RPI 2017 Off-Season (Part II): Mr. Smith Goes to Troy

[DrDemento]

Re: RPI 2017 Off-Season (Part II): Mr. Smith Goes to Troy

Not in love with delaying the Freakout game until the last home game (in fact last game of the regular season). I had always considered it to be a momentum builder for the team and way back, before SA down played the game, I know many of the players felt it did just that. If it has become so insignificant, then perhaps it is time to retire another great RPI tradition as had happened to the Holiday Tournament. No Tournament mid season, no Freakout excitement, no ECAC playoffs for an RPI team in too many years to count, it is getting harder and harder to recall just what a storied and nationally prominent program this had been. Just an old fan of 54 years opinion.

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: RPI 2017 Off-Season (Part II): Mr. Smith Goes to Troy

Not in love with delaying the Freakout game until the last home game (in fact last game of the regular season). I had always considered it to be a momentum builder for the team and way back, before SA down played the game, I know many of the players felt it did just that. If it has become so insignificant, then perhaps it is time to retire another great RPI tradition as had happened to the Holiday Tournament. No Tournament mid season, no Freakout excitement, no ECAC playoffs for an RPI team in too many years to count, it is getting harder and harder to recall just what a storied and nationally prominent program this had been. Just an old fan of 54 years opinion.

Doc, take a look at the schedule. When else were they going to do it? As much as I understand your concerns about when they do it, there is no other Saturday. I'm just surprised the league didn't try to force it to be vs. Cornell...

[DrDemento]

Re: RPI 2017 Off-Season (Part II): Mr. Smith Goes to Troy

Doc, take a look at the schedule. When else were they going to do it? As much as I understand your concerns about when they do it, there is no other Saturday. I'm just surprised the league didn't try to force it to be vs. Cornell...

Dude: Any other date would have been better in my eyes even if it was as early as November. The purpose of the game is lost when it is the last game and combined with some other event like Senior Night which should stand alone as a tribute to the boys who have been there for up to four years. As everyone knows, I am big on the tradition of this program and still bemoan the fact that the administration and the previous coaching staff altered that. Being involved for as long as we have, we have seen the changes as they all have happened and not happy about most of them. Your point is valid that there are few possibilities but still, this is the worst of the choices.
Which should be more of a tradition, Autism night or Big Red Freakout or Black Friday? We just do not like the trend we have seen over the past 10 years. We remain loyal fans and supportive of the boys but have a bad feeling about the recent past are are just hopeful that improves soon.

[turk181]

Re: RPI 2017 Off-Season (Part II): Mr. Smith Goes to Troy

Doc, take a look at the schedule. When else were they going to do it? As much as I understand your concerns about when they do it, there is no other Saturday. I'm just surprised the league didn't try to force it to be vs. Cornell...

I believe this is where a HC has to vigilant with the League when it comes to the schedule. Hopefully next year after Coach Smith has more time under his belt in the ECAC this will be the case. The last game of the regular season is not the ideal time for BRF, as Doc noted.

[Ralph Baer]

Re: RPI 2017 Off-Season (Part II): Mr. Smith Goes to Troy

Speaking about our tradition https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst...ey-fans/13283/.

At least we are above Schenectady.

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: RPI 2017 Off-Season (Part II): Mr. Smith Goes to Troy

Dude: Any other date would have been better in my eyes even if it was as early as November. The purpose of the game is lost when it is the last game and combined with some other event like Senior Night which should stand alone as a tribute to the boys who have been there for up to four years. As everyone knows, I am big on the tradition of this program and still bemoan the fact that the administration and the previous coaching staff altered that. Being involved for as long as we have, we have seen the changes as they all have happened and not happy about most of them. Your point is valid that there are few possibilities but still, this is the worst of the choices.
Which should be more of a tradition, Autism night or Big Red Freakout or Black Friday? We just do not like the trend we have seen over the past 10 years. We remain loyal fans and supportive of the boys but have a bad feeling about the recent past are are just hopeful that improves soon.

If we want to build momentum, isn't January the best time? Black Friday is already a first half momentum builder.

Also, one game that destroys our league schedule is the Mayor's Cup. With Albany no longer having an AHL team, why do we even play this anymore?

[RPI fan 4 life]

Re: RPI 2017 Off-Season (Part II): Mr. Smith Goes to Troy

Just throwing my couple of pennies in:
First, Freakout! Dr. D is right (as usual). Here would be my suggestion: why not play the game against Dartmouth? I know it's a Friday, but it is the only game of the weekend and they have played the Black Friday game on Saturday (like this year for example) so why not Freakout Friday?
Second, the Mayor's Cup. FD is 100% spot on on this one. Why even bother playing this game? I live 20 minutes from the TU Center and I won't even go to the game and I know many of my fellow season ticket holders agree with me on this one. Create an ice rink for one night? Really.
Third, Autism Night. I spoke with Coach Smith about this at the meet the coach party and he said they will be having some game involving a charity, but wouldn't specifically mention Autism. There may be some other charity in mind. Guess we will have to stay tuned.
Finally, welcome to Troy, Coach Jewett!!

[DrDemento]

Re: RPI 2017 Off-Season (Part II): Mr. Smith Goes to Troy

If we want to build momentum, isn't January the best time? Black Friday is already a first half momentum builder.

Also, one game that destroys our league schedule is the Mayor's Cup. With Albany no longer having an AHL team, why do we even play this anymore?

I'd be happy with any game earlier that what is scheduled right now. In my mind, the earlier the better. Teams need something to rally around, to bond together for. Call it anything you want. Freakout, Black Monday, whatever floats your boat. But this is a 34+ game season and to schedule what is arguably the biggest draw of the season for the fans, the team, the school as the 34th game of the season borders on the absurd. But then again, their have been a lot of absurd and ridiculous things that have happened that have fed this downward spiral that was once one of the proud premier programs. When i first applied to RPI back in the early 1960's, my guidance counselor related to me a number of things about the school. First he told me that there were no easy courses and even physical education was tough. Second he told me that for some reason this little school in upstate NY seemed to win or compete for the NCAA hockey championship fairly often. Today I cannot really comment on the former comment *** i am not familiar with the curriculum. But I can certainly state clearly that the second statement is so far back in history that most students (and perhaps a good percentage of the faculty) cannot relate to it.
I have high hopes for the boys for this coming year (as i always do). I am hopeful for our new coach and hope that even with small steps can return this program gradually (actually I hope more rapidly than that) into the top 1/2 of the NCAA rankings. Just my 2¢

[Ralph Baer]

Re: RPI 2017 Off-Season (Part II): Mr. Smith Goes to Troy

Today is 19 June 2017. There are 103 days until RPI's next game.


This is based upon 30 September 2017 for the start of next season.

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: RPI 2017 Off-Season (Part II): Mr. Smith Goes to Troy

Heck, even Black Friday no longer has a meaning. Because of the gap for the Mayor's Cup, along with their finals schedule, we're now pretty much forced to play Union first. Talk about a waste of revenue, especially if it's going to be a premium priced game, and they're going to subsidize the tickets for the students because of Black Insert-day-of-week-here (at least they did that when I was there). And then for "homecoming", which is heavily advertised by the 'tute (heck I received mailers last month about it), what men's hockey games are there? Zero. And what about Parents' Weekend? Is that the Union series, or is the men's team at RIT and Niagara then? There's something much more sinister going on here, and I hope to heck Coach Smith has some ways of improving the situation, because right now it looks like the 'tute doesn't give three hoots.

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: RPI 2017 Off-Season (Part II): Mr. Smith Goes to Troy

First, Freakout! Dr. D is right (as usual). Here would be my suggestion: why not play the game against Dartmouth? I know it's a Friday, but it is the only game of the weekend and they have played the Black Friday game on Saturday (like this year for example) so why not Freakout Friday?

