RPI Engineers 24-25

[DrDemento]

So what is the root of the problem here? If it is a case of the Tute not having the resources to support serious Div 1 athletics then we should just acknowledge that and strive to be strong D3 teams, as in our other sports. But if we have the resources to support D1 in these key historically important sports teams on campus and are just not following through, then what needs to be done to shake things up and at least strive to be better than Union, Dartmouth, Brown etc??? We have been accepting mediocrity for too long.

Although I do not know all the answers, it seems to me quite obvious that the last 20+ years has seen much of the damage done to the programs. This coincides with what leadership or lack thereof we had from the top down. There have been a number of posts on the boys thread with articles linked showing some of the issues that occurred with SAJ at the helm. Only recently have many of these become public knowledge but i suspect there is so much more that may eventually surface (or that we may never be made aware of). Not only the hockey programs but the management of the entire Institute comes into question.
So what can be done and where are we heading now? I think changes have been made and more are coming. I would like to think we are heading in the right direction. Unfortunately for the hockey programs so much has not been changed in Division I hockey (recruiting and otherwise), that it might make it more difficult to get back to being a mid to top tier program. But I remain hopeful. Watching both the boys and girls this year has shown me that we have still been able to get some truly talented students who are doing everything they can on the ice for us to become very competitive. I would like to see an improving trend as the season moves forward and would not be too surprised if we see just that!
You are, of course, totally correct in that we had been forced to accept mediocrity for too long - in the hockey program and for the school in general. But after 20+ years I believe we have turned the corner and it is shameful that it took so long to begin to remedy.

[hab]

Valid question. I would add this same question over on the boy's side. The boy's side has not scored a goal in an NCAA tournament game since March 1985!!

So what is the root of the problem here? If it is a case of the Tute not having the resources to support serious Div 1 athletics then we should just acknowledge that and strive to be strong D3 teams, as in our other sports. But if we have the resources to support D1 in these key historically important sports teams on campus and are just not following through, then what needs to be done to shake things up and at least strive to be better than Union, Dartmouth, Brown etc??? We have been accepting mediocrity for too long.

[DrDemento]

I try to stay optimistic about this team but it is getting increasingly difficult. We seem destined to be in the bottom 4 of the ECAC. I am so impressed with how Union has built their program over the last few years from ECAC doormat to a tough mid-level competitor. Brown...same thing. What is standing in the way of RPI doing a similar rebuilding?

Valid question. I would add this same question over on the boy's side. The boy's side has not scored a goal in an NCAA tournament game since March 1985!!

[hab]

I try to stay optimistic about this team but it is getting increasingly difficult. We seem destined to be in the bottom 4 of the ECAC. I am so impressed with how Union has built their program over the last few years from ECAC doormat to a tough mid-level competitor. Brown...same thing. What is standing in the way of RPI doing a similar rebuilding?

[DrDemento]

Difficult game to evaluate this morning. RPI fell behind 2-0 very early as they continue to suffer from giving the puck away and not being able to clear the defensive zone. Within the first 10 minutes they were down 2 goals. But they came back to score one in the latter part of the first period and then added one early in the third to tie up the score at 2-2. They had to defend 2 penalties late in the third to keep the score tied but took the game into OT. Chances went both ways but Union got the winner in OT with a little over a minute left. Worse news was a key defensive player for RPI went down in OT with what looked like a severe right knee injury.
The girls play again Sunday evening and hopefully the injury to #13 will turn out to be less severe than it looked.

[25+years]

Sorry. Not quite sure how that happened. Guess I should be assessed 2 minutes for delay of blog.

[25+years]

Watched both games this weekend. No question in my mind Keating kept them in both games. Against SLU this allowed them to tie and “win” in the shootout. Was not enough versus Clarkson. Far too many turnovers and compared to earlier games I watched their breakout from their own end was anything but crisp.

[25+years]

I was at both games this weekend and once again the goaltending assured both wins. But I would add the DCorp played great even without Trnkova. As I have said earlier, this team is fun to watch. They work hard, support each other, and never give up. I look forward to attending more games.

[DrDemento]

RPI sweeps the weekend series with a 2-1 win. The only goal against came with 21 seconds left in the game after we simply missed on at least 3 clearing attempts that could have kept the shutout for our freshman goalie who played a very strong game and made some tremendous stops. Unlike yesterday a much more penalty filled game but without a power play goal. Although playing well overall, the weakness remains in being able to clear out of our defensive zone against any sort of aggressive forecheck. N ice to have 2 more wins from this weekend the seaosn moves on for a Tuesaday early game with Union.

