RPI 2025–26: Off the Critical List and In Recovery

[Engineers]

On Lang's press conference, I think it's useful to set down that type of marker early on.

College hockey has fundamentally changed. The ability to transfer so easily will reshape what coaching looks like. Even if our ambition is to have four-year or multi-year players, we're going to be recruiting continually to improve our team and these players will equally be looking to showcase their abilities to others, if needed. So he's made it clear - if you think you're good, you've got to prove it, because we're ambitious about improving, getting in better guys and winning.

And he kind of has nothing to lose at this point. He's made it clear this is a ground-up rebuild. So presumably the competitive spirit means he wants to win, but he can push the players to sink or swim because he knows he's going to have to upgrade next year.

You’re 100% correct. I also think Langs time at West Point influenced his coaching style. West Point does not get the most talented players due to the military commitment after 4 years but West Point teams are some of the hardest working most disciplined teams there are. They play a hard nosed structured game which is something RPI has been lacking for a long time. Lang expects this from his teams no question.

 

[Ralph Baer]

I agree doc. I’m a fan of the no bullshit approach. Lang is no nonsense and I love it.
He’s absolutely correct he needs more talent which will come. He inherited a mess which lang himself said is a 3 year rebuild. He was hired to rebuild the program not blow smoke

I am concerned of the lack of commitments for future years. Although we do not have a lot of players who will be completing their eligibility after this year, IMHO we should not rely on getting about ten recruits from the portal every year.

 

[DrDemento]

I am concerned of the lack of commitments for future years. Although we do not have a lot of players who will be completing their eligibility after this year, IMHO we should not rely on getting about ten recruits from the portal every year.

RB I have some concerns as you do. But people with far more knowledge and insight into college recruiting have been telling me to just be patient. With all the recent changes in NCAA rules for recruiting, the environment has been drastically altered. A big part of this is all about the sheckels and gelt. Advisors (really agents and lawyers) are trying to figure out the landscape which has become very complicated in an attempt to reap the largest benefits. There is no shortage of talented hockey players in the age groups in question. Some are very talented, some a bit less. But there are a large enough number that all the Division I schools will feel the trickle down effect that will inevitably happen once the top tier programs fill their quotas. I have reason to believe that our new coach understands this far better than we do and is simply keeping his option open while holding his cards close to his vest. I think we can pretty much throw out all the old rules we have followed over all the previous years of recruiting.

 

[Wicked Slappaahs]

I am concerned of the lack of commitments for future years. Although we do not have a lot of players who will be completing their eligibility after this year, IMHO we should not rely on getting about ten recruits from the portal every year.

Exactly RB...especially with RPI apparently having nothing resembling a robust NIL operation, as far I can tell.

 

[Wicked Slappaahs]

I don't have any problem with players being held accountable. Pretty sure I was clear on that. What I thought he went too far on was saying we need better players..etc.
The entire world knows this of course, but when you announce this to your team, and the press and the fans following your 2nd league game there's a risk that some of those kids in your locker room are gonna walk around thinking "coach thinks we're dog-$$$$.." Just my opinion ... I'll leave the sports psychology to the experts.

But as RB said, I'd feel a whole lot better if we had a head start on a long list of CHL kids, which we currently do not. I would note that AC Schneider was not on the bench at Union last Friday, not sure about Sat. as I didn't see the game. One could assume he was (hopefully) beating the bushes in the wilds of Ontario.

 

[Ralph Baer]

RB I have some concerns as you do. But people with far more knowledge and insight into college recruiting have been telling me to just be patient. With all the recent changes in NCAA rules for recruiting, the environment has been drastically altered. A big part of this is all about the sheckels and gelt. Advisors (really agents and lawyers) are trying to figure out the landscape which has become very complicated in an attempt to reap the largest benefits. There is no shortage of talented hockey players in the age groups in question. Some are very talented, some a bit less. But there are a large enough number that all the Division I schools will feel the trickle down effect that will inevitably happen once the top tier programs fill their quotas. I have reason to believe that our new coach understands this far better than we do and is simply keeping his option open while holding his cards close to his vest. I think we can pretty much throw out all the old rules we have followed over all the previous years of recruiting.

