We've fallen a bit behind covering the 2005-06 men's hockey season, but that shouldn't surprise anyone given our early season infrastructure problems. Late last week John Cloninger and I were discussing how to bring readers of RCNJ up to date on what's been going on at Houston Field House. I said that we just need to summarize the season so far and move on. So here it is.

The Men's Hockey Team is currently 8-8-3, which means they have a .500 record. They are doing well in home games (6-3-0) and less well away from home (2-5-3). The Engineers record in the ECAC Hockey League is 2-1-3 for 7 points, placing us 7th out of 12 teams.

Notable results so far this season include:

• Victories over Michigan Tech in the Nye Frontier Classic Consolation and Boston University get the season off to a good start.
• Consecutive 1-1 ties against Colgate and Cornell on November 18-19.
• Losses in both November and December to a surprisingly strong Holy Cross in two different tournaments.
• A tie against Clarkson and one-goal loss to St. Lawrence on the North Country Trip.
• A home sweep of Quinnipiac and Princeton in the only ECACHL home weekend series so far this season.

The biggest surprise of the season is Matthias Lange, a Freshman goalie from Austria who played Junior B Hockey for the New York Apple Core of the Eastern Junior Hockey League last season. According to an article on CSTV.com written by Dave Starman:

One nice story this season is goalie Matthias Lange of RPI. Near the top in the stats column in the ECACHL, the rookie goalie has been surprised by the amount of playing time he has received. Through his eyes, he has had a great view of college hockey this season. A recent chat reveals the toughest player he has faced this season in the ECACHL is Cornell's Matt Moulson.... Pete MacArthur of BU is the best player he feels he's faced this year. Lastly, on his own team, he has high regard for Kevin Croxton. Lange said of his teammate: "He tries real hard...so I let him score a few times, to keep his confidence up." On a serious note, Lange says Croxton gives him fits at practice.

On the troubling side Kirk MacDonald is taking the season off from hockey after undergoing treatment for testicular cancer. This is one of the most serious cases of testicular cancer I've ever heard about. I urge you to read as much as you can find about his struggle, pray for Kirk and his family, and support organizations like the Lance Armstrong Foundation that are geared toward helping young cancer survivors deal with the changes that occur to their lives after cancer strikes.

I hope that this helps everyone catch up with the Men's Hockey Team's 2005-06 season so far. Please mark your calendars and join us for one of the RPI Hockey games in the Greater New York area:

• Saturday, January 21, at Yale University in New Haven, CT
• Friday, February 17, at Princeton University. Ticket information forthcoming on RCNJ.org.
• Saturday, February 18, at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT