RCNJ

Please join the Rensselaer Club of New Jersey (RCNJ) and the Delaware Valley Chapter for the Rensselaer vs Princeton Men’s Hockey game on Friday, November 30, 2007. The puck drops at 7 p.m., but before we head to the Baker Rink on the Princeton University campus please join us for an informal dinner at the Nassau Inn starting at 4:30 p.m. in the Yankee Doodle Tap Room.

Tickets

We offer tickets to our alumni at $8 each. Please contact John Cloninger '96 by email at jpcloninger@gmail.com or phone at 908-578-3673 to ensure that tickets are still available, and then mail your payment to:

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

Make checks or money orders payable to the "Rensselaer Club of New Jersey”. Please include your name, class year, guest’s name (& class year), 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 payment. In the event that we run out of tickets and cannot obtain more 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 your tickets will be left at Will Call, please bring a government-issued photo identification card to get your tickets.

Continue reading "Men's Ice Hockey @ Princeton - 11/30/2007" »

Posted by John Cloninger at 3:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to an article that appeared last week in The Times Union, the Rensselaer Womens' Hockey Team surprised the experts in its first year in the ECAC Hockey League by going 8-5-1 in its last 14 games and making the playoffs. The eighth-ranked Engineers faced off against the top-ranked Big Green of Dartmouth this past weekend in Hanover for a best-of-three game series.

RPI jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the game on Friday, only to later fall to Dartmouth 6-3. Dartmouth got a four goal performance from senior Katie Weatherston. Dartmouth extended their unbeaten streak to 11 straight by beating Rensselaer 3-1 in Game 2. Ashley Mayr stopped 74 of 81 shots she faced in the weekend, which is quite a bit of rubber to have to keep out of the net.

The womens' team had an outstanding year, particularly considering that they had only two seniors on the roster. Coach John Burke was quoted in the Times Union as saying, "We're a team; we don't have any one or two people that we rely on. We finished the regular season with 10 one-goal losses, so we're still trying to learn how to win those games. It's been a new experience for our kids."

The team finished with a 12-22-1 overall record, 8-15-1 in the ECACHL. On to bigger and better things next season.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 1:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rensselaer Mens' Hockey Team needed three points in the last weekend of the 2006-07 regular season to clinch home ice for the first round of the ECAC Hockey League playoffs. It managed to get two points through its thrilling 6-5 victory over Brown at Houston Field House on Friday night. However, the Engineers lost to Yale 4-3 on Senior Night, forcing them to go on the road next weekend at Colgate.

Rensselaer finishes the regular season with a 10-16-8 record, 6-11-5 in the ECACHL.

The playoff games will be Friday and Saturday at 7:00pm at Starr Rink on the Colgate campus in Hamilton, NY. A third game will be played, if necessary, on Sunday, March 4 at 7:00pm.

CollegeHockeyNews.com published an excellent analysis of the tiebreakers necessary to determine the RPI - Colgate matchup:

The ECAC had to use its "infinite loop fix" to break the fourth-place tie between Cornell and Quinnipiac (which went down to record vs. the top eight) and the eighth-place tie among Colgate, RPI, and Yale (which went down to record vs. the top four).

Read the analysis for yourself and see if it makes sense to you.

Best of luck to the Engineers this weekend. RPI split with Colgate in the regular season this year, with each team winning on its home ice. Hopefully we'll have better luck at Colgate this time around.

Update: Rensselaer was swept by Colgate in the first round of the ECAC playoffs on March 2 and 3. The final scores were 3-1 on Friday night and 4-1 on Saturday. The Men's Hockey Team ended the season with an overall record of 10-18-8, 6-11-5 in the ECACHL.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

John Cloninger pointed out that RPIathletics.com now carries an announcement that Seth Appert has been chosen as the next men's hockey coach. According to the article "Appert is slated to become the 12th head men's hockey coach in RPI's storied hockey history."

Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson said, "Rensselaer attracts the best of the best and once again we have done so with the hiring of Seth Appert. He is a proven teacher and a leader. His passion for the sport and commitment to education make him a perfect fit for the Institute and we enthusiastically welcome him into the Rensselaer family."

