A little extra hockey for you this week with a mid-week event - the college hockey equivalent of a matinee movie showing. The women get their week's game out of the way early with a Halloween visit to one of the scariest places ever - Burlington, VT.
Tonight, the women seek to bounce back from their difficult weekend in the North Country by taking an almost equally tough bus ride to Vermont to take on the Catamounts. Perennial also-rans, Vermont has never had a winning season in Division I - much like Union, they've never even won 10 games in a single Division I season. They kicked this season off with the honor of being the first team to take on Penn State in varsity hockey - and they lost that game. They did beat New Hampshire two weeks ago... but then again, New Hampshire isn't exactly New Hampshire anymore, if you catch our meaning. Basically, if RPI wants to prove that they are the same team that took BU and SLU to the limit, they're looking to pick up a win tonight.
Here's a rare mid-week pumpup for tonight's contest... no Monster Mash or Thriller here, those are way too predictable (plus Monster Mash isn't getting anyone pumped). Try this on for size instead. It's got a beat and you can dance to it, plus there's certainly some kind of Halloweenish thing going on with it. And it's classic. Can't go wrong with classic.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
Women's Hockey - at St. Lawrence & Clarkson (26/27 Oct)
There's not much harder of a way to start off the ECAC season than a road trip to the North Country, and RPI was reminded of that fact this weekend, suffering a tough 3-2 defeat to St. Lawrence before being blown out 6-2 at Clarkson the following afternoon - including a stretch of six minutes in the second period which saw the Golden Knights score four goals.
St. Lawrence
Smelker/Gruschow/Svoboda
Wash/Cox/Horton
Mahoney/Mari Mankey/Missy Mankey
Letuligasenoa/Middlebrook/Walsh
Godin/Marzario
Daniels/Banks
Le Donne/Schilter
Piper
A strong comeback attempt wasn't enough to salvage any points for the Engineers on Friday afternoon, as a 3-2 deficit at the end of the first period held through the remainder of the game against a St. Lawrence squad looking for their first win of the season. The Saints, reeling from several consecutive defeats against some of the top teams in the nation, took advantage of two goals by Kelly Sabatine to grab the 3-2 lead late in the first period.
The Engineers opened the scoring a mere 56 seconds into the game when Taylor Horton scored on a 2-on-1 with Katie Daniels. Sabatine tied the game for the Saints at 8:12 and SLU capitalized on an RPI penalty just over two minutes later to take a 2-1 lead.
RPI evened the score a few minutes later when Mari Mankey scored her second of the season, taking advantage of a SLU turnover, but once again the penalty kill would prove to be the Engineers' nemesis and Sabatine picked up the game winner at 17:45 on the power play.
After surrendering three goals on fourteen shots in the first period, RPI's Brianna Piper would be relieved by Kelly O'Brien for the remainder of the game, and O'Brien held the Saints scoreless while the Engineers tried furiously to even the score. After being outshot 14-7 in the first period, RPI held the Saints to just three shots in the middle frame and eight in the third, but were unable to beat the Saints' Carmen MacDonald again after their pair of goals in the first period.
Clarkson
Smelker/Gruschow/Svoboda
Cox/Mari Mankey/Horton
Wash/Mahoney/Walsh
Letuligasenoa/Middlebrook/Missy Mankey
Godin/Marzario
Daniels/Banks
Le Donne/Schilter
O'Brien
If Friday afternoon was rough for the Engineers, things would quickly go from bad to worse on Saturday as RPI surrendered three more power play goals, and allowed four in a span of six minutes en route to a 6-2 thrashing by the #4-ranked Golden Knights at Cheel Arena in Potsdam.
Despite playing a relatively tight first period, the Engineers only managed two shots on goal in the first twenty minutes, and fell behind on an Olivia Howe goal with 3:45 left in the opening frame.
It was the second period that would prove the Engineers' undoing, starting with a Clarkson power play which opened the floodgates. Danielle Skirrow and Carly Mercer each scored power play goals, with Daniella Mateucci and Shannon MacAulay adding two more to put Clarkson up 5-0 just past the midpoint of the second.
With goalies swapped once again - this time O'Brien relieved by Piper - RPI's top line would answer late in the second, with Jordan Smelker getting the Engineers on the board at 17:14 and Alexa Gruschow scoring a power play goal less than a minute later after Clarkson's Brittany Styner took a cross-checking call on Smelker's goal. The pair of goals would be all RPI would manage on the afternoon.
Clarkson tacked on one more power play goal in the third period for good measure, making the final score 6-2 and squarely outshooting the Engineers by a 30-14 margin.
The Engineers will now have a quick turnaround with a Halloween night game this Wednesday at Vermont (7pm) followed by a weekend off before a return to ECAC action November 9 and 10 against Princeton (7pm) and Quinnipiac (4pm) at the Field House.
-----
RPI at St. Lawrence
ECAC Hockey Game – Appleton Arena (Canton, NY)
10/26/12 - 4pm
SLU 3, RPI 2
BOX SCORES:
USCHO: http://www.uscho.com/box/womens-hockey/2012/10/26/rensselaer-vs-st-lawrence/
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1213/boxes/wrenstl1.o26
RECAPS:
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/news/2012/10/26/WICE_1026123046.aspx
SLU: http://www.stlawu.edu/athletics/saints/women%27s+hockey/story/11069
RECORD: 1-4-1 (0-1-0 ECAC)
-----
RPI at Clarkson
ECAC Hockey Game – Cheel Arena (Canton, NY)
10/27/12 - 3:30pm
Clarkson 6, RPI 2
BOX SCORES:
USCHO: http://www.uscho.com/box/womens-hockey/2012/10/27/rensselaer-vs-clarkson/
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1213/boxes/wclkren1.o27
RECAPS:
RPI: http://rpiathletics.com/news/2012/10/27/WICE_1027124836.aspx
Clarkson: http://clarksonathletics.com/news/2012/10/27/WHOCK_1027125042.aspx?path=whock
Video Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9R3uIL4okE
RECORD: 1-5-1 (0-2-0 ECAC)
-----
Upcoming Games
Oct. 31 - at Vermont (7pm)
Nov. 9 - Princeton (7pm)
Nov. 10 - Quinnipiac (4pm)
Nov. 16 - Robert Morris (3pm)
Nov. 17 - Robert Morris (3pm)
Friday, October 26, 2012
Out of the Way
It's always a good thing to get the North Country trip out of the way as soon as possible, and late October is probably the best time ever, if you can get it. The men can't ever get that lucky, since the ECAC schedule doesn't get underway until November, but the women get the opportunity to do just that this weekend, and right in ahead of this "Frankenstorm" thing that's supposed to be on its way. So they'll get the double benefit of being able to make the trip up through the Adirondacks to see the foliage while there's still some left (the whole area is past peak) AND not have to deal with the inclement weather that winter always brings.
