RPI Hockey 2019 - 2020 Part II: Moving on with 2020 Vision!

[jericho]

Suspect Buddy was not totally happy here and was looking to go elsewhere. I think he felt he could go back to his alma mater and take over the reins at Boston University. Never got to talk much with him but never felt he was going to be a fixture in Troy.

That and the fact the R Byron Pipes actually gave a crap

 

[DavidNardolillo]

Re: RPI Hockey 2019 - 2020 Part II: Moving on with 2020 Vision!

giving how we play (team) defense and the amount of Grade A chances we give up in a game not to mention breakaways and partial breakaways can anyone make a case that our best chance of winning is with Savory as the #1 as long as he's healthy I'm open to be persuaded

I agree; our goalies get hung out to dry too often and they have been great in bailing the team out. I think Savory is our #1, but I like what I have seen from Calvaruso. I watched the highlights from the Yale game: he had some really good saves and it didn't look like he did much wrong on the goals. I wouldn't mind them splitting and staying fresh and healthy. Not sure what to make of a the current three-way split, though. Marshall has played well (or at least eliminated some of the clunkers he was letting in), but I don't see all three players getting regular time at RPI next year. And aren't there 1 or 2 more goaltenders on the way?

That said, it is nice to have some depth here. The comment above about options when York and Kasdorf were hurt/gone was, unfortunately, on target; really inconsistent play and momentum-killing soft goals were far more frequent than big performances.

 

[DrDemento]

Re: RPI Hockey 2019 - 2020 Part II: Moving on with 2020 Vision!

That and the fact the R Byron Pipes actually gave a crap

That makes sense also.

 

[DrDemento]

Re: RPI Hockey 2019 - 2020 Part II: Moving on with 2020 Vision!

From those of us old fashion enough to not trust ANYONE with their credit card numbers except the most established of retailers and just listen to hockey on WRPI, a shout out is warranted to the newest student addition to the stable of RPI broadcasters. Joe, despite very limited play by play experience, called an excellent game which was very easy to follow. A very good addition to what is almost certainly the best and deepest collection of RPI sports broadcasters ever.

No implication that there were not good ones in the past. The list of RPI radio broadcasters going back to day one, including time on commercial stations, has almost always had good broadcasters. The list includes:

1950's (before my time)- George Miller and Roy Schudt on WGY. Both men were far better known for their summer time work as race callers at Saratoga Harness. Schudt would later move on to larger tracks like Brandywine in Pennsylvania and them on the the west coast where he became a legendary voice of the sport. He is generally credited with coining the phrases "here they come- there they go" and "their coming for home"

Early 1960's (also before my time)- Ed Dauge while a student at RPI. Eventually, everyone in the Capital District knew who he was. Anchored the news at one time or another for ALL THREE local network affiliates that existed for the bulk of his career.

Rest of the 1960's- Paul Midghall on WGY after his playing days were done. Very good announcer.

1970's- RPI Hockey was no longer on commercial radio but there were still the likes of Al Able and the absolute wackiest color guy there ever was in Marcelle LaPoint. As best as I know, Able never used his RPI degree. He took a sports writing job at the Troy Record and eventually ended up as a sports editor at a big city Canadian paper.

1980's- Richie Glassberg, who could make coffee nervous, and his sidekick "the voice of reason" Dave Simon. Legend has it that one night Glassberg got so revved up at UVM when RPI gave up the first five then scored the next eight that he passed out. Supposedly, he was revived when the rest of the crew carried him outside and threw him in a snowbank.

1990's- Some of the very good current day guys like Kurt and occasionally Rob were first heard. Former standout announcer Jayson Moy also first showed up at in this time frame.

2000's- Pretty much highlighted by Tim Heinman. Like Able earlier, also did not become an engineer. Can presently be heard doing various games for the ESPN networks and as the voice of the double A affiliate of the Mets in Binghamton. Pretty good resume for a career that is still in its' early stages.

Hope I did not leave out or forget anyone. Regardless and as good as those listed above were in their time, the golden age of RPI sports broadcasting is RIGHT NOW. Previously, there just plain and simple was not the depth there is these days. You have Perry (mens' and womens' hockey as well as baseball), Kurt (football and occasional mens' hockey), Jeff (mens' hockey and baseball), Ed (some football and some mens' hockey, hopefully more in the future), Rob (occasional mens' hockey) and Yancey (everything but hockey with mens' basketball on RPI TV to boot). Based on the work done by Joe at Brown hockey game earlier, the impressive current day stable has one more positive addition. Of course, it also does not hurt that a very small spattering of less than stellar, not knowledgeable, unprepared and often not listenable types have now come and gone and are no longer on air.

Hopefully, there is now even enough depth that one of these guys may want to take a Florida "vacation" and broadcast the six Florida baseball games on radio or even RPI TV!!! It would sure beat live stats.

Little further update on Allen Abel (this is the proper spelling) - Became a fairly well known write of books along with his broadcasting skills and newspaper reporting. Some titles -Flatbush Odyssey, But I loved It Plenty Well, Abel's Outback, Scaring Myself Again, The Short Life of Hughie McLoon - along with several others. You can of course GOOGLE these titles or quickly search for them on Amazon. Having read several of them I can recommend them highly.

 

[Ralph Baer]

Re: RPI Hockey 2019 - 2020 Part II: Moving on with 2020 Vision!

Hope their diagnosis was correct since that is usually just a minor problem to correct and will not repeat itself. Follow up with your personal physician if you have one. Just make sure that they ruled out any other possible etiology. Not that this will be of any comfort, but 15 years ago I had a single episode of syncope coming out of a restaurant (perhaps from seeing and paying the bill) and they had an ambulance come and EMTs. i stabilized quickly and refused to be taken to the hospital. But I did order an MRI of my brain and wore a Halter monitor for 48 hours (to rule out an arrythmia). I also sent myself for a 5 hour glucose tolerance test to rule out an episode of hypoglycemia. Those are the most common causes to be concerned about other than the dehydration they suspected. If you suffer from any blood pressure problem, just also make sure the dosage of any antihypertensive medication is not at fault. With those darn generic drugs foisted upon us, many times the pills do not all meet the standards necessary to insure that each dose is the same and you might have inadvertently taken more than expected.
Hope this is helpful.

I am going to my personal physician next Monday since they want him to change my prescription of HCTZ for blood pressure control since it is a diuretic. Also he will hopefully remove the stiches on my lip.

 

[NPC19850330]

Re: RPI Hockey 2019 - 2020 Part II: Moving on with 2020 Vision!

It has nothing to do with playing hard. It is all about focus. Coaches pull goalies to get the attention of the team. Not because the goalies are terrible.
I have seen goalies give up 3 or four goals in the first period and none of the goals could be stopped by the goalie, but he gets pulled to get the team back in the game.
The team doesn't come out flat because they don't want to play. They are human and sometimes you just lose focus.
This team is growing with each game. They will have some let downs, but they are playing a better style and they still need to work on it.
When Hallbauer and Kjellberg learn to pass the puck to their teammates The goalies will be a lot happier. I think that both of those players are going to be stars for this team, but they have to cut out the no look passes.

You make a good point that there can be bad days, but the team is making progress. Now the question is, how do we make that progress a habit? How does tough defensive play become the norm?

And most of all, how do we make sure not to sacrifice any sort of offensive prowess that we do have once we get the puck to the other side? One thing I've constantly seen is that we do really well offensively in October, and then just drop off for the rest of the season. Sure, that's when league play starts, but it can't be that much of a cliff between the ECAC and the rest of the country. Especially when the drought seems to continue through the remainder of the non-conference play generally during the two holiday breaks, with league games under our belt. One REALLY obvious indicator this season has been the power play. We started out the season, what, around 35% or so? And now we're all the way down to 15%, and a pathetic 6% in conference?! Is our setup that predictable? Are we moving the puck enough to generate good chances away from a blocking forward?

