Anyway, we'll be talking about that and I'm sure we'll probably talk a little bit about the Engineers' struggles to date as well.
If you're away from your computer, that's AM 980 on your radio dial - click here to see if it'll work where you are.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
No Joy in Mudville
Gordon Bombay: You think this is funny? You think losing is funny?
Les Averman: Well, not at first, but once you get the hang of it.
- The Mighty Ducks
There's honestly not much more to say about the last weekend. The women gave up 13 consecutive goals in four periods before (sort of) turning things around in the final two. The men took zero points from games that probably could have resulted in four points and managed to lose on Saturday almost literally at the last second.
They have a combined record of 7-24-4.
So hopefully, you'll excuse us if we are a little punch drunk at this point.
As self appointed court jesters, we're doing our best to find humor in all of this, even if it's dark humor. Gary and I both realized after the Quinnipiac game that as the season goes on, we get less and less annoyed at losing.
That's probably a bad thing.
Anyway, expect some more broader scoped stuff out of me in the coming weeks as we try to not sound like a broken record. Last year we were able to run a weekly feature on the PairWise Rankings. This year we're kind of... not. So expect some more "wide world of college hockey" if this trend continues. Which it probably will.
Les Averman: Well, not at first, but once you get the hang of it.
- The Mighty Ducks
There's honestly not much more to say about the last weekend. The women gave up 13 consecutive goals in four periods before (sort of) turning things around in the final two. The men took zero points from games that probably could have resulted in four points and managed to lose on Saturday almost literally at the last second.
They have a combined record of 7-24-4.
So hopefully, you'll excuse us if we are a little punch drunk at this point.
As self appointed court jesters, we're doing our best to find humor in all of this, even if it's dark humor. Gary and I both realized after the Quinnipiac game that as the season goes on, we get less and less annoyed at losing.
That's probably a bad thing.
Anyway, expect some more broader scoped stuff out of me in the coming weeks as we try to not sound like a broken record. Last year we were able to run a weekly feature on the PairWise Rankings. This year we're kind of... not. So expect some more "wide world of college hockey" if this trend continues. Which it probably will.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Men's Hockey - at Princeton & Quinnipiac (2/3 Dec)
Things are officially getting worse for RPI even as certain elements get better. The offense, given the output of the games this past weekend, is certainly beginning to awaken from its slumber, hitting one-timers and getting to rebounds where they had not been earlier in the season. However, just in time for the offense to start firing, the defense became lax as the Engineers dropped their 11th and 12th games of the season - in 15 total outings - to move within one of last year's final number in the loss column during the first weekend in December. On Friday, three goals was not enough to overcome Princeton (5-3), while a last-second goal for Quinnipiac doomed the Engineers on Saturday (3-2).
Princeton
Angers-Goulet/Rogic/Malchuk
Lee/O'Grady/Schroeder
Higgs/Laliberte/Cullen
Leonard/Bergin
Princeton
Angers-Goulet/Rogic/Malchuk
Lee/O'Grady/Schroeder
Higgs/Laliberte/Cullen
Tinordi/McGowan/Rabbani
Leonard/Bergin
Koudys/Bailen
Curadi/Dolan
Merriam
Friday's lineup featured the same exact group sent out against RIT with two exceptions - Bryce Merriam returned between the pipes, and Patrick Cullen returned from injury, replacing leading scorer Ryan Haggerty, who missed the weekend with an undisclosed illness.
The even strength drought finally ended about six and a half minutes into the first period as Jacob Laliberte finally notched his first career goal, unassisted, to put RPI ahead 1-0. It was the fourth straight game in which the Engineers had struck first.
The lead lasted for about four minutes before Princeton struck back on a shot Bryce Merriam probably would like back. Jack Berger put it just over Merriam's glove and in to tie the game at one, and the Tigers struck quickly just over two minutes later on the power play, picking up a bad clearance by Nick Bailen and converting just 23 seconds into their first power play of the night to go up 2-1.
RPI fought back three minutes later as Matt Tinordi notched his first goal of the season and second of his career on a putback of a Josh Rabbani tip, knotting things up at two. Before the second period was over, it was already just the second RPI game of the season in which both teams reached two goals.
Last year's ECAC rookie of the year, Andrew Calof, made the score 3-2 seven minutes into the second period with a goal on another RPI turnover, but RPI again fought back to tie the game before the end of the middle frame. Marty O'Grady scored his first goal of the season from C.J. Lee and Zach Schroeder to square things once more.