Unfortunately, once they get there, it's nothing but pain in the forecast - the North Country teams are almost certainly the most difficult travel partner set in the ECAC this season. But wait, you say. Tonight's opponent, St. Lawrence, has played five games and lost all five. Uh huh. One goal losses to #4 Clarkson in a home-and-home to start the season. Two dismantlings at the hands of #1 Minnesota, the defending national champions. Then this past Tuesday, a non-conference loss at #2 Cornell. I defy you to find a more difficult schedule. It would be practically impossible. Despite being 0-5-0, the Saints still got one vote as the 10th best team in the nation in the latest USCHO poll. That should tell you something. And they're probably thirsty for a win, tonight being their best opportunity thus far to pick one up.
Oh, and did you notice that Clarkson is ranked fourth in the nation? Yeah, that was definitely snuck in there. Their path has been much easier - the aforementioned sweep of SLU, a pair of solid wins over Vermont, and then a road split with always-tough #5 Mercyhurst has the Knights at 5-1-0 ahead of their game against Union tonight.
So yeah... points are at a premium as the Engineers kick off the ECAC schedule this weekend. But hey. At least it isn't going to snow.
Speaking of snow... and since we were deprived of the opportunity for a women's only pumpup to start the season since they didn't have an exhibition this year... here's a pretty killer cover of Led Zeppelin to get the blood flowing for this weekend's games in the North Country. Speakers up!
Unfortunately, once they get there, it's nothing but pain in the forecast - the North Country teams are almost certainly the most difficult travel partner set in the ECAC this season. But wait, you say. Tonight's opponent, St. Lawrence, has played five games and lost all five. Uh huh. One goal losses to #4 Clarkson in a home-and-home to start the season. Two dismantlings at the hands of #1 Minnesota, the defending national champions. Then this past Tuesday, a non-conference loss at #2 Cornell. I defy you to find a more difficult schedule. It would be practically impossible. Despite being 0-5-0, the Saints still got one vote as the 10th best team in the nation in the latest USCHO poll. That should tell you something. And they're probably thirsty for a win, tonight being their best opportunity thus far to pick one up.
Oh, and did you notice that Clarkson is ranked fourth in the nation? Yeah, that was definitely snuck in there. Their path has been much easier - the aforementioned sweep of SLU, a pair of solid wins over Vermont, and then a road split with always-tough #5 Mercyhurst has the Knights at 5-1-0 ahead of their game against Union tonight.
So yeah... points are at a premium as the Engineers kick off the ECAC schedule this weekend. But hey. At least it isn't going to snow.
Speaking of snow... and since we were deprived of the opportunity for a women's only pumpup to start the season since they didn't have an exhibition this year... here's a pretty killer cover of Led Zeppelin to get the blood flowing for this weekend's games in the North Country. Speakers up!
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
A Spin Around the ECAC
Well, since we've got the time, let's see how the rest of the league's October is going. This is the one month that sometimes, you miss out on what other teams are doing since there are no league games until the Ivies pick up in November.
Clarkson (0-3-0)
It's not really as bad as it looks. Well, it's pretty bad but it's not terrible. When you go out to Colorado College and score eight goals, that's admirable, even if it comes in a pair of one goal losses. Losing at home to Holy Cross, scoring once on 37 shots, that's a different story. The Knights will be looking for their first win (or two) of the season with a pair of home games this coming weekend against Niagara. Freshman Pat Megannety has a pair of goals and an assist, all of which came out in Colorado. In net, Cody Rosen got his third career start in game one against CC, but was pulled in the 3rd period after giving up 5 goals on 30 shots. Freshman Greg Lewis has played all of the time since but has only been fairly better overall. Clarkson definitely will be looking for a more confident defense going forward.
Colgate (2-3-0)
Remember when we said the Raiders were likely to have trouble scoring? Colgate made that prediction look silly after one game, when they annihilated Niagara 10-2, picking up goals from seven different players in the process for their first double-digit output since 1997-98. Then, however, they only scored two goals in the next three games. Granted, the first two of that set was against #3 Miami, but splitting with Bowling Green at home last weekend probably wasn't what the Raiders had in mind. Kyle Baun looks like an early freshman breakout for Colgate with 3 goals and 2 assists, and classmates Tylor Spink and Darcy Murphy also have a pair of goals each. This weekend, they face a challenging RIT team that went to Michigan and picked up a win, then they make their annual trip to Cape Cod where they'll face Quinnipiac in a non-conference game. The Bobcats should provide a better indication of exactly where Colgate is right now.
