RPI 2021-22: Picking Up Where We Left Off

[DavidNardolillo]

Let’s meet at Knotty Pine to discuss…….

Notty Pine in Troy closed permanently around Memorial Day this year. Owners decided to retire and sold the building.

[DavidNardolillo]

I did watch the last 4 games, I'm guessing you didn't read my post that said "They got outplayed in every game. Marshall was the only reason they won game 1. I don't know how the team has been controlling play so well all season, and then did the complete opposite this weekend". They played pretty poorly, but I don't understand why you think DS has created a dumpster fire. We were expected to be a middling team, and that's what we have been

I missed the last game. Looks like RPI enjoyed a nice shot advantage, suggesting they might have skated better. Surrendering 4 goals on 22 shots and going 0 for 5 on the power play will make most games hard to win. What was your diagnosis of that last game?

[DavidNardolillo]

I do agree with others here and don't understand why the backup(s) didn't see any ice time... seems like a perfect opportunity to give them some experience.

Maybe the previously reported injury issues continue to linger? I wasn't surprised Marshall played 3 games, but would have thought we would see one of the others get a game or a portion of one. 4 games in 6 days for one goaltender seems like a lot at this stage of the season, and you'd like to have the backups get some seasoning in case they are needed down the road. Unlikely to get clear answers to this; rarely see formal injury news out of RPI, and the team certainly won't broadcast any concerns about the readiness of the backups.

[rpi82]

I do agree that goaltending needs to steal games from time to time...which Marshall did with a 34 save performance in game 1 --including a 16 save onslaught in the 3rd period when he slammed the door on the Nanooks.

Perhaps it was because I only listened to the first game in Alaska rather than watching it, but I didn't perceive that as a "stolen" game by any measure. We scored on the first shot of the third period to go up 3-0. After that Alaska nearly doubled their shot total (adding 17 versus 10 more for us) but at no point did the game seem in doubt and many of the chances came across in the play-by-play as just putting pucks on net against a defense that is playing conservatively with the lead to keep from giving up Grade A opportunities. Perhaps it seemed different on TV.

I'll be the first to admit that what I look for from Marshall is probably less than fair, but it is what I see as necessary for this team to turn things around. Like many coaches, particularly those with teams lacking offensive stars, Smith appears to build his team from the net out. He expects his defense to play solidly and his forwards to play a 200' game. The cost of that is that it reduces the scoring potential of an already limited roster. However, I'll bet (without verifying, but what fun would that be) that his Buffalo and Troy teams have actually scored better as the back end performed better defensively. In particular, when he's has had an outstanding goalie as he did 2 years ago with Savory, the offense seemed to relax and become a bit more free-flowing as they didn't fear that every mistake might end up in the back of the net. We are, at best, an average team if we get average goaltending. If we get much better than average goaltending I expect that we'll see a proportional impact on the offense.

It does seem that Smith may have made a mistake booking an 8-day (if I remember his description of the travel schedule correctly) trip to Fairbanks, particularly during finals. I was surprised to learn that the population is only 31.5K. I certainly thought it was bigger. That's equivalent to an all-expenses paid 8 day trip to Poughkeepsie. Smith seemed genuinely excited about the trip, but it may have appeared quite differently to a bunch of young 20s athletes. Perhaps he should have just said, "We wanted to get everyone more ice time and this is the price we had to pay to get a 38 game schedule."

[Ralph Baer]

After the game 1 win the RPI power play went 0/5, 0/3, 0/5. If you want to help a goalie, ANY goalie, score a few goals !

Alaska did better on our power plays. :-(

[DrDemento]

Edit: RPI scored a total of 7 goals in four games (including one shutout) in Alaska and the power play went something like 1 for 17... and we're worried about goaltending? We knew the glaring concern for the team would be scoring and that has certainly been the case. After the game 1 win the RPI power play went 0/5, 0/3, 0/5. If you want to help a goalie, ANY goalie, score a few goals !

I do agree that goaltending needs to steal games from time to time...which Marshall did with a 34 save performance in game 1 --including a 16 save onslaught in the 3rd period when he slammed the door on the Nanooks. I do agree with others here and don't understand why the backup(s) didn't see any ice time... seems like a perfect opportunity to give them some experience.

Wicked- always nice to have you cut to the chase. A goalie might only need to steal one goal for you per game. But the defense men and the forwards need to keep the pressure going the other way for longer periods of time. We were out shooting lots of teams and keeping shots on our goal down nicely earlier this season. Also, most of the shots that were being taken were from far enough out with clear enough lanes to give Marshall a chance. For whatever is left of the season, he certainly has to be in top form but what is so great about hockey is that it is truly a team game of 21 players all of who have to contribute. Each line and each pair of defense men have a job to do. I am old enough to remember some really great goalies in college hockey and almost all of them had one thing in common, they were not bombarded with difficult shots in large numbers or in many games. And yes they need to steal games here and there (see Jon Casey March 1984 at HFH).

[Wicked Slappaahs]

Edit: RPI scored a total of 7 goals in four games (including one shutout) in Alaska and the power play went something like 1 for 17... and we're worried about goaltending? We knew the glaring concern for the team would be scoring and that has certainly been the case. After the game 1 win the RPI power play went 0/5, 0/3, 0/5. If you want to help a goalie, ANY goalie, score a few goals !

I do agree that goaltending needs to steal games from time to time...which Marshall did with a 34 save performance in game 1 --including a 16 save onslaught in the 3rd period when he slammed the door on the Nanooks. I do agree with others here and don't understand why the backup(s) didn't see any ice time... seems like a perfect opportunity to give them some experience.

[VGK]

I'm sure you've all heard by now, but in case you have not - remaining in person finals are now online, and all buildings closed/locked out by their key cards. Union is closed, dining halls will only have grab and go meals. This is as of Thursday night 12/16, roughly 4pm or so. They want kids out of there asap, take their online finals at home, if at all possible.
So glad my daughter was at the airport already by the time she got the email.
So far, spring semester is planned as normal. Hockey kids returning on Sunday 12/26 will still be locked out of buildings. So they're working on that. I know they're trying to move athletes into RAHP B since it's not an electronic card reading building, old fashioned keys instead (this is where my daughter is anyway, so she's fine), and kitchens to make food. Not sure how this will all work out, but these kids have had enough. They are all beyond over with it.
Oh, and the only other info I gained from the mens team is that while they appreciated the Alaska adventure, it was entirely too long of a time to be so isolated. Tiny town, not much to do. The lack of daylight really got to them and overall had a kind of gloomy disposition. They were all happy to return to NY. To another lockdown. *roll eyes*

[DrDemento]

Since the only games that are going to count for us this season are ECAC games, we should be looking at them.
Currently, we are 4 and 4. We showed that we are competitive with everyone except Cornell and Colgate. And I don't think that those games will repeat themselves when they show up at HFH.
The goalie situation will continue to be a concern until we find out exactly what is going on with the back ups.
The other concern has to be Covid19. This administration has been as cautious as can be, so I can only hope that with the numbers climbing across the country and Cornell's situation we don't get caught up in it.
We will be all right in the ECAC and it will all come down to the playoffs. I there are playoffs.

My concern also - how will our current school administration react to or over react to numbers that are impossible to separate truth from hyperbole. NY is by far reporting the most new COVID positive tests. But what does that really mean? Are these positive tests each in a totally new individual or repeat tests taken on already positive people just to see if and when they become negative so they can go back to a more normal life to satisfy the onerous restrictions imposed in the state? Hard to make sense of how NY can simply have so many more positive tests than say, California or Texas with larger populations and far more positive immigrants flowing into the states. Even harder to understand is how NY with perhaps the most strict regulations imposed by the NYC mayor and the NY governor can have such a rapid increase in new cases while states with far less restrictions have yet to see any sort o comparable spike in numbers. Two final notes - how is it that India with over 4 times the population of the US has been routinely reporting less new cases (and certainly far fewer deaths) than most of our individual states? And a final point, the new threat Omicron seems to indeed be very contagious but I have yet to see reports of severe illness and death numbers from the countries where it was first isolated. So, who knows how our school will react to all of this? If the past is our guide, we may have seen the last hockey game at HFH already for this season. I hope not. BTW, as a physician with over 50 years experience I should be able to know the answers to some of these questions but I do not.

[engineerhockeyfan]

Since the only games that are going to count for us this season are ECAC games, we should be looking at them.
Currently, we are 4 and 4. We showed that we are competitive with everyone except Cornell and Colgate. And I don't think that those games will repeat themselves when they show up at HFH.
The goalie situation will continue to be a concern until we find out exactly what is going on with the back ups.
The other concern has to be Covid19. This administration has been as cautious as can be, so I can only hope that with the numbers climbing across the country and Cornell's situation we don't get caught up in it.
We will be all right in the ECAC and it will all come down to the playoffs. I there are playoffs.

[rpi82]

Keep drinking the Kool Aid……remind yourself what has happened over last year +….. ask yourself who is only D1 hockey team/school not allowing fans this year and how that might create some doubt……and you think Christmas break for students will solve problems…….????? Yea, ok. Also aren’t you the one questioning the coaches poll earlier in year feeling our team was getting no respect ??

Lots of reasons why I haven’t posted on here for some time….DS has created his own dumpster fire.

You watch last 4 games???

Let’s meet at Knotty Pine to discuss…….

I didn't watch any of the Alaska games but I listened to most of the Nanook broadcast for all of them. We played a seemingly lifeless brand of hockey against a team that, as a result of a brutal schedule, was far better than its record but one that we should have been more competitive against (better than 1-3 while getting solidly thumped in the 2nd game of each pair). It was disheartening and Smith has questions to answer. However, 4 games does not make a dumpster fire. In the previous 4 games we'd played much like UAF has this season, very close efforts in 3 games against highly regarded teams and a solid (albeit unspectacular) win against a lesser team. Where we go from here will determine whether a dumpster fire is smoldering below the surface. If we play this type of game repeatedly, particularly against league competition, then we'd have a genuine three alarmer on our hands.

Frankly, my biggest concern is in net. It's not that Linden Marshall has played poorly. With the exception of a couple of games he's generally been a solid D-1 goalie. It's just that we need more. The concern is on two fronts: (!) Even in some of his strongest effort where he's kept us in games we might have let get away we'll often see a *** goal sneak through and that can't happen. (2) This team depends on the defense to give a lift to its offense. Two years ago the offense didn't really come around until Owen Savory turned into a brick wall. That gave the offense an emotional lift and you could almost sense the shackles coming off the forwards as they realized they could let loose a little more and make aggressive moves in the offensive zone knowing the backline was solid. Similarly, the defensemen also became more aggressive (see Reilly, Will) as they knew the guy in net would bail them out 9.4 times out of 10.

Can Linden give us consistently excellent goaltending? If not, where are the backups? Why have they not gotten a chance to show what they can do? Even if Linden turns into the 2nd coming of Ken Dryden (OK, Daren Puppa), we'll need to know what we have for next season. I actually hope they are injured because the alternative is to believe the staff doesn't have faith in them. In that case I hope their is a top-notch goalie that has fallen through the cracks for next season. Either way we need to recruit another to have a complete squad.

[sezenack]

Keep drinking the Kool Aid……remind yourself what has happened over last year +….. ask yourself who is only D1 hockey team/school not allowing fans this year and how that might create some doubt……and you think Christmas break for students will solve problems…….????? Yea, ok. Also aren’t you the one questioning the coaches poll earlier in year feeling our team was getting no respect ??

Lots of reasons why I haven’t posted on here for some time….DS has created his own dumpster fire.

You watch last 4 games???

Let’s meet at Knotty Pine to discuss…….

Not sure what Kool-aid I'm drinking. With Christmas break, RPI won't have any student covid cases on campus. That's just a fact. Who knows what happens when students come back, but we made it through the fall semester.

Not sure what me questioning the coaches poll has to do with that, but if you look at the current standings, RPI is tied for 5th, which is higher than their spot in the coaches poll. I don't think this team is anything special, but the majority of the ECAC is no better. Right now, RPI is the 5th highest ECAC team in the pairwise. We're a middle of the pack ECAC team currently, which is higher than we were picked in the coaches poll.

I did watch the last 4 games, I'm guessing you didn't read my post that said "They got outplayed in every game. Marshall was the only reason they won game 1. I don't know how the team has been controlling play so well all season, and then did the complete opposite this weekend". They played pretty poorly, but I don't understand why you think DS has created a dumpster fire. We were expected to be a middling team, and that's what we have been

[NAFTA123]

Students are about to leave as it's finals week, so the problem will solve itself at RPI

Keep drinking the Kool Aid……remind yourself what has happened over last year +….. ask yourself who is only D1 hockey team/school not allowing fans this year and how that might create some doubt……and you think Christmas break for students will solve problems…….????? Yea, ok. Also aren’t you the one questioning the coaches poll earlier in year feeling our team was getting no respect ??

Lots of reasons why I haven’t posted on here for some time….DS has created his own dumpster fire.

You watch last 4 games???

Let’s meet at Knotty Pine to discuss…….

[iowabasedtraveler]

October 14-15, ‘16 @ Carlson Center.

[Ralph Baer]

I would put Barry Sherwood in.

Do you know what happened to him when he left school in midseason of the 68-69 season?