That was as close as the Engineers could get in just their second time on the year reaching three goals. Calof scored again seven minutes into the third period to put Princeton up 4-3, and with the net empty, the Engineers could not convert despite a number of excellent opportunities. A bad move by Bailen to keep the puck in the zone ended up giving it to Princeton, and Berger scored into the empty net to finish the game at 5-3.
An offensive awakening coupled with a number of bad defensive turnovers that previously had been limited to only about one per week. Merriam did not fare terribly well in net - he faced only 23 shots on the evening but allowed four goals.
Quinnipiac
Angers-Goulet/Rogic/Malchuk
Lee/O'Grady/Schroeder
Higgs/Laliberte/Burgdoerfer
Leonard/Bergin
The even strength drought finally ended about six and a half minutes into the first period as Jacob Laliberte finally notched his first career goal, unassisted, to put RPI ahead 1-0. It was the fourth straight game in which the Engineers had struck first.
The lead lasted for about four minutes before Princeton struck back on a shot Bryce Merriam probably would like back. Jack Berger put it just over Merriam's glove and in to tie the game at one, and the Tigers struck quickly just over two minutes later on the power play, picking up a bad clearance by Nick Bailen and converting just 23 seconds into their first power play of the night to go up 2-1.
RPI fought back three minutes later as Matt Tinordi notched his first goal of the season and second of his career on a putback of a Josh Rabbani tip, knotting things up at two. Before the second period was over, it was already just the second RPI game of the season in which both teams reached two goals.
Last year's ECAC rookie of the year, Andrew Calof, made the score 3-2 seven minutes into the second period with a goal on another RPI turnover, but RPI again fought back to tie the game before the end of the middle frame. Marty O'Grady scored his first goal of the season from C.J. Lee and Zach Schroeder to square things once more.
That was as close as the Engineers could get in just their second time on the year reaching three goals. Calof scored again seven minutes into the third period to put Princeton up 4-3, and with the net empty, the Engineers could not convert despite a number of excellent opportunities. A bad move by Bailen to keep the puck in the zone ended up giving it to Princeton, and Berger scored into the empty net to finish the game at 5-3.
An offensive awakening coupled with a number of bad defensive turnovers that previously had been limited to only about one per week. Merriam did not fare terribly well in net - he faced only 23 shots on the evening but allowed four goals.
Quinnipiac
Angers-Goulet/Rogic/Malchuk
Lee/O'Grady/Schroeder
Higgs/Laliberte/Burgdoerfer
Tinordi/McGowan/Rabbani
Leonard/Bergin
Koudys/Bailen
Curadi/Dolan
Diebold
Haggerty was not ready to return on Saturday and Pat Cullen was removed from the lineup, possibly not ready to return from his injury suffered against Union. The only other change was in net as freshman Scott Diebold picked up his second start in three games.
The first period started out horribly for RPI. They were kept pinned in their own end for much of the first 20 minutes, and late in the period were being outshot by an eyepopping 12-3 tally. An early power play opportunity went nowhere, followed by a goal five minutes later by Quinnipiac freshman phenom Matthew Peca, who put a bouncing puck past Diebold to put the Bobcats ahead.
Despite the lousy start, the Engineers were fortunate to get into the locker room tied at one as Jacob Laliberte followed up his Friday goal with another one five minutes after RPI went down. Bailen and Higgs assisted to make the score 1-1 heading into the break.
The major event of the second period was certainly a serious contact to the head incident involving freshman Luke Curadi. He put a Quinnipiac player to the ice and the referees quickly issued a five minute penalty and a game misconduct. A retaliatory penalty on Quinnipiac meant that the Bobcat power play was reduced to three minutes, but RPI ended up down two men before the end of the kill with a cross-checking call against Bo Dolan. The Engineer penalty kill, long one of the few bright lights, hunkered down and got back to five a side with no damage.
The Engineers took their second lead of the weekend four minutes into the third quarter as a Brock Higgs shot was saved by Quinnipiac's Eric Hartzell but picked up in the slot by Zach Schroeder, who forcefully launched the rebound into the open net for his first career goal.