Quinnipiac (3-1-1)
If not for one head-scratcher home performance against Robert Morris, the Bobcats would be solidly rolling. This is certainly an experience laden team and the Q appears to be leaning on that experience heavily - the freshman class has put together a combined game tally of 8 appearances - 5 of which are defenseman Alex Barron and one of which was a 28:27 appearance by goaltender Michael Garteig, who played the second half of a baffling 4-0 loss to Robert Morris on the back side of a two-game set in Hamden (he allowed just one goal on eight shots). In fact, the only non-junior/senior to score points thus far is Matthew Peca (2 goals and 1 assist), who was an ECAC All-Rookie selection last year. The Q started their season off by going up to Maine and returning with a 2-1 victory, last weekend they tied and then beat Ohio State at home. This weekend, their only game is that non-conference on Cape Cod against Colgate.
St. Lawrence (3-1-0)
There aren't many teams that go to Orono, Maine, and skate away with a +9 goal differential in two games no matter how bad the Black Bears might be - but that's what the Saints achieved last weekend as very rude guests in the Pine Tree State (since we've been talking a lot of Maine - they're 1-4-0 thus far, their only win coming in the Icebreaker third place game against Army). There was some debate coming into the season as to whether Kyle Flanagan or Greg Carey was the best player on this team, two weeks later the resounding answer is, who cares? The duo has been ridiculously effective early on, and they're 1-2 in scoring nationally with Flanagan at 5 goals and 6 assists and Carey at 3 goals and 7 assists after just four games. Perhaps the biggest thing, though has been Matt Weninger, who has been equally lights out in net for the most part. Expect the Saints to keep the good times flowing after a bye week this weekend as they host Alabama-Huntsville during the first week of November. There hasn't been a lot of depth past Flanagan and Carey thus far, but that may not matter much if they can keep things up.
Union (2-1-0)
Leave it to Union to ruin banner night - they got a rude return from the Frozen Four in the first game of the season when they lost at home to Merrimack, 4-1. The "what the hell?" motif continued when they went down 2-0 six minutes in at Bowling Green the following week before righting the ship to pick up a pair of wins. Troy Grosenick's numbers in net are, thus far, off a bit from his incredible season last year, but they're still decent - and once they got scoring against the Falcons, Union put up 9 goals, so that aspect is intact as expected. The Dutchmen, interestingly, are providing American International this weekend with their first non-conference home game since January 2008 (which was, in turn, their first since 2005). Pretty quick turnaround to go from the Frozen Four in April to the building that's dead last in attendance in Division I (averaging 171 guests per game in 2011) for the last nine consecutive years. AIC draws so poorly that they got outdrawn by 62 Division III schools as well. Fortunately, Union is used to playing in front of small crowds (small arena that doesn't sell out zing), so they probably won't miss a beat - expect a beatdown, followed by another likely win at UConn before the home-and-home with the Engineers rolls around.
The Ivies get underway this weekend too, here's what they've done thus far in exhibitions:
Cornell 6, US Under-18 Team 2
Cornell 2, Brock 2
Dartmouth 2, McGill 1
Dartmouth 4, Norwich 3
Harvard 5, McGill 1
Guelph 3, Princeton 2 (OT)
Guelph 6, Princeton 5
The Ivy Shootout takes place in Providence this weekend, with Dartmouth facing Yale and Princeton at Brown on Friday, losers and winners to face each other the next night. Harvard hosts local minnow Bentley on Saturday, and with bigger fish to fry, Cornell hosts Colorado College for a pair on Friday and Saturday.
Clarkson (0-3-0)
It's not really as bad as it looks. Well, it's pretty bad but it's not terrible. When you go out to Colorado College and score eight goals, that's admirable, even if it comes in a pair of one goal losses. Losing at home to Holy Cross, scoring once on 37 shots, that's a different story. The Knights will be looking for their first win (or two) of the season with a pair of home games this coming weekend against Niagara. Freshman Pat Megannety has a pair of goals and an assist, all of which came out in Colorado. In net, Cody Rosen got his third career start in game one against CC, but was pulled in the 3rd period after giving up 5 goals on 30 shots. Freshman Greg Lewis has played all of the time since but has only been fairly better overall. Clarkson definitely will be looking for a more confident defense going forward.
Colgate (2-3-0)
Remember when we said the Raiders were likely to have trouble scoring? Colgate made that prediction look silly after one game, when they annihilated Niagara 10-2, picking up goals from seven different players in the process for their first double-digit output since 1997-98. Then, however, they only scored two goals in the next three games. Granted, the first two of that set was against #3 Miami, but splitting with Bowling Green at home last weekend probably wasn't what the Raiders had in mind. Kyle Baun looks like an early freshman breakout for Colgate with 3 goals and 2 assists, and classmates Tylor Spink and Darcy Murphy also have a pair of goals each. This weekend, they face a challenging RIT team that went to Michigan and picked up a win, then they make their annual trip to Cape Cod where they'll face Quinnipiac in a non-conference game. The Bobcats should provide a better indication of exactly where Colgate is right now.
Quinnipiac (3-1-1)
If not for one head-scratcher home performance against Robert Morris, the Bobcats would be solidly rolling. This is certainly an experience laden team and the Q appears to be leaning on that experience heavily - the freshman class has put together a combined game tally of 8 appearances - 5 of which are defenseman Alex Barron and one of which was a 28:27 appearance by goaltender Michael Garteig, who played the second half of a baffling 4-0 loss to Robert Morris on the back side of a two-game set in Hamden (he allowed just one goal on eight shots). In fact, the only non-junior/senior to score points thus far is Matthew Peca (2 goals and 1 assist), who was an ECAC All-Rookie selection last year. The Q started their season off by going up to Maine and returning with a 2-1 victory, last weekend they tied and then beat Ohio State at home. This weekend, their only game is that non-conference on Cape Cod against Colgate.