The article concludes by saying, "Appert has verbally agreed to, and is in the process of finalizing, a four-year contract with Rensselaer."

Update: RPI held a press conference at The Mueller Center on Friday, April 21, 2006 to introduce Seth Appert as the men's hockey head coach. The Times Union article about the press conference include quotes from Appert, his wife Jill, and RPI goaltender Mathias Lange.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 2:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A number of reports suggest that Seth Appert will be named the next head coach of the Rensselaer Men's Hockey Team at a press conference on Friday in Troy. Appert is an assistant coach for the University of Denver, a Division I hockey program in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Denver won the NCAA Division I Championship in 2004 and 2005.

Appert has also worked as an assistant coach at Mercyhurst College. He was a goaltender at Ferris State who graduated from that school in 1997. He also has a master's degree in Sports Management from the University of Denver that he was granted in 1999.

Media reports indicate that former Los Angeles Kings coach Andy Murray was offered the job and turned it down before it was offered to Appert. This is an unfortunate disclosure because no one deserves to enter a high-pressure job like this with the public knowing that he was the second choice.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dan Fridgen announced his resignation today as head coach of the Rensselaer Men's Hockey team. Fridgen was head coach for 12 seasons, compiling a 211-193-38 overall record. He spent the previous five seasons as assistant coach to Buddy Powers.

Fridgen said, "Rensselaer has offered me a tremendous opportunity over the past 17 years. My family and I are very thankful for all the experiences we have shared with some tremendous people in the program, on the campus and in the community. I wish the team nothing but success."

Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson said, "I applaud Dan for his hard work and dedication to the Institute and for the compassion and commitment he has exhibited to his players. We wish him all the best. Rensselaer has a great hockey tradition, and we will now take the necessary steps to begin a new chapter in our program’s history."

Dan Fridgen was considered an excellent recruiter when he served as Buddy Powers' assistant. The program continued to find many excellent student athletes during his tenure as head coach, but the team never achieved the success that it had under Powers. Critics point to Fridgen's 116-116-31 overall record in ECAC/ ECACHL league play and only one league championship in 12 seasons as indications that he wasn't cut out for a head coaching role in a program like RPI's. This isn't exactly a fair criticism, since Fridgen also amassed more victories than any other hockey coach in school history.

USCHO's report on Fridgen's resignation said: "The last four years have been difficult for Fridgen as his team’s finished 11th, 5th, 11th and 6th. This past season the Engineers battled through injuries to finish in a tie for 6th place in the ECACHL, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to Quinnipiac in two games."

According to the press release issued by the Athletic Department, Assistant Coach Frank Bretti will manage day-to-day operations of the program while the search for a new head coach takes place.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rensselaer Men's Hockey Team was swept by Quinnipiac in a best-of-three game series in the ECACHL playoffs last weekend. This was Quinnipiac's first playoff series victory in the ECACHL.

• Friday, March 3, Quinnipiac 2 - RPI 1: Quinnipiac Claims First ECACHL Playoff Victory with two goals in the first four and a half minutes of the game, and held off a strong challenge from Rensselaer in the third period. Oren Eizenman had the lone goal for the Engineers.
• Saturday, March 4, Quinnipiac 4 - RPI 2: Rensselaer's season ends when it fails to come from behind for the second consecutive night. Oren Eizenman picked up where he left off the night before, with a goal 0:41 into the game. This was followed by a three goal Quinnipiac barrage. Kevin Broad scored in the second period to make it close, but this was followed by a goal by John Kelly that put an end to the comeback.

Rensselaer ends the season with a 14-17-6 overall record (8-8-6 in the ECACHL).

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It would have been a good weekend to be in Troy, as the Rensselaer men's hockey team split with Cornell and Colgate on the last week of the ECAC Hockey League regular season.

• Friday, February 25, RPI 2 - Cornell 0: Mattias Lange got his first ECACHL regular season shutout in a significant upset. Matt Graves said that there was a "playoff feel in Engineers' upset" in his article in the Times Union. Oren Eizenman and Kevin Croxton scored the goals for RPI about a minute and a half apart in the first period.