Unfortunately, that was when the defensive issues from Friday began to creep in. Two and a half minutes later, sustained pressure in the RPI zone led to a goal after the Engineers failed to clear the puck on two occasions. That tied the game at two, and RPI could not regain the lead despite some decent pressure late.
Despite some very sloppy defense throughout - and repeated bailouts by Diebold, who shined with 35 saves, including 14 in the final period - the game appeared to be heading into overtime before the Engineers iced the puck in the waning moments. They gained a clearance, but then seemed to stop playing with intensity and the Bobcats, playing to the horn, went for broke. A bad attempt at taking out the puck carrier, Ben Arnt, left him alone with Yuri Bouharevich, who placed the puck perfectly into the net with just 2.4 seconds remaining on the clock, giving the Bobcats a 3-2 victory.
Ultimately, the Engineers lost a game they probably deserved to lose due to generally bad play for long stretches, but it was still a game they were very much in until the very end. It's a tough loss to swallow and an especially tough sweep to have to swallow given that both games were not only well within reach, but were downright winnable thanks to the rejuvenated offense.
The first period started out horribly for RPI. They were kept pinned in their own end for much of the first 20 minutes, and late in the period were being outshot by an eyepopping 12-3 tally. An early power play opportunity went nowhere, followed by a goal five minutes later by Quinnipiac freshman phenom Matthew Peca, who put a bouncing puck past Diebold to put the Bobcats ahead.
Despite the lousy start, the Engineers were fortunate to get into the locker room tied at one as Jacob Laliberte followed up his Friday goal with another one five minutes after RPI went down. Bailen and Higgs assisted to make the score 1-1 heading into the break.
The major event of the second period was certainly a serious contact to the head incident involving freshman Luke Curadi. He put a Quinnipiac player to the ice and the referees quickly issued a five minute penalty and a game misconduct. A retaliatory penalty on Quinnipiac meant that the Bobcat power play was reduced to three minutes, but RPI ended up down two men before the end of the kill with a cross-checking call against Bo Dolan. The Engineer penalty kill, long one of the few bright lights, hunkered down and got back to five a side with no damage.
The Engineers took their second lead of the weekend four minutes into the third quarter as a Brock Higgs shot was saved by Quinnipiac's Eric Hartzell but picked up in the slot by Zach Schroeder, who forcefully launched the rebound into the open net for his first career goal.
Unfortunately, that was when the defensive issues from Friday began to creep in. Two and a half minutes later, sustained pressure in the RPI zone led to a goal after the Engineers failed to clear the puck on two occasions. That tied the game at two, and RPI could not regain the lead despite some decent pressure late.
Despite some very sloppy defense throughout - and repeated bailouts by Diebold, who shined with 35 saves, including 14 in the final period - the game appeared to be heading into overtime before the Engineers iced the puck in the waning moments. They gained a clearance, but then seemed to stop playing with intensity and the Bobcats, playing to the horn, went for broke. A bad attempt at taking out the puck carrier, Ben Arnt, left him alone with Yuri Bouharevich, who placed the puck perfectly into the net with just 2.4 seconds remaining on the clock, giving the Bobcats a 3-2 victory.
Ultimately, the Engineers lost a game they probably deserved to lose due to generally bad play for long stretches, but it was still a game they were very much in until the very end. It's a tough loss to swallow and an especially tough sweep to have to swallow given that both games were not only well within reach, but were downright winnable thanks to the rejuvenated offense.
Other junk - The reigning national champions, Minnesota-Duluth, are the #1 team in the nation this week following Merrimack's first two losses of the season at the hands of Providence. Ranked ECAC teams are #10 Union (tied Quinnipiac/Princeton, down one), #12 Colgate (swept Clarkson/SLU, up three), #16 Cornell (beat Clarkson and tied SLU, up one), and #17 Yale (split home and home with Brown, down three). Also ranked this week are #6 Colorado College (beat Denver, up two), #7 Notre Dame (swept by Northeastern, down five with one first place vote), #9 Ferris State (swept by Western Michigan, down three), and #18 UMass-Lowell (swept UNH, previously unranked). Also receiving votes were Quinnipiac (17) and Harvard (3).
RPI ultimately went 446:48 without scoring an even strength goal between Patrick Cullen's goal late in the 2nd period against Colorado College on October 28 and Jacob Laliberte's first career goal in the 1st period against Princeton on December 2. All five RPI goals this weekend were even strength, which doubled the team total for the season as a whole. They went 0-for-3 on the power play. That's right, only three power plays in 120 minutes. The penalty kill did OK, going 6-for-7 including the big major kill.