 

[DrDemento]

Re: RPI Hockey 2019 - 2020 Part II: Moving on with 2020 Vision!

I am going to my personal physician next Monday since they want him to change my prescription of HCTZ for blood pressure control since it is a diuretic. Also he will hopefully remove the stiches on my lip.

The HCTZ is an old treatment (we were using it when I was in medical school over 50 years ago). But it is a very safe medication to use as long as over the long term you monitor electrolytes. Tends to deplete body potassium and some times you need to take a little supplement to keep levels up. Personally i would not rush to change it to anything else if you have been on it a long time. maybe tweak the dosage a tad. I am very conservative and never jump to changing anything that has worked. Just have him check what i listed previously to rule out the major causes of syncope. Would not be too worried about this at all. Sometimes feinting provides a nice little respite from the day!

 

[DrDemento]

Re: RPI Hockey 2019 - 2020 Part II: Moving on with 2020 Vision!

It has nothing to do with playing hard. It is all about focus. Coaches pull goalies to get the attention of the team. Not because the goalies are terrible.
I have seen goalies give up 3 or four goals in the first period and none of the goals could be stopped by the goalie, but he gets pulled to get the team back in the game.
The team doesn't come out flat because they don't want to play. They are human and sometimes you just lose focus.
This team is growing with each game. They will have some let downs, but they are playing a better style and they still need to work on it.
When Hallbauer and Kjellberg learn to pass the puck to their teammates The goalies will be a lot happier. I think that both of those players are going to be stars for this team, but they have to cut out the no look passes.

Watched Hallbauer as a youngster. he is from Howell NJ which is a stone's throw from us. he has always had all the tools. He will be just fine in Troy. Only wish he had about 15 more pounds of muscle on him to handle some of the bigger forwards we are seeing that range up to 6'8" and 244pounds. Kjellberg is progressing nicely and has all the potential that the NY Rangers saw. Has to learn a few things and get more comfortable at this level, but he will be fine (or better than fine). Maybe just a tad slower to adjust will be Klee, but he also will do fine and we might find ourselves with at least 3 solid defensemen for the first time in years.

 

[Ralph Baer]

Re: RPI Hockey 2019 - 2020 Part II: Moving on with 2020 Vision!

The HCTZ is an old treatment (we were using it when I was in medical school over 50 years ago). But it is a very safe medication to use as long as over the long term you monitor electrolytes. Tends to deplete body potassium and some times you need to take a little supplement to keep levels up. Personally i would not rush to change it to anything else if you have been on it a long time. maybe tweak the dosage a tad. I am very conservative and never jump to changing anything that has worked. Just have him check what i listed previously to rule out the major causes of syncope. Would not be too worried about this at all. Sometimes feinting provides a nice little respite from the day!

My doctor will have the final say. I am stopping the HCTZ for the week and monitoring my BP. HCTZ was added to Ramipril which did not work by itself. The combination has worked well. I have never been told about potassium. My doctor made me try the HCTZ by itself also for a month and that didn't work.

Dehydration could also have been caused possibly by having a cold currently.

A nice feint can get the defense out of position.

 

[sezenack]

Re: RPI Hockey 2019 - 2020 Part II: Moving on with 2020 Vision!

Watched Hallbauer as a youngster. he is from Howell NJ which is a stone's throw from us. he has always had all the tools. He will be just fine in Troy. Only wish he had about 15 more pounds of muscle on him to handle some of the bigger forwards we are seeing that range up to 6'8" and 244pounds. Kjellberg is progressing nicely and has all the potential that the NY Rangers saw. Has to learn a few things and get more comfortable at this level, but he will be fine (or better than fine). Maybe just a tad slower to adjust will be Klee, but he also will do fine and we might find ourselves with at least 3 solid defensemen for the first time in years.