• Saturday, February 26, Colgate 2 - RPI 1: The USCHO headline says what you need to know about this game: Lucky Bounces Lift Colgate to Victory. Rensselaer dominated, outshooting Colgate 36 to 18. Colgate benefitted from a rule change that occurred this year, because the game winning goal at 6:19 of the third period deflected off their own player's skate into the Engineer net. The NCAA changed the rule this year so that a shot deflecting off an offensive player's skate counts as a goal as long as the puck is not intentionally kicked.

  Rensselaer lost the potential tying goal about a minute and a half later. With about 12 minutes left in regulation, Keith MCWilliams long shot appeared to enter the goal and bounce straight back out. Referee Alex Dell didn't see the puck enter the goal, and neither did the Goal Judge, so play was allowed to continue. Video replay is not used during the regular season of ECACHL Division I games.
  

Comments on the Colgate Game: From the descriptions I've read of this game, Colgate was extremely lucky to come away with the win. However, I can't blame the officials for RPI's loss in this case.

• The ruling on the Colgate winning goal was correct according to the NCAA rules. (Rule 6-18a on page 60 of the 2006 NCAA rules.)
• Any hockey referee will tell you that you can't call what you don't see. If Alex Dell didn't see the puck enter the goal and the goal judge and the linesmen didn't either, it shouldn't be called a goal.

Rensselaer's tying goal in the Princeton game last Friday night is an excellent example of how hard the officials try to get into position to see the puck enter the goal. Assistant Referee Dave Brown was in perfect position on the goal line to call Kevin Croxton's shot a goal after it trickled over the goal line.

The Assistant Referee's normal position is at the blue line, not the goal line. Dave Brown was on the goal line in that case because he was covering for the Referee who had been caught behind the play due to a Princeton turnover in the neutral zone. If the Assistant Referee didn't get to the goal line in that case to see the puck cross the line, RPI probably would have lost that game by one goal instead of tying.

That's why I think that luck still plays a factor in hockey, even at the Division I level.

Playoffs against Quinnipiac next week: The Engineers will take on the Quinnipiac Bobcats in ECACHL playoff action this weekend at Houston Field House. Quinnipiac finished tenth in the ECACHL this season, lost to Rensselaer on Black Friday in Troy back in November, and tied us in Connecticut last weekend. This is a best-of-three game series. Games games begin on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (if necessary) at 7:00pm.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rensselaer men's hockey team stormed back with two goals in the last 12 minutes of the third period to tie Princeton 4-4 last night at Baker Rink. Both teams played well throughout the game, although the momentum clearly swung from RPI to Princeton and back to RPI over the course of regulation time.

The Engineers took a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Oren Eizenman and Chris Hussey. Patrick Neunborfer scored for Princeton with 2:53 left in the first to narrow the Tigers deficit to one goal. Princeton increasingly had the momentum in the second period, with goals by Kevin Westgarth and Darroll Powe-- both in the last three minutes of the period.

It looked bad for RPI when Sebastian Borza scored his first goal of the season with 17:57 left in regulation to make the score 4-2 Princeton. But Keith MCWilliams scored a power play goal about six minutes later to make it close.

With about six minutes left in the third period, Kurt Colling picked up the puck off a turnover, and fed it to Kevin Croxton who sped in on a semi-breakaway. Croxton's shot rebounded off of Princeton goalie Eric Leroux and went high in the air before landing in the crease area behind the goalie. The puck trickled over the goal line after it hit Leroux a second or third time. The linesman actually made the call that the puck had entered the goal, because the referee had been caught behind the play due to the Princeton turnover.

The remaining six minutes of regulation time and five minutes of overtime were scoreless. The teams played even hockey and aggressively tried to score on each other. Rensselaer arguably had the best chance in overtime when it was down a man due to a penalty late in the third period that carried over. A Princeton defenseman picked up the puck behind his own net and rushed a pass intended for a teammate that went off an agressive Engineer forechecker and nearly went into Princeton's goal.

Both goalies played very good games. Eric Leroux made 25 saves for Princeton. Mattias Lange saved 33 for RPI.

