RPI 22-23: Objective needs to be top 6

[hab]

FWIW, starting next season RPI is guaranteed to make the playoffs.
https://ecachockey.com/news/2022/11/...structure.aspx

It is a really DUMB idea to include all 12 teams in the playoffs. It will greatly reduce my interest in watching regular season games.

[Ralph Baer]

It is a really DUMB idea to include all 12 teams in the playoffs. It will greatly reduce my interest in watching regular season games.

I certainly agree with that. I would have been very much happier if the men had gone down to 8 teams if it were indeed necessary for the men's and women's leagues to have the same format.

[hab]

Do the Engineers have a serious problem with conditioning? They should have won the game against Union, but once again they seemed to just run out of gas. They came out skating circles around Union, who didnt get a shot on the RPI net until the last 5 minutes of the first period. But after that the Engineers looked like a different, and weaker team. So, I decided to look at their scoring stats and that tells a pretty dramatic story. In their 13 games so far, in the first period they have been outscored by only 3 total goals (competitive, respectable); in the second period by 3 goals (competitive, respectable) and in the third period by 16 goals! In the third period so far this year they have scored only 2 goals and allowed 18! And in their 2 overtime periods they are 0-1 in goals for/against.

The more I watch this team the more convinced I am that they have the talent to be competitive, and the way they move the puck at both ends of the ice tells me that they are getting some good coaching. But they can't seem to maintain a high level of energy for 60 minutes.

[DrDemento]

HAB: I had posted that thought back on October 30th. i have no explanation for it but they have been a two period team all season. Something happens after that last intermission. It could be conditioning or perhaps other teams make the necessary adaptations for the crucial third period push and we do not. One thought i have had is noticing that in the third period the coaches seem to shorten the bench and go heavily depending on two lines. Third and fourth lines and spare players hardly see ice time. Could it be related? Not sure but having played this sport when I was younger (much younger actually) always have felt the team that had the fresh fast skaters on the ice for the last 20 minutes had it usually pay off. Just sayin.......

[DrDemento]

Girls almost doubled their entire season's goal total today with a blow out 9-0 win. if this was a prize fight it would have been stopped less than half way through the second period. Understand the competition level was not the same as previous games but hopefully scoring a bunch will give this team some confidence going forward.

[ARM]

Something happens after that last intermission. It could be conditioning or perhaps other teams make the necessary adaptations for the crucial third period push and we do not.

Do they play conservatively for most of the game, and when trailing in the third, they are forced to open it up? As you say, lack of depth is likely a big factor, but having to play a style that isn't a good fit for the roster could be another. There doesn't look to be a pattern of RPI being worse on the second game of a weekend, which would be another sign of running out of gas.

[Ralph Baer]

Taryn Rathwell signed a NLOI. (from an Instagram story.)

[hab]

I have been curious about our goalie recruiting, as Rampado is a senior and Mirek and Venne are juniors. Just noticed this recruit for 2024: Maelee Ambrass, currently playing 16U for Philadelphia:
https://www.jrflyers.org/news_article/show/1241115.

https://www.eliteprospects.com/playe...maelee-ambrass.

[hab]

Engineers finally get their first conference win, 3-0 over Brown. Certainly not their best effort of the year...lots of unforced errors, but that's hockey. Sometimes you play really well and can't come up with the win (e.g. vs Harvard) and sometimes you win some when you are not at your best. I do think that this team has what it takes to win a few in the second half of the season, and maybe make a run for the playoffs, but the ECAC is so tough, top to bottom, now, that it will be a steep hill to climb.

[hab]

The Engineers start off the second half with their toughest road trip of the season: Colgate / Cornell. Not expecting any points out of the weekend but hopefully we will see some good hockey and some signs that they are ready to finish the season stronger than they started. Following this weekend they have a stretch of seven more winnable conference games and they would probably need to win most of them (eek!) to have any hope of making the playoffs. Only one thing of which I am confident, 'though: they will work hard.