St. Lawrence (3-1-0)
There aren't many teams that go to Orono, Maine, and skate away with a +9 goal differential in two games no matter how bad the Black Bears might be - but that's what the Saints achieved last weekend as very rude guests in the Pine Tree State (since we've been talking a lot of Maine - they're 1-4-0 thus far, their only win coming in the Icebreaker third place game against Army). There was some debate coming into the season as to whether Kyle Flanagan or Greg Carey was the best player on this team, two weeks later the resounding answer is, who cares? The duo has been ridiculously effective early on, and they're 1-2 in scoring nationally with Flanagan at 5 goals and 6 assists and Carey at 3 goals and 7 assists after just four games. Perhaps the biggest thing, though has been Matt Weninger, who has been equally lights out in net for the most part. Expect the Saints to keep the good times flowing after a bye week this weekend as they host Alabama-Huntsville during the first week of November. There hasn't been a lot of depth past Flanagan and Carey thus far, but that may not matter much if they can keep things up.
Union (2-1-0)
Leave it to Union to ruin banner night - they got a rude return from the Frozen Four in the first game of the season when they lost at home to Merrimack, 4-1. The "what the hell?" motif continued when they went down 2-0 six minutes in at Bowling Green the following week before righting the ship to pick up a pair of wins. Troy Grosenick's numbers in net are, thus far, off a bit from his incredible season last year, but they're still decent - and once they got scoring against the Falcons, Union put up 9 goals, so that aspect is intact as expected. The Dutchmen, interestingly, are providing American International this weekend with their first non-conference home game since January 2008 (which was, in turn, their first since 2005). Pretty quick turnaround to go from the Frozen Four in April to the building that's dead last in attendance in Division I (averaging 171 guests per game in 2011) for the last nine consecutive years. AIC draws so poorly that they got outdrawn by 62 Division III schools as well. Fortunately, Union is used to playing in front of small crowds (small arena that doesn't sell out zing), so they probably won't miss a beat - expect a beatdown, followed by another likely win at UConn before the home-and-home with the Engineers rolls around.
The Ivies get underway this weekend too, here's what they've done thus far in exhibitions:
Cornell 6, US Under-18 Team 2
Cornell 2, Brock 2
Dartmouth 2, McGill 1
Dartmouth 4, Norwich 3
Harvard 5, McGill 1
Guelph 3, Princeton 2 (OT)
Guelph 6, Princeton 5
The Ivy Shootout takes place in Providence this weekend, with Dartmouth facing Yale and Princeton at Brown on Friday, losers and winners to face each other the next night. Harvard hosts local minnow Bentley on Saturday, and with bigger fish to fry, Cornell hosts Colorado College for a pair on Friday and Saturday.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Men's Hockey - at Minnesota State (19/20 Oct)
One typical hallmark of a young team is the inability to score goals - we saw that in spades at this time last year. If scoring goals isn't a problem, holding leads can be another issue, and that's something the Engineers were surely kicking themselves over all the way home to Troy this past weekend. Despite holding two-goal leads in the third period both Friday and Saturday nights, RPI was forced to settle for a tie on Friday and to swallow an overtime loss on Saturday following back to back blown leads in the final period, drawing 3-3 and losing 4-3, settling for a one point weekend (if this had been a league weekend, of course), instead of taking all four, which were within the grasp.
Friday
Lee-Rogic-Schroeder
Zalewski-Higgs-Tinordi
Neal-Laliberte-Haggerty
Bubela-Miller-Burgdoerfer
Leboeuf-Bailen
Curadi-Leonard
Bradley-Dolan
Diebold
Following on from the relatively successful home weekend against Ferris State, minimal lineup changes were in order. Before leaving for Minnesota, coach Seth Appert told the Troy Record that the team was nursing some relatively minor injuries, and that the lineup would reflect the hope for some good recovery time for those injuries. When the lineup was produced, Mark McGowan was the only starter against Ferris State not in the lineup - he did not play over the weekend in Mankato, but if Appert was accurate in his description, he should be good to go when the ECAC schedule opens in two weeks against local rivals Union (and on three weeks rest, to boot). Johnny Rogic was moved from the fourth line into McGowan's position between Lee and Schroeder, while Mark Miller moved into the center position on the fourth line with winger Greg Burgdoerfer entering the lineup.
Both teams got their scoring started on their first power plays of the game during the first period. Mankato got themselves on the board first a little over halfway through an interference call against Nick Bailen, and RPI responded about four minutes later as Bailen notched his first goal of the year a little under a minute into the Engineers' first advantage.
Throughout the final 10 minutes of the first period, RPI was forced to hold on for dear life as a Bo Dolan penalty was killed off, a penalty shot caused by a Bailen trip on the breakaway was stopped by Scott Diebold, and a Miller interference call was shortly thereafter killed off. Despite the numerous penalties in the first period, RPI got out of the first 20 with a 1-1 tie and an 8-6 edge in shots.
The Engineers put in some very good work in the second period, making that shot total more lopsided by the end of the middle frame. With about three and a half minutes left in the second, Matt Neal put the Engineers ahead with his first goal of the season, making it 2-1 in favor of RPI heading into the third.
Things were looking very good for RPI following Ryan Haggerty's second goal of the season about seven minutes in on the power play to make it 3-1, but the homestanding Mavericks did not back down. Shortly after a timeout called by Seth Appert following an icing call, Mankato pulled to within one a little over three minutes after Haggerty's goal, and with about three minutes left in regulation, tied the game. Minnesota State ended the third period with an 11-6 edge in shots, almost mirroring RPI's 12-6 advantage from the second period.
Both teams had some good opportunities in the overtime period, especially RPI late with a shot by Zach Schroeder just missing, but ultimately RPI had to settle for a second consecutive tie, this one a little worse than the previous one given the Engineers' two goal advantage which was still in place with 10 minutes left to play. Diebold finished with 22 saves on 25 shots to earn the tie. Neal, meanwhile, had a hand in all three of the RPI goals, notching secondary assists on the Bailen and Haggerty tallies.
