RCNJ

Dave Aiello wrote, "I'm serving on the 15th Reunion Committee for the Class of 1989, and I'd like to report that we are making preparations to get together in Troy on June 10-13, 2004. Alumni who graduated in years ending in '4' and '9' are especially welcomed to attend, since each class focuses on coming back every five years."

"My class has started a Class of '89 website, with updated information about the reunion. General information about Rensselaer Reunion 2004 can also be found on AlumServ."

"Kathy (Page) Lane and Mike DeVivo are New Jersey alums who are serving with me on our reunion committee."

"If you are a member of a reunion class, and you want help getting in touch with someone from your class reunion committee in order to say that you are planning to attend, or just to provide information about yourself, feel free to email me at dave_aiello@ctdata.com."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rensselaer men's hockey team took on Sacred Heart University in a non-conference game at Houston Field House on Saturday night. The Engineers came away victorious, by a score of 3-0, in front of 2,758 fans.

USCHO said that the game was decided by a series of strange bounces, including the goals by Kirk MacDonald and Kevin Croxton. However, Nathan Marsters registered his second-consecutive shutout, bringing his personal scoreless streak to just over 146 minutes. Ben Barr scored an empty net goal with 11 seconds remaining in the game to seal the victory.

Next week, RPI hits the road for a series with Dartmouth and Vermont.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rensselaer Club of New Jersey announces the events associated with the Mens' Varsity Ice Hockey Game between Rensselaer and Princeton University on Friday, February 27, 2004. The RCNJ will make a limited number of game tickets available to its members and their friends for the face value of $9.00 each. There will also be an optional pre-game dinner at the Yankee Doodle Tap Room in The Nassau Inn in Princeton.

Read on for a description for event details and directions to the sites....

Game Information and Ticket Availability

We offer the tickets to our alumni and friends at face value, $9 each. If you're interested, please contact John Cloninger '96 by email at jpcloninger@alum.rpi.edu or phone at 908-578-3673 to ensure that tickets are still available. Mail your payment to:

Phil Lurie '74
Rensselaer Club of New Jersey
P.O. Box 461
Paramus, NJ 07653-0461

Checks or money orders made payable to the "Rensselaer Club of New Jersey" will be accepted. Please include your name, mailing address, daytime and evening phone numbers, email address, and number of tickets requested.

Tickets will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis determined by receipt of payments. In the event that we run out of tickets and cannot obtain more, you will be contacted and your money will be refunded.

Tickets will either be mailed to you or left at the Will Call Gate at the front of Baker Rink. If we notify you that tickets will be left for you at Will Call, please bring some sort of government-issued photo identification card to the game.

Pre-Game Dinner Information

The RCNJ will not reserve tables in the Tap Room for you. In order to guarantee seats for your party, reservations are recommended.

Directions to the Nassau Inn

Parking is available at meters on the street or at one of the garages in Palmer Square that adjoin the Nassau Inn. The Nassau Inn is a five minute walk from Baker Rink if you want to park your car and leave it in one place. (Please confirm that the parking facility that you use will be open until at least 10:30 pm if you leave your car in Downtown Princeton before the game.)

Directions to Baker Rink

Mass Transit

Once at Princeton Junction, change to the shuttle for the Princeton Station. Passengers connecting from Amtrak will probably be required to pay an additional fare. Ticket vending machines are available.

The Princeton Station is within walking distance of The Nassau Inn and Baker Rink. Consult a street map of Princeton (PDF format) for directions. (Train station is labeled as "Dinky Station").

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kimberly (Timo) Rappolt '89 told us that she will be the host at a new Central New Jersey location for the Satellite Hockey Game between RPI and Clarkson that will take place on Saturday, February 7, at 7:00pm. The Central New Jersey location will be the North Brunswick Pub, 1864 Route 1, North Brunswick. Directions to the North Brunswick Pub are available via MapQuest.

Brian Suchak '99 is hosting the Satellite Hockey Game this year at our traditional North Jersey location. For those of you who have never attended, the site is Sportz Bar & Grill, Ramada Inn, 130 Rt. 10 West, East Hanover. Directions to the Sportz Bar & Grill are available via MapQuest.

Rensselaer Alumni Relations is charging $10 per person to offset the cost of producing the Satellite Hockey telecast. You can pay the Kimberly or Brian at the event, or register for the event on-line via AlumServ.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RPI alumni Adam Oates and Joe Juneau both recently passed milestones in their NHL careers. Adam Oates played in his 1,300th National Hockey League game on Thursday night, when the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 1-0 in Edmonton. You may remember that the Mighty Ducks released Oates at the end of last season, after an excellent performance in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Joe Juneau played in his 800th NHL game on Saturday night against the New York Rangers, which ended in a 2-2 tie. This was a very important game for both teams. They are both in the same conference, and are expected to be among the teams fighting for the final playoff seeds at the end of the season.

