RPI 22-23: Objective needs to be top 6

[ARM]

I was surprised that RIT was able to light up St. Michael twice. St. Michael has been one of the weakest teams in D-I, but the Tigers haven't been synonymous with offense of late. If you get more than a point from Mercyhurst, I would say that's a very positive sign for the Engineers.

[DrDemento]

It appears we are capable of playing fairly well for up to two periods. The last 20-25 minutes of games seem to be a nightmare scenario.

[hab]

It appears we are capable of playing fairly well for up to two periods. The last 20-25 minutes of games seem to be a nightmare scenario.

We appear to be competitive for a couple of periods, defensively, but we have shown almost zero offensive strength in any period so far. I may sound like a broken record on this (have said the same thing in previous years), but if you cant recruit the players that can dominate in the open ice, but can recruit fast, tough, enthusiastic players, you need to do two things well: 1)forecheck very aggressively so that the opponent cannot set up their open ice plays (you will give up more 3 on 2s, so also practice that); 2) make sure that you have at least one forward crowding the blue paint with eyes on the puck and stick on the ice every time you are in the opponents end (again, you will give up some 3 on 2s but practice that, and depend on your goalie...). Don't let the opponent take the game to you...rattle them. The best glimmers of light that I have seen in recent years have been when the team has done those 2 things well. We have the talent to do it this year...I could name the forwards who would fit one of those two roles but I won't. It is up to the coaching staff to encourage them to use their talents.

[DrDemento]

We appear to be competitive for a couple of periods, defensively, but we have shown almost zero offensive strength in any period so far. I may sound like a broken record on this (have said the same thing in previous years), but if you cant recruit the players that can dominate in the open ice, but can recruit fast, tough, enthusiastic players, you need to do two things well: 1)forecheck very aggressively so that the opponent cannot set up their open ice plays (you will give up more 3 on 2s, so also practice that); 2) make sure that you have at least one forward crowding the blue paint with eyes on the puck and stick on the ice every time you are in the opponents end (again, you will give up some 3 on 2s but practice that, and depend on your goalie...). Don't let the opponent take the game to you...rattle them. The best glimmers of light that I have seen in recent years have been when the team has done those 2 things well. We have the talent to do it this year...I could name the forwards who would fit one of those two roles but I won't. It is up to the coaching staff to encourage them to use their talents.

You were able to sum up my feelings very eloquently. I am not indicating that we should be a top 6 team but I have wondered how much of our difficulties is talent related and how much is coaching. This weekend may give us more of an indication.

[hab]

I should clarify that my comments were not meant as a criticism of the current coaching staff. I am not close enough to the team to know one way or the other whether we have the right coaches to do the job, so I am always prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt. I was merely offering some observations as a fan, that in a tough conference like the ECAC we may have little success playing the game that our opponents want us to play. We need to move the opponent out of their comfort zone...surprise them a little with a more "in your face" style of hockey. Take some chances. We probably have the goalie who can bail us out a few times each game when those chances backfire with odd man rushes or penalties for being too aggressive on the forecheck or on the edge of the blue paint.

[DrDemento]

I should clarify that my comments were not meant as a criticism of the current coaching staff. I am not close enough to the team to know one way or the other whether we have the right coaches to do the job, so I am always prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt. I was merely offering some observations as a fan, that in a tough conference like the ECAC we may have little success playing the game that our opponents want us to play. We need to move the opponent out of their comfort zone...surprise them a little with a more "in your face" style of hockey. Take some chances. We probably have the goalie who can bail us out a few times each game when those chances backfire with odd man rushes or penalties for being too aggressive on the forecheck or on the edge of the blue paint.

Again - agree fully. The decisions about how a team plays is not left to the players. That part falls upon the coaches. I have always appreciated how much of a team sport hockey has been and remains. Like a team of horses pulling a stage coach, someone still has to hold onto and control the reins.

[hab]

Yet another shutout loss (2-0 to Mercyhurst) but I found this game quite encouraging. RPI has a deep roster: I think that 13 forwards and 6 D saw a good deal of ice time and none of them looked out of place. Nice to see freshmen Jones, Toye, Beaudoin respond well to getting good ice time. Kaiser was probably our best offensive threat. Riena Jahnke was given a shot at the first line and showed some pretty slick skills. The real question is who is going to take their game to the next level and put some pucks in the net?

[sezenack]

We need a coaching change

[hab]

We need a coaching change

Fully understand the frustration. This is a very discouraging start to the season, for fans, and for the players too, I am sure. I have followed this team for about 20 years now, and there have been too many of these moments where one just wants to throw up your hands. However, I am not inclined towards simple solutions like 'fire the coach'. The program needs some serious attention. However, in the meantime, all that I care about is that the players find a way to meet THEIR expectations for the season, whatever those expectations are, and that they enjoy the great game of hockey en route.

