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RPI 2023 Off-season: We March Fourth Into the Off-season

sezenack said:
We were the only team in the country to lock our players out of the facilities during the covid year and also not allow fans in the building the following year.[/URL]
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Maybe things would have been different had the relationship between Coach and Administration been stronger.
 
sk8tronthepond said:
Maybe things would have been different had the relationship between Coach and Administration been stronger.
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The previous leader had less than zero interest in a "relationship" with coaches...which is why they were left out of ANY of the decisions she made. For folks who have forgotten, I recommend they go back and read Billy Jerry's brutally honest social media post where he laid bare the truth at the time. Athletes, despite having jumped through every hurdle laid before them, were given ZERO chance to be heard and were not kept in the loop on anything prior to the shutdown of athletics. I have absolutely no ill will for any of the guys who departed during this period.
 
DavidSec17 said:
The post game interview with the Cornell goalie was rather telling. He spoke of how when the Ivies decided to shut down during the COVID year, he and Malinski and perhaps another player decided to stay, and stay true to Cornell.
​​​​​​Imagine that.
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The difference likely being that a) they were involved in conversations when the decisions were being made and b) I believe - I'll stand corrected - that Cornell and many/most of the Ivies allowed their teams to work out and practice. This was not the case at RPI. I know for a fact that RPI players went elsewhere to find ice time -- on their own dime - to work out.
 
sk8tronthepond said:
Maybe things would have been different had the relationship between Coach and Administration been stronger.
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All of RPI’s teams were locked out, so we either had dozens of coaches without relationship skills or an administration lacking them. Since the decision-making arm of the administration was one micro-manager at the top, I’m confident there wasn’t much the coaches could have done.
 
Wicked Slappaahs said:
The previous leader had less than zero interest in a "relationship" with coaches...which is why they were left out of ANY of the decisions she made. For folks who have forgotten, I recommend they go back and read Billy Jerry's brutally honest social media post where he laid bare the truth at the time. Athletes, despite having jumped through every hurdle laid before them, were given ZERO chance to be heard and were not kept in the loop on anything prior to the shutdown of athletics. I have absolutely no ill will for any of the guys who departed during this period.
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I agree. Hopefully we will be able to draw a line under that period very soon.
 
Engineers said:
every team in college hockey had to deal with covid and the portal. So in 4/5 years when we still suck are we going to keep saying its covid and the portal? It’s just excuses at this point. The next few years will tell us everything we need to know. If we continue to put up 10/12 win seasons then whats the excuse then?
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You are right, every team did have to deal with covid. Not every team was on the verge of turning their program around when it hit. And losing their #1 goalie when the season was cancelled was not a problem for every team. And not every team had to sit out a year. This is what happened. Not excuses. Not to mention the talented players that followed through the portal.
And I would love it if you could tell me how we avoid being a 10/12 win team under the current conditions. And if your solution is a new coach, I would love to hear who you have in mind.
 
Today is 25 March 2023. There are 196 days (28 weeks) until RPI's next game.


This is based upon 7 October 2023 for the start of next season.
 
RPI67 said:
Jake Johnson an assist. 4 Former players have points today. DrD. 38 years?
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Indeed it has been 38 years since we scored a point in the NCAA tournament. When we were sitting in Joe Louis Arena in March 1985, if anyone had said this was even possible we would have laughed in their face. After all we had been to virtually all of the games from the previous two seasons and watched RPI accumulate a record of 67-8-1 during that time. We were truly the Beast of the East and one of the elite programs of not only that season but perhaps of all time. We were winning games against everyone in all sorts of ways, some by scores that rivaled what the Big 10 did yesterday. We knew that every years could not possibly be like that but certainly we felt we would be competing almost every year in lake Placid and most years in the NCAA tournament even though they only selected 8 teams back then.
There has been so many reasons this could happen including all the changes made in college hockey over the years that many posters have mentioned so I won't mention them all here. But the most obvious and glaring cause is gone and although it may take some time to reverse all of what was done to diminish and almost destroy the program ( and many other aspects of the school), i hope to still be around to see the resurgence. There are still enough of us who continue to follow and post here who can remember the best of times and some of the glorious moments. I truly hope we are all still here to celebrate together. we may not be as far from that as some would think. We just saw the first round of the NCAA tournament with 6 boys who would have and could have been playing for us this past year - perhaps we were closer than it appeared?
 
