RPI 2025–26: Off the Critical List and In Recovery

[Wicked Slappaahs]

If you're a Jets fan like me, it'll be that way through week 18.

Ha ha...sad but true !

We didn't score any goals against BU. They are probably better than any team we will play against in the regular season. Is there anyone who watched the game, either live or streamed, who thinks that there is evidence that we have an offense.

I didn't see the game, but based on Sez's excellent recap, it sounds like our first period contained most of our offensive pressure including a breakaway chance that was stuffed and one off the crossbar.

 

[Wicked Slappaahs]

i went to the army union game with my rpi hoodie on i got told by a union kid rpi f 'n sucks and i loved it that what makes rivalry great. my other take aways full bar is nice ... the rink was nice... parking was easy the dumb things no cupholders the noise in there is deafening music and announcer crap food and $9 pretzel

I went to the Union - Franklin Pierce game last week and there were cupholders.... did they remove them ? Plenty of good local food options. No need to be buying $9 pretzels.

 

[rpi82]

A $9 pretzel?

Did they at least provide free mustard to put on it?

It's on the same grounds, but it's the anti-casino. Casinos provide cheap and plentiful food and alcohol to keep you in. The arena already has you stuck so they will charge obscene rates. But $9 for a pretzel????

Ha ha...sad but true !

I didn't see the game, but based on Sez's excellent recap, it sounds like our first period contained most of our offensive pressure including a breakaway chance that was stuffed and one off the crossbar.

Absolutely. After the first period I was pumped up and ready to start ECAC play right away. The second brought me down a little and the third put me on a more even keel. The important thing is that we were competitive while playing a new system and the boys came out aggressively. As I commented in the game thread my first impression regarding Lang's system is that I like it. His possession game requires open ice so he doesn't have the entire team packed in the defensive zone on a breakout, which generally leads to a lot of chipping it out along the boards. The BU announcers were surprised that we had two forwards leaking out of the zone on the breakout. That forced the BU defenseman to be less aggressive in trying to keep the puck in and gave our dmen room to maneuver on the way out and to make the initial pass up ice. It can be risky if you can't trust your defensemen to make that first move and initial pass without turning the puck over (potentially leaving your goalie hanging out to dry), but they executed quite well for a first time out. In our own end the boys played fairly disciplined defense against an offensive juggernaut, taking away passing lanes and not letting guys sneak in on the weak side. Obviously the offense will need some work as by far our best opportunities came on breakaways. We didn't generate a lot of quality shots after setting up in the BU zone, but that's often the last thing to evolve as it requires the kind of anticipation and passing in small windows that comes from playing with the same line for an extended period.

 

[RPI Hockey Guy]

CHN interview with Coach Lang

Q&A With ... RPI Coach Eric Lang

Eric Lang, new coach at RPI, was the long-time coach at American International, and led that program to successes a lot of people never thought were possible. Now he'll try to resurrect an RPI program...

www.collegehockeynews.com

Coach Lange confirms $250 million renovation project coming to the field house, starting with $7 million rink renovations between this season and next. Full quote from article:
"And we have a $7 million renovation coming to our rink next year. We have potential for a monster renovation, although we want to keep it like Fenway Park. But, you know, good days are coming for our program."
"You know, we're gonna do new boards, new glass, new floor, which was really necessary. It'll start as soon as our last game ends next year, the project will begin. And then we've got a bigger scope to kind of build out off our locker rooms at a gym, like a really, really big, almost two phase, $250 million phased projects. I've seen renderings and we've seen a lot of good stuff. That'll be a little more TBD, but the first project is the rink itself next year."

 

[rpi82]

Coach Lange confirms $250 million renovation project coming to the field house, starting with $7 million rink renovations between this season and next. Full quote from article:
"And we have a $7 million renovation coming to our rink next year. We have potential for a monster renovation, although we want to keep it like Fenway Park. But, you know, good days are coming for our program."
"You know, we're gonna do new boards, new glass, new floor, which was really necessary. It'll start as soon as our last game ends next year, the project will begin. And then we've got a bigger scope to kind of build out off our locker rooms at a gym, like a really, really big, almost two phase, $250 million phased projects. I've seen renderings and we've seen a lot of good stuff. That'll be a little more TBD, but the first project is the rink itself next year."