[sezenack]

Fully understand the frustration. This is a very discouraging start to the season, for fans, and for the players too, I am sure. I have followed this team for about 20 years now, and there have been too many of these moments where one just wants to throw up your hands. However, I am not inclined towards simple solutions like 'fire the coach'. The program needs some serious attention. However, in the meantime, all that I care about is that the players find a way to meet THEIR expectations for the season, whatever those expectations are, and that they enjoy the great game of hockey en route.

I agree with everything you just said. The program needs more attention and support from the school, and the players deserve to enjoy their careers as student athletes to the fullest. I still do think that the coaching is part of the problem though. I haven't seen any evidence in his 5 years that Vines is capable of making this program a competitive one year in and year out. The ECAC is an outstanding league and I think we can do better just by simply pulling a top assistant from Clarkson, Colgate, etc.

[hab]

I agree with everything you just said. The program needs more attention and support from the school, and the players deserve to enjoy their careers as student athletes to the fullest. I still do think that the coaching is part of the problem though. I haven't seen any evidence in his 5 years that Vines is capable of making this program a competitive one year in and year out. The ECAC is an outstanding league and I think we can do better just by simply pulling a top assistant from Clarkson, Colgate, etc.

A very legitimate perspective. One way or another, RPI needs to raise its expectations for the women's hockey program, which is the sentiment behind my choice of the title for this thread. If we do go the route of selecting a new coach, we need to go beyond the standard lazy RPI practice of simply transferring an assistant coach from the men's team. That move clearly demonstrates a lack of understanding of the women's game and a lack of ambition for the program.

[sezenack]

A very legitimate perspective. One way or another, RPI needs to raise its expectations for the women's hockey program, which is the sentiment behind my choice of the title for this thread. If we do go the route of selecting a new coach, we need to go beyond the standard lazy RPI practice of simply transferring an assistant coach from the men's team. That move clearly demonstrates a lack of understanding of the women's game and a lack of ambition for the program.

Absolutely. I think that the state of the women's program is more due to the fault of the administration and AD than the coach.
Not all hope is lost until we start losing ECAC games, but it's tough to see us getting a playoff spot

[hab]

For the first time this season I would probably rate the Engineers as slight favorites going into their weekend series, against RIT. A big weekend for both teams, getting ready for conference play with disappointing results in pre-conference games. RIT is rated above the Engineers on the RPI index etc. but only because they had the opportunity to beat up on St. Michael's for one weekend. RPI has done a good job of putting together a non-conference schedule: tough teams, middle of the pack or slightly better...no patsies but no top 10 teams. RIT will not be an easy opponent, but I am looking for a couple of home game wins this weekend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQitj-ih9Gk

[hab]

Engineers sweep RIT, 2-0 and 3-0. I have predicted their performance pretty accurately over the last 6 games, but I have to say that I like the progress that I see. While I expected the wins over the Tigers, RPI controlled the play more than I expected, and I now feel more comfortable that they are ready to open their conference season with the important North Country trip next weekend. I am going to go out on a limb here and say that they will win one of those games. Coach Vines has used the last few games to give ice time to most of the players on his large roster, and I don't envy his position now, of having to choose his lines for next weekend.

[Ralph Baer]

I just noticed that Neutral Zone states that RPI received a commitment a month ago from Aylah Cioffi of the CT Polar Bears 19U team.

List:

 # Name                 Ps commitm. Team (League)                    Year  DOB      Ht    Wt  Hometown          NZ*s
19 Georgia Bailey        F 01/05/22 Northwood School (NAPHA)         2023  03/17/05 5'09" 125 Sherbrooke, QC    x.xx
 9 Alexis Brunet         F 12/06/21 Kingston Ice Wolves (OWHL)       2023  02/07/05 5'06" 165 Kingston, ON      3.25
15 Aylah Cioffi          F 09/24/22 Connecticut Polar Bears 19U      2023  08/23/03 5'05" 134 Revere, MA        x.xx
22 Taryn Rathwell *      D 11/24/21 Kingston Ice Wolves (OWHL)       2023  01/28/04 5'04" 136 Belleville, ON    x.xx
xx Morgann Skoda         F 04/21/22 College Champlain Cougars (QCHL) 2023  10/26/03 5'10" 170 Mont-Royal, QC    3.50
 4 Charlotte Wensley     F 10/01/22 St. Paul's School (Lakes Region) 2024  08/29/05 5'03" 130 Dover, NH         3.00