Saturday
Lee-Rogic-Schroeder
Zalewski-Higgs-Tinordi
Neal-Laliberte-Haggerty
Bubela-Miller-Commers
Leboeuf-Bailen
Curadi-Leonard
Bradley-Dolan
Merriam
Among the other things Appert mentioned to the Troy Record ahead of the trip was that Burgdoerfer and Minnesota native Andrew Commers had earned ice time in practice - and given that the trip was to Commers' home state, it wasn't too shocking to see Commers get his RPI debut in Mankato, replacing Burgdoerfer for the second game. (The team's other MN natives, Schroeder and Dolan, played both nights. Interestingly, all seven of the team's New York natives were in the lineup on Friday.)
Things got rough early on in game two, as Guy Leboeuf was assessed a five minute major and a game misconduct for hitting from behind just over five minutes into the contest, putting RPI short a defenseman for the rest of the game. That put the Engineers on an extended penalty kill, but the Mavericks were unable to score during the major. Late in the period, after a charging call against Mankato, Schroeder scored his first goal of the season on the man advantage to put the Engineers ahead 1-0.
Neal's second goal of the year came during a 4-on-3 power play in the second period caused in part by a five-minute charging penalty against Mankato after Bryce Merriam was run down in the crease. That tally came just seconds into the major, but it would be the only one the Engineers could muster from the long power play, which was in part cut short by a tripping penalty to Matt Tinordi.
The Engineers brought their 2-0 lead into the third period, but that edge evaporated even more quickly than it had the previous night. Minnesota State scored just 62 seconds into the third period to cut RPI's lead in half, then tied it with another goal 2:37 later. The tie ran for a good 10 minutes or so with plenty of back and forth action before a breakaway with just over five minutes to play gave the Mavericks their first lead of the night, 3-2.
RPI did not back down, however. With Merriam off for the extra attacker, Neal scored his second goal of the night and third on the weekend and year to tie the game with 1:36 remaining in regulation, immediately jolting the Engineers back to life.
It was, however, short lived. 1:09 into RPI's third straight overtime, the Mavericks scored off a faceoff in the RPI zone to skate away with the 4-3 victory. The Engineers, about 30 minutes of gameplay away from two wins on a long road weekend instead got just a tie for their efforts.
Upcoming games
02 Nov - #8 Union (Black Friday)
03 Nov - at #8 Union
09 Nov - at Dartmouth
10 Nov - at #17 Harvard
16 Nov - Mercyhurst
Friday
Lee-Rogic-Schroeder
Zalewski-Higgs-Tinordi
Neal-Laliberte-Haggerty
Bubela-Miller-Burgdoerfer
Leboeuf-Bailen
Curadi-Leonard
Bradley-Dolan
Diebold
Following on from the relatively successful home weekend against Ferris State, minimal lineup changes were in order. Before leaving for Minnesota, coach Seth Appert told the Troy Record that the team was nursing some relatively minor injuries, and that the lineup would reflect the hope for some good recovery time for those injuries. When the lineup was produced, Mark McGowan was the only starter against Ferris State not in the lineup - he did not play over the weekend in Mankato, but if Appert was accurate in his description, he should be good to go when the ECAC schedule opens in two weeks against local rivals Union (and on three weeks rest, to boot). Johnny Rogic was moved from the fourth line into McGowan's position between Lee and Schroeder, while Mark Miller moved into the center position on the fourth line with winger Greg Burgdoerfer entering the lineup.
Both teams got their scoring started on their first power plays of the game during the first period. Mankato got themselves on the board first a little over halfway through an interference call against Nick Bailen, and RPI responded about four minutes later as Bailen notched his first goal of the year a little under a minute into the Engineers' first advantage.
Throughout the final 10 minutes of the first period, RPI was forced to hold on for dear life as a Bo Dolan penalty was killed off, a penalty shot caused by a Bailen trip on the breakaway was stopped by Scott Diebold, and a Miller interference call was shortly thereafter killed off. Despite the numerous penalties in the first period, RPI got out of the first 20 with a 1-1 tie and an 8-6 edge in shots.
The Engineers put in some very good work in the second period, making that shot total more lopsided by the end of the middle frame. With about three and a half minutes left in the second, Matt Neal put the Engineers ahead with his first goal of the season, making it 2-1 in favor of RPI heading into the third.
Things were looking very good for RPI following Ryan Haggerty's second goal of the season about seven minutes in on the power play to make it 3-1, but the homestanding Mavericks did not back down. Shortly after a timeout called by Seth Appert following an icing call, Mankato pulled to within one a little over three minutes after Haggerty's goal, and with about three minutes left in regulation, tied the game. Minnesota State ended the third period with an 11-6 edge in shots, almost mirroring RPI's 12-6 advantage from the second period.
Both teams had some good opportunities in the overtime period, especially RPI late with a shot by Zach Schroeder just missing, but ultimately RPI had to settle for a second consecutive tie, this one a little worse than the previous one given the Engineers' two goal advantage which was still in place with 10 minutes left to play. Diebold finished with 22 saves on 25 shots to earn the tie. Neal, meanwhile, had a hand in all three of the RPI goals, notching secondary assists on the Bailen and Haggerty tallies.
Saturday
Lee-Rogic-Schroeder
Zalewski-Higgs-Tinordi
Neal-Laliberte-Haggerty
Bubela-Miller-Commers
Leboeuf-Bailen
Curadi-Leonard
Bradley-Dolan
Merriam
Among the other things Appert mentioned to the Troy Record ahead of the trip was that Burgdoerfer and Minnesota native Andrew Commers had earned ice time in practice - and given that the trip was to Commers' home state, it wasn't too shocking to see Commers get his RPI debut in Mankato, replacing Burgdoerfer for the second game. (The team's other MN natives, Schroeder and Dolan, played both nights. Interestingly, all seven of the team's New York natives were in the lineup on Friday.)
