RPI 22-23: Objective needs to be top 6

[HockeyDad2023]

Rampado like Lovisa of the past...she has been the difference maker here...tough to watch good goaltenders have to play behind these teams...how is it that they've had top end goalies and struggle to make the playoffs every year...Burke era was the same as this one except Burke was in playoffs...Should they look to go after a coach that can get them to turn the corner? Would they ever throw a flyer at proven assistants...there are some good ones within ECAC already...or are they going to keep things status quo?

 

[Cornholio]

It has been discussed before on how hard it is to recruit at RPI, especially for the women. Look at the majors of most of the players. They are nearly all engineering or other STEM. If you are not a nerd RPI is a hard school to be at. Not too many majors outside engineering other than the business school, and the business school is still very math/STEM-like unlike other programs. It is a great school to get a degree from if you like math and science. How many elite women hockey players are also nerds?

 

[hab]

It has been discussed before on how hard it is to recruit at RPI, especially for the women. Look at the majors of most of the players. They are nearly all engineering or other STEM. If you are not a nerd RPI is a hard school to be at. Not too many majors outside engineering other than the business school, and the business school is still very math/STEM-like unlike other programs. It is a great school to get a degree from if you like math and science. How many elite women hockey players are also nerds?

I think a lot of elite women players are highly qualified in math/science, and more so each year. This cannot be an excuse for RPI recruiting. The growing number of young women who excel in STEM need to get some real focus from our recruiters. My daughter went to RPI for exactly this combination of top notch math/science education and Div 1 hockey. There are many women out there with similar ambitions and our recruitment needs to zero in on them.

Every time that we see a top player go in to an Engineering or Math/Science program other than RPI we need to ask why. How did we fail to convince this young woman that RPI was the right place?

 

[Cornholio]

I don't know of any studies just a quick look at other rosters show very few STEM/engineering majors at other programs. Back when I was at school nearly all the athletes were in non-STEM. Also culture at school. You have to be a nerd to like it there, and not in an ivy-league snooty kind of way but in a Futurama kind of way. Also if the player is interested in STEM it is not like most other schools don't have that either. So RPI has to compete with nearly everyone for the nerdy elite hockey player but for non-nerds RPI is I'd think an instant 'no way'.

 

[hab]

I don't know of any studies just a quick look at other rosters show very few STEM/engineering majors at other programs. Back when I was at school nearly all the athletes were in non-STEM. Also culture at school. You have to be a nerd to like it there, and not in an ivy-league snooty kind of way but in a Futurama kind of way. Also if the player is interested in STEM it is not like most other schools don't have that either. So RPI has to compete with nearly everyone for the nerdy elite hockey player but for non-nerds RPI is I'd think an instant 'no way'.

This is wrong in every respect. First, any review of other teams will show a fairly significant number of players in STEM/engineering majors. It is a growing trend for women to go into these areas and hockey players are no exception. Second...nerdy? Academically focused, yes, but 'nerdy' implies introverted, socially awkward....pretty much the exact opposite of the women that RPI has attracted to its hockey team over the years, IMO.

 

[DrDemento]

I don't know of any studies just a quick look at other rosters show very few STEM/engineering majors at other programs. Back when I was at school nearly all the athletes were in non-STEM. Also culture at school. You have to be a nerd to like it there, and not in an ivy-league snooty kind of way but in a Futurama kind of way. Also if the player is interested in STEM it is not like most other schools don't have that either. So RPI has to compete with nearly everyone for the nerdy elite hockey player but for non-nerds RPI is I'd think an instant 'no way'.

Sensible - but missing one point that I can add. In the men's programs, a great percentage, if not almost all, recruits are using the school as a stepping stone to something higher in the hockey hierarchy. They want to try to go on to the upper echelons where if you succeed the monetary gain can be great. With the ladies programs, that may enter into the picture, but for most, D1 College hockey may be the pinnacle of their hockey success and they will be relying on the education they receive and the degree obtained from RPI for future earnings almost exclusively. A young woman with an engineering degree from RPI can still just about right her own ticket to financial success.

 

[HockeyDad2023]

Just on a quick web look at majors...RPI has quite a few majors that should be able to draw recruits...Other engineering schools seem to have a good mix of the same majors...So, just wondering where the disconnect is in regards to getting the recruits...facilities? Location? campus?

 

[hab]

I truly respect an organization that can recognize when they have made a horrible error and correct it. The Women's Hockey Commissioners Association, after inexplicably leaving Amanda Rampado off of a watch list of 27 goalies for Goalie of the Year, expanded the list to 28 to include her, and then went on to include her in the final eleven: https://rpiathletics.com/news/2023/2...hca-award.aspx.

