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RPI 2020 Off-season Overtime: In Memory of Turk181

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NAFTA123 said:
Agree with your post. However UMASS has 100% Administration support for the program, RPI does not......
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And because of that lack of support, Smith will be starting all over again if/when we get back on the ice.
I don't think that we can expect additional progress when we start play again. JMO
 
engineerhockeyfan said:
And because of that lack of support, Smith will be starting all over again if/when we get back on the ice.
I don't think that we can expect additional progress when we start play again. JMO
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I agree that the on-ice talent that Smitty was compiling has been dealt many blows which will set us back 2, 3 or more years...but I do agree that his changing the culture remains a plus. RPI will be fortunate if he stays long term...I can't imagine he wouldn't strongly consider other attractive offers after what Shirley has forced upon him and his players this year.

Another thing that UMass has going for it is a beautiful rink which is essentially an AHL caliber building.
 
sezenack said:
RPI athletics have been put on pause due to rising COVID numbers on campus
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Not sure where you got this information. I don't see anything about it on the rpiathletics or rpi.edu website.

If it is true, then it seems unlikely that there will be any time left in the spring sports season by the time the pause is over. :(
 
NAFTA123 said:
Agree with your post. However UMASS has 100% Administration support for the program, RPI does not......
Click to expand...

I know you are at least partly referring to RPI's COVID response and I understand the frustration with the RPI administration's apparent attitude towards hockey--operating losses generally need to be incurred if you are going to run a competitive Division I program--but I don't think many college administrators (or alumni for that matter) would want to sign up for the UMass Amherst athletic budget in the current higher ed fiscal environment, even for a hockey championship. UMass is reportedly bleeding badly from its disastrous football program, and was apparently banking on football being profitable enough to fund other sports. UMass hockey has itself been running about a $2 million deficit each year for the last 5 years (according to Sean from BU's spreadsheet) and UMass doesn't even support a varsity women's hockey team. UMass also has non-athletic financial problems; something might have to give in the long run if the UMass football program doesn't turn it around.

I think people also realize that any college's ultimate level of support for athletics is a function of the prerogatives of the Board of Trustees, to which a President reports and which rarely seems to get mentioned in these conversations. The RPI board interest just doesn't seem to be there, unless I've missed something. I think RPI hockey may need the ol' "donor ex machina."
 
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Today is 13 April 2021. There are 172 days until RPI's next game.


This is based upon 2 October 2021 for the start of next season.
 
Ralph Baer said:
goal by Baxter (#19) https://twitter.com/hockey_east/stat...18882917138433

FWIW, before going to UML, Baxter played for the Burlington Cougars, where Mark Jooris (RPI '86) was coach and GM.
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I'm feeling better about next season. This guy looks like a comparable replacement for Brady Ferner (on ice anyway). Every team is going to have strange roster turnover, but the staff is not being passive and is working hard to replace the losses that had us a bit down. I'd also be surprised if Baxter didn't reach out to both Jooris and Owen Savory before making his decision and he must have liked what he heard.

P.S. You have to like a guy whose roster photo on the team's website features an obvious slash (https://dbukjj6eu5tsf.cloudfront.net/sidearm.sites/uml.sidearmsports.com/images/2018/12/7/baxter.png).
 
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rpi82 said:
I'm feeling better about next season. This guy looks like a comparable replacement for Brady Ferner (on ice anyway). Every team is going to have strange roster turnover, but the staff is not being passive and is working hard to replace the losses that had us a bit down. I'd also be surprised if Baxter didn't reach out to both Jooris and Owen Savory before making his decision and he must have liked what he heard.
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We will only have Baxter for one year, but what we need mainly is fill-ins for the losses, especially players who have not gathered rust for a year. Baxter fits that description. Assuming that we do play as normal a season as everyone else, what we have to do is keep pace with the rest of college hockey and then proceed upward in 2022-23.

As you implied, the thing that Ferner supposedly had was a lot of leadership ability, and that will be hard to replace.
 
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We are past 900 posts. Do others feel we should start a new thread at 1000 or continue? If a new thread, any title suggestions?
 
Today is 14 April 2021. There are 171 days until RPI's next game.


This is based upon 2 October 2021 for the start of next season.
 
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