Things got rough early on in game two, as Guy Leboeuf was assessed a five minute major and a game misconduct for hitting from behind just over five minutes into the contest, putting RPI short a defenseman for the rest of the game. That put the Engineers on an extended penalty kill, but the Mavericks were unable to score during the major. Late in the period, after a charging call against Mankato, Schroeder scored his first goal of the season on the man advantage to put the Engineers ahead 1-0.
Neal's second goal of the year came during a 4-on-3 power play in the second period caused in part by a five-minute charging penalty against Mankato after Bryce Merriam was run down in the crease. That tally came just seconds into the major, but it would be the only one the Engineers could muster from the long power play, which was in part cut short by a tripping penalty to Matt Tinordi.
The Engineers brought their 2-0 lead into the third period, but that edge evaporated even more quickly than it had the previous night. Minnesota State scored just 62 seconds into the third period to cut RPI's lead in half, then tied it with another goal 2:37 later. The tie ran for a good 10 minutes or so with plenty of back and forth action before a breakaway with just over five minutes to play gave the Mavericks their first lead of the night, 3-2.
RPI did not back down, however. With Merriam off for the extra attacker, Neal scored his second goal of the night and third on the weekend and year to tie the game with 1:36 remaining in regulation, immediately jolting the Engineers back to life.
It was, however, short lived. 1:09 into RPI's third straight overtime, the Mavericks scored off a faceoff in the RPI zone to skate away with the 4-3 victory. The Engineers, about 30 minutes of gameplay away from two wins on a long road weekend instead got just a tie for their efforts.
Other junk - Following the "one point weekend," the Engineers' vote haul in the weekly USCHO poll dropped from 40 to seven, now ranking 6th among ECAC teams in the poll. Other league teams were #7 Cornell (idle, down one with one first place vote), #8 Union (idle, no change with one first place vote), #17 Harvard (idle, no change), and #20 Quinnipiac (tied and beat Ohio State, no change). Also receiving votes were St. Lawrence (109, just missing a ranking by 7 votes) and Yale (3). Other teams on RPI's schedule this year include #12 New Hampshire (up three, one first place vote), #13 Boston University (down two), and #18 Ferris State (down two). Also receiving votes were Minnesota State (39) and St. Cloud State (12).
Neal is on fire. He's already doubled his point total from last season in just four games, and with eight points, trails only St. Lawrence duo Kyle Flanagan and Greg Carey for the national lead. Laliberte is halfway to his point total from last year with seven points and is tied for fourth nationally in points. Both linemates are among the Top 10 in the nation in points per game.
With Commers and Burgdoerfer making their season debuts over the weekend, the Engineers are down to five players who have yet to make their first appearance after four games: Craig Bokenfohr, Phil Hampton, Travis Fulton, Marty O'Grady, and Jason Kasdorf - though Hampton and Kasdorf did play in the exhibition game.
Scoring is no longer a major concern for RPI... at least, not right now. The Engineers have scored at least two goals in each of their last 12 contests and in 29 of their last 31. Those last 31, it should be noted, followed a start to last season in which the Engineers failed to score at least two goals in 10 of 12 games, which included a stretch of eight games in which RPI scored just five goals. The Engineers have 11 goals in their first four games, they did not reach their 11th goal last year until November 15th, in their 12th game.
As part of that scoring jump, RPI has thus far produced the nation's 4th best power play, clicking at 35.3% so far with a 6-for-17 record. The penalty kill hasn't been too shabby either, as RPI has allowed just one power play goal in four games (Mankato's first goal on Friday) at 12-for-13, a 92.3% success rate.
The Engineers get a rare early-season weekend off next week, but then jump right into the ECAC schedule with the yearly home-and-home weekend against Union to get things going. The Dutchmen are 2-1-0 on the season after an unexpected home loss to Merrimack to start the year, followed by a sweep at Bowling Green. Union is in action next weekend at American International (a rare home non-conference game for the Yellow Jackets, against a Frozen Four team no less) and UConn, so we'll probably be looking at a confident Union squad that has had the opportunity to beat up some lesser teams in the recent past by the time the festivities begin. Friday's game, being the home ECAC opener, is the annual Black Friday game.
RPI at Minnesota State
Non-Conference Game - Verizon Wireless Center (Mankato, MN)
10/19/12 - 8:30pm
RESULT: RPI 3, Minnesota State 3
BOX SCORES
Neal is on fire. He's already doubled his point total from last season in just four games, and with eight points, trails only St. Lawrence duo Kyle Flanagan and Greg Carey for the national lead. Laliberte is halfway to his point total from last year with seven points and is tied for fourth nationally in points. Both linemates are among the Top 10 in the nation in points per game.
With Commers and Burgdoerfer making their season debuts over the weekend, the Engineers are down to five players who have yet to make their first appearance after four games: Craig Bokenfohr, Phil Hampton, Travis Fulton, Marty O'Grady, and Jason Kasdorf - though Hampton and Kasdorf did play in the exhibition game.
Scoring is no longer a major concern for RPI... at least, not right now. The Engineers have scored at least two goals in each of their last 12 contests and in 29 of their last 31. Those last 31, it should be noted, followed a start to last season in which the Engineers failed to score at least two goals in 10 of 12 games, which included a stretch of eight games in which RPI scored just five goals. The Engineers have 11 goals in their first four games, they did not reach their 11th goal last year until November 15th, in their 12th game.
As part of that scoring jump, RPI has thus far produced the nation's 4th best power play, clicking at 35.3% so far with a 6-for-17 record. The penalty kill hasn't been too shabby either, as RPI has allowed just one power play goal in four games (Mankato's first goal on Friday) at 12-for-13, a 92.3% success rate.
The Engineers get a rare early-season weekend off next week, but then jump right into the ECAC schedule with the yearly home-and-home weekend against Union to get things going. The Dutchmen are 2-1-0 on the season after an unexpected home loss to Merrimack to start the year, followed by a sweep at Bowling Green. Union is in action next weekend at American International (a rare home non-conference game for the Yellow Jackets, against a Frozen Four team no less) and UConn, so we'll probably be looking at a confident Union squad that has had the opportunity to beat up some lesser teams in the recent past by the time the festivities begin. Friday's game, being the home ECAC opener, is the annual Black Friday game.