Part of my concern is due to comparison with our primary hockey competition, the other ECAC schools.

I look at Heisenberg's list https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...aS4QMqcRCyJDIxqkaOOjk/htmlview#gid=1466169803 and see that most have more listed (shaded entries). However, if the other schools have as many errors as we do, this may be moot. There are three RPI CHL recruits listed with only Dwyer being accurate.

 

[DrDemento]

I understand and see the same thing. And it is a bit concerning but far from any panic time. With only 60+ NCAA Division I programs and each having only a limited number of slots to fill, the demand is not unlimited. But the possible supply has been expanded greatly. At least that is what I am being led to believe. Obviously the CHL will have a major impact. But I suspect that the number of European boys wanting to try their skates on NCAA ice will also be showing a considerable increase. From what I am hearing, the European economies are not exactly soaring and if these boys are looking for a way to reach the higher paying levels of hockey, many of them will be wanting to be putting their skates down on American ice. We have seen the influx of Latvian, Swedish, Finnish, and Russian boys into NCAA hockey already and from a couple sources i am being told that Slovakian and Czech fellows are brushing up on their English rapidly.
I agree totally with you because I do not see Troy as their first stop to investigate, but as Denver and Boston and other areas fill their quotas, those that really want to be her will perhaps be heading our way. it just might not be the first wave and might take a season or two.

 

[DavidNardolillo]

I don't have any problem with players being held accountable. Pretty sure I was clear on that. What I thought he went too far on was saying we need better players..etc.

I noticed that, too, but If I recall correctly he went on to provide examples of skills (passing over/under sticks through the neutral zone) that RPI could not do yet, or something to that effect, so it kind of left it open that his current players could improve. So I thought it was an attempt to add some motivation after the coach used plenty of other euphemisms to describe what he clearly thought was poor effort.

You are right, though, that this language might land differently with 20-22 year-olds that still have goals they want to accomplish in their hockey careers, than with the fanbase.

And sometimes the honest message needs a little twist to give the current players some belief. I've seen one college coach that took over an awful program admit to the remaining players during his first team meeting that he'd be bringing in better athletes, then said right after "but we are going to win with what we have in this room." That team went from last place in their conference to middle of the pack the very next season.

 

[RPI Hockey Guy]

Big weekend for RPI.

Friday night vs SLU: This is RPI's first time playing a team that is below .500 in winning to this point. Both teams are in similar boats: 1 win, 2 times shutout in non-exhibition games. SLU has 1 tie. SLU has 6 losses, RPI has 7. Both teams desperately need to find something to hold on to to try to get their head back above water and find some momentum.

Saturday night vs Clarkson: On paper Clarkson is likely as hard, if not harder of an opponent than Union. They have some very good wins this season against very good teams, they also have taken some bad losses. If RPI is to be comparative, they will need to have good goaltending, as well as taking advantage of every opportunity they get, because there's a good chance they don't get many. The good news is, we play them second, so hopefully Union can tire them out on Friday.

The biggest question is how does RPI respond after last weekend?

 

[Waite21]

The meeting between RPI and SLU sounds like the resistible force meeting the movable object.

RPI is 0-5-0 at home. SLU is 0-5-0 on the road.

One of those records has to improve. Hope it's the Engineers'.

 

[Wicked Slappaahs]

I noticed that, too, but If I recall correctly he went on to provide examples of skills (passing over/under sticks through the neutral zone) that RPI could not do yet, or something to that effect, so it kind of left it open that his current players could improve. So I thought it was an attempt to add some motivation after the coach used plenty of other euphemisms to describe what he clearly thought was poor effort.

