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RPI 2023-24: In Our 200th Year, We're Getting It Right

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rpi82 said:
I agree, but he also has to recognize the issue and be smart about it. He picked up a boarding call in the SLU game that I thought was ridiculous. He gave a nudge (the kind of mini-crosscheck or shove to the back that you see dozens of times in any game without penalty) to a guy about 3 feet from the boards near the blue line and I thought the response was a bit over-dramatic but the ref bought it. However, it was also completely unnecessary. The puck had been dumped behind the net and that SLU player was not a threat. Muzzati is just going to have to adjust or he's going to draw that call repeatedly throughout the year.
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if he is forced to change his style of play in any way, he will simply not be effective. He is a big boy (and the reason Nashville picked him for the NHL) and if he has to 'pull his punches', he will not be the same player that we saw last year or that the NHL is looking for. I would suggest just the opposite. I think if he is going to be called for something anyway, make it count. If that elbow makes contact, then allow it to be a really good one. Perhaps that would be the only way for players to avoid him and make them pull back from the contact. i do not want to see him intentionally hurt any one or take 5 minute boarding penalties but if he finishes his checks, his reputation will precede him and many players would rather avoid getting blasted off their skates and perhaps would instead give him a little extra room to not suffer that contact. Over the 60+ years of following RPI hockey I have seen a lot of bigger boys play for the Cherry and White and once they become a bit hesitant of contact, they lose whatever edge or effectiveness they had.
 
DrDemento said:
DN: it must be hard for him to become too assertive as it appears he is smitten with the Luke Curadi problem. Any time someone runs into him or you hear a loud noise near the boards, the ref puts his arm up and calls him for a penalty. it is certainly not his fault he is 6'6" and his shoulders are head high against many opponents. But I have seen him shaking his head after some calls when he has barely touch someone or had them run into him and he gets 2 or even 5 in the box. I do agree, however, that he has to use that size advantage a bit better than we have seen so far this season.
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I should clarify that my Muzzatti comments were centered more on when he is carrying the puck and or when RPI is entering the zone. He is young and I'm sure still getting used to his strength and size. I had similar views when Zalewski was in Troy...he was a different player on offense when he bore down and went to the front of the net..
 
For the football fans - RPI plays pretty much a perfect offensive game to beat Widener 49-21 in a post season ECAC bowl game. We could have had more points as we had a first and goal on the 1 yard line with over 1 minute to play but simply took a knee to end the game. We now have won 12 ECAC post season games (I believe out of a total of 14). We end the season with a 8-3 record. Great job boys!
 
Agree with comments here by Dr. D and Slappahs. Patience is the key with Muzzati...patience on his part (jumping from NCAA too soon would be a mistake) and on the coaches' part, and on the fans' part. I see him as being a high quality NHL player but in the meantime I hope we get to see him develop as a leader for the Engineers.
 
hab said:
Agree with comments here by Dr. D and Slappahs. Patience is the key with Muzzati...patience on his part (jumping from NCAA too soon would be a mistake) and on the coaches' part, and on the fans' part. I see him as being a high quality NHL player but in the meantime I hope we get to see him develop as a leader for the Engineers.
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I fear that if this team does not change its ways, that Muzzati will be playing elsewhere.
He continues to put up decent numbers but that will only make it more likely that his NHL team would want him where he could continue to grow.
There is a lot riding on the rest of this season for him.
 
engineerhockeyfan said:
I fear that if this team does not change its ways, that Muzzati will be playing elsewhere.
He continues to put up decent numbers but that will only make it more likely that his NHL team would want him where he could continue to grow.
There is a lot riding on the rest of this season for him.
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I share the same concern. I think Nashville is going to make a run at him at the end of the year regardless how we finish (which I would be surprised if we change much). He’s likely AHL bound to get his feet wet for the pro game. He has the size and strength. I also think smolinski is gone. He’s either going pro or transferring closer to home. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him suit up for Michigan state. I hope I’m wrong but I think next year might even be worse than this year which is hard to get your head around. If we continue on the current path I think at the very least the assistant coaches are gone. Depending on Dave smiths contract he might be gone as well. I would imagine the new AD is going to want to put her stamp on this program and getting it back to some sort of relevance. Current path we’re on is complete nonsense.
 