I'm going to go a step ahead of you DrD. The entire backend should be set for another 2 seasons at the least. Babichuk is an elite puck mover and skater, and he will be a stud for another 3 years. Hallbauer is smooth, has great hands, is outstanding at protecting the puck when in possession and has a great release to boot. I am baffled that he has not had that much production this year. Kjellberg is outstanding all-around; I just wish he was a bit faster, but he's a great player. Klee is good in his own end as a stay-at-home defenseman and uses his size and strength well against the boards. Jake Johnson seems to be a forgotten man in this group, but he is good both ways. He is another one that does not have the same production this year as last year, but with our much improved depth, he is playing on the third pairing when he was on the top pairing with Reilly last season. Last but certainly not least, Brady Ferner is our most underrated defenseman. He is elite in his own end. i seem to be able to count at least 2 great defensive plays every game to prevent a scoring chance for the opposition. He has high IQ and does not make mental mistakes. This year he has added more of an offensive element to his game. He is just so solid even if he's not flashy. All of these players are here for at least 2 more seasons, 3 sophomores and 3 freshmen. The fact that Savory is also a sophomore is just icing on the cake. Our defense should be a big strength in the next 2+ years.

 

[Waite21]

Re: RPI Hockey 2019 - 2020 Part II: Moving on with 2020 Vision!

I was looking through some old history and had a question. What happened with Buddy Powers? He only had one losing season in his 5 years, and they had 19+ wins in 4/5 of his seasons. I find it hard to believe he would have been let go with that.

I'm pretty sure that RPI didn't fire Powers. In his final season as the Engineers' head coach, he took the team to the NCAA tournament.

Powers had previously been an assistant under Jerry York at Bowling Green. When York left Bowling Green to take the job at Boston College, BGSU offered the job to Powers.

Powers knew that he would be inheriting a good team from York, but he also knew that he had some good players coming back if he stayed at RPI (and in fact, the team did return to the NCAA tournament the following season under Dan Fridgen). It must have been a tough choice for him.

I have a hazy recollection that the deciding factor was that Powers' wife decided she liked it better in Bowling Green than in Troy, and she prevailed upon him to make the switch.

Anyone else remember it that way?

 

[Ralph Baer]

Re: RPI Hockey 2019 - 2020 Part II: Moving on with 2020 Vision!

I'm pretty sure that RPI didn't fire Powers. In his final season as the Engineers' head coach, he took the team to the NCAA tournament.

Powers had previously been an assistant under Jerry York at Bowling Green. When York left Bowling Green to take the job at Boston College, BGSU offered the job to Powers.

Powers knew that he would be inheriting a good team from York, but he also knew that he had some good players coming back if he stayed at RPI (and in fact, the team did return to the NCAA tournament the following season under Dan Fridgen). It must have been a tough choice for him.

I have a hazy recollection that the deciding factor was that Powers' wife decided she liked it better in Bowling Green than in Troy, and she prevailed upon him to make the switch.

Anyone else remember it that way?

Yes, I remember that the final word was his wife.

 

[DrDemento]

Re: RPI Hockey 2019 - 2020 Part II: Moving on with 2020 Vision!

Yes, I remember that the final word was his wife.

For most guys, that is the final word! i am fortunate in that I am the king of the castle, master of the domain, lord of the manor. (And please do not let Jenny see this) or i will have to sleep with one eye open and have the cat taste all of my food!)

 

[DrDemento]

Re: RPI Hockey 2019 - 2020 Part II: Moving on with 2020 Vision!

I'm going to go a step ahead of you DrD. The entire backend should be set for another 2 seasons at the least. Babichuk is an elite puck mover and skater, and he will be a stud for another 3 years. Hallbauer is smooth, has great hands, is outstanding at protecting the puck when in possession and has a great release to boot. I am baffled that he has not had that much production this year. Kjellberg is outstanding all-around; I just wish he was a bit faster, but he's a great player. Klee is good in his own end as a stay-at-home defenseman and uses his size and strength well against the boards. Jake Johnson seems to be a forgotten man in this group, but he is good both ways. He is another one that does not have the same production this year as last year, but with our much improved depth, he is playing on the third pairing when he was on the top pairing with Reilly last season. Last but certainly not least, Brady Ferner is our most underrated defenseman. He is elite in his own end. i seem to be able to count at least 2 great defensive plays every game to prevent a scoring chance for the opposition. He has high IQ and does not make mental mistakes. This year he has added more of an offensive element to his game. He is just so solid even if he's not flashy. All of these players are here for at least 2 more seasons, 3 sophomores and 3 freshmen. The fact that Savory is also a sophomore is just icing on the cake. Our defense should be a big strength in the next 2+ years.

Hope this is all spot on. I remember the years before the great mid 80's team and they were not indicative of what was to come. But rather suddenly our defense became stocked with the baby bulls and we were starting to see something brewing. i have always maintained that offense is easy and defense is the key to winning. Once our defense was set, the sudden influx of offense (along with what we had already started with) just turned this team into the Beast of the East. The entire forward group solidified once the defense became the rock under them. With Dark, Hammond, Friday, Robinson et. al., on the back line, and some really good goaltending, the offense could focus on scoring and they simply became a machine. Hockey is indeed a team sport and all 21 players on the ice have to contribute but it most often starts with the defense.
I see what you are seeing. I see a group of young defensemen who only need to come together a bit more and hone some skills. I see some really good goaltending. now what is missing is that fierce group of scorers up front. A varied group like we had back then (some size, some snipers, some little buzz bombs) is all that will be standing between mediocrity and some big success). I am not expecting the total fit that coach Addesa was able to put together, but one can only hope we can get close to that with some of the recruits Ralph has listed for us.

 

[Ralph Baer]

Re: RPI Hockey 2019 - 2020 Part II: Moving on with 2020 Vision!

Hope this is all spot on. I remember the years before the great mid 80's team and they were not indicative of what was to come. But rather suddenly our defense became stocked with the baby bulls and we were starting to see something brewing. i have always maintained that offense is easy and defense is the key to winning. Once our defense was set, the sudden influx of offense (along with what we had already started with) just turned this team into the Beast of the East. The entire forward group solidified once the defense became the rock under them. With Dark, Hammond, Friday, Robinson et. al., on the back line, and some really good goaltending, the offense could focus on scoring and they simply became a machine. Hockey is indeed a team sport and all 21 players on the ice have to contribute but it most often starts with the defense.
I see what you are seeing. I see a group of young defensemen who only need to come together a bit more and hone some skills. I see some really good goaltending. now what is missing is that fierce group of scorers up front. A varied group like we had back then (some size, some snipers, some little buzz bombs) is all that will be standing between mediocrity and some big success). I am not expecting the total fit that coach Addesa was able to put together, but one can only hope we can get close to that with some of the recruits Ralph has listed for us.

Weren't the Baby Bulls the ones who came in 1985 to replace the losses after the championship?

 

[ServinisScores]

Re: RPI Hockey 2019 - 2020 Part II: Moving on with 2020 Vision!

I'm pretty sure that RPI didn't fire Powers. In his final season as the Engineers' head coach, he took the team to the NCAA tournament.

Powers had previously been an assistant under Jerry York at Bowling Green. When York left Bowling Green to take the job at Boston College, BGSU offered the job to Powers.

Powers knew that he would be inheriting a good team from York, but he also knew that he had some good players coming back if he stayed at RPI (and in fact, the team did return to the NCAA tournament the following season under Dan Fridgen). It must have been a tough choice for him.

I have a hazy recollection that the deciding factor was that Powers' wife decided she liked it better in Bowling Green than in Troy, and she prevailed upon him to make the switch.

Anyone else remember it that way?

Sounds about right. his wife and opportunity to follow a legend in the making at his "coaching" Alma Mater, especially since he figured out he'd never displace Jack at BU.

 

[ServinisScores]

Re: RPI Hockey 2019 - 2020 Part II: Moving on with 2020 Vision!

