I can confirm.
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RPI 2023-24: In Our 200th Year, We're Getting It Right
- Thread starter Ralph Baer
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I can confirm.
Thanks WS for this tribute to OGC. Major accomplishment for Seth. Great dude and hard worker. SA was close here on several occasions. The What If of Pirri/Jerry staying, the Kazzie/Haggs 2nd place finish. Of course, the NCAA Tournament bid which will not be duplicated under present regime. Btw- I never appreciated the crap talking Dave did of SA.
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I'll stand corrected(Ralph) if I'm wrong but off the top of my head I believe SA joins the legendary Ned Harkness as the only 2 RPI coaches to to win a game at the NHL level not to shabby company #rpihockeyroyalty
Ralph Baer
Let's Go 'Tute!
You are correct. He only coached for part of a season before moving to GM. His 12 victories should be beatable. Two player, Adam Oates and Kevin Constantine, also coached at the NHL level.
Ralph Baer
Let's Go 'Tute!
Someone asked in the game thread on Friday when the last time that RPI had 2 hat tricks in one game. It looks like Neil Hernberg and Terry Butryn on 11/2/1985. Thanks to Kurt Stutt. https://sports-chronicles.com/rpih/pages/hat_tricks. There were last three on 11/25/1967 and four on 3/7/1952.
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Great work on the research Ralph. Sort of figured maybe the 1985 team could have done it if anyone. If not would have had to go back to the old days (thought it would be in the 50's and surprised we did it in '67).
Ralph Baer
Let's Go 'Tute!
That was in November 1985, i.e. the 1986 team. The 1985 team did it once and the 1984 team three times. I was also surprised that we had three hat ticks in a game in 1967 (the 1968 team) but that was the 18-2 win over Penn in what I think was its first D-I year.
Seth is a good dude. He was close just didn’t get the support he needed. He’s clearly a very good coach. He could also recruit circles around current staff we have on the hill.
Ralph Baer
Let's Go 'Tute!
He (with the aid of his staff) could recruit circles around the current staff, but there are two factors that should be included, and the effect of these is hard to quantify.
1. Seth's recruiting went down hill over the years, probably due in large part to Shirley.
2. The landscape has changed due to the transfer portal and the ability (and perhaps necessity) for schools to give recruits additional financial incentives to get the best players.
Note that I did not mention COVID.
As to whether Seth was a very good coach, I am not convinced. Part of his initial success was probably due to a certain assistant who has also coached in the NHL. I also note that you wrote "very good" and not "great". IMO, very good may be correct; great is not.
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For sure a very good coach. He won the North Division in AHL last year with prospects that aren't necessarily lighting up NHL. Was entrusted with our Country's most coveted talent and won with them in USHL. I have no doubt he could navigate the portal, he brought Bailen here from Bowling Green. AHL roster construction is a big part of the job. Telling me Webby and Peca were the reasons he won doesn't hold water. Happy New Year.
Spot on. I always felt that he was more of an AC than HC. He was a good recruiter. The team won because of the talent of the players - not his scheming. They often played undisciplined hockey and the number of players that improved significantly over their careers were few and far between. He sure has had good fortune though - falling into the USNDP spot and then landing in Rochester for an NHL team that has been drafting high for about 10 years in a row.
This talk about getting rid of Smith is premature. The school is coming off of what was pretty close to a death penalty. Gotta give the man 2-3 years to get his roster back in order. The 24-25 season will be the best barometer of where he is at.
Yep, you just fall into those jobs. Wow, I can't even...
News flash look on the recruit thread thats 2 to 3 years out and there is absolutly nothing there not sure there is anyone there who was even recruited by another D1 school there is for sure no one we signed that we were in a recruiting battle for so I don't see us getting much better (we can't get much worse) unless the league gets worse tell me the difference maker coming in.
ServinisScores
I'm an Implant Engineer
Happy New Year to all. It’s great to see all of the interest despite the state of affairs of the program. Interesting to see where the new regime steers the ship in 2024. Cheers to all!
Do we even support our team on this forum? Our starting goaltender returned and the team earned a sweep on the road, after a few weeks of improved play. Not a single positive post about it, just glazing of Seth Appert's tenure (He was 70 games under .500) and constant ripping of Smith. By the way, we have the leading goal scorer in the BCHL committed, you can not say we have no D1 caliber recruits. Come on... Good for Coach Appert, he was a terrific guy, but even he said it went stale here, as evidence by the culture on his last team. Not sure why we can't simultaneously celebrate his accomplishment but also support our new leadership and acknowledge that it is in the past! Things are trending up for this team in the 2nd half, let's get behind the guys! Let's Go Red!
I had written a detailed response then I read yours. Your direction is better. I wish Seth all the best and will watch with interest wherever he goes. However, I'm most interested in our team. We've struggled in games where the defense let the goaltenders down and others when we've let in a few softies that can deflate a team. I didn't see the weekend games from Buffalo, but it appears we got freshman Watson type performance. If we get that for the remainder of the season I think we can be very competitive in the ECAC. We've seen that a team can get on a roll as confidence builds from the net out. Keep the shots from outside, give the goalie a clean look and push the puck up ice knowing they've got a rock behind them.
engineerhockeyfan
PUCKMAN RULES!!!
Seth may not have been the coach that he is now, but saying that it is luck that brought him to his current position is crazy. It is not luck that gets you a job in the AHL and a win in the NHL.
He is a much better coach today than he was at RPI, and luck had nothing to do with that.
As for Smith or any other coach that comes to RPI, the challenges are great. We have not had a winning team in ages, and old building and great competition to recruit against.
And I won't even mention the portal.
It ios going to be a really tough job going forward.
engineerhockeyfan
PUCKMAN RULES!!!
No matter what the subject we are talking about on this board, the one thing that we all agree on is our support for the team no matter what position they are in.
There are people on this thread that have been supporting RPI hockey since the sixties. I have bee supporting them since 1993.
We are crazy passionate and want the best for the team.
At least we have only seen Shirley's name mentioned once in the current discussion. Previous coaches will always come up, even though none of the last three have produced much.
The team seems to have turned it around the last few weekends. And I look forward to 2024. I think we have a real chance to move up in the standings in the ECAC. And anything can happen when the playoffs begin.
Yes looking forward to more ECAC wins. Happy to have 3 WINS out of the last 4. I've been a fan since my 1st game in November 1963. I follow the team regularly.
RPI fan 4 life
Season Ticket Holder since 1974
The most interesting thing about this season compared to last is that 4 of our 5 wins have come on the road, where we only won once all last year.
The next 4 games are in the somewhat friendly confines of HFH and are all ECAC games. If we’re going to make any kind of move up in the standings, the next 2 weeks could be our best chance.
The next 4 games are in the somewhat friendly confines of HFH and are all ECAC games. If we’re going to make any kind of move up in the standings, the next 2 weeks could be our best chance.
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