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RPI 2022-23: Return of the Schmidt and the Fans

Three or so weeks ago an RPI post asked for ingredients about Tech hockey becoming relevant again. I volunteered some comparisons between Tech and RPI hockey as I have some inside knowledge of both.

Since then this podcast https://www.techhockeyguide.com/2023/02/16/chasing-macnaughton-s4e21-tervetuloa/ was made and might offer some further insight.
FYI this podcast is regularly done by fervent Tech alumni volunteers. It covers quite a bit of ground with things the program does.

Feel free to review the podcast, the THG guys love that stuff.
 
I wrote a more in-depth seeding breakdown in my blog post to preview the game against Princeton. Some of it is repeat info that I already said here, but a lot of it is new, and I go a lot more in-depth. Check it out if you're interested!

https://open.substack.com/pub/thefi...eton?r=epo4a&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Very good in depth review as always. Obviously tonight's game is at the crucial level but even more so to show how our boys can react to this kind of importance placed on a game. They have to show and prove to themselves that they can perform well when they have to. otherwise, going into the playoff rounds leave you without any sense of momentum to say the least. Success breeds success and winning in regulation tonight could turn out to be even more important to the team than simply gaining home ice in the first round of the playoffs.
 
Whew! If that game had gone on another period, RPI would have lost. They got badly outshot. I think the big factor in their early lead was Princeton’s goalie had a poor first period. I was surprised they didn’t pull him. Tonight they face one of the best goalies in the country. And they lose Muzzati for tonight’s contest, I believe. If they haven’t figured out the refs aren’t fooling around with this stuff, tonight will be an eye opening reality check.
 
often the final game of the regular season means very little to most teams. Tonight may be a bit different. RPI has the chance to finish in either 7th or 8th as they have already clinched a home ice position for the first round game. Not sure who we get to play in the various scenarios and it probably does matter who it is but more important is that we have to hope we do whatever it takes (and the other teams cooperate) so that we finish 7th. Assuming we win that first round game, finishing 7th assures us that we can avoid QU in the second round series. The way Q has played and how we have looked against them this year, it would probably make more sense to be able to go play anywhere else if we are thinking of any chance (even remotely) that we can somehow get to Lake Placid.
 
often the final game of the regular season means very little to most teams. Tonight may be a bit different. RPI has the chance to finish in either 7th or 8th as they have already clinched a home ice position for the first round game. Not sure who we get to play in the various scenarios and it probably does matter who it is but more important is that we have to hope we do whatever it takes (and the other teams cooperate) so that we finish 7th. Assuming we win that first round game, finishing 7th assures us that we can avoid QU in the second round series. The way Q has played and how we have looked against them this year, it would probably make more sense to be able to go play anywhere else if we are thinking of any chance (even remotely) that we can somehow get to Lake Placid.

Absolutely agree. Need to avoid Quinnipiac at all costs!

For our seeding and first round opponents, I broke that all down in my preview https://open.substack.com/pub/thefi...piac?r=epo4a&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
 
Absolutely agree. Need to avoid Quinnipiac at all costs!

For our seeding and first round opponents, I broke that all down in my preview https://open.substack.com/pub/thefi...piac?r=epo4a&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Most times thinks do go according to Hoyle (wasn't he a 4th string goalie for some midwest team?). But i recall twice where we had rather low seeding and yet still got to the final four of the league or even better. In 1995 we were i believe a sixth seed. But everything broke well even up at LP where we upset Colgate and Princeton beat Clarkson. We took Princeton easily to win the ECAC and earn an NCAA spot. And then, of course, there was that 10th place seeding where we drove up to Vermont and beat the number 1 seed. After which we won the next round and got to play in Boston garden (where we got a bit of a hose job from referee Murphy against SLU to be e4liminated.
In any case, we simply have to take this all one round at a time. Just move on. At this time of year, even the most powerful teams can hit a snag due to some illness or injuries. A sudden outbreak of flu can turn a number 1 squad into something a bit easier to play against.
 
This year's team managed to avoid tying the school record for fewest points in a season by the team's leading scorer, which is 20. (Al Jones in '65-'66 and Drew Melanson in '14-'15)

We had three who accumulated more than 20 this season. Lee led the team with 22 points, while Muzzatti and Mahshie each had 21.

Not easy to get to seventh place with so little firepower, but somehow they managed it.

Note that the 2014-15 team finished in ninth place, but went on to win its first-round playoff series against Clarkson.
 
Well, that’s it for the regular season. So here are the playoff matchups for next weekend:
#5 Colgate vs. #12 Dartmouth
#6 Clarkson vs. #11 Brown
#7 RPI vs. #10 Yale
#8 Union vs. #9 Princeton

Quinnipiac, Harvard, Cornell and St. Lawrence in that order have the byes.
 
Even if he records no points in the playoffs, Sutter Muzzatti is the highest scoring RPI freshman in a decade, tying Zalewski's 21 points in 12-13 (don't think I missed anyone). 1 more point would make him the highest scoring RPI freshman since Pirri and D'Amigo in 09-10.
 
Well, that’s it for the regular season. So here are the playoff matchups for next weekend:
#5 Colgate vs. #12 Dartmouth
#6 Clarkson vs. #11 Brown
#7 RPI vs. #10 Yale
#8 Union vs. #9 Princeton

Quinnipiac, Harvard, Cornell and St. Lawrence in that order have the byes.

Yale was dreadful tonight, but it's one game, so good luck.
 
Well, that’s it for the regular season. So here are the playoff matchups for next weekend:
#5 Colgate vs. #12 Dartmouth
#6 Clarkson vs. #11 Brown
#7 RPI vs. #10 Yale
#8 Union vs. #9 Princeton

Quinnipiac, Harvard, Cornell and St. Lawrence in that order have the byes.

Excluding Yale, let’s make it an Ivy League Saturday.
 
Even if he records no points in the playoffs, Sutter Muzzatti is the highest scoring RPI freshman in a decade, tying Zalewski's 21 points in 12-13 (don't think I missed anyone). 1 more point would make him the highest scoring RPI freshman since Pirri and D'Amigo in 09-10.

Very cool stat, thank you for this!
 
Even if he records no points in the playoffs, Sutter Muzzatti is the highest scoring RPI freshman in a decade, tying Zalewski's 21 points in 12-13 (don't think I missed anyone). 1 more point would make him the highest scoring RPI freshman since Pirri and D'Amigo in 09-10.

Only 4 more points to go to catch Brad Tapper. Impressive.
 
initial odds for next weekend round one playoff games. Brown and Dartmouth are 1.5 goal underdogs (I believe the Dartmouth game is on Friday). Union and RPI are 1/2 goal favorites on Saturday.
Obviously rooting for both Brown and Dartmouth to pull the unexpected upsets which would seed us to play the #4 seed in the second round if we can hold the home ice advantage over Yale.
 
Our game is the only 7 PM game on Saturday. Colgate-Dartmouth is on Friday, and both the Union-Princeton and Clarkson-Brown games are at 4 PM on Saturday.
 
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