Union Steals One from RPI
On Thursday, the Times-Union ran an article written by Tim Wilkin which said, "To put it bluntly, RPI is supposed to beat Union. When the Engineers lose, it's news." OK, so let's put it this way -- news happened on Saturday night at Achilles Rink in Schenectady.
Union scored four power play goals en route to a 4-2 victory over RPI. As both the Times-Union and U.S. College Hockey On-Line reported, no game between RPI and Union in Schenectady is complete without a little chaos -- this time RPI's goal was dislodged for several seconds before Union scored what turned out to be the game winning goal.
Worse than this, however, is the deliberate disruption of the game that takes place after the first Union goal at every home game. As the Times-Union reported: "It produced a shower of stuffed animals and debris onto the ice
from Union fans, who at least refrained from oranges, their
ammunition of choice in the past."
The article continues, "When they let loose with a barrage again after Union's second
goal, the Dutchmen were penalized for delay of game. RPI almost
made them pay by applying sustained pressure for the first time in
the game. Only some clutch saves by Snee kept the Engineers off
the board."
This behavior has basically been tolerated by the ECAC for more than 10 years. When will it end? The disruption makes it really difficult for any visiting team to concentrate on playing the game according to plan. We're sure that this plays a role in the success that Union has had in beating RPI in Schenectady in recent years.