RPI 2021-22: Picking Up Where We Left Off

[DrDemento]

Totally agree Doc. Logic and reason left the building a loooooooooong time ago. We're not gonna let UVM play in our building likely due to "safety" concerns ??? so we'll instead will throw our guys on a bus and make them travel and go play a game in a different state inside of a building full of..... .GASP...... humans !

I have ZERO expectations that fans will be inside HFH this season. We'll be lucky if they're allowed to play out the schedule. June 30th cannot get here fast enough.

WS: There needs to be a lot more changes than just SAJ to get RPI and the sports programs back to normal functioning. NY needs a governor elected who makes at least rational decisions. NJ is in that same position. Hypocrisy is rampant. I am still trying to research why an tire country with a population 4 times that of the entire USA, has been reporting new COVID cases less than 1/10 of NY state each day. And I am not referring to China whose statistics I have no faith in.

[Ralph Baer]

WS: There needs to be a lot more changes than just SAJ to get RPI and the sports programs back to normal functioning. NY needs a governor elected who makes at least rational decisions. NJ is in that same position. Hypocrisy is rampant. I am still trying to research why an tire country with a population 4 times that of the entire USA, has been reporting new COVID cases less than 1/10 of NY state each day. And I am not referring to China whose statistics I have no faith in.

I assume that you are referring to India. Do you faith in their statistics?

[DrDemento]

I assume that you are referring to India. Do you faith in their statistics?

Actually, probably more than ours. There have been several ideas about why the numbers of positive cases and deaths are what they have reported. I know two physicians who practice there (after training here) and they are as befuddled as I am. The vaccination rate there is lower and the medical care in many areas can best be described as inadequate (and that is stretching it). We are seeing this in other places that had rather severe spikes in the past like Brazil. Because the numbers in this country are most definite skewed by weekends and holidays (when less people present for testing) you have to take averages (weekly or even monthly). Nothing from the study of past infectious diseases seems to hold here. Here in NJ today I believe we dropped to roughly 9000 positive tests (roughly half of the number we had seen the last few days) but even at that level, it is more than the entire country totals for one day for those places that have had some of the highest totals overall. Just very odd and even if it somehow makes mathematical sense, it is not striking me as making medical sense.

I sure hope that this next game against Vermont is not the last that we shall see this season. We have mostly ECAC games against Ivy teams and in the past they were the first to shut down.

[engineerhockeyfan]

Actually, probably more than ours. There have been several ideas about why the numbers of positive cases and deaths are what they have reported. I know two physicians who practice there (after training here) and they are as befuddled as I am. The vaccination rate there is lower and the medical care in many areas can best be described as inadequate (and that is stretching it). We are seeing this in other places that had rather severe spikes in the past like Brazil. Because the numbers in this country are most definite skewed by weekends and holidays (when less people present for testing) you have to take averages (weekly or even monthly). Nothing from the study of past infectious diseases seems to hold here. Here in NJ today I believe we dropped to roughly 9000 positive tests (roughly half of the number we had seen the last few days) but even at that level, it is more than the entire country totals for one day for those places that have had some of the highest totals overall. Just very odd and even if it somehow makes mathematical sense, it is not striking me as making medical sense.

I sure hope that this next game against Vermont is not the last that we shall see this season. We have mostly ECAC games against Ivy teams and in the past they were the first to shut down.

At this point I am taking it one game at a time. And I am not convinced yet that there will be a game Thursday.

[rpi82]

Actually, probably more than ours. There have been several ideas about why the numbers of positive cases and deaths are what they have reported. I know two physicians who practice there (after training here) and they are as befuddled as I am. The vaccination rate there is lower and the medical care in many areas can best be described as inadequate (and that is stretching it). We are seeing this in other places that had rather severe spikes in the past like Brazil. Because the numbers in this country are most definite skewed by weekends and holidays (when less people present for testing) you have to take averages (weekly or even monthly). Nothing from the study of past infectious diseases seems to hold here. Here in NJ today I believe we dropped to roughly 9000 positive tests (roughly half of the number we had seen the last few days) but even at that level, it is more than the entire country totals for one day for those places that have had some of the highest totals overall. Just very odd and even if it somehow makes mathematical sense, it is not striking me as making medical sense.

I sure hope that this next game against Vermont is not the last that we shall see this season. We have mostly ECAC games against Ivy teams and in the past they were the first to shut down.

A few days ago I read an article indicating that the University of Washington biostats team (which has been lauded for accuracy and blasted for inaccuracy at varying points during the pandemic) was forecasting a stunning 140M new domestic cases in the next 3 months due to Omicron's highly contagious nature with an equally amazing 90% of them being asymptomatic. Could we be seeing that pattern? With the increased travel and the holidays being upon us there has been a great rise in testing, regardless of whether the test candidate believes they may have it. Is that driving our numbers with many asymptomatic cases that might otherwise never have been tested now being uncovered? Has anyone seen recent measured data on the asymptomatic percentage?

[engineerhockeyfan]

A few days ago I read an article indicating that the University of Washington biostats team (which has been lauded for accuracy and blasted for inaccuracy at varying points during the pandemic) was forecasting a stunning 140M new domestic cases in the next 3 months due to Omicron's highly contagious nature with an equally amazing 90% of them being asymptomatic. Could we be seeing that pattern? With the increased travel and the holidays being upon us there has been a great rise in testing, regardless of whether the test candidate believes they may have it. Is that driving our numbers with many asymptomatic cases that might otherwise never have been tested now being uncovered? Has anyone seen recent measured data on the asymptomatic percentage?