In case you are wondering how difficult it is to achieve milestones like these, each team in the NHL plays 82 games in the regular season.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rensselaer men's hockey team turned what had been a frustrating weekend into a big success when they shutout tenth-ranked Cornell 2-0 at Lynah Rink in Ithaca. This is the first time that Cornell has been shutout at home since 1998.

Nathan Marsters made 22 saves for the Engineers to seal the victory. RPI's defense also blocked 16 shots. Scott Basiuk and Oren Eizenman scored for Rensselaer.

This victory vaults RPI into second place in the ECAC with a 7-4-1 conference record. They are 12-9-2 overall.

Looking back at Friday night, RPI lost to Colgate 3-1 in Hamilton. This was a very physical game, with lots of penalties on both teams. Probably the biggest factor in the game was Rensselaer's 1-for-9 performance on the power play. Had they done better, they probably would have won.

RPI's lone goal was scored by Nick Economakos early in the second period. Nathan Marsters made 24 saves for the Engineers.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rensselaer issued a statement from President Shirley Ann Jackson reflecting upon the NCAA Proposition 65 victory and the elevation of women's hockey to Division I status. Jackson said:

Today we saw perhaps the most important reaffirmation of the Rensselaer men’s hockey team in its 100-year history.

The NCAA Division III membership has voted to accept an amendment to its reform package that will allow Rensselaer, and seven other affected institutions, to continue to offer grants-in-aid to Division I athletes, in our case, our hockey players. This is an affirmation of a main tenet of the NCAA philosophy: to protect and support the autonomy of each member institution.

Our men’s hockey team can now continue to recruit the high-level student-athletes that Rensselaer attracts. The vote also allows us to launch our plan to move our women’s ice hockey team to Division I status. Our women’s program has shown that it can compete at the highest level in Division III, and it is time to move up. This move is also in the interest of gender equity in our athletics offerings....

Dr. Jackson concluded her statement by repeating a famous saying of Hockey Hall of Famer Bob Johnson, when she said:

As the saying goes, “It’s a great day for hockey.” It also is a great day for Rensselaer athletics.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 3:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Capping a tumltuous day in the history of athletics at Rensselaer, President Shirley Ann Jackson formally announced the intention to elevate the women's ice hockey team to Division I status at a future time to be determined. According to USCHO, Dr. Jackson said:

We have been evaluating our options for moving a women's varsity sport to Division I for some time. We have a great tradition in ice hockey, making it an appropriate choice as a Division I sport at Rensselaer.

Current women's head coach John Burke said:

I am thrilled and the members of the women's team are thrilled. We have an opportunity to carry out one of {the now deceased former head coach Bill Cahill's} goals, which was to compete successfully at the highest level, and we are elated.

The announcement was made sometime after the vote was taken on NCAA Proposition 65 which could have impacted Rensselaer's intention to upgrade the program, had it passed in its original form. As it was passed, the amended Proposition 65 allows the eight schools that have traditionally "played up" from Division III to Division I to have both a men's and women's team in their Division I sport.

RPI intends to apply for membership in the ECAC women's league after an elevation timetable is in place.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 2:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

USCHO.com reported at 2:00pm Eastern Time that the NCAA Division III meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, has passed a version of Proposition 65 that includes the amendment offered by the eight schools affected by Proposition 65 that would allow them to continue to participate in Division I as they do now. This amendment has been referred to separately as Proposal 65-1.

According to reports, this means that all eight Division III schools that "play up" to Division I in one sport, including Rensselaer, St. Lawrence, Clarkson, and Colorado College in ice hockey, Johns Hopkins in lacrosse, and Hartwick, Oneonta, and Rutgers Newark in other sports, will be explicitly allowed to continue granting scholarships in those sports.

USCHO reported that ECAC Commissioner Phil Buttafuoco said Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson played a key role in the presentation of the amendment on the convention floor. He said:

There were very moving statements on the floor. The president of RPI [Shirley Jackson] did a wonderful job introducing amendment 65-1. ... The historical and philosophical significance of the programs was a big issue. The waiver back in '82 and '83 was granted with good cause and with no harm to others. That was the argument on the floor.

There were comments to the contrary. Some said scholarships are inconsistent with the core philosophy of D-III.

But, in the end, the amendment passed by a vote of 296-107. The amended Proposition 65 then passed by a vote of 304-89.