Only reason Freakout Friday wouldn't work very well is if you consider all the other things that happen in tandem. It's pretty much hockey's homecoming. People aren't going to take an extra day off for an advertised "big game"; they'd rather come in Friday night (or afternoon and make it a three day weekend), have their fun with all the events (larger band, alumni game, etc.) on Saturday, and then head home Sunday. It's not like Black Friday, which has been a way to get students excited about the season by marking it with the opening of league play.

[engineerhockeyfan]

Re: RPI 2017 Off-Season (Part II): Mr. Smith Goes to Troy

Only reason Freakout Friday wouldn't work very well is if you consider all the other things that happen in tandem. It's pretty much hockey's homecoming. People aren't going to take an extra day off for an advertised "big game"; they'd rather come in Friday night (or afternoon and make it a three day weekend), have their fun with all the events (larger band, alumni game, etc.) on Saturday, and then head home Sunday. It's not like Black Friday, which has been a way to get students excited about the season by marking it with the opening of league play.

I'm not sure you understand what is being said here. Freakout Friday doesn't have to be on homecoming weekend, it can be any weekend. It should never be on Senior Night. That belongs to the players, and it should always stand alone.
There is nothing sinister going on here, just stupidity.

[turk181]

Re: RPI 2017 Off-Season (Part II): Mr. Smith Goes to Troy

Only reason Freakout Friday wouldn't work very well is if you consider all the other things that happen in tandem. It's pretty much hockey's homecoming. People aren't going to take an extra day off for an advertised "big game"; they'd rather come in Friday night (or afternoon and make it a three day weekend), have their fun with all the events (larger band, alumni game, etc.) on Saturday, and then head home Sunday. It's not like Black Friday, which has been a way to get students excited about the season by marking it with the opening of league play.

Pretty sure we’re all in agreement about BRF but if it’s as you say, “hockey’s homecoming”, IT CAN’T BE THE LAST GAME OF THE SEASON.

[Red Cloud]

Re: RPI 2017 Off-Season (Part II): Mr. Smith Goes to Troy

Pretty sure we’re all in agreement about BRF but if it’s as you say, “hockey’s homecoming”, IT CAN’T BE THE LAST GAME OF THE SEASON.

Of course it can.

[lugnut92]

Re: RPI 2017 Off-Season (Part II): Mr. Smith Goes to Troy

Putting BRF! on a Friday would be ridiculous. As FlagDUDE said, it is the game most alumni choose to come back to RPI for and putting it on a Friday severely limits that. I further don't think the game should be taken out of February, regardless of if that means it has to be on Senior Night. I don't really see the issue of having the two overlap, but that's just me.

I personally don't think it's an issue that Black [Gameday] is (almost) always against Union. Like it or not, the students see them as our main rival, so why not make sure the rink is as full as possible for those games by lowering the bar for entry. Playing the home-and-home against Union first starts the league schedule with a bang and makes it more exciting than it would be in the middle of the schedule. I do think it's kind of odd to have parent's weekend and the Union game overlap, but that's likely due to poor communication between Athletics and Admissions.
I would guess that there was some sort of contract in place between RPI, Union, and the TUC about playing the Mayor's Cup a certain number of years that unfortunately happened to extend beyond the life of the Albany Devils. I can't imagine the TUC enjoys the fact that they have to provide an ice sheet for two games.

I'm a bit more upset about the disappearance of Whiteout from everything but the schedule. Starting with my last year at RPI, there has been almost no evidence that anything special was happening.

For Autism Awareness night, I hope the athletic department is just working with the necessary people to find the best night for everyone. The set against Maine makes the most sense to me (early start times make it easier for kids to come, few students so it'll be quieter and more tickets should be available for local fans, and a non-conference opponent so there's less vitriol to be delivered from the stands), but yeah.