RPI 2018 Off-Season: The Hunt for Red October

[Ralph Baer]

Re: RPI 2018 Off-Season: The Hunt for Red October

you mean Hair Apparent.

I really should have read this entire thread before replying. Let's see how many more I will repeat.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: RPI 2018 Off-Season: The Hunt for Red October

But he has done better than any other recent U18 coach. I do think that one has to look over several years. Next year, he will get the U17 team. Let's see how he does. It is like saying there is no global warming because we had a single big snowstorm.

He's had plenty of positive experience with USA Hockey, not just this past year; look at the Ivan Hlinka successes. That still doesn't mean it translates well to the college game, especially when you're with a team that can't just get a bunch of powerhouses in, unlike UND or Denver.

 

[Marmot]

Re: RPI 2018 Off-Season: The Hunt for Red October

As a Colgate guy I look at the Brooks Bandits box scores a lot (we have three recruits playing there), and Shane Bear seems to fill the box score almost every game.

 

[Waite21]

Re: RPI 2018 Off-Season: The Hunt for Red October

I suspect that a topic for conversation this off-season will certainly be the makeup of next season’s team. Let me initiate the discussion. I will post separately about goalies, defensemen and forwards.

The first post is about goalies. This is the simplest, but there are still questions. All three goalies, Perry, St.Denis, and Marshall, are eligible to return and we have one goalie recruit, Owen Savory. OS is a 97, so he must come in the fall. I don’t think that we will keep four goalies, so someone must be leaving. I think that Chase Perry will turn pro. He cannot transfer since he has already done that once.

Comments?

If I were the Red Wings and thinking about which college players I might like to entice to turn pro, I would not be inclined to throw a whole lot of money at a guy who was unable to hold the starting job for a team that went 6-27-4.

Perry, at this point, might be getting the idea that a big-time pro hockey career is not in the cards for him. At the same time, I wouldn't think that the prospect of spending another year going through all the practice sessions and all the travel to road games for the privilege of sitting on the bench and watching Linden Marshall play all the time would be very appealing, either.

I wonder if he would consider dropping off the team to concentrate on academics and prepare himself for life in the real world, like the vast majority of RPI graduates have done.

If he drops off the team, would he be allowed to keep his scholarship, on the ground that he originally accepted the scholarship in good faith with every intention of playing through his senior year? Or is the scholarship only renewable at the option of the coach, and only if the guy is actually still a member of the team?

 

[Ralph Baer]

Re: RPI 2018 Off-Season: The Hunt for Red October

If I were the Red Wings and thinking about which college players I might like to entice to turn pro, I would not be inclined to throw a whole lot of money at a guy who was unable to hold the starting job for a team that went 6-27-4.

Perry, at this point, might be getting the idea that a big-time pro hockey career is not in the cards for him. At the same time, I wouldn't think that the prospect of spending another year going through all the practice sessions and all the travel to road games for the privilege of sitting on the bench and watching Linden Marshall play all the time would be very appealing, either.

I wonder if he would consider dropping off the team to concentrate on academics and prepare himself for life in the real world, like the vast majority of RPI graduates have done.

If he drops off the team, would he be allowed to keep his scholarship, on the ground that he originally accepted the scholarship in good faith with every intention of playing through his senior year? Or is the scholarship only renewable at the option of the coach, and only if the guy is actually still a member of the team?

I suspect that he would not keep an athletic scholarship, but something could be done if his grades are good. Note that Hackett is apparently still at RPI. Also Bell and Rappaport but they were probably walkons.

 

[AspyDad]

Re: RPI 2018 Off-Season: The Hunt for Red October

I agree that the amount and effectiveness of in-game adjustments has doubled if not increased tenfold.

They won 6 games!!!! What was he adjusting, his tie? Cmon Ralph. Btw- Lammers who should have been hired took his team from 5 wins to 11 in his 1st season. Wasn't even in our final 3 candidates.

 

[Red Cloud]

Re: RPI 2018 Off-Season: The Hunt for Red October

I remember the RIT game where we able to shut down the backdoor pass after it worked twice on us. Granted, teams kept using it for the next couple weeks so it obviously didn't sink in at practice and had to be constantly reinforced, but at least it gets addressed then and there.

Isn't that a little obvious? Something works against you twice, so you don't let it work a third time?

This is your example? In the only game we won in a walk? Surely there must be some better examples out there.

 

[Wicked Slappaahs]

Re: RPI 2018 Off-Season: The Hunt for Red October

I still think it's way too early to draw any conclusions re:Smiths tenure. I saw some things I liked, but we still can't bury pucks. Several of our forwards were solid if not prolific scorers in JRs, but haven't sniffed twine since getting to Troy. That has to change.

Defensively , I like what I see from Samec and Harris. Reilly is a great pucker mover but is too often invisible playing in our d zone, ditto for Manley . Opponents too often gain our d zone at will most of the time, skating past unmotivated red helmets. Thats not entirely on the d, but when a guy come across the blue line or down the wall, SOMEONE needs to introduce themselves!!

 

[fishcore12]

Re: RPI 2018 Off-Season: The Hunt for Red October

I will be traveling to Boston this weekend for the Northeastern/UMass game on Saturday night. Thinking of bringing a sign that says Save Us Ben Barr with a big RPI logo on it.

 

[Ralph Baer]

Re: RPI 2018 Off-Season: The Hunt for Red October

They won 6 games!!!! What was he adjusting, his tie? Cmon Ralph. Btw- Lammers who should have been hired took his team from 5 wins to 11 in his 1st season. Wasn't even in our final 3 candidates.

We did seem often better in the third period than earlier in the game. E.g., we had more shots in the third period on Sunday than either previous period.

That does not mean that I think he was the best choice for coach.

 

[Ralph Baer]

Re: RPI 2018 Off-Season: The Hunt for Red October

According to my spreadsheet, our historical record is 2189(GP)-1056(W)-993(L)-140(T)-.514

We will probably get loss 1000 before New Year's.

Edit: One more thing, we celebrated our 100th anniversary quite a few years ago, but 2018-19 will be the 100th season where we actually played at least one game. Again according to my spreadsheet.

 

[rsfs04]

Re: RPI 2018 Off-Season: The Hunt for Red October

They won 6 games!!!! What was he adjusting, his tie? Cmon Ralph. Btw- Lammers who should have been hired took his team from 5 wins to 11 in his 1st season. Wasn't even in our final 3 candidates.

This doesn't make any sense. After defending the last coach despite a terrible record, you're now attacking the new coach for a bad record? Context does matter, but this logic I don't follow.

This year wasn't successful at all, but as a new coach you get some time. As an RPI fan, I looked for positives out of this season, and some were there.

I'm not here to knock Appert, or to defend the administration, but the coach we have is now the coach we have. At the very least, they made a change, which is more than you can say Brown has done. That's a low bar to clear, but it's better than nothing.

I think at some point you just became a Seth Appert fan. Truly a great guy, glad to see him doing well, but his time was clearly up after last year. To take all the anger you have about this decision and the administration out on Smith just doesn't make sense to me either.

 

[AspyDad]

Re: RPI 2018 Off-Season: The Hunt for Red October

This doesn't make any sense. After defending the last coach despite a terrible record, you're now attacking the new coach for a bad record? Context does matter, but this logic I don't follow.

This year wasn't successful at all, but as a new coach you get some time. As an RPI fan, I looked for positives out of this season, and some were there.

I'm not here to knock Appert, or to defend the administration, but the coach we have is now the coach we have. At the very least, they made a change, which is more than you can say Brown has done. That's a low bar to clear, but it's better than nothing.

I think at some point you just became a Seth Appert fan. Truly a great guy, glad to see him doing well, but his time was clearly up after last year. To take all the anger you have about this decision and the administration out on Smith just doesn't make sense to me either.

I have no anger. I'm not a big fan of Seth's, I'm a huge fan of Seth's. The coaching search was terribly flawed. I don't blame Smith but this was more than a 6 win team. They beat the #1 team at the time and would then lay an egg. I don't hold any ill will towards Smith. The program will not succeed w the level of support it gets. With regard to record, look at the present coach's record in the Atlantic and how they did w/out him this year. You guys are math guys, figure it out.