The abyss gets deeper now: the Engineers are in last place, and the rest of the league is four points clear - which means RPI could sweep a weekend series and they'd still only possibly be tied for 9th at best. Another problem: The next chance to do that doesn't crop up until after the new year. Next up is another game against Union on the big sheet at Lake Placid. The Dutchmen are banged up right now, but if things go the way they did this past weekend (and in the last game between these teams) it probably isn't going to matter. Then comes a tournament at UConn that looked like a cakewalk at the beginning of the season and now looks like another tough order as UMass-Lowell has looked very good this year.
RPI ultimately went 446:48 without scoring an even strength goal between Patrick Cullen's goal late in the 2nd period against Colorado College on October 28 and Jacob Laliberte's first career goal in the 1st period against Princeton on December 2. All five RPI goals this weekend were even strength, which doubled the team total for the season as a whole. They went 0-for-3 on the power play. That's right, only three power plays in 120 minutes. The penalty kill did OK, going 6-for-7 including the big major kill.
The abyss gets deeper now: the Engineers are in last place, and the rest of the league is four points clear - which means RPI could sweep a weekend series and they'd still only possibly be tied for 9th at best. Another problem: The next chance to do that doesn't crop up until after the new year. Next up is another game against Union on the big sheet at Lake Placid. The Dutchmen are banged up right now, but if things go the way they did this past weekend (and in the last game between these teams) it probably isn't going to matter. Then comes a tournament at UConn that looked like a cakewalk at the beginning of the season and now looks like another tough order as UMass-Lowell has looked very good this year.
ECAC Standings
1. Cornell - 13 pts (6-1-1)
2. Colgate - 12 pts (6-2-0)
3. Yale - 8 pts (4-2-0)
4. Union - 8 pts (3-2-2)
5. St. Lawrence - 8 pts (4-4-0)
2. Colgate - 12 pts (6-2-0)
3. Yale - 8 pts (4-2-0)
4. Union - 8 pts (3-2-2)
5. St. Lawrence - 8 pts (4-4-0)
6. Dartmouth - 7 pts (3-3-1)
11. Clarkson - 6 pts (2-4-2)
7. Princeton - 7 pts (3-5-1)
8. Quinnipiac - 7 pts (2-4-3)
9. Brown - 6 pts (3-3-0)
10. Harvard - 6 pts (2-3-2)
9. Brown - 6 pts (3-3-0)
10. Harvard - 6 pts (2-3-2)
11. Clarkson - 6 pts (2-4-2)
12. RPI - 2 pts (1-6-0)
RPI at Princeton
ECAC Game - Hobey Baker Memorial Rink (Princeton, NJ)
12/2/11 - 7:00pm
RESULT: Princeton 5, RPI 3
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
ECAC Game - Hobey Baker Memorial Rink (Princeton, NJ)
12/2/11 - 7:00pm
RESULT: Princeton 5, RPI 3
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECAPS
RECORD: 3-11-0 (1-5-0 ECAC, 2 pts)
RPI at Quinnipiac
ECAC Game - TD Bank Sports Center (Hamden, CT)
12/3/11 - 7:00pm
RESULT: Quinnipiac 3, RPI 2
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
ECAC Game - TD Bank Sports Center (Hamden, CT)
12/3/11 - 7:00pm
RESULT: Quinnipiac 3, RPI 2
BOX SCORES
College Hockey Stats
USCHO
RECAPS
RECORD: 3-12-0 (1-6-0 ECAC, 2 pts)
Upcoming games
10 Dec - vs. #10 Union (Lake Placid, NY)
29 Dec - vs. #18 UMass-Lowell (Storrs, CT)
30 Dec - vs. Army OR at UConn (Storrs, CT)
06 Jan - Dartmouth
07 Jan - Harvard
29 Dec - vs. #18 UMass-Lowell (Storrs, CT)
30 Dec - vs. Army OR at UConn (Storrs, CT)
06 Jan - Dartmouth
07 Jan - Harvard
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Women's Hockey - at Clarkson & St. Lawrence (2/3 Dec)
RPI needed a strong showing in the North Country to help get their season back on track prior to a long holiday layoff, but they certainly didn't get it this weekend in a pair of dismal losses, getting thrashed 10-0 by Clarkson on Friday night before watching a comeback attempt fall far short in a 6-3 loss to St. Lawrence on Saturday.