I am no doctor, nor to I pretend to be, but if those numbers are true, can we be working our way to herd immunity?

[Wicked Slappaahs]

Actually, probably more than ours. There have been several ideas about why the numbers of positive cases and deaths are what they have reported. I know two physicians who practice there (after training here) and they are as befuddled as I am. The vaccination rate there is lower and the medical care in many areas can best be described as inadequate (and that is stretching it). We are seeing this in other places that had rather severe spikes in the past like Brazil. Because the numbers in this country are most definite skewed by weekends and holidays (when less people present for testing) you have to take averages (weekly or even monthly). Nothing from the study of past infectious diseases seems to hold here. Here in NJ today I believe we dropped to roughly 9000 positive tests (roughly half of the number we had seen the last few days) but even at that level, it is more than the entire country totals for one day for those places that have had some of the highest totals overall. Just very odd and even if it somehow makes mathematical sense, it is not striking me as making medical sense.

I sure hope that this next game against Vermont is not the last that we shall see this season. We have mostly ECAC games against Ivy teams and in the past they were the first to shut down.

I quickly checked a few sites: Cornell's states in a 12/27 update they were requiring proof of vax for all attendees. Harvard does not appear to allow you to select or purchase tickets for any events. Dartmouth updated its policy to ban public attendance at least until Jan. 18th. CCT and SLU appear to be open for business for the 1/14-15 RPI tilts...which I plan on attending.

[rpi82]

I quickly checked a few sites: Cornell's states in a 12/27 update they were requiring proof of vax for all attendees. Harvard does not appear to allow you to select or purchase tickets for any events. Dartmouth updated its policy to ban public attendance at least until Jan. 18th. CCT and SLU appear to be open for business for the 1/14-15 RPI tilts...which I plan on attending.

That's definitely a recent change for Harvard. I was considering going to that game and as recently as a week or so ago they were selling individual game tickets and the only non-student section that was completely sold out was in the RPI block.

[jericho]

Was this ever posted here, and if so, how did I miss it?

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries...ary?id=5083332

[Ralph Baer]

Was this ever posted here, and if so, how did I miss it?

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries...ary?id=5083332

I think that it was mentioned on the RPI_Sports mailing list. Also the former statistician at the HFH Dave Messer passed away about the same time.

[rpi82]

I think that it was mentioned on the RPI_Sports mailing list. Also the former statistician at the HFH Dave Messer passed away about the same time.

For long time fans of not just RPI, but college hockey in general, Don Birkmayer was a legend. It was difficult to even get information on our own league beyond the standings board at the FH. Modern fans will probably find it quaint, but I'd look forward to every issue of the Intercollegiate Hockey Newsletter on its distinctive yellow paper arriving in my mailbox to learn what was going on in leagues across the country. I subscribed for years................

[sezenack]

Red Army mid-season review
https://twitter.com/RPI_RedArmy/stat...509167617?s=20

[DrDemento]

I am no doctor, nor to I pretend to be, but if those numbers are true, can we be working our way to herd immunity?

EHF - interesting thought. Many in other countries (England, South Africa are starting to think that Omicron will be replacing most other mutation strains currently being seen because it is simply extremely contagious (due to it infecting ares higher up in the respiratory passage and far easier spread by nasal discharge). Students of medical history know that many viral pandemics and epidemics end with the emergence of a very contagious but almost non lethal form of a virus that can offer immunity against the previous mutations (already being reported by Oxford). This indeed could induce the appearance of rapid herd immunity (far faster than any vaccinations offered). Thus for all intents ending the COVID crisis. But before we jump up and down with joy. the so-called Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918-1920 did something rather similar and the first wave of deaths and morbidity was not all that severe and seemed to be ending. Then a second wave appeared most likely due to a new more infectious AND more lethal mutation and the majority of the deaths from this misnamed Spanish Flu (probably started here in Kansas) came from this second wave and even a third and fourth wave to follow. It remains to be seen how this pans out but I mentioned much earlier how Omicron might be mother nature's vaccination and that might end up being true. But will that mean the beginning of the end for COVID? Or will it simply be the end of the beginning?

[DrDemento]

Red Army mid-season review
https://twitter.com/RPI_RedArmy/stat...509167617?s=20

Sez: Thanks for the posting and all the work involved. Agree with about 95% of everything said (which is more than I agree with anything ever). The boys are individually doing very well and they are about the most exciting to watch on the ice in many years. My only hope is that they play as a team a bit better. All the aspects of team play could use a little improvement from simple passing, to keeping the puck in the offensive zone at the points to gaining a bit better control on and after face offs. Right now, as i see it, they have better than average ECAC talent but are playing as a team at a mid ECAC level. There is really no one place to critique just the overall team play. I had expected by mid season most of those things would have worked out a tad better but I forget how many new faces there really are on this squad. We have an excellent coach who sees all of this and I am sure will address it the best he can.

[DavidNardolillo]

Was this ever posted here, and if so, how did I miss it?

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries...ary?id=5083332

Don Birkmayer's passing was announced in the USCHO forum by Ralph in a prior thread: https://fanforum.uscho.com/forum/col...26#post3622133