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RPI 2020 Off-season Overtime: In Memory of Turk181

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NAFTA123 said:
These players (all athletes) have been strung along and mistreated by the person in charge of the outfit since they arrived back in Troy in August......no voice directly with the AD until today. Are you kidding me???

Per media......"I feel today was an opportunity for dialogue that has been much needed, and, quite honestly one of the biggest points of frustration for the athletes in that they haven't had a voice other than through me, through Dr. McElroy, to the cabinet in the board and Dr, Jackson (school president Shirley Jackson). Today the discussion from Dr. McElroy was very good, and our players know that Dr. McElroy was fighting their fight."

Season cancelled, ok we can somewhat deal with that given with what is going on. But no access to facilities, coaches, gear etc. is a farce. Unique and bizarre off campus living restrictions.......the list goes on and on. Also, hearing the juniors are not guaranteed campus access in second semester (ARCH exemption not approved yet since there is now no season), that decision to come "later".

Per college hockey news....."Long term for RPI hockey, this is a major blow," Smith said.

No doubt. Appears to be a complete mess internally.
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Just a few days ago the school was praising itself in the local media for its robust testing protocol and SAJ was boasting about being at the forefront with all the tools they have as a technological university. Apparently all the testing and tools were not enough to play some hockey. Meantime the Big 10 is playing and Hockey East drops the puck in a couple of weeks. This was doable here. The administration just chose not to do it.

I wonder what this means for the league and whether they'll try to do a season with just 5 teams.

Side note - watched most of the Wisconsin-Notre Dame game Friday. Wisconsin's Mathieu de St. Phalle is the son of our own Jacque de St. Phalle.
 
vicious said:
I wonder what this means for the league and whether they'll try to do a season with just 5 teams.

Side note - watched most of the Wisconsin-Notre Dame game Friday. Wisconsin's Mathieu de St. Phalle is the son of our own Jacque de St. Phalle.
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It would not surprise me if Union cancels too.

BTW, Jacques de St. Phalle transferred to Wisconsin.
 
I am sad but not surprised at all. And I think this will happen in many programs across the country. As to it being a major blow, I think it stops the momentum the team had achieved. A huge step backward, but there’s no reason we can’t bounce back. The way things are looking now, vaccines will begin to be distributed starting in December, but more widely in the Spring. That will give everyone the confidence that, although it will take time to get the vaccine to enough people, we will have the confidence that things can be planned for. I want to be and will be at both men’s and women’s games next fall. If the criteria for me attending games was wins and trophies, I wouldn’t be a 29 year season ticket holder. Thick and thin.
 
In honor of Asiah Taylor-Walters, today is 17 November 2020. There are 319 days until RPI's next game.


This is based upon 2 October 2021 for the start of next season.
 
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Really sorry to hear that the season is over. But not surprised.
I will be surprised if there is a complete season (NCAA tournament) for anyone given the current status of the virus.
I just hope that no one playing now gets seriously ill just to play a game.
Remember, these are still Student Athletes.
 
woodenskates said:
I don't think that Union has decided not to play. I am told that they have been practicing and working out as thought they expect to play some games this year
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Mongo has been quoted in the Daily Gazette as being hopeful they can play games (paraphrasing) ....though he was far from certain as to how the decision would go.
 
sezenack said:
For the roster outlook. The remaining 6 players with junior eligibility will return to juniors. As for the rest of the team, it seems that Savory will leave and try to play immediately. Other than that I have no idea what will happen to the other players. Rosters are set in stone around nearly the entire country. Savory is a top goaltender in the country, so he'd be able to land somewhere, but I don't think any of the other players could at this point. My guess is that we will be able to keep most of the roster because of this, but the best players will be wildcards.
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I suspect you are right. The larger exposure for sure is the recruits in the pipeline ....as the roster bottlenecks across D1 will likely cause plenty of upheaval in commitments.
 
Ralph Baer said:
Are you sure that the remaining players with junior eligibility will do so? It might be hard to get a spot at this time, and I haven't seen a lot of Ivy players doing so.
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Exactly right RB. The Jr. rosters are already clogged with kids who slotted in when their pro and/or D1 season schedules imploded. I know there at least a few Major Jr. kids playing in the BCHL to simply have the opportunity to skate and play games.
 
NAFTA123 said:
...

Per college hockey news....."Long term for RPI hockey, this is a major blow," Smith said.

No doubt. Appears to be a complete mess internally.
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This is the same language received in an email from Smith last night and is the one that should make everyone sit up straight. This decision will echo for years...not months .
 
NAFTA123 said:
These players (all athletes) have been strung along and mistreated by the person in charge of the outfit since they arrived back in Troy in August......no voice directly with the AD until today. Are you kidding me???.....
Click to expand...

Totally agree and this is my major complaint. I can live with the decision, but there is no such thing as zero risk. Even with a vaccine there is no way of knowing how long it will be effective...so are we just saying goodbye to college athletics because of some risk that WILL be out there even with a vaccine ? Let the kids decide with their parents. All athletes have the option to opt out. Schools go out of their way to proclaim how they are molding smart, educated young men and women - and this is no more true than it is at RPI and throughout the ECAC - they truly are unique student athletes. RPI then goes out and maintains radio silence for three months (ZERO information from the AD re: winter sports) and proceeds to IGNORE these very same young adults when a decision such as this is made.

So they are expected to go out and "Change the World" once the graduate but they aren't trustworthy enough to be part of this decision ? Hypocrisy personified.
 
I wonder with all the sentiment the program is going to suffer tremendously...I get that this is a major setback, but RPI is hardly alone here. Every program is suffering, even the ones playing now, albeit to a lesser degree. And it has been pointed out that Junior programs and all the way down the line to youth hockey will suffer. But there are only so many D1 programs out there (and fewer next year). The pipeline is filled with players who want to play at the next level. Everyone will be hungry for the return of hockey. Like many businesses that have closed or suffered, the demand will need to be met. Do you pick up the pieces, lick your wounds, and move on? Or throw in the towel? I could see the latter at a school with only a recent history of playing college hockey. But not a school with a long, experienced tradition like RPI. I am optimistic.
 
25+years said:
I wonder with all the sentiment the program is going to suffer tremendously...I get that this is a major setback, but RPI is hardly alone here. Every program is suffering, even the ones playing now, albeit to a lesser degree. And it has been pointed out that Junior programs and all the way down the line to youth hockey will suffer. But there are only so many D1 programs out there (and fewer next year). The pipeline is filled with players who want to play at the next level. Everyone will be hungry for the return of hockey. Like many businesses that have closed or suffered, the demand will need to be met. Do you pick up the pieces, lick your wounds, and move on? Or throw in the towel? I could see the latter at a school with only a recent history of playing college hockey. But not a school with a long, experienced tradition like RPI. I am optimistic.
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Well one immediately pressing question which, if there were actual beat reporters they might ask is -- what becomes of the coaching staff, trainers, Dane McGuane ?? I believe all of them were furloughed over the summer. If they are facing that reality again then I am sure they will be rethinking their employment at RPI. You can bet you that other programs that choose to not play will find a way to take care of their staff. Does anyone think Mike Shafer is not going to look out for his staff ? I have zero confidence that RPI is prepared to step up for their coaching personnel over the next 10 months or so....I sure hope I 'm wrong.
 
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