The Engineers remain in seventh place in the ECACHL, one point behind Union and one point ahead of Clarkson. They move on to play Quinnipiac tonight at 7pm

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

Rensselaer takes on Princeton University in men's ice hockey at Baker Rink on Princeton's campus on Friday, February 17, 2006. Faceoff is at 7:00pm. Come join members of the RCNJ and the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Rensselaer Alumni Association at the RCNJ's best attended event of the year:

• Records: Rensselaer 13-14-4 overall, 7-7-4 in ECACHL, 7th place. Princeton 9-15-1 overall, 6-11-1 in ECACHL, 10th place.
• Game notes: from Rensselaer Sports Information (PDF) | from Princeton Sports Information
• This Week in the ECACHL: Feb. 16, 2006 from USCHO.com
• Driving Directions to Baker Rink may be found on the Princeton Athletics Web Site. Baker Rink is part of Sports Complex 2.
• Mass Transit: Take Amtrak or New Jersey Transit to the Princeton Junction train station via the Northeast Corridor Line. From there, change to the rail shuttle for the Princeton Station.
• Campus Map: Princeton University's Main Campus, map in PDF format.
• After the Game: Join us at Super Star East Buffet, 311 Nassau Park Blvd, Princeton, NJ, (609) 987-9168 for a post game meal and socializing (Chinese food). Directions via Google Maps or Yahoo! Maps.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rensselaer Men's Hockey Team has swept the weekend series with Yale and Brown at Houston Field House.

• Friday, February 10, RPI 2 - Yale 1: RPI Holds Down Yale as Matt Angers-Goulet scores two goals for the Engineers.
• Saturday, February 11, RPI 4 - Brown 2 in the Big Red Freakout. The men's team is now undefeated in the last 15 Freakouts. USCHO reports that Mathias Lange stopped 21 of 23 shots to cement the win. Campus.News reports that the team raised $10,000 for cancer research.

Next week: Rensselaer travels to Princeton on Friday night at 7pm. Hope to see you there at the best attended RCNJ event of the year. Saturday night Rensselaer vs Quinnipiac at 7pm at Northford Ice Pavilion in Northford, CT.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RPIAthletics.com reports that the Rensselaer Men's Hockey Team will raise money for cancer research in honor of Kirk MacDonald at Saturday's 29th Annual Big Red Freakout. This gives the hundreds of alumni and thousands of students who will attend the game another opportunity to make a donation to the Lance Armstrong Foundation in Kirk's honor.

Why are members of the team shaving their heads and asking for donations to benefit testicular cancer awareness and cancer research? Kirk was diagnosed with metastatic testicular cancer right after the end of the 2004-05 hockey season. He endured four rounds of chemo therapy, an extended hospital stay, and several operations in order to rid himself of the disease. For more information, check out Background on Kirk MacDonald's Testicular Cancer Ordeal elsewhere on RCNJ.org.

The team has raised over $6,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation so far this season and hopes to double that amount this weekend.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kirk MacDonald: Senior forward
for the RPI Men's Hockey Team.
[ Photo: Rensselaer Athletics ]

Some Rensselaer alumni are only now hearing the story of Kirk MacDonald, the Rensselaer senior who lead the RPI Hockey team in scoring in 2004-05. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer just after the season ended last spring and had extensive medical treatement to fight the metatisizing cancer.

I wrote this email to members of the Rensselaer Club of New Jersey leadership committee on October 21:

Guys:

An article appeared in yesterday's Albany Times-Union headlined Cancer orderal sidelines RPI star that caught my attention. Kirk MacDonald, a senior who lead the men's hockey team in scoring in 2004-05, had a press conference on Wednesday to announce that he would not play this season because he is recovering from a serious case of metastatic testicular cancer.

According to the article, he had an orchiectomy at Albany Med in April, had four chemo cycles, and ended up in the hospital for 65 days in Vancouver BC for procedures to remove metastisies and deal with complications. He got out of the hospital two weeks ago, but was down to 160 pounds when he left:

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=410767&category=SPORTS&newsdate=10/20/2005

A member of my family had testicular cancer three or four years ago, so this is a personal thing for me. Testicular cancer is a terrible shock to a man in his 20s or 30s. Most men who get it have never seriously contemplated their own mortality.

