RPI 2021-22: Picking Up Where We Left Off

[25+years]

I watched the game and switched to Union vs Qpac end of the periods between periods of the RPI game. AndI have to say the Union game was far more entertaining. Union is trying to play like a team desperate for a higher spot in the standings whereas RPI is playing like a team that could care less where they finish. I have to say that Leppanen’s major penalty was stupid. The team is trying to even up the score and he pulls that. Perhaps they were looking past Princeton to tonight, but they simply cannot afford to do that.

[DavidNardolillo]

Just got back in from the road trip to Q. RPI skated hard, but Q is just a much better skating team and really made it hard for RPI to operate. RPI had less than 20 shots and never had any sustained threat on the Q goal. RPI created about 5 good chances, all of which came against the run of play, but Perets made the saves (some Q defensemen had some important blocks in there) including a really big save on Lacka early in the 3rd. RPI power play completely ineffective--Q put pressure on the puck handlers down low and that completely disrupted RPI. To be fair, that's been a winning strategy against the RPI power play for about 10 years now.

Defensively, RPI played pretty well. Quinnipiac had twice as many shots on goal, but RPI made it hard for them to get clear chances. When they did, Marshall made some very good saves, including a spectacular one on a perfectly worked Q 3 on 2. However, we also saw the other side of Marshall: the Q goal was a shot along the ice from against the boards at the faceoff hashmarks.

RPI looked gassed in the third period, but hung in there to almost grab a tying goal at the end with the empty net. It's clear, to me at least, that we've got some guys banged up. Some notable scratches, and some guys clearly laboring on the ice and playing through pain.

[Ralph Baer]

QU game highlights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg_3aiTrdnQ

[engineerhockeyfan]

This is becoming the most frustrating season ever.
If they would have put in the same effort on Friday night as they did last night, they would have come away with three points this weekend. And the same can be said about the Brown/Yale weekend.
We have given away too many points this season. They show that they can play with the top teams in the league and then they go out against the bottom teams and let them dictate the play.
At this point, our only hope is for them to get it all together in the playoffs.

[DrDemento]

This is becoming the most frustrating season ever.
If they would have put in the same effort on Friday night as they did last night, they would have come away with three points this weekend. And the same can be said about the Brown/Yale weekend.
We have given away too many points this season. They show that they can play with the top teams in the league and then they go out against the bottom teams and let them dictate the play.
At this point, our only hope is for them to get it all together in the playoffs.

"Never bet for or against RPI"

[DavidNardolillo]

This is becoming the most frustrating season ever.
If they would have put in the same effort on Friday night as they did last night, they would have come away with three points this weekend. And the same can be said about the Brown/Yale weekend.
We have given away too many points this season. They show that they can play with the top teams in the league and then they go out against the bottom teams and let them dictate the play.
At this point, our only hope is for them to get it all together in the playoffs.

I agree RPI has been inconsistent, and probably playing to the level of some teams they should beat, but I'm not sure a it's down to a lack of effort. They need to score more goals and take fewer penalties. If that can be corrected, they could be a very competitive team in the playoffs.

[sezenack]

The reason for our record is simply the 4-12-3 record in close games. If that's 8-8-3, we're looking at a 16-13-3 season. I don't know if it's bad luck, a lack of killer instinct, etc. but the close games have been extremely frustrating.

[DavidNardolillo]

The reason for our record is simply the 4-12-3 record in close games. If that's 8-8-3, we're looking at a 16-13-3 season. I don't know if it's bad luck, a lack of killer instinct, etc. but the close games have been extremely frustrating.

A telling stat. Even just converting two of those close league losses into a win and a tie would have the team in control of its destiny with respect to the chase for fourth.

[engineerhockeyfan]

I agree RPI has been inconsistent, and probably playing to the level of some teams they should beat, but I'm not sure a it's down to a lack of effort. They need to score more goals and take fewer penalties. If that can be corrected, they could be a very competitive team in the playoffs.

I don't think that it is a lack of effort at all. I think it is mental. I think that when they go into games with teams that are behind them it the standings they get over confident. Then they find out that those teams are not as bad as they thought. And they wind up playing from behind.
Also, when it comes to close games, we are in need of a goal scorer. We just don't have one of those.

[Wicked Slappaahs]

We knew going into the season that we'd struggling to find scoring and that has been proven to be true. We do not have enough scoring depth to score consistently....perhaps if we had not had the off-season departures we'd be singing a different tune...but we are what our record says we are.

Hats off to the boys for a great effort against Q -- I didn't see the game, but if you hold the #2 team to one goal in their barn, then you did nearly everything right. Hard to be negative about that effort.

[Ralph Baer]

We knew going into the season that we'd struggling to find scoring and that has been proven to be true. We do not have enough scoring depth to score consistently....perhaps if we had not had the off-season departures we'd be singing a different tune...but we are what our record says we are.

Hats off to the boys for a great effort against Q -- I didn't see the game, but if you hold the #2 team to one goal in their barn, then you did nearly everything right. Hard to be negative about that effort.

FWIW, we seem to have the most trouble with the 4 lower ranked Ivies which also did not play last season.

i certainly agree that we don't have the scorers. I don't think that we will get them there is a local player who always dreamed of playing for RPI, like Matt Murley. I suspect that those players in the near future will have dreamed to play for Union who had success while they were young.

[sezenack]

FWIW, we seem to have the most trouble with the 4 lower ranked Ivies which also did not play last season.

i certainly agree that we don't have the scorers. I don't think that we will get them there is a local player who always dreamed of playing for RPI, like Matt Murley. I suspect that those players in the near future will have dreamed to play for Union who had success while they were young.

It takes time to up your recruiting profile. Despite the stats being not as good as hoped for this season, Ciccarello, Brown, and Bourgault are all profiled as goal scorers. Gagnon and Schreifels were as well although it has been tough for them this season. Player development takes time though; Lacka had 2 points in 19-20, Linden was a bottom 6 defensive center as a freshman. The hope for this year is that we can finish strong, get 5th and a home playoff series, win a playoff series (with all the placid talk I think we've forgotten that we haven't even won a playoff series since 2016). Lake Placid would be gravy and regardless of the final record, this season is a success if they make it.

Our longterm path to competing with Cornell, Clarkson, Quinnipiac and Harvard took a step back with the season cancellation and that's evident this year. I'm still confident in the program's ability to get there

[Ralph Baer]

Now here is some very good news. https://www.news10.com/news/local-ne...ign=socialflow

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute receives $2M gift to fund men’s varsity ice hockey coach endowment

It's from Lloyd Bauer '55, a member of the 1954 championship team.

[Ralph Baer]

Now here is some very good news. https://www.news10.com/news/local-ne...ign=socialflow

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute receives $2M gift to fund men’s varsity ice hockey coach endowment

It's from Lloyd Bauer '55, a member of the 1954 championship team.

RPI's press release https://rpiathletics.com/news/2022/2...endowment.aspx

[RPI67]

A telling stat. Even just converting two of those close league losses into a win and a tie would have the team in control of its destiny with respect to the chase for fourth.

I'm hoping maybe dreaming of 4-2 in 5th place finish. 6 games over 21 days versus 8 games in 16 days just completed. Yes it does mean playing strong against bottom 6 teams which hasn't happened and probably cost a 4th place finish. I watch almost every game. Some younger players are getting more time.