RPI 22-23: Objective needs to be top 6

[hab]

Had to post, if for no other reason, to knock the "RPI is gone" thread off the first page. Gave me chest pains when I saw it.

The ECAC Coaches poll has RPI at #10...no surprise there. Big gap between #8 and the rest, suggests that a playoff run will be challenging. Surprised that Rampado didnt get at least a couple votes for Goalie. Looking forward to the Engineers making the playoffs and Rampado as #1 goalie by the end of the year. Nice to have challenges.
https://www.uscho.com/2022/09/26/de...y-favorite-in-2022-23-preseason-coaches-poll/.

 

[DrDemento]

From the only source I have, our girls are a 0.5 goal underdog for the first game. Good luck ladies!!

 

[hab]

Looks like the cheapest way to watch the RPI/St.Cloud series is by selecting a single sport (hockey) on the bigtenplus site, then selecting monthly pass, for $15.

 

[hab]

I try not to put much focus on exhibition games. The coach is mostly watching how certain players perform in a game situation vs practice. However, sezenack is right, if we had a lot of talent on the team it should have resulted in a comfortable win against University de Montreal. The weekend against St. Cloud will tell us more. ST. Cloud is showing up as #7 out of 8 in WCHA pre-season polls. WCHA and ECAC are the two toughest conferences, so arguably, RPI and ST.Cloud should be competitive. This series may be a big boost for one team and alarm bells for the other.

Loud alarm bells for RPI. They lose their opener to St. Cloud 5-0. Badly outplayed throughout the game. No real offence and some astonishing defensive breakdowns. I was hoping to see some promise from the freshmen. Christoff is good, will play on the top two lines and the PP and PK. Beaudoin played but I didn't notice her. Jones got a lot of ice time on D but looked pretty shaky at times. Toye did not dress. Some of our top performers from last year didn't show much in this game. Wagner is always solid, of course. Searching for something more positive to say...maybe I will find it tomorrow?

 

[sezenack]

Could be a long year

 

[hab]

Much better effort by the Engineers but still a loss 3-2. Didn't see all of the game but they looked quite competitive with the Huskies during the parts that I did see. Philip and Larsen looked good despite being victims of 2 penalty calls in the first period that gave St. Cloud a 2 goal lead. Philip was doing what she does best (aggressive forecheck) but made contact with the goalie; Larsen put Lind on her backside (who can blame her...Lind played a chippy game). Blitz had a strong game. All four freshmen were dressed and saw some ice time. Surprised that McCutcheon didn't dress and was not a factor yesterday.

 

[hab]

recruit announcement: https://www.instagram.com/p/CjMDJbMO_qG/.

 

[DrDemento]

Much better effort by the Engineers but still a loss 3-2. Didn't see all of the game but they looked quite competitive with the Huskies during the parts that I did see. Philip and Larsen looked good despite being victims of 2 penalty calls in the first period that gave St. Cloud a 2 goal lead. Philip was doing what she does best (aggressive forecheck) but made contact with the goalie; Larsen put Lind on her backside (who can blame her...Lind played a chippy game). Blitz had a strong game. All four freshmen were dressed and saw some ice time. Surprised that McCutcheon didn't dress and was not a factor yesterday.

They did look a lot better - yesterday there was some instance of good play but (Saturday) it was like they did not know who else was out there. Almost like five fingers looking to become a hand and get a grip. Today there was more control and flow, but still a loss. They fell behind by 2 goals quickly when they were put down 2 ladies on a 5 on 3 power play and never really could totally recover. But they showed a lot more in this game than i expected. BTW I did not see either McCutcheon or Toye on the ice but I admit I did not see the entire game either. At least today, we did not look like we did not belong on the ice with St. Cloud.

 

[Ralph Baer]

recruit announcement: https://www.instagram.com/p/CjMDJbMO_qG/.

I added her to the recruit list.

 

[hab]

Another good non-conference test for the Engineers on this coming weekend. BU and Providence are teams rated consistent with the 3rd quartile of ECAC teams, so about the quality of team that should make the playoffs in the ECAC.

 

[sezenack]

Another good non-conference test for the Engineers on this coming weekend. BU and Providence are teams rated consistent with the 3rd quartile of ECAC teams, so about the quality of team that should make the playoffs in the ECAC.

What do you think the expectation of the weekend should be? Split?

 

[DrDemento]

What do you think the expectation of the weekend should be? Split?

Sez: Saw your question. I think this team is certainly capable of at least a split or even a road sweep. Neither of the opponents are considered top tier and the odds makers have us as a 1/2 goal underdog both games. Basically they are giving the slightest of edges due to home ice advantage. These should be very low scoring affairs as the over/under is 3.5 goals and they could both be 2-1 results (without any empty net goals). Those kinds of games are distinctly winnable as our offense may not need to score much. But they will have to find a way to score. Much will depend on who the coaches have on the ice for the games. Is everyone healthy? Always have to worry about flu season which has already started very early this year and which can be an important effect especially when traveling for 2 road games. A very good weekend performance could be a tremendous boost in confidence for the ladies!

 

[hab]

What do you think the expectation of the weekend should be? Split?

As a fan, I would say a split. But if I had to put money on it, I would say two close losses.

 

[hab]

As a fan, I would say a split. But if I had to put money on it, I would say two close losses.

Not happy about being right on the two losses, and they weren't as close as I had hoped. Big family weekend in Cda so I wasn't able to watch the games but the box scores were not encouraging.

However, this still seems to be a team with spirit and a desire to progress. Two more good tests coming up against teams that are 'comparable' (i.e. beatable but also tough). How many points will we win in 4 home games vs Mercy and RIT?

 

[hab]

Not happy about being right on the two losses, and they weren't as close as I had hoped. Big family weekend in Cda so I wasn't able to watch the games but the box scores were not encouraging.

However, this still seems to be a team with spirit and a desire to progress. Two more good tests coming up against teams that are 'comparable' (i.e. beatable but also tough). How many points will we win in 4 home games vs Mercy and RIT?

When I say that these teams are 'comparable' I am clearly reflecting my own assessment of RPI (bias?). The Ratings Percentage Index and other stats suggest RPI is weaker than both RIT and Mercyhurst. I think RPI will come away with 4 points out of a potential 8, maybe more.

 

[ARM]

I was surprised that RIT was able to light up St. Michael twice. St. Michael has been one of the weakest teams in D-I, but the Tigers haven't been synonymous with offense of late. If you get more than a point from Mercyhurst, I would say that's a very positive sign for the Engineers.

 

[DrDemento]

It appears we are capable of playing fairly well for up to two periods. The last 20-25 minutes of games seem to be a nightmare scenario.

 

[hab]

It appears we are capable of playing fairly well for up to two periods. The last 20-25 minutes of games seem to be a nightmare scenario.

We appear to be competitive for a couple of periods, defensively, but we have shown almost zero offensive strength in any period so far. I may sound like a broken record on this (have said the same thing in previous years), but if you cant recruit the players that can dominate in the open ice, but can recruit fast, tough, enthusiastic players, you need to do two things well: 1)forecheck very aggressively so that the opponent cannot set up their open ice plays (you will give up more 3 on 2s, so also practice that); 2) make sure that you have at least one forward crowding the blue paint with eyes on the puck and stick on the ice every time you are in the opponents end (again, you will give up some 3 on 2s but practice that, and depend on your goalie...). Don't let the opponent take the game to you...rattle them. The best glimmers of light that I have seen in recent years have been when the team has done those 2 things well. We have the talent to do it this year...I could name the forwards who would fit one of those two roles but I won't. It is up to the coaching staff to encourage them to use their talents.

 

[DrDemento]

We appear to be competitive for a couple of periods, defensively, but we have shown almost zero offensive strength in any period so far. I may sound like a broken record on this (have said the same thing in previous years), but if you cant recruit the players that can dominate in the open ice, but can recruit fast, tough, enthusiastic players, you need to do two things well: 1)forecheck very aggressively so that the opponent cannot set up their open ice plays (you will give up more 3 on 2s, so also practice that); 2) make sure that you have at least one forward crowding the blue paint with eyes on the puck and stick on the ice every time you are in the opponents end (again, you will give up some 3 on 2s but practice that, and depend on your goalie...). Don't let the opponent take the game to you...rattle them. The best glimmers of light that I have seen in recent years have been when the team has done those 2 things well. We have the talent to do it this year...I could name the forwards who would fit one of those two roles but I won't. It is up to the coaching staff to encourage them to use their talents.

You were able to sum up my feelings very eloquently. I am not indicating that we should be a top 6 team but I have wondered how much of our difficulties is talent related and how much is coaching. This weekend may give us more of an indication.

 

[hab]

I should clarify that my comments were not meant as a criticism of the current coaching staff. I am not close enough to the team to know one way or the other whether we have the right coaches to do the job, so I am always prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt. I was merely offering some observations as a fan, that in a tough conference like the ECAC we may have little success playing the game that our opponents want us to play. We need to move the opponent out of their comfort zone...surprise them a little with a more "in your face" style of hockey. Take some chances. We probably have the goalie who can bail us out a few times each game when those chances backfire with odd man rushes or penalties for being too aggressive on the forecheck or on the edge of the blue paint.