I will make contact with the Hockey Office at RPI and try to get more details. Please respond if you want me to provide you with more information. I'm at least going to send Kirk a note telling him I'm raising money for cancer research and offering any help I can provide.

-- Dave Aiello '89

[ Note: I would have published this note on RCNJ.org, but our publishing system wasn't working at that time and didn't come back on-line until December 13. ]

Other articles that appeared on Internet about Kirk's cancer treatment:

• RPI's MacDonald Diagnosed With Testicular Cancer RPI's MacDonald Decides to Wait
• RPI's MacDonald To Apply For Medical Redshirt
• Black Friday Lives On (MacDonald's return to campus after treatment, RPI vs Quinnipiac, November 11, 2005)

Posted by Dave Aiello at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)

RPI Hockey fell to 11-14-4 (5-7-4 in the ECACHL) by losing and tying games against crosstown rival Union College this weekend. On Friday night, Scott Seney's key goal and assist spoiled Kevin Croxton's return to the Engineer lineup in an extremely tight 3-2 game in Schenectady. Croxton had been out for almost a month with an ankle injury and said as late as Thursday that he doubted he'd be able to play this weekend.

Keith MCWilliams and Jake Luthi each scored second period power play goals for Rensselaer. Freshman goalie Mattias Lange made 19 saves. This was, unfortunately, RPI's fourth consecutive loss. They've played their last five games on the road.

On Saturday night, Mattias Lange and Union goaltender Kris Mayotte put on a show at the Field House. They stopped 57 of 59 shots and kept the game scoreless until five minutes into the third period. The game ended in a 1-1 tie after a five minute overtime.

Andrew Lord scored the Engineers only goal on a two-on-one about five minutes into the third period. Lane Caffaro scored about two and a half minutes later on a one-time that snuck through Lange's five hole.

RPI is now tied with Yale in seventh place. These two teams will face each other on Friday night. Saturday, Brown University will face Rensselaer in the 29th annual Big Red Freakout.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rensselaer Men's Hockey Team was swept in a Best-of-Three Game Series at Brown University this weekend. These losses end their season and leave their final record at 14-22-2.

On Friday night, Brown kept things fairly even despite several special teams goals from RPI, then jumped ahead for good with 7:35 to go in regulation. Brown won the game 7-4. On Saturday, Brown's Chris Poli scored at 5:33 of overtime to clinch the series.

The Engineers had their chance midway through the third period when Kirk MacDonald and Kevin Croxton scored in rapid succession, given RPI their only lead of the series. The game was retied by Brown's Gerry Burke, 1:33 later.

The Times Union article about Friday night's game indicates that Rensselaer easily could have won the game on Friday, despite the difference in the final score. As was the case in several games toward the end of this season however, our team gave up a quick flurry of goals that made the difference.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the critical final weekend of the regular season, Rensselaer came up short against Princeton and finished the season in eleventh place.

On Friday night, Princeton made it a regular season sweep with a 5-2 drubbing of the Engineers. Princeton scored five goals in under nine minutes. The best moment for RPI probably came at 5:16 of the third period, when Kevin Croxton scored his first goal in 22 games. Considering how many goals he scored in his career before this scoreless streak, it's been an amazingly frustrating period for him.

It's still hard for me to believe that Princeton beat RPI twice this year, considering how badly they played against other ECAC Hockey League opponents. We finished behind Princeton in the standings because of these losses.

On Saturday, last place Yale extended Rensselaer to overtime before Kevin Croxton scored a last minute goal to give RPI a 3-2 victory. That goal was Croxton's 100th career point-- congratulations to him on a significant achievement. Jonathan Ornelas and Kevin Broad scored the other goals for us.

RPI moves into the playoffs next weekend in a best-of-three series at sixth-ranked Brown University. There is hope in the series against Brown-- RPI tied and beat them during the regular season.

The Rensselaer Men's Hockey Team ends the 2004-2005 regular season with a 14-20-2 record. The final ECACHL record is 6-15-1, good for 11th place (out of 12 teams). This is a very poor record, particularly considering the prior year's offensive performance and the number of returning contributors. The Times Union pointed out that RPI has experienced the worst three-year slump in the history of the program. This year's seniors are the first class in history to play through two 20-loss seasons.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

All you need to know about this weekend is what Men's Hockey Coach Dan Fridgen said to sum up the 1-0 loss to Colgate on Saturday night:

It's sad, but we've let rugby creep back into our game.