DrDemento said:
For the football fans - RPI plays pretty much a perfect offensive game to beat Widener 49-21 in a post season ECAC bowl game. We could have had more points as we had a first and goal on the 1 yard line with over 1 minute to play but simply took a knee to end the game. We now have won 12 ECAC post season games (I believe out of a total of 14). We end the season with a 8-3 record. Great job boys!
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The total should be 15 assuming 12 is the correct win number (too lazy to look it up). From memory, losses were to St. John Fisher, Framingham State and Grove City all in the 2010's.

Foreseeable future is trending up. Multiple key contributors are still teenagers and have multiple seasons remaining.
 
Interesting weekend series coming up with Northeastern. Northeastern has scored 20 goals in 9 games, but 12 of them came in their first two regular season games at home against Stonehill and Bentley. In Hockey East they've scored 8 goals in 7 games. By contrast, we've given up 20 goals in our 4 HE games (including 2 EN). It will be the resistible force against the movable object. There's no telling what we may see.
 
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rpi82 said:
Interesting weekend series coming up with Northeastern. Northeastern has scored 20 goals in 9 games, but 12 of them came in their first two regular season games at home against Stonehill and Bentley. In Hockey East they've scored 8 goals in 7 games. By contrast, we've given up 20 goals in our 4 HE games (including 2 EN). It will be the resistible force against the movable object. There's no telling what we may see.
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I'll watch both Northeastern games this weekend thinking wins. I'm trying to regain my optimism. Our best players have had 27 power plays this year. Result - outscored 2-1.
 
tony/troy said:
The total should be 15 assuming 12 is the correct win number (too lazy to look it up). From memory, losses were to St. John Fisher, Framingham State and Grove City all in the 2010's.

Foreseeable future is trending up. Multiple key contributors are still teenagers and have multiple seasons remaining.
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Especially looking good is the QB position. Right now we have 3 or even 4 fighting for the job who have gotten some playing time this year and all did well enough to be considered for the starting position. I would like to see us add a little more size up front as late in the season we did get pushed around a bit on the ground by Hobart and Union.
 
RPI67 said:
I'll watch both Northeastern games this weekend thinking wins. I'm trying to regain my optimism. Our best players have had 27 power plays this year. Result - outscored 2-1.
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Since they had last week off, hopefully they have adjusted their PP units. What they were putting on the ice obviously isn’t working and as an old saying goes, if something is broke fix it. we’ll see what happens this weekend. I will be watching closely if and when we go on the PP.
 
RPI fan 4 life said:
Since they had last week off, hopefully they have adjusted their PP units. What they were putting on the ice obviously isn’t working and as an old saying goes, if something is broke fix it. we’ll see what happens this weekend. I will be watching closely if and when we go on the PP.
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Thia past week I had the opportunity to watch the Rangers play the Devils. These teams have the #1 and #2 power plays in the NHL. I fully understand that this is the NHL and you cannot compare the NCAA level to the NHl at all. But the obvious difference is that these two teams have the top power play teams for a reason. They were in constant motion. They moved the puck around constantly but more importantly the bodies on the ice were in constant motion. So far this season when I have had the opportunity to watch RPI on the power play I am struck by the fact that we simply do not move much. We keep trying to pass the puck around but we stand still on the periphery and there is an obvious poverty of motion. I do not care what the talent level is, at any level of hockey, for success on the power play I think you have to keep the defense moving around and keep the positions constantly changing. Interestingly, when I have watched our girls' team on the power play, they demonstrate far more movement than i see from the boys and they have kept the opposition under pressure far more often. Just my 2?
 
Ralph Baer said:
In case anyone hasn't noticed, both games this weekend are at 3 PM.
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Jen and i will be missing the Saturday game - we were given tickets to MSG for the Bruins/Rangers at 1PM. Although we are a bit reticent about going into the city over this weekend, how can we miss this game with the top 2 teams in the NHL east??
 
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