Clarkson
Mahoney/Harrison/Vandegrift
Smelker/Cox/Horton
Sanders/Guillemette/Svoboda
Letuligaseona/Mankey
Castignetti/Vadner
Le Donne/Schilter
Marzario
O'Brien/Piper
A hat trick by Jamie Lee Rattray and a 5-goal first period were among the highlights for the Golden Knights as they dominated the Engineers in a manner that even the top teams in the country have not historically been able to do. Even in their 8-2 loss to #1 Wisconsin, RPI managed 29 shots compared to just 11 against Clarkson. The 10-0 win for Clarkson is the second largest margin in the program's history, behind an 11-0 victory over Sacred Heart, in the Pioneers' first Division I season.
While Clarkson didn't open the scoring until near the midpoint of the first period, they had racked up a five goal lead by the first intermission, with Juana Baribeau opening the scoring by putting home her own rebound. Rattray notched the next two goals, less than two minutes apart, before Vanessa Gagnon picked up another just over a minute later when she deflected a puck past Kelly O'Brien to make it 4-0.
With Piper sent in to relieve O'Brien, the Engineers took their first penalty of the game, and Clarkson capitalized on the opportunity with Katelyn Ptolemy fired one in from the point for a power play goal and the 5-0 lead.
O'Brien returned to the net for the second period, which saw the Golden Knights notch another two tallies. Danielle Skirrow redirected a slapshot from Jennifer Shields at 8:13 to make it 6-0, and Rattray completed her first career hat trick, carrying the puck to the net and putting it past O'Brien for a 7-0 lead.
Christine Lambert picked up another power play goal early in the third, and the Golden Knights added a shorthanded marker at 10:03 by Baribeau along with one more goal by Brittany Styner at 15:29 to close out the scoring with a 10-goal advantage.
At the final buzzer, the Engineers had been outshot 37-11, and the 10-0 margin was the Engineers' worst defeat since an 11-0 loss at Harvard in October 2006. There was really nothing positive at all to take from this one, rather one can only hope that this was the definitive low point of the season and there is nowhere to go but up.
St. Lawrence
Smelker/Cox/Horton
Mahoney/Harrison/Vandegrift
Sanders/Guillemette/Svoboda
Letuligaseona/Mankey
Castignetti/Vadner
Le Donne/Schilter
Marzario
Piper
While the Engineers put forth a much stronger effort on Saturday than they did the night before, it wasn't enough to stop the offensive output of St. Lawrence, who doubled up RPI in a 6-3 victory despite a 24-24 tally in shots on goal.
The Saints dominated the opening frame much the same as Clarkson had the day before, jumping out to a 3-0 lead behind a 10-3 edge in shots. Rylee Smith scored unassisted on a breakaway at 7:50 for the game's first goal, while Kelly Sabatine and Mel Desrochers added a pair of goals just over two minutes apart in the tail end of the first period to make it 3-0 heading into the locker room.
A SLU penalty just 10 seconds into the second period gave RPI a chance to get on the board, and Andie Le Donne scored the Engineers' first goal on the weekend just 24 seconds later, with a slap shot that beat goalie Carmen MacDonald to cut the Saints' lead to 3-1.
SLU opened that lead back up later in the second period as Sabatine and Michelle Ng notched a pair of goals to make it 5-1. RPI held the edge in shots, 11-6 in the period, but was outscored 2-1 in the period as they couldn't catch a break on the weekend.
RPI tried desperately to get back into the game in the third period, picking up a pair of goals in the first five minutes from Jill Vandegrift and Alisa Harrison, with Vandegrift putting home a rebound and Harrison scoring on a breakaway to cut the Saints' lead to 5-3.
Just 18 seconds after pulling Piper in favor of the extra attacker late in the third, the Saints got an empty netter from Smith to make it 6-3, a score that held up through the final buzzer. The Engineers again outshot the Saints, 10-8 in the third, but the effort was not enough to recover from falling in the hole early.