DrDemento said:
Indeed it has been 38 years since we scored a point in the NCAA tournament. When we were sitting in Joe Louis Arena in March 1985, if anyone had said this was even possible we would have laughed in their face. After all we had been to virtually all of the games from the previous two seasons and watched RPI accumulate a record of 67-8-1 during that time. We were truly the Beast of the East and one of the elite programs of not only that season but perhaps of all time. We were winning games against everyone in all sorts of ways, some by scores that rivaled what the Big 10 did yesterday. We knew that every years could not possibly be like that but certainly we felt we would be competing almost every year in lake Placid and most years in the NCAA tournament even though they only selected 8 teams back then.
There has been so many reasons this could happen including all the changes made in college hockey over the years that many posters have mentioned so I won't mention them all here. But the most obvious and glaring cause is gone and although it may take some time to reverse all of what was done to diminish and almost destroy the program ( and many other aspects of the school), i hope to still be around to see the resurgence. There are still enough of us who continue to follow and post here who can remember the best of times and some of the glorious moments. I truly hope we are all still here to celebrate together. we may not be as far from that as some would think. We just saw the first round of the NCAA tournament with 6 boys who would have and could have been playing for us this past year - perhaps we were closer than it appeared?
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I'll go along with the idea that we may have been closer than it appeared.

Let it be noted that RPI was the only team to beat Colgate twice during the ECAC regular season.

Colgate not only made it to Lake Placid this year but won the ECAC championship and earned a spot in the NCAA tournament. That 11-1 debacle last night against Michigan was not one they're likely to remember very fondly, but by the time the year 2060 rolls around, it still won't be possible for anyone to say that it's been 38 years since Colgate scored in an NCAA tournament game.
 
Today is 27 March 2023. There are 194 days until RPI's next game.


This is based upon 7 October 2023 for the start of next season.
 
Last edited:
I get the angst and the frustration. As a 33 year season ticket holder, I have not seen the success others here have. But I still come back every year and , when I can, I have added the women’s team to my schedule as well.

No one here or associated with the program can do anything at all about the past. We can’t undo what SAJ did or didn’t do. Dave Smith can only do so much. Especially if players leave looking for greener pastures which exacerbates the problem . I don’t blame them. I think there are many other programs in the same boat. But we should recognize that changing one or two things like firing Smith and getting a new coach will not solve this.

Look at Colgate. They are a decent team most years. Not outstanding. They have just made the tournament for the first time in eons with an end of the season flourish similar to what we did a few years back. But Vaughn has been there a long time and they built a nice rink. I respect what they have in Hamilton.

We won’t go from where we are to the cream of the crop all of a sudden, if at all, but we can aim for a decent program with good players, and an occasional star or two, playing a competitive system and look towards a better or new facility. I look forward to that.
 
engineerhockeyfan said:
You are right, every team did have to deal with covid. Not every team was on the verge of turning their program around when it hit. And losing their #1 goalie when the season was cancelled was not a problem for every team. And not every team had to sit out a year. This is what happened. Not excuses. Not to mention the talented players that followed through the portal.
And I would love it if you could tell me how we avoid being a 10/12 win team under the current conditions. And if your solution is a new coach, I would love to hear who you have in mind.
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All true. I read with interest the CHN interview done a few days ago with Mike Schaefer. He specifically refers to the culture they try to build in Ithaca and how detrimental the portal is. It's worth a read.

https://www.collegehockeynews.com/ne...hafer,-the.php

""Guys leaving your program, guys jumping in the portal — seems like kids don't know how to fight through adversity anymore. There's a lack (of) character and integrity. Schools decommit guys, kids decommit....."

Note: That I'm referring more to the portal conundrum in general, not the RPI kids who left during SAJ's Covid reign.
 
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