Friday night, RPI lost to Cornell 3-0. This game was unique in that it was the first NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Game started by two goaltenders from the State of Texas, Cornell's David McKee and RPI's Andrew Martin. According to USCHO, they've known each other since childhood. Probably true, since hardly anybody played hockey in Texas back then,.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Men's Hockey Team beat Brown University 3-2 on Saturday night, extending the team's undefeated streak in Big Red Freakout games to 15 (11 wins and 4 ties). Kirk MacDonald put a blistering shot in off the crossbar with 8.3 seconds left in regulation to seal the victory. The sellout croud of 5,152 went berzerk because most of them had already concluded that the game was going to overtime. Andrew Martin made 30 saves to get the win.

Prior to the Freakout, the 1985 NCAA Championship Team was honored on the twentieth anniversary of their incredible season. Most of the players from the team were in attendance, including Mark Jooris, whose unusual professional hockey career in Europe was documented in the Times Union on Friday.

Earlier in the day, an alumni game was held, with about 40 players participating. This was the largest turnout of hockey alumni in the last 10 years, even surpassing last year's turnout for the fiftieth anniversary of the 1954 NCAA Championship.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rensselaer Men's Hockey Team suffered two more defeats on the road this weekend at the hands of Vermont and Dartmouth. On Friday night, USCHO reports that RPI was utterly dominated by Vermont but only lost 3-2 thanks to the excellent play of goaltender Andrew Martin. Rensselaer's goals were scored by Brad Farynuk and Scott Romfro. The Engineers could manage only 15 shots on goal, versus the Catamount's 37.

On Saturday, the domination continued in Hanover, NH. Rensselaer was outshot 34-8 over the first two periods en route to a 4-2 loss to Dartmouth. Kirk MacDonald and Andrew Lord scored the goals for RPI.

Andrew Martin made 75 saves this weekend and ended up with a record of 0-2. That's got to be frustrating.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Congratulations to the Men's Hockey Team who won both games on the trip to St. Lawrence and Clarkson for the first time in 20 years. On Friday night, the Engineers snapped a five game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over St. Lawrence. Vic Pereira had a goal and an assist and Andrew Martin made 32 saves for the win. With this victory Rensselaer broke a five-game losing streak.

Saturday, RPI made Clarkson pay for backing out of the Satellite Hockey Game by beating the Golden Knights 4-3 in their own building. Four different players scored for Rensselaer. Andrew Martin led the way again with 20 saves.

Coach Dan Fridgen said of this weekend's effort, "It's a seven-goal weekend for us and with Andrew (Martin) playing real solid and with everyone pitching in we came up with two 'W's'.... We played six solid periods of hockey where we won every period...."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rensselaer Men's Hockey Team had a difficult weekend at home. On Friday night, they lost a 4-2 decision to Colgate. The Engineers were never really in contention in this game after Colgate broke the 1-1 tie early in the second period. Jake Luthi and Brad Farynuk scored the goals for us.

RPI was blanked by Cornell 5-0 on Saturday night. The power play failed to convert on any of 10 chances.

The team has now lost five games in a row by a combined score of 23 to 4. They face a trip to the North Country for games at St. Lawrence and Clarkson next weekend. (Note: We are a bit behind on summarizing men's hockey results. I've been busy lately. --Dave Aiello)

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rensselaer Men's Hockey Team has played four games since our last report on RCNJ. On the weekend of December 3-4, RPI tied Brown 3-3 in Providence after losing a three-goal lead. This was followed on Saturday night with a 2-1 loss to Harvard, dropping Rensselaer into 10th place in the ECAC Hockey League.

The Engineers bounced back to break out of a number of negative streaks in a non-league game against Providence at Houston Fieldhouse on Wednesday, December 8. The 4-3 victory was the RPI's first one-goal win since late last season (March 6, 2004 against Princeton). RPI also broke a three-game winless streak by beating the Friars.

Rensselaer ended its December schedule with a 4-1 home loss to 14th-ranked Boston University on Saturday. Goaltender Jordan Alford, who has been playing a lot recently, was unavailable due to illness, as was defenseman Scott Romfro.

The men's hockey team's is back on the ice for two non-conference games on January 1 and 2 at Notre Dame.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Friday November 19, the RCNJ sponsored a trip to an RPI women's basketball game. The Lady Red Hawks were participating in the Stevens Tech Tournament in Hoboken, NJ. After Stevens Tech defeated Cal Tech in the opening contest, Rensselaer took the court against the John Jay Bloodhounds.

Senior forward Kaitlyn Saunders scored the first six points for Rensselaer, as they raced out to a 22-0 lead. The score at halftime was 41-2 in favor of the Lady Red Hawks. The blowout continued in the second half, as Rensselaer coasted to an 88-13 victory.

For the game, each Rensselaer player had at least four points. The leading scorer was Saunders with 17 points (chipping in 7 steals), followed by freshman Tory Lyons 12 points (five rebounds) and Brittney O'Neal 9 points (eight rebounds). For John Jay, guard Latrice Blakely had 11 of the team's 13 points.

The RCNJ attendees for this game were President Sandeep Nandy '94, Sudeshna Nandy, and James Alfonso (Sandeep's co-worker who did not attend Rensselaer).

As a result of this victory, Rensselaer advanced to the tournament championship game against Stevens Tech. Despite a strong effort by the Lady Red Hawks, Stevens Tech won the contest, 75-71. Saunders scored 30 points in the title game.

For her efforts in these two contests, Saunders was named the Liberty League forward of the week for women's basketball.

Rensselaer's season record stands at 1-1. They return to action on Tuesday November 30 with a road game at Williams College. The team's home opener is on Tuesday December 7 against Oswego State.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This weekend, the RPI Men's Hockey Team hosted the 54h Annual Rensselaer/Bank of America Holiday Tournament, finishing second to a determined team from the Air Force Academy. On Friday night, the Engineers shut out the Robert Morris Colonials 2-0. Brad Farynuk and Kevin Broad scored power play goals for Rensselaer. Jordan Alford made 17 saves for his first collegiate shutout.

In the championship game, Air Force sophomore goaltender Peter Foster made 32 saves to shut out RPI 1-0. RPI went 0-for-11 on the power play.

Next week, Rensselaer is on the road in games at Brown and Harvard.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This weekend, Rensselaer's Men's Hockey Team traveled to our area for games with Yale and Princeton. On Friday night, RPI traveled to New Haven and defeated winless Yale, 5-2. This ended a three-game Engineers losing streak. Five different players scored for Rensselaer. Andrew Martin made 17 saves for the win.

Saturday night, many RCNJ members attended the game at Hobie Baker Rink. RPI never led in this game, and ended up on the short end of a 3-2 score.

Keith MCWilliams had two goals for the Engineers. Andrew Martin made 22 saves but got stuck with the loss. Princeton goaltender B.J. Sklapsky made 18 saves for his first collegiate win.

A bizzare element in the game came midway through the first period when referee Frank Murphy signaled a delayed penalty on RPI. Princeton goalie B.J. Sklapsky was pulled in favor of an extra skater. A Princeton defenseman inadvertantly hit an RPI forechecker in the shin pads with the puck while attempting a long breakout pass. The puck rebounded off the Rensselaer player directly into the empty Princeton goal. Referee Murphy ruled that there was no goal. An official must blow his or her whistle in a delayed penalty situation if the penalized team gains "posession and control" of the puck.

The question is whether the deflection off the RPI player should have resulted in an immediate stoppage. The NCAA Delayed Penalty Rule (4-9.a) states that a "rebound off the goalkeeper, the boards, or any accidental contact with the body or equipment of an opposing player" shall not be grounds for the whistle to be blown. An argument could be made that play should not have been stopped and that RPI should have been awarded a goal in that case.