RPI at Minnesota State
Non-Conference Game - Verizon Wireless Center (Mankato, MN)
10/19/12 - 8:30pm
RESULT: RPI 3, Minnesota State 3
BOX SCORES
RECORD: 1-0-2 (0-0-0 ECAC)
RPI at Minnesota State
Non-Conference Game - Verizon Wireless Center (Mankato, MN)
10/20/12 - 8:00pm
RESULT: Minnesota State 4, RPI 3 (OT)
BOX SCORES
Non-Conference Game - Verizon Wireless Center (Mankato, MN)
10/20/12 - 8:00pm
RESULT: Minnesota State 4, RPI 3 (OT)
BOX SCORES
RECORD: 1-1-2 (0-0-0 ECAC)
Upcoming games
02 Nov - #8 Union (Black Friday)
03 Nov - at #8 Union
09 Nov - at Dartmouth
10 Nov - at #17 Harvard
16 Nov - Mercyhurst
Women's Hockey - Union (20 Oct)
With the ECAC schedule just around the corner, the Engineers had a light family weekend scheduled, with just a Saturday afternoon non-conference tilt against Union on the schedule. Unfortunately for RPI, a combination of sloppier than usual play coupled with an ever-improving Union squad led to a 3-2 defeat for RPI in front of what may end up being one of the largest crowds of the season.
Union
Smelker/Gruschow/Svoboda
Wash/Cox/Horton
Mahoney/Mari Mankey/Walsh
Letuligasenoa/Le Donne/Missy Mankey
Daniels/Banks
Godin/Marzario
Middlebrook/Schilter
O'Brien
From very humble beginnings in Division 1, Union has been on a slow but steady upward trajectory in recent seasons and it showed in Saturday's game against the Engineers. Despite being widely outshot, the Dutchwomen carried play for significant stretches of the afternoon, and used a pair of early goals coupled with capitalizing on an RPI defensive lapse late in the game to fight for a 3-2 win in nonconference play.
Union's first tally came just 9 seconds into a power play and 2:20 into the game. With Delaney Middlebrook off for interference, the Engineers attempted a weak pass around the boards from behind their own net, which was intercepted by Christine Valente and fed into the slot where Courtney Turner put it home for a 1-0 lead.
Turner doubled the lead just past the midpoint of the first period on Union's second power play opportunity of the game. Digging out the puck from the corner, Jessica Kaminsky fed it to the slot for a similar setup to the first goal, and Turner was able to poke it in after several quick tries on the doorstep.
Union held the 2-0 lead through the majority of the second period and it looked like that score would hold into the second intermission, but Eleeza Cox got the Engineers on the board in the final minute of the frame. Taking advantage of some top line minutes, Cox took a feed from defenseman Jenn Godin and snuck it past Shenae Lundberg to make it 2-1.
Alexa Gruschow knotted the score just 3:30 into the third period, fighting through several Union defenders to beat Lundberg and make it 2-2.
The score would not hold, however. With Godin in the box for high-sticking, the Engineers had an opportunity to clear the puck down ice but instead turned it back behind their own net where it was stolen by Camille Corbin. Corbin fed it out to Turner who fired it on net, and the ensuing rebound was put home by Valente to give Union the 3-2 lead.
The Dutchwomen held on to the lead through the final minutes, including a late RPI power play which the Engineers couldn't convert. RPI racked up a 13-5 shot advantage in the final frame but they wouldn't be able to draw even again.
While the result doesn't count in the standings, it exposed several areas the Engineers will need to work on going into league play. There were more than a few unforced turnovers in the defensive zone which turned into Union scoring opportunities, and all three Union goals directly resulted from opposing skaters being allowed to get in close to the RPI net with little resistance from the defense.
If Union capitalized on these lapses three times, they will undoubtedly be exploited by the upper echelon of the ECAC if the Engineers don't make some tweaks to their game in the coming weeks.
RPI hits the road next weekend to open up the ECAC schedule at St. Lawrence (4pm Friday) and Clarkson (3:30pm Saturday). The Saints are off to a rough start, losing four straight (although they were facing #5 Clarkson and #1 Minnesota). Clarkson, with that #5 ranking, has started off 5-1 following a 14-0 thrashing of the PWHL's Ottawa Senators in an exhibition. The Golden Knights' lone loss came this past weekend at the hands of #7 Mercyhurst. It should prove a tough test to start off the league schedule for the Engineers.
-----
RPI vs. Union
Non-Conference Game – Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
10/20/12 - 4pm
Union 3, RPI 2
BOX SCORES:
USCHO: http://www.uscho.com/box/womens-hockey/2012/10/20/union-vs-rensselaer/
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1213/boxes/wrenuni1.o20
RECAPS:
RPI: http://www.rpiathletics.com/news/2012/10/20/WICE_1020125626.aspx
Union: http://unionathletics.com/news/2012/10/20/WICE_1020125854.aspx
Video Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kTUGeU5QgA
RECORD: 1-3-1
-----
Upcoming Games
Oct. 26 - at St. Lawrence (4pm)
Oct. 27 - at Clarkson (3:30pm)
Oct. 31 - at Vermont (7pm)
Nov. 9 - Princeton (7pm)
Nov. 10 - Quinnipiac (4pm)
Union
Smelker/Gruschow/Svoboda
Wash/Cox/Horton
Mahoney/Mari Mankey/Walsh
Letuligasenoa/Le Donne/Missy Mankey
Daniels/Banks
Godin/Marzario
Middlebrook/Schilter
O'Brien
From very humble beginnings in Division 1, Union has been on a slow but steady upward trajectory in recent seasons and it showed in Saturday's game against the Engineers. Despite being widely outshot, the Dutchwomen carried play for significant stretches of the afternoon, and used a pair of early goals coupled with capitalizing on an RPI defensive lapse late in the game to fight for a 3-2 win in nonconference play.