[DrDemento]

Just watched the ladies win 3-2 in a rather even and tough game with Merrimack. The girls were playing a bit short handed with several ladies out with injuries including the much needed #89 on defense. The fourth line though came to play. They were the best line on the ice for virtually all their shifts and responsible for 2 of the 3 goals. Lots of up and down action and not a single power play opportunity provided for either team. Just one set of matching penalties giving rise to some 4 on 4 play. Keating was again very solid in goal making some difficult saves. Biggest criticism remains - fr too many defensive zone turnovers. And far too many mistakes in not clearing the zone when given the opportunity often setting up some good scoring changes against us. The two teams play again tomorrow afternoon and should be very competitive again.

[DrDemento]

And to be clear, I am not suggesting that RPI should move away from it's tough style of play. It is part of their success formula. They want to be a tough team to play against. I think that opposing forwards know when Trnkova or Larsen are on the ice, and that makes a difference. Also, love the way that some of our forwards are willing to get on top of the blue paint in the opposing end (thinking of Christof in particular) and wish we had more of that. Tough to balance that style of play while staying out of the box...but that is the challenge.

One of the problems is that officials at times make calls based on reputation. While a team that takes a ton of penalties might get called for something that is borderline, another team that is rarely in the box often gets the benefit of the doubt. Saw this many times over the years with our men's team. There is a lot of gray areas in penalty calling in the game of hockey at all levels. i do think i today with all the video reviews and with 4 officials on the ice to see things, we should expect less of that but so far this season I am not so sure that is the case.
We have been playing a tougher brand of hockey than in many previous years, but following this team has become quite exciting and if we are able to develop a bit more offense from the front lines, we will see that reflected in the final scores.

[hab]

And to be clear, I am not suggesting that RPI should move away from it's tough style of play. It is part of their success formula. They want to be a tough team to play against. I think that opposing forwards know when Trnkova or Larsen are on the ice, and that makes a difference. Also, love the way that some of our forwards are willing to get on top of the blue paint in the opposing end (thinking of Christof in particular) and wish we had more of that. Tough to balance that style of play while staying out of the box...but that is the challenge.

[hab]

To further illustrate the point that Dr. D. has been making about how well RPI has been playing 5 on 5 (i.e. excluding PP goals and ENG goals), here is what their ECAC record would look like based just on 5 on 5:
Home W vs Dartmouth 3-0
Home W vs Harvard 3-0
Road Loss to #5 Colgate 3-1
Road Loss to #10 Cornell 6-0
Road Win over #9 SLU 3-0
Road Tie vs #6 Clarkson 0-0
That would be 3 wins, 2 losses and a tie after completing their two toughest road trips on their schedule. Not too shabby, if not for penalties and a weak PK.

[DrDemento]

I agree with Dr. D....the Engineers have been exceeding my expectations regarding how competitive they have been in the ECAC so far, given how lackluster they seemed against weak non-conference opponents.
However, as a big fan of Trnkova I think that she needs to step up as a team player and turn down the aggressiveness just a notch. She leads the entire NCAA in penalty minutes by a wide margin and the team does not have a great PK percentage so far. Her penalties have hurt the team, and say what you will about some of the calls, she cannot continue on this path if the team is going to win close games in the ECAC.

Spot on. This team has shown already that no one (perhaps with the exception of Wisconsin) can take them lightly. They had one really bad defensive effort (Cornell) but have shown up well defensively virtually every other game. i have watched all the games except two non-televised and Trnkova has indeed taken some rather ill advised penalties. Agree that some of the calls have just been more based on reputation than the actual contact involved but she has to be aware of this and play with a touch less aggressiveness. Hard to do when you have been laying with and against boys before coming to Troy. I remember well a similar situation with Cindy Acropolis back 25+ years ago. She played for our local boys team here in NJ and played 4 years at RPI with a wee bit of an edge. Her accomplishments in Troy however, will probably never be matched in both goals and penalty minutes. I suppose there will be a fine line for Trnkova to tread for the entire time she is at RPI to do something similar. I have not seen any defensive player on the girl's side with her skill level and can only hope that she can spend enough time on the ice instead of in the box for the next 2+ years to be the player she can be. Perhaps exposure to Sophie Helgeson this year. who plays an extremely solid defensive style without taking many penalty minutes, will help in that regard.

[hab]

I agree with Dr. D....the Engineers have been exceeding my expectations regarding how competitive they have been in the ECAC so far, given how lackluster they seemed against weak non-conference opponents.
However, as a big fan of Trnkova I think that she needs to step up as a team player and turn down the aggressiveness just a notch. She leads the entire NCAA in penalty minutes by a wide margin and the team does not have a great PK percentage so far. Her penalties have hurt the team, and say what you will about some of the calls, she cannot continue on this path if the team is going to win close games in the ECAC.