With the pair of losses on the weekend, the Engineers fall to 4-12-4 on the season, and 1-5-2 in ECAC play, leaving them in 10th place as most of the league breaks for the holidays. All is not lost for the Engineers, who are just a point behind 8th place Colgate and Brown, but play will absolutely need to pick up after the new year to salvage a shot at making the playoffs - a potentially tall order given the Engineers have six games to be played against Cornell, Harvard, and Dartmouth among the remaining league schedule. It's possible nothing will be more important than the four games against Yale, Brown, and Union (twice), which will truly be must-win affairs to be able to push ahead of the rest of the pack in the fight to reach eighth place and secure a playoff spot.
RPI returns to action just over a month from now, with a home series against Colgate and Cornell on January 6th and 7th of the new year. Both games will be at 3pm as the men will also be home facing Dartmouth and Harvard at 7pm each evening.
-----
RPI at Clarkson
ECAC Hockey Game – Cheel Arena (Potsdam, NY)
12/2/11 – 7:00pm
Clarkson 10, RPI 0
BOX SCORES:
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1112/boxes/wclkren1.d02
RECAPS:
RECORD: 4-11-4 (1-4-2 ECAC)
-----
RPI at St. Lawrence
ECAC Hockey Game – Appleton Arena (Canton, NY)
12/3/11 – 4:00pm
SLU 6, RPI 3
BOX SCORES:
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1112/boxes/wrenstl1.d03
RECAPS:
RECORD: 4-12-4 (1-5-2 ECAC)
-----
ECAC Standings
GP Pts Conf All
Quinnipiac 10 15 7-2-1 11-7-1
Clarkson 10 13 6-3-1 10-4-4
Cornell 7 12 6-1 10-2
Harvard 8 12 6-2 6-4
St. Lawrence 10 11 5-4-1 8-7-3
Princeton 10 11 5-4-1 6-7-1
Dartmouth 8 9 4-3-1 5-5-1
Colgate 7 5 2-4-1 6-10-1
Brown 8 5 1-4-3 3-5-5
RPI 8 4 1-5-2 4-12-4
Union 8 3 1-6-1 3-13-1
Yale 8 2 1-7 1-14
-----
Upcoming Games
Jan. 6 - Colgate (3pm)
Jan. 7 - Cornell (3pm)
Jan. 13 - at Dartmouth (7pm)
Jan. 14 - at Harvard (4pm)
Jan. 20 - Yale (7pm)
Jan. 21 - Brown (4pm)
Friday, December 2, 2011
Point of No Return
Every weekend is a big weekend in the ECAC, it seems, especially for RPI. This weekend, given the current state of the league standings, it's more of a "crossing the Rubicon" moment.
The men are in last place, there's not much that can sugar coat that, but they're playing a couple of teams are are not far away in 10th and 11th place Princeton and Quinnipiac, and a pair of wins would be enough to give them six points in seven games - the same tally as 7th place (and idle) Harvard. That's a move from last place to almost .500 and right back into the thick of things despite the horrid start, if they can grow on their offensive output from last week against RIT and actually bury some pucks at even strength.
The women, meanwhile, are finishing up the season series against the North Country in early December, a definite rarity. Right now, the Engineers sit in 10th place, out of a playoff spot, and while road games are always tougher to earn points than home games, they're practically a necessity now after picking up just one point in four ECAC home games to start the season. Two of those games were against Clarkson and St. Lawrence and while they didn't win or tie those games, they didn't exactly play poorly, either. The opportunity is out there to pull back into the hunt.
No special meaning for today's pump-up. Just a great song that'll get the blood pumping as both teams wrap their first semester league schedules.
The men are in last place, there's not much that can sugar coat that, but they're playing a couple of teams are are not far away in 10th and 11th place Princeton and Quinnipiac, and a pair of wins would be enough to give them six points in seven games - the same tally as 7th place (and idle) Harvard. That's a move from last place to almost .500 and right back into the thick of things despite the horrid start, if they can grow on their offensive output from last week against RIT and actually bury some pucks at even strength.
The women, meanwhile, are finishing up the season series against the North Country in early December, a definite rarity. Right now, the Engineers sit in 10th place, out of a playoff spot, and while road games are always tougher to earn points than home games, they're practically a necessity now after picking up just one point in four ECAC home games to start the season. Two of those games were against Clarkson and St. Lawrence and while they didn't win or tie those games, they didn't exactly play poorly, either. The opportunity is out there to pull back into the hunt.
No special meaning for today's pump-up. Just a great song that'll get the blood pumping as both teams wrap their first semester league schedules.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