[sezenack]

The team is scoring 1.39 goals per game, which includes a 9 goal game against Post. At the end of the day, they're just not good and never have been under Vines. It's not totally his fault with how little the administration cared and invested into the program under Shirley, but I think it's pretty clear he's not a good coach.

Marty seems to be a big hockey guy who really cares about the programs. Let's get some investment into the program and a coaching change to go with it to make this into a program that can compete in the ECAC and nationally. My 2 cents. What does everyone else think?

[hab]

The team is scoring 1.39 goals per game, which includes a 9 goal game against Post. At the end of the day, they're just not good and never have been under Vines. It's not totally his fault with how little the administration cared and invested into the program under Shirley, but I think it's pretty clear he's not a good coach.

Marty seems to be a big hockey guy who really cares about the programs. Let's get some investment into the program and a coaching change to go with it to make this into a program that can compete in the ECAC and nationally. My 2 cents. What does everyone else think?

Just curious...are you basing your views on the record and box scores or have you been watching the games? Based on what I see on the ice, it would be hard for me to agree that the team is poorly coached.

The ECAC is a tough conference and getting tougher every year, with several teams developing a regular recruiting pipeline with players and coaches around the U.S. and Canadian national development programs. These are the few players who end up making the difference between a strong offensive team and a mediocre one. Take a look at Cornell: stacked with freshmen from those programs, and already with additional commitments from 5 players on this year's U.S. and Canada U18 teams. But having watched them beat the Engineers 1-0 last Saturday it didn't look like we were outcoached.

RPI recruits some great student athletes but there needs to be a conversation about how it can be positioned to get its share of the high profile offensive players.

[sezenack]

Just curious...are you basing your views on the record and box scores or have you been watching the games? Based on what I see on the ice, it would be hard for me to agree that the team is poorly coached.

The ECAC is a tough conference and getting tougher every year, with several teams developing a regular recruiting pipeline with players and coaches around the U.S. and Canadian national development programs. These are the few players who end up making the difference between a strong offensive team and a mediocre one. Take a look at Cornell: stacked with freshmen from those programs, and already with additional commitments from 5 players on this year's U.S. and Canada U18 teams. But having watched them beat the Engineers 1-0 last Saturday it didn't look like we were outcoached.

RPI recruits some great student athletes but there needs to be a conversation about how it can be positioned to get its share of the high profile offensive players.

They're not poorly coached on the ice, but the majority of the job is recruiting and developing talent. We have not done that outside of the goaltender position (Vines didn't recruit Selander btw but Rampado has been a big hit), which is why I said he is not a good coach. It doesn't matter how good of an on-ice coach you are if the team has no talent. You can't outcoach the vast talent gap between RPI and 2/3 of the ECAC. We are not a mediocre team; we are a bad one.

Sorry that I did not make clear why I want a coaching change. You are correct in your assessment. I think the best way to go about the future is to get a coach who actually has background in women's hockey and can recruit the players we need to win. I'd probably get a top ECAC assistant (or Hockey East) since they'd have recruited in the same regions that we do.

[Cornholio]

Saw a few games. Team supposed to be more talented yet results are worse so far. Noticed a lot of usage of the Kaiser and Wagner line. Double shifted and all pp and pk. 3rd period team is out of gas. It is a grinding team and last year a lot more balanced line use and a lot of energy on ice. This year good starts bad finishes. Don't know what changed since roster is really the same as last year. Wagner not scoring at same pace and has worst +- of all the forwards.

[hab]

Noticed a lot of usage of the Kaiser and Wagner line. Double shifted and all pp and pk. 3rd period team is out of gas. ... Wagner not scoring at same pace and has worst +- of all the forwards.

There is a reason that Wagner sees a lot of ice time and its the same reason that her +/- record suffers: she is called on to go against the top players from the opposing team.