 

[AspyDad]

Re: RPI 2018 Off-Season: The Hunt for Red October

We did seem often better in the third period than earlier in the game. E.g., we had more shots in the third period on Sunday than either previous period.

That does not mean that I think he was the best choice for coach.

6 wins Ralph. You're into Math, that's not good.

 

[rpi82]

We did seem often better in the third period than earlier in the game. E.g., we had more shots in the third period on Sunday than either previous period.

That does not mean that I think he was the best choice for coach.

It wasn’t an in-game adjustment, but I thought our breakouts were world’s better than under Seth, whose teams seemed to default to banking it off the half boards/glass and hoping it eluded the point. This season we had a system with options and passing lanes. Next season perhaps we’ll learn what to do with it in the other team’s zone.

 

[Ralph Baer]

Re: RPI 2018 Off-Season: The Hunt for Red October

6 wins Ralph. You're into Math, that's not good.

Did I say that I was happy with that? Do you think that I don't realize that? All I wrote was that I feel that Coach Smith made better adjustments than SA did. Both coaches have their flaws, but Smith deserves more than one year and not as long as SA got.

Smith did keep Autism Awareness Day. I would think that you would be happy with that.

Either root for RPI with Smith or become a fan of another team. I don't think that the rest of us need to hear your constant whining.

 

[AspyDad]

Re: RPI 2018 Off-Season: The Hunt for Red October

Smith did keep Autism Awareness Day. I would think that you would be happy with that.

Cheap shot

 

[AspyDad]

Re: RPI 2018 Off-Season: The Hunt for Red October

Did I say that I was happy with that? Do you think that I don't realize that? All I wrote was that I feel that Coach Smith made better adjustments than SA did. Both coaches have their flaws, but Smith deserves more than one year and not as long as SA got.

Smith did keep Autism Awareness Day. I would think that you would be happy with that.

Either root for RPI with Smith or become a fan of another team. I don't think that the rest of us need to hear your constant whining.

I have saved most of my comments for admin not so much Smith. Not only do the alumni deserve better but so do us in Town who support the team by buying the tix, sponsoring the golf tourney and playing in it. . I have finacially supported this team over the last 10 years so I dont need a lecture from you. Have a nice day.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: RPI 2018 Off-Season: The Hunt for Red October

It wasn’t an in-game adjustment, but I thought our breakouts were world’s better than under Seth, whose teams seemed to default to banking it off the half boards/glass and hoping it eluded the point. This season we had a system with options and passing lanes. Next season perhaps we’ll learn what to do with it in the other team’s zone.

The faceoffs were also miles better, although we seemed to taper back by the end of the season. But if there's one thing that was really good, it was that going into another period was night and day, and that's something we didn't see under Appert.

Our biggest issue on the attacking end seemed to be overcompensation and an inability to do more than one thing. You look at the first few games, where we threw a great game back at the opposition, at least when we had the puck. Then, at about the same time Coach Smith was mentioning to play more defensively, we lost whatever offensive spark we seemed to have. And then when we lost Troy York, it all seemed to just fade away back to the nothingness we saw in previous years. We talk about wanting to see more O, coaches talk about wanting to see more D, what really needs to be shown is both. A complete package is how you become successful at this and the professional level.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: RPI 2018 Off-Season: The Hunt for Red October

I have no anger. I'm not a big fan of Seth's, I'm a huge fan of Seth's. The coaching search was terribly flawed. I don't blame Smith but this was more than a 6 win team. They beat the #1 team at the time and would then lay an egg. I don't hold any ill will towards Smith. The program will not succeed w the level of support it gets. With regard to record, look at the present coach's record in the Atlantic and how they did w/out him this year. You guys are math guys, figure it out.

Wasn't the same argument used surrounding Union and "the only reason they were successful" after their coaching change? You speak of setting up for success, but I'm fairly sure even Canisius wasn't built in a day.

The difference between a good coach and a great coach is that a great coach can maximize the cards that he has, even if they're not the best. A great coach is a rare occurrence, and is something we both see in a guy like Jim Montgomery. Our coach showed himself to be able to rebuild a team to become successful, and that's what we really need after a termination. Even if he isn't a long haul coach like a Schafer or a Vaughan, it's time for RPI to remember what it stands for, make RPI great again, and be able to continue forward positively.