You are right, though, that this language might land differently with 20-22 year-olds that still have goals they want to accomplish in their hockey careers, than with the fanbase.

And sometimes the honest message needs a little twist to give the current players some belief. I've seen one college coach that took over an awful program admit to the remaining players during his first team meeting that he'd be bringing in better athletes, then said right after "but we are going to win with what we have in this room." That team went from last place in their conference to middle of the pack the very next season.

Spot on DN.

 

[Wicked Slappaahs]

I missed it, but over on the CHL to NCAA thread they linked stories involving the USHL joining the CHL as the 4th Major Junior league including trademark applications for:
"National Junior Hockey League and NHJL".

 

[tony/troy]

Last night's replay credit to Tom Coughlin https://www.empire8network.com/utica/?B=2886986. What a game, what a win!

Whenever you think a 1-8 start is bad and your team is the worst of the worst and absolutely no one at any level can screw up as bad your team, check out this collage of brain freezes (fa---) these jabronies pulled off. At least our team hasn't done anything like this (yet)!!!

Obviously, no need to watch the whole thing. Proceed to EXACTLY 2 hours and 41 minutes of the above link, which I hope works, and get a load of the rest.

 

[tony/troy]

Friday attendance 1,308. Knew something was wrong when I drove up to the place and there were absolutely no parking lot attendants to be found anywhere. You could have pulled into any of the available spots in any of the lots for free and without a parking pass as there was no one there to stop you!!!

Believe my second and fourth RPI Hockey games I ever saw were RPI vs. SLU. The second ended the 1964-1965 season (a mediocre 10-10-2 season) while the fourth was early in the 1965-1966 season (an infamous 3-19 season), yet both were damned near sellouts. In the original building that held over 5,200 no less!!!

What the hell has happened to this program and who the hell is the blame for it??? Pretty damned sure a vote for the latter would result in a landslide victory for a certain someone.

Is there really any realistic path out of what appears to be a death spiral???

 

[engineerhockeyfan]

The beginning of the downfall in attendance goes back to when they mo9ved the band to the stands. JMO
When they were visible to the fans, they put on a show of their own.
Even in losses, they entertained the crowd with their antics.
Now, nobody even knows they are there.
As for the teams the last 25 years, they haven't exactly lit up arena.
and who is going to want to pay to see this team?
If you want to fill up the HFH, win enough games to make it worth while to go to a game.
I know who you want to blame, but it all falls on the players and the coaches.
We know this was going to be a challenging season, but nobody expected this.

 

[vicious]

Friday attendance 1,308. Knew something was wrong when I drove up to the place and there were absolutely no parking lot attendants to be found anywhere. You could have pulled into any of the available spots in any of the lots for free and without a parking pass as there was no one there to stop you!!!

Believe my second and fourth RPI Hockey games I ever saw were RPI vs. SLU. The second ended the 1964-1965 season (a mediocre 10-10-2 season) while the fourth was early in the 1965-1966 season (an infamous 3-19 season), yet both were damned near sellouts. In the original building that held over 5,200 no less!!!

What the hell has happened to this program and who the hell is the blame for it??? Pretty damned sure a vote for the latter would result in a landslide victory for a certain someone.

Is there really any realistic path out of what appears to be a death spiral???

The beginning of the downfall in attendance goes back to when they mo9ved the band to the stands. JMO
When they were visible to the fans, they put on a show of their own.
Even in losses, they entertained the crowd with their antics.
Now, nobody even knows they are there.
As for the teams the last 25 years, they haven't exactly lit up arena.
and who is going to want to pay to see this team?
If you want to fill up the HFH, win enough games to make it worth while to go to a game.
I know who you want to blame, but it all falls on the players and the coaches.
We know this was going to be a challenging season, but nobody expected this.

