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RPI 2024 Off-Season: Was 2023 – 2024 Just a Bad Dream?

Today is 6 April 2024. There are 182 days (26 weeks) until RPI's next game.


This is based upon 5 October 2024 for the start of next season.
 
Let me tell you something as a fan of the CCHA.. Giesbrecht is absolute beast with Pro ability. He was done with all loses at Ferris
I was hoping he would end up at Tech, he is a game changer
 
Today is 7 April 2024. There are 181 days until RPI's next game.


This is based upon 5 October 2024 for the start of next season.
 
Puckstopper467 said:
Let me tell you something as a fan of the CCHA.. Giesbrecht is absolute beast with Pro ability. He was done with all loses at Ferris
I was hoping he would end up at Tech, he is a game changer
Click to expand...

I have followed hockey for a long time but I think this might be the first time i have ever heard of a goalie described as a beast. Now if we can only add 2 or 3 defense men with that description, we might have something!
 
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Puckstopper467 said:
Let me tell you something as a fan of the CCHA.. Giesbrecht is absolute beast with Pro ability. He was done with all loses at Ferris
I was hoping he would end up at Tech, he is a game changer
Click to expand...

Sounds like we have a goalie competition.
That should be motivation for Watson to return to his freshman form.
 
DrDemento said:
I have followed hockey for a long time but I think this might be the first time i have ever heard of a goalie described as a beast. Now if we can only add 2 or 3 defense men with that description, we might have something!
Click to expand...

tell me Doc, you have not forgot about our own Neil Little? A beast on and OFF the ice!!
 
DrDemento said:
I maintain that if we can put a decent group of defensive players on the ice in front of him he will exceed his freshman form and be a top tier goaltender.
Click to expand...

There were a lot of problems last season, but one of the biggest problems was defense. Sure, our offense wasn't great, but compared to teams putting up similar goal-scoring numbers, with goals allowed closer to 100 rather than 150, hypothetically we could have been a much more competitive team in ECAC.
I know there is going to be a lot of turnover from this season to next season, so there is really no telling what to expect from RPI, but if Dave somehow fixes the defense in the offseason, hypothetically our goalies will be in front of the firing squad less, so goals allowed per game goes down. If our defense is better, hypothetically speaking we get it into the hands of our offense more, so shots increase, and goals scored increase.
At the end of the day, the team who scores the most goals wins the game. While I don't trust Dave to make the right choices in the offseason to get the team back on track next season, assuming he does and assuming ECAC has another off-year next year, maybe we'll do better in the regular season so our playoff bracket isn't quite as hard.
 
RPI Hockey Guy said:
There were a lot of problems last season, but one of the biggest problems was defense. Sure, our offense wasn't great, but compared to teams putting up similar goal-scoring numbers, with goals allowed closer to 100 rather than 150, hypothetically we could have been a much more competitive team in ECAC.
I know there is going to be a lot of turnover from this season to next season, so there is really no telling what to expect from RPI, but if Dave somehow fixes the defense in the offseason, hypothetically our goalies will be in front of the firing squad less, so goals allowed per game goes down. If our defense is better, hypothetically speaking we get it into the hands of our offense more, so shots increase, and goals scored increase.
At the end of the day, the team who scores the most goals wins the game. While I don't trust Dave to make the right choices in the offseason to get the team back on track next season, assuming he does and assuming ECAC has another off-year next year, maybe we'll do better in the regular season so our playoff bracket isn't quite as hard.
Click to expand...

Sensible as usual. The flip side is that the team that allows the least goals is also usually the winner. Cornell has proven that for so many seasons in the ECAC. I think all of us here are on the same page and have mentioned all the things we need to see improve. Winning face offs would make a difference and of course, not having the worst special teams in the country would also have made for a far better season.
 
Today is 8 April 2024. There are 180 days until RPI's next game.


This is based upon 5 October 2024 for the start of next season.
 
Defense can be taught. You don't need a bunch of all stars to play defense. You need a system that 20 guys buy into.
Cornell and Q do it every year. They are always in position. They don't make flashy blind passes, and they get the puck out of there zone as soon as possible. No hesitation.
It takes a lot of preparation and a willingness to play the part of the game that is not glamorous.
I bet it could even be done with the players we have, if they would only buy in.
 
DrDemento said:
I maintain that if we can put a decent group of defensive players on the ice in front of him he will exceed his freshman form and be a top tier goaltender.
Click to expand...

Completely agree Doc. As you have repeatedly said, Cornell and Qpac do it every year -- they limit Grade A scoring chances by rock solid positional play and effort by all five skaters AND SUPPORT away from the puck...a concept that RPI completely whiffed on this season, for whatever reason. At its core, great defense is about mentality and determination.
 
engineerhockeyfan said:
Defense can be taught. You don't need a bunch of all stars to play defense. You need a system that 20 guys buy into.
Cornell and Q do it every year. They are always in position. They don't make flashy blind passes, and they get the puck out of there zone as soon as possible. No hesitation.
It takes a lot of preparation and a willingness to play the part of the game that is not glamorous.
I bet it could even be done with the players we have, if they would only buy in.
Click to expand...

To reiterate your point, RPI has had four coaches since I started watching, Buddy Powers, Dan Fridgen, Seth Appert and Dave Smith. RPI has been making bonehead passes in the defensive zone under all of them, so I don’t know if this is a coaching issue rather than a player issue.
 
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CMcGarvey said:
RPI has picked up commits from UMASS LD Elliott McDermott and Brown C/LW Jordan Tonelli
Click to expand...

I did a quick Google of Elliott's career at UMASS. What I found interesting was it looks for his first two years he played at Colgate. Looks like he's returning to ECAC. According to the UMASS website, in his second year at Colgate, he blocked 80 shots in 40 games (averaging 20 per game). That stat seems really high, can anyone confirm if that's a misprint on the website?
 
Tonelli was hurt a bit this year, but he was 2nd in xG per game for Brown and led them in PK TOI per game, which operated at 81%. Think he is a good fit in the middle 6 and will help defensively and on the PK
 
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