I love RPI, HFH and hockey, but there’s no way on God’s Green Earth that they should be spending $250M on a renovation plan. That sounds like a dream world scenario that will be trimmed back to something more realistic. Of course, if someone wants to be the Tute’s Pegula or Alfond, I’m in.

 

[RPI Hockey Guy]

I love RPI, HFH and hockey, but there’s no way on God’s Green Earth that they should be spending $250M on a renovation plan. That sounds like a dream world scenario that will be trimmed back to something more realistic. Of course, if someone wants to be the Tute’s Pegula or Alfond, I’m in.

You're not wrong. $250 million is way too much unless we got some big time donners to donate the money. I did a google search, and Mullet Arena is currently the NCAA's most expensive rink, which was built for $134 million. By comparison, ECAV was built for $92 million. My guess is he either misspoke and said the wrong number, or it's part of some unannounced institute wide project. That being said, if it is true, and they found a few rich donors to give the money, I would imagine the field house would be gutted and completely redone into the nicest arena in conference, and probably the NCAA.

 

[DavidNardolillo]

Coach Lange confirms $250 million renovation project coming to the field house, starting with $7 million rink renovations between this season and next. Full quote from article:
"And we have a $7 million renovation coming to our rink next year. We have potential for a monster renovation, although we want to keep it like Fenway Park. But, you know, good days are coming for our program."
"You know, we're gonna do new boards, new glass, new floor, which was really necessary. It'll start as soon as our last game ends next year, the project will begin. And then we've got a bigger scope to kind of build out off our locker rooms at a gym, like a really, really big, almost two phase, $250 million phased projects. I've seen renderings and we've seen a lot of good stuff. That'll be a little more TBD, but the first project is the rink itself next year."

The article is actually an attempted transcription of the podcast interview and the "$250 million" is a transcription error (there are a number of deviations from what's actually said on the air). If you listen to the podcast, Coach Lang mentions the potential for two separate $50 million phases that are TBD.

I didn't give it a close listen, but I don't think the source of the funds is described.

 

[Wicked Slappaahs]

I love RPI, HFH and hockey, but there’s no way on God’s Green Earth that they should be spending $250M on a renovation plan. That sounds like a dream world scenario that will be trimmed back to something more realistic. Of course, if someone wants to be the Tute’s Pegula or Alfond, I’m in.

As I mentioned before, the $7mil initial expenditure is deferred maintenance ...the refrigeration, boards, glass etc. are things that MUST be done to sustain the programs. All of the rest would be renovation/expansion. If President Schmidt is leaning into the ice hockey programs as many people have publicly stated he is, then it is absolutely in the realm of possibility. Simply stated, our Prez is a heavy hitter, as he proved many times over with the impacts he made in over 30 years at MIT. Remember, he wasn't looking for a President's job ....until his alma mater came calling. It's personal for him and his wife...he loves the place. If he and the Trustees set their minds to securing the future of RPI hockey, then it is absolutely within his reach to accomplish. If he pulls it off, they will put up his statue out front of the HFH....and I will cut a check to support the fundraising !

 

[Wicked Slappaahs]

The article is actually an attempted transcription of the podcast interview and the "$250 million" is a transcription error (there are a number of deviations from what's actually said on the air). If you listen to the podcast, Coach Lang mentions the potential for two separate $50 million phases that are TBD.

I didn't give it a close listen, but I don't think the source of the funds is described.

You are correct. Two $50 million phases.

 

[sezenack]

I said back in the spring that I heard the money is not coming from the school at all and needs to be entirely funded via fundraising. Hope that is incorrect because if that is the case, I doubt it happens.

 

[sezenack]

On another note, I'm PUMPED for some real games this weekend

 

[engineerhockeyfan]

Good article that leads to a question, where should our last assistant come from? At this time of year it’s hard to hire staff so we may have limited choices (quite possible we wait until spring for the right guy), but what background would we like? Based on Coach Lang’s summer interview I’d imagine CHL. However, he’s also known to zig when others zag and the article describes how most top programs have thrown their hooks into the CHL pond. Could a USHL background pay off better? Double down in Europe? Even grab an alum with ECHL connections? Thoughts?