I was at the game last night and couldn't help but notice tons of empty seats on the "townie" side. My guess is that's where we've seen the biggest loss in attendance (although it seems far fewer students attend as well) has occurred. Many of the season ticket holders were older fans who'd been with the program for decades. I sat in Section 9 for years and used to see many familiar faces on my way up to Row P. Games were an "event" and many of our local elected officials attended. Now, many of the season ticket holders of the last 30-40-50 years, who stuck through thick and thin, are gone and no one has replaced them.

With the struggles on-ice of the last 20 years and the condition of the facility, the program isn't giving casual hockey fans in the area or people looking for alternative to binge-watching Netflix and other streaming media, any real reason to give RPI hockey a try. The program just hasn't been able to grow or expand the fan base to replace those it has lost over the years. We're pretty passionate fans on this board; how many of us are under 50? I'll throw in that when I started watching this team (in the late 70s), high scoring games were common. Now goalies are much better and the style of play is very different, and low-scoring games (2-0 or 3-1 scores) are the norm.

If you're trying to attract new fans, it certainly doesn't help that local sports media all but ignores college hockey in favor of all things UAlbany and Siena.

The good news is, I think we're on the right path. It started with a new president and AD who actually care about the program. A major renovation begins right at the end of the season. Lang said this will take time, and 9 games and one month into his first season. Yes we all want to win and I think the pieces to get there are beginning to come together, but it will take time. My expectations for this season are "no expectations." New coach and 20 new players, and a totally different college hockey landscape, this is a complete re-set and I don't think it's about the W's and L's right now. The team is playing with more energy and an up-tempo, more physical style than we've seen in some time. Krawhuck is emerging as a pleasant surprise. From Lang's statements since taking the job, it's about building a new culture, a new identity of outworking the other guys, finding hidden gems on the recruiting trail, and getting those pieces in place, and an upgrade on the facility side of things. Pull all these pieces together and I think we're looking at brighter days ahead.

 

[DrDemento]

As most of you know, I have followed RPI and the hockey program for over 60 years. Obviously there have been a lot of changes and the program is in no way the same as it was years ago. But one thing to remember when discussing the attendance. 30, 40, 50 or so years ago the only way you could closely follow the games was to go up to the field house and buy a ticket (or season tickets for that matter) and sit your butt in a seat and watch the games live and in person. Sure you could listen to the wonder WRPI radio broadcasts but as we all know, hockey is certainly a sport you really need to see in person and live. But we became blessed with RPI-TV and their incredible broadcasts and suddenly there was not as urgent a reason for a trip to the field house. And then the switch to ESPN+ coverage (and sometimes broadcasts on SNY) and there are even less reasons to leave the house. Tony/Troy and Vicious are absolutely correct and i agree with all that they have posted about the attendance problem. The live experience of RPI hockey at the field house is nothing like it used to be for the reasons mentioned. But now when you have the choice of sitting home (or in our case at a pub) watching the game on a big screen and comfortably sipping something alcoholic or driving to Troy in heavy and dangerous traffic (at times) to sit in uncomfortable seats in a half empty rink - well, the choice becomes rather simple. There has to be incentives to change this choice and as of right now, they just are not there.

 

[marty74]

Friday attendance 1,308. Knew something was wrong when I drove up to the place and there were absolutely no parking lot attendants to be found anywhere. You could have pulled into any of the available spots in any of the lots for free and without a parking pass as there was no one there to stop you!!!

This is problematic. The parking issue extends to adding a small bit of danger to pedestrians walking up from Burdett. Not only are we dodging cars that are able to turn into the main lot from the west side - the parking horses were never put in position last night - but there is no safety officer blocking traffic when we cross to the fieldhouse. Of course, there aren't many cars on the road to the high lots but it still is disconcerting.

The beginning of the downfall in attendance goes back to when they mo9ved the band to the stands. JMO

I would agree here and I am glad you mentioned it as it brings back good memories even as it points out a significant problem. (Also it has to be said that not only does "Puckman Rules" ring true but his creator, Randy Rumph is an amazing artist.