Union's first tally came just 9 seconds into a power play and 2:20 into the game. With Delaney Middlebrook off for interference, the Engineers attempted a weak pass around the boards from behind their own net, which was intercepted by Christine Valente and fed into the slot where Courtney Turner put it home for a 1-0 lead.
Turner doubled the lead just past the midpoint of the first period on Union's second power play opportunity of the game. Digging out the puck from the corner, Jessica Kaminsky fed it to the slot for a similar setup to the first goal, and Turner was able to poke it in after several quick tries on the doorstep.
Union held the 2-0 lead through the majority of the second period and it looked like that score would hold into the second intermission, but Eleeza Cox got the Engineers on the board in the final minute of the frame. Taking advantage of some top line minutes, Cox took a feed from defenseman Jenn Godin and snuck it past Shenae Lundberg to make it 2-1.
Alexa Gruschow knotted the score just 3:30 into the third period, fighting through several Union defenders to beat Lundberg and make it 2-2.
The score would not hold, however. With Godin in the box for high-sticking, the Engineers had an opportunity to clear the puck down ice but instead turned it back behind their own net where it was stolen by Camille Corbin. Corbin fed it out to Turner who fired it on net, and the ensuing rebound was put home by Valente to give Union the 3-2 lead.
The Dutchwomen held on to the lead through the final minutes, including a late RPI power play which the Engineers couldn't convert. RPI racked up a 13-5 shot advantage in the final frame but they wouldn't be able to draw even again.
While the result doesn't count in the standings, it exposed several areas the Engineers will need to work on going into league play. There were more than a few unforced turnovers in the defensive zone which turned into Union scoring opportunities, and all three Union goals directly resulted from opposing skaters being allowed to get in close to the RPI net with little resistance from the defense.
If Union capitalized on these lapses three times, they will undoubtedly be exploited by the upper echelon of the ECAC if the Engineers don't make some tweaks to their game in the coming weeks.
RPI hits the road next weekend to open up the ECAC schedule at St. Lawrence (4pm Friday) and Clarkson (3:30pm Saturday). The Saints are off to a rough start, losing four straight (although they were facing #5 Clarkson and #1 Minnesota). Clarkson, with that #5 ranking, has started off 5-1 following a 14-0 thrashing of the PWHL's Ottawa Senators in an exhibition. The Golden Knights' lone loss came this past weekend at the hands of #7 Mercyhurst. It should prove a tough test to start off the league schedule for the Engineers.
-----
RPI vs. Union
Non-Conference Game – Houston Field House (Troy, NY)
10/20/12 - 4pm
Union 3, RPI 2
BOX SCORES:
USCHO: http://www.uscho.com/box/womens-hockey/2012/10/20/union-vs-rensselaer/
College Hockey Stats: http://collegehockeystats.net/1213/boxes/wrenuni1.o20
RECAPS:
RPI: http://www.rpiathletics.com/news/2012/10/20/WICE_1020125626.aspx
Union: http://unionathletics.com/news/2012/10/20/WICE_1020125854.aspx
Video Highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kTUGeU5QgA
RECORD: 1-3-1
-----
Upcoming Games
Oct. 26 - at St. Lawrence (4pm)
Oct. 27 - at Clarkson (3:30pm)
Oct. 31 - at Vermont (7pm)
Nov. 9 - Princeton (7pm)
Nov. 10 - Quinnipiac (4pm)
Friday, October 19, 2012
On the Wing
Ah, October. In the ECAC, it means one of two things - you're either waiting another four weeks for hockey to start, or you're off on at least one long trip, depending on which side of the Ivy divide you fall on. For the men, it's time for the yearly long October trip.
As dismal as last October was for RPI, the home series against Minnesota State was actually a fairly bright spot. After peppering Austin Lee with 36 shots in Game 1 only to fall 1-0 (that one goal practically coming at the death), a relative offensive outburst took place in Game 2 as RPI picked up a 4-1 victory - the only time the Engineers would clear three goals until December 2 and the only time notching four until January 27. But Minnesota State, ultimately, was a lot like RPI last year, which means they could be a lot like RPI this year, too. They are without the goaltender that earned them the big shutout last time, but it's now on their turf. Should be interesting to see the Engineers' first ever trip to Mankato, MN.
On the women's side, it's a short weekend as one non-conference home game against the Dutchwomen is all they've got. It's time to see just what Union has, as they're no longer the instant pushovers they have been for so many years. Last year, Union finished outside of the basement for the first time since their move to Division I (they managed 11th), so while the Engineers are almost certainly still favorites, it's going to require a little more work than past teams had to put in against the little sisters from Schenectady.
Clear eyes, full heart.
As dismal as last October was for RPI, the home series against Minnesota State was actually a fairly bright spot. After peppering Austin Lee with 36 shots in Game 1 only to fall 1-0 (that one goal practically coming at the death), a relative offensive outburst took place in Game 2 as RPI picked up a 4-1 victory - the only time the Engineers would clear three goals until December 2 and the only time notching four until January 27. But Minnesota State, ultimately, was a lot like RPI last year, which means they could be a lot like RPI this year, too. They are without the goaltender that earned them the big shutout last time, but it's now on their turf. Should be interesting to see the Engineers' first ever trip to Mankato, MN.
On the women's side, it's a short weekend as one non-conference home game against the Dutchwomen is all they've got. It's time to see just what Union has, as they're no longer the instant pushovers they have been for so many years. Last year, Union finished outside of the basement for the first time since their move to Division I (they managed 11th), so while the Engineers are almost certainly still favorites, it's going to require a little more work than past teams had to put in against the little sisters from Schenectady.
Clear eyes, full heart.
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