Update: This story has been updated and reworded several times to reflect newly discovered information. Last updated 01/12/2004, 2:29pm Eastern Time.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Engineers men's hockey team emphatically beat Union College in a home-at-home series this weekend.

On Friday night, Kirk MacDonald scored two goals in the first period to launch RPI to an "easy" 5-1 victory. Matt McNeely, Kevin Broad, and Kevin Croxton scored the other three goals for Rensselaer. Nathan Marsters made 21 saves to earn the win.

Between the second and third period, President Shirley Jackson addressed the Houston Field House crowd to thank them for supporting the school in its effort to fight NCAA Proposition 65. This was the last home game before the proposition comes to a vote.

On Saturday night, RPI travelled to Schenectady and beat Union 3-1 before a standing-room-only crowd at the Achilles Center. With this defeat, Union has now gone 10 consecutive games without a victory (0-9-1).

Scott Romfro, Kevin Croxton, and Ryan Shields scored the goals for Rensselaer. Nathan Marsters made 27 saves for another victory.

RPI's record now stands at 6-3-1 ECAC, 11-8-2 overall, good for third place in the ECAC.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is a reminder that the NCAA Convention is underway at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. During Monday's Division III Business Session, votes will be taken on many propositions meant to reform intercollegiate competition.

One of these proposals, NCAA Proposition 65, will revoke the waiver that eight Division III schools including Rensselaer enjoy to grant scholarships in one Division I sport in which they compete.

RPI alumnus Jayson Moy published an article on Friday on USCHO.com detailing the history of Proposition 65 and the solid work that the eight affected schools have done to lobby their fellow member schools. According to the article:

So the eight schools pounded the pavement. Hiring a public relations firm, setting up an information web site, handing out impressive brochures, making personal calls and e-mails, from athletic director to athletic director, and president to president.

It's good to hear that the general manager of the largest college hockey website in the country characterizes the efforts of the affected schools as "impressive". Four of the eight schools that would be affected by Proposition 65 are "playing up" to Division I in ice hockey. This makes hockey the single most affected sport.

Arguably, the members of the RCNJ have done all we can do. Many of us signed hockey sticks in support of our men's hockey team. These sticks were presented to President Shirley Jackson when she spoke to the RCNJ in October. Men's Hockey Head Coach Dan Fridgen later thanked us for our support.

Even more of us wrote letters and emails to Myles Brand '64, President of the NCAA, asking him to intervene in the process on behalf of RPI and similarly situated schools. However, the governance structure of the NCAA dictates that he plays a larger role in rule enforcement than rule establishment.

Now, we will have to wait to see how the vote comes out. We should know the results sometime tomorrow afternoon. We will update RCNJ.org when we receive the results of the vote.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Friday, the Albany Times Union reported that U.S. Senator Charles Schumer held a news conference at Houston Field House on Thursday to announce his support for Rensselaer, St. Lawrence, Clarkson, Hartwick, and Oneonta in their efforts to defeat NCAA Proposition 65.

According to the article, Schumer (D-NY) is writing to "the presidents of 94 NCAA schools (47 in Division III) in New York state seeking their support for RPI and the other affected schools." Schumer said:

There is nothing to be gained from eliminating athletic grant-in-aids from Division I student-athletes. There is, however, plenty to lose.... This proposal is a change for the sake of change.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rensselaer Men's Hockey Team got back to regular season ECAC action this weekend and split a pair of games. On Friday night, the Engineers ran into a hot goalie by the name of Yann Danis. Danis made 30 saves to shut earn a 1-0 shutout for Brown University.

Saturday, RPI decisively defeated Harvard University 4-1. USCHO said that Harvard was as frustrated on Saturday night as RPI was on Friday, mustering only 22 shots against winning goaltender Nathan Marsters. The Engineers spread the scoring around with Conrad Barnes and Kirk MacDonald tallying a goal and an assist, Kevin Croxton and Tommy Green scoring one goal, and Cody Wojdyla and Scott Basiuk scoring one assist each.

This is the first time that Rensselaer has beaten Harvard in Troy in over four years.

Matt Graves of the Times Union characterized the Harvard game as a hit fest and "perhaps {RPI's} best overall effort of the season...." Nathan Marsters reportedly said:

I told the guys that was the most physical I've ever seen our team play in the four years I've been here. (Harvard was) banging, too. There were bodies all over the place.

With the victory, Rensselaer broke a three-game losing streak, and raised its overall record to 9-8-2, 4-3-1 in the ECAC. Next weekend is a home-and-home series with Union College.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)