 

[sezenack]

Maddy Peterson and Julia Blitz in the portal

 

[hab]

I dont give up on a team until it appears that the players have given up on themselves, and there still seems to be some considerable fight in the Engineers, based on the Yale game. So....time to look at the daunting task of making the playoffs with only 2 weekends left. The basic math: with 4 games left RPI has 12 potential points and currently sits 7 points back of Harvard, 9.5 back of Princeton, and 10 back of SLU. Harvard only has 3 games left and is a team in disarray, to say the least, so quite likely they will get 0-3 points, which means that RPI will need 8-11 points to move ahead of them. Tough. But now the really tough part....our remaining games are QU, PU, Cornell and Colgate. "When the going gets tough....." etc

 

[HockeyDad2023]

Great to see Rampado getting the recognition she deserves....Playoffs are not in the cards again though, so where does RPI go from here...Recruits coming in are going to help a bit, but it's going to be the same thing most likely next year...All the top teams don't lose many significant players...Dartmouth, Brown, RPI, Union are going to be looking like the bottom 4 again...only hope is Princeton's top kids transfer and Harvard can't regroup after recent Boston Globe article...Hopefully, Rampado stays too, and doesn't pull a Nystrom.

 

[hab]

Great to see Rampado getting the recognition she deserves....Playoffs are not in the cards again though, so where does RPI go from here...Recruits coming in are going to help a bit, but it's going to be the same thing most likely next year...All the top teams don't lose many significant players...Dartmouth, Brown, RPI, Union are going to be looking like the bottom 4 again...only hope is Princeton's top kids transfer and Harvard can't regroup after recent Boston Globe article...Hopefully, Rampado stays too, and doesn't pull a Nystrom.

I hadn't thought about Rampado having another year due to the covid year. That would be huge for this team if she stayed for a year of post grad studies. I see that she is strong academically so it may depend on whether she sees a good post-grad opportunity at RPI? Disappointed that most teams no longer show show areas of study on their roster lists.

 

[hab]

Maddy Peterson and Julia Blitz in the portal

Both of these players are seniors. Not surprising that seniors with an additional year of eligibility due to the Covid year, would want to look at a number of post-grad opportunities. It looks better on a resume if your grad degree is from a different university.

But I am surprised that a senior would have to register with the portal to explore post-grad opportunities. It is not really a "transfer" is it? But maybe they dont have to register but it is just a way of demonstrating availability? Can anyone clarify?

 

[Ralph Baer]

It looks better on a resume if your grad degree is from a different university.

Now you tell me. :-D

 

[sezenack]

Both of these players are seniors. Not surprising that seniors with an additional year of eligibility due to the Covid year, would want to look at a number of post-grad opportunities. It looks better on a resume if your grad degree is from a different university.

But I am surprised that a senior would have to register with the portal to explore post-grad opportunities. It is not really a "transfer" is it? But maybe they dont have to register but it is just a way of demonstrating availability? Can anyone clarify?

The portal just allows teams to contact you and recruit you

 

[Skate79]

I dont give up on a team until it appears that the players have given up on themselves, and there still seems to be some considerable fight in the Engineers, based on the Yale game. So....time to look at the daunting task of making the playoffs with only 2 weekends left. The basic math: with 4 games left RPI has 12 potential points and currently sits 7 points back of Harvard, 9.5 back of Princeton, and 10 back of SLU. Harvard only has 3 games left and is a team in disarray, to say the least, so quite likely they will get 0-3 points, which means that RPI will need 8-11 points to move ahead of them. Tough. But now the really tough part....our remaining games are QU, PU, Cornell and Colgate. "When the going gets tough....." etc

Speaking as a Crimson fan who is beyond disappointed and shocked at the revelations regarding the program, I would say the best chance for any points will be against Brown. We'll lose to Clarkson and Yale for sure. There may be more damaging information coming soon and while the team played hard against BC yesterday, they are a complete mess from the neck up.

 

[AlwaysCold2]

Skate79 If you read through this thread, sounds like RPI might be dealing with similar issues, sans a winning program and a Boston Globe article.

 

[hab]

Skate79 If you read through this thread, sounds like RPI might be dealing with similar issues, sans a winning program and a Boston Globe article.

Hard to see the comparison. Engineers have improved noticeably as the season has progressed, fully using 4 lines and 3 D pairs and giving ice time to everyone on the roster. There will always be parents who think that their daughter doesn't get enough ice time but those are always tough decisions for a coach.

 

[Skate79]

Skate79 If you read through this thread, sounds like RPI might be dealing with similar issues, sans a winning program and a Boston Globe article.

Hmm. That’s unfortunate. College is supposed to be the best four years of your life. It was for me. I feel for any student athlete that has to deal with abuse from a coach.

 

[AlwaysCold2]

Hard to see the comparison. Engineers have improved noticeably as the season has progressed, fully using 4 lines and 3 D pairs and giving ice time to everyone on the roster. There will always be parents who think that their daughter doesn't get enough ice time but those are always tough decisions for a coach.

Improved noticeably? By beating Union twice and beating Dartmouth who's in dead last in the ECAC... when Harvard just beat Cornell? And you bring up playing time?? One could say it's hard to see your comparison.

I haven't watched many RPI games so I can't comment on whether they're fully using 4 lines and 3 D pairs, but earlier in this thread it was noted that the top lines were worn out by the 3rd from being overused and games were lost late. Another similarity to Harvard. If RPI has made the adjustment, good on them since it's nearly impossible to compete at this level without 4 full lines.

I stand by my observation that RPI may be dealing with the same issues as Harvard, sans a Boston Globe article and winning program. "Old school" coaches have got to go, across the board. The women's game has evolved and times have changed.