Forgive me if this is old news, but Cory Schneider has been named coach of the Engineers.

 

[jmhusker]

I was at the game but only saw the first two periods. The offense looked promising to me. They were jumping into passing lanes and intercepted more than a few passes. They cycled well. They missed a tic-tac-toe dunk goal by about a foot. Hit a post. Generally gave BU a fight in the BU end.

What I really appreciated though is that they looked calm with the puck - especially in their own end. Not many blind dumps. They hustled to back check and got sticks into lanes. Lots of willingness to battle on the boards. I read that as having a coach that values possession and making plays. They showed good speed. They look like a team that will play smart hockey and should be fun to watch. That’s really all I was hoping for this year. This is not an 11th place team.

 

[Engineers]

I was at the game but only saw the first two periods. The offense looked promising to me. They were jumping into passing lanes and intercepted more than a few passes. They cycled well. They missed a tic-tac-toe dunk goal by about a foot. Hit a post. Generally gave BU a fight in the BU end.

What I really appreciated though is that they looked calm with the puck - especially in their own end. Not many blind dumps. They hustled to back check and got sticks into lanes. Lots of willingness to battle on the boards. I read that as having a coach that values possession and making plays. They showed good speed. They look like a team that will play smart hockey and should be fun to watch. That’s really all I was hoping for this year. This is not an 11th place team.

Very encouraging news.

 

[Engineers]

As I mentioned before, the $7mil initial expenditure is deferred maintenance ...the refrigeration, boards, glass etc. are things that MUST be done to sustain the programs. All of the rest would be renovation/expansion. If President Schmidt is leaning into the ice hockey programs as many people have publicly stated he is, then it is absolutely in the realm of possibility. Simply stated, our Prez is a heavy hitter, as he proved many times over with the impacts he made in over 30 years at MIT. Remember, he wasn't looking for a President's job ....until his alma mater came calling. It's personal for him and his wife...he loves the place. If he and the Trustees set their minds to securing the future of RPI hockey, then it is absolutely within his reach to accomplish. If he pulls it off, they will put up his statue out front of the HFH....and I will cut a check to support the fundraising !

Amen brother!
Schmitty will get it done. He’s not playing around

 

[Ralph Baer]

Forgive me if this is old news, but Cory Schneider has been named coach of the Engineers.

We still need one more since both Weber and Zirnis left.

 

[jericho]

I didn't give it a close listen, but I don't think the source of the funds is described.

The JennyRN and DrDemento (but mostly Jenny) Field House.

 

[DrDemento]

I just checked and have not seen any unusual large withdrawal made from any of Jen's accounts other than the usual stuff for jewelry from Bvlgari, Cartier and Faberge. We do know several people who formerly were large donors to RPI who have held back for several years (as we have) until we saw that the SAJ era was over and were sure that much of the damage done could be dealt with.
We did like most of what we saw last Sunday against BU especially for the first 30 minutes.

 

[RPI Hockey Guy]

ECAC Hockey to Continue SNY Partnership in 2025-26 Season

DANBURY, Conn. - ECAC Hockey and SportsNet New York (SNY) today announced a plan to broadcast a selection of Men’s and Women’s Hockey events on the regional sports network during the 2024-25 season. This slate, along with a myriad of other regional offerings, makes up a full schedule of over 30...

ecachockey.com

Friday October 10 and 17 RPI Hockey will be broadcast on SNY in addition to ESPN plus

 

[DrDemento]

ECAC Hockey to Continue SNY Partnership in 2025-26 Season

DANBURY, Conn. - ECAC Hockey and SportsNet New York (SNY) today announced a plan to broadcast a selection of Men’s and Women’s Hockey events on the regional sports network during the 2024-25 season. This slate, along with a myriad of other regional offerings, makes up a full schedule of over 30...

ecachockey.com

Friday October 10 and 17 RPI Hockey will be broadcast on SNY in addition to ESPN plus

Previously posted about the Oct 10 game with Miami being carried on SNY but did not know about Oct 17. Thanks.