Hope this is all spot on. I remember the years before the great mid 80's team and they were not indicative of what was to come. But rather suddenly our defense became stocked with the baby bulls and we were starting to see something brewing. i have always maintained that offense is easy and defense is the key to winning. Once our defense was set, the sudden influx of offense (along with what we had already started with) just turned this team into the Beast of the East. The entire forward group solidified once the defense became the rock under them. With Dark, Hammond, Friday, Robinson et. al., on the back line, and some really good goaltending, the offense could focus on scoring and they simply became a machine. Hockey is indeed a team sport and all 21 players on the ice have to contribute but it most often starts with the defense.
I see what you are seeing. I see a group of young defensemen who only need to come together a bit more and hone some skills. I see some really good goaltending. now what is missing is that fierce group of scorers up front. A varied group like we had back then (some size, some snipers, some little buzz bombs) is all that will be standing between mediocrity and some big success). I am not expecting the total fit that coach Addesa was able to put together, but one can only hope we can get close to that with some of the recruits Ralph has listed for us.

not to nitpick how the 84-85 team arrived but....

- the offense arrived and solidified way before the defense matured IMO. Mike Dark arrived with Carter, Oates, George, etc. and was an upgrade on the right side to play w/ Hammer.
- Daren and Brian showed up the year after the breakout year, along w/ the Smurfs who brought speed and defense - this really brought the team defense into focus, not vice-versa.
- Bob DiPronio and John Tiano were underrated additions and provided some oomph to get over the line.

Ralph - glad you're feeling better, or at least awake Keep the feints to the bike lane please.

 

[25+years]

My doctor will have the final say. I am stopping the HCTZ for the week and monitoring my BP. HCTZ was added to Ramipril which did not work by itself. The combination has worked well. I have never been told about potassium. My doctor made me try the HCTZ by itself also for a month and that didn't work.

Dehydration could also have been caused possibly by having a cold currently.

A nice feint can get the defense out of position.

I am also on HCTZ and Lisinopril and recently got over a bad cold. There were times when I was lying on the couch and would get orthostatic when I stood up. I never passed out, just very brief dizziness. This also happened during the summer when I would lie outside in a hot day. I checked my blood pressure and my pulse and nothing really changed. So I suspected dehydration as my cold is over and it stopped. Be careful with electrolyte replacement if your kidney function isn’t the best. And always when changing position sit for a minute before you stand to make sure you are ok before you walk away from a chair or the bed.

 

[25+years]

Sounds about right. his wife and opportunity to follow a legend in the making at his "coaching" Alma Mater, especially since he figured out he'd never displace Jack at BU.

Powers got fired at BGSU and went on to become an assistant to Jack Parker at BU. A few years back, not sure if it was when Quinn or Lowell took over, he became a Dallas Stars scout. Always liked him.

 

[troyboy]

I'm going to go a step ahead of you DrD. The entire backend should be set for another 2 seasons at the least. Babichuk is an elite puck mover and skater, and he will be a stud for another 3 years. Hallbauer is smooth, has great hands, is outstanding at protecting the puck when in possession and has a great release to boot. I am baffled that he has not had that much production this year. Kjellberg is outstanding all-around; I just wish he was a bit faster, but he's a great player. Klee is good in his own end as a stay-at-home defenseman and uses his size and strength well against the boards. Jake Johnson seems to be a forgotten man in this group, but he is good both ways. He is another one that does not have the same production this year as last year, but with our much improved depth, he is playing on the third pairing when he was on the top pairing with Reilly last season. Last but certainly not least, Brady Ferner is our most underrated defenseman. He is elite in his own end. i seem to be able to count at least 2 great defensive plays every game to prevent a scoring chance for the opposition. He has high IQ and does not make mental mistakes. This year he has added more of an offensive element to his game. He is just so solid even if he's not flashy. All of these players are here for at least 2 more seasons, 3 sophomores and 3 freshmen. The fact that Savory is also a sophomore is just icing on the cake. Our defense should be a big strength in the next 2+ years.

Jeesh that sounds like an assessment of the 1983-1990 Edmonton Oilers not a 10 win sub .500 team but hey I hope you right.