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I was at the game last night and couldn't help but notice tons of empty seats on the "townie" side. My guess is that's where we've seen the biggest loss in attendance (although it seems far fewer students attend as well) has occurred. Many of the season ticket holders were older fans who'd been with the program for decades. I sat in Section 9 for years and used to see many familiar faces on my way up to Row P. Games were an "event" and many of our local elected officials attended. Now, many of the season ticket holders of the last 30-40-50 years, who stuck through thick and thin, are gone and no one has replaced them.

Completely true but the student section looks empty from Section 8 and was a sad sight last night too. It has been sparsely filled during the games this season.

But now when you have the choice of sitting home (or in our case at a pub) watching the game on a big screen and comfortably sipping something alcoholic or driving to Troy in heavy and dangerous traffic (at times) to sit in uncomfortable seats in a half empty rink - well, the choice becomes rather simple. There has to be incentives to change this choice and as of right now, they just are not there.

While I agree with the point of your post the last time I remember being in heavy and dangerous traffic in Troy was in the 60's and 70's. But your mileage may vary.

I hope that the program can rebound not just on the ice but in the stands. I have had season tickets since 1997 or so. Not only is the rink near empty but the "Refs in Section 7" are silent as well. A little bone headed heckling goes a long way. I feel bad that the attendance is so poor and empathetic in that most RPI students will not have this as part of their undergrad experience. It is a game almost everyone can learn to love but if you never find your seat in Houston you will never experience that thrill and awe. As someone who makes at least one annual pilgrimage to Lynah I feel bad that the traditions are dying in Troy.

 

[vicious]

As most of you know, I have followed RPI and the hockey program for over 60 years. Obviously there have been a lot of changes and the program is in no way the same as it was years ago. But one thing to remember when discussing the attendance. 30, 40, 50 or so years ago the only way you could closely follow the games was to go up to the field house and buy a ticket (or season tickets for that matter) and sit your butt in a seat and watch the games live and in person. Sure you could listen to the wonder WRPI radio broadcasts but as we all know, hockey is certainly a sport you really need to see in person and live. But we became blessed with RPI-TV and their incredible broadcasts and suddenly there was not as urgent a reason for a trip to the field house. And then the switch to ESPN+ coverage (and sometimes broadcasts on SNY) and there are even less reasons to leave the house. Tony/Troy and Vicious are absolutely correct and i agree with all that they have posted about the attendance problem. The live experience of RPI hockey at the field house is nothing like it used to be for the reasons mentioned. But now when you have the choice of sitting home (or in our case at a pub) watching the game on a big screen and comfortably sipping something alcoholic or driving to Troy in heavy and dangerous traffic (at times) to sit in uncomfortable seats in a half empty rink - well, the choice becomes rather simple. There has to be incentives to change this choice and as of right now, they just are not there.

All true. Do any of the insiders know what kind of numbers the games on ESPN+ draw?

 

[NYhockeyguy]

On top of what everyone else has mentioned, the HFH makes buying a ticket a chore.

For some reason that I will never understand, they have CC readers at the concessions, but not at the box office. They essentially purchase the ticket for you online, typing in your CC info, confirming your zip code, and asking for your phone number to text you the ticket. Even with the pathetic attendance, they can’t clear the lines when transactions that should take a minute take 3+ minutes per person.

I was behind a student who was perplexed they were being asked to pick a specific seat in the student section which had always been GA. Asking everyone to pick a specific seat in a section that you will share with 20 other people is a waste of time.

Tickets have gone up to $18 for regular games, but half the games are $22 “premium games”. Half the home schedule cannot be premium games when our team itself isn’t premium. They are 3-18-1 at HFH dating back to last season, nobody wants to pay extra to watch them get beat by a “premium” team. Add on $2 per ticket if you want to buy the ticket yourself online so you can actually get inside for puck drop.

I think coach Lang is the right guy to right the ship, and it’s going to take some time. But, in the interim, the trek up hill and through the box office, to an empty building becomes less appealing every week.