However, later in the NCAA Ice Hockey Rulebook, the Interpretations Section states that no goal should be credited to the penalized team in a delayed penalty situation if the "impetus for the goal" comes from a player on the penalized team. Some people interpret this to mean that in a delayed penalty situation, the only time a goal can be scored against the non-penalized team is if a non-penalized team player shoots or passes the puck into his own goal without the puck stiking an official or an opposing player.

The reason this was a critical play in the game is because Princeton scored on the ensuing power play and ultimately won the game by one goal.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The RPI Football Team wound up its season by losing to Union on Saturday, 18-13. The loss means that neither Rensselaer nor Union has successfully defended the Dutchman's Shoes Trophy in the last eight seasons.

RPI had the football with three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and a lead, but quarterback Frank Catellier was intercepted on a third down-and-six play, and the resulting Union drive ended in the winning touchdown.

Rensselaer finishes the football season with a 5-4 overall records and a 4-3 record in the Liberty League.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The RPI Men's Hockey Team lost two games to Union College this weekend. On Friday night, RPI gave up goals in the last minute of the second and the first minute of the third periods en route to a 5-4 home loss. Saturday, Union jumped out to a 3-0 lead and hung on for a 3-2 victory.

There are two reasons that this sweep is particularly upsetting:

1. This is the first time since Union joined ECAC Division I that they have swept the season series from RPI.
2. Union College President Roger Hull voted against RPI, Clarkson, St. Lawrence, and the other Division I play up schools on Proposition 65-1. He showed a callousness toward our tradition that should be remembered each time we meet Union on the playing field.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RPI split two penalty-filled games at Houston Field House this weekend. On "Black Friday", the Engineers scored five power play goals to beat Clarkson 5-3. The game featured a ceremony honoring Adam Oates, the inaugural member of the RPI Hockey Ring of Honor. It also included a silent auction of the black RPI jerseys worn by the men's hockey team in this game only.

As you can imagine, a large, enthusiatic crowd turned out; Attendance was 4,980, just below a sell-out.

On Saturday night, St. Lawrence rallied from a 2-1 deficit to beat RPI 3-2. Going into the weekend, St. Lawrence was ranked 13th in the USCHO/CSTV Division I Men's Hockey Poll, but lost to Union College on Friday night 6-5 before beating RPI for the weekend split.

Nick Economakos had one goal and four assists for the weekend. Kirk MacDonald scored three goals and one assist. Kevin Croxton had one goal and three assists.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

D3Football reports that RPI ran away from Rochester, scoring 28 unanswered points en route to a 28-14 road victory. Quarterback Frank Catalier connected with Jon Branche for two touchdown passes. Jay Bernardo and Otis Williams scored on the ground for the Engineers.

Rensselaer now has an overall record of 5-3, with a 4-2 record in the Liberty League.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Albany Times Union reports that RPI Men's Hockey Coach Dan Fridgen won the 187th victory of his RPI career as the Engineers rolled over Mercyhurst 5-0. With the victory, Fridgen passes Mike Addesa to become the winningest coach in the history of RPI hockey.

Andrew Martin had his first shutout in goal for RPI. Chris Hussey, Kevin Croxton, Alexander Valentin, Kirk MacDonald, and Kevin Broad each scored once.

RPI opens the ECAC Hockey League regular season next week at Houston Field House against Clarkson and St. Lawrence. Friday night will be the Black Friday game, where the Engineers' special black jerseys will be auctioned during the game. Also on Friday, Adam Oates will be honored on his induction into the Rensselaer Athletic Hall of Fame.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As published earlier, the RCNJ will attend the Rensselaer hockey game at West Point on Saturday, October 23rd.

We will begin the evening with an informal pre-game dinner at the Schades Restaurant at 4:30pm. Schades is located at 54 Main St. in Highland Falls, NY. A map to the restaurant is provided below. Some have asked me why we need to meet for dinner at such an early hour - I have found from our experiences at Princeton that 4:30 is the right time for dinner for a 7pm faceoff. Security concerns entering West Point will also be a consideration.

Due to time constraints, I will have to hand out tickets at the pre-game dinner or at the arena. Contrary to years past, you can pay me directly at the arena, either in cash, or by a check made out to the Rensselaer Club of New Jersey (RCNJ). If you need to receive your tickets at the arena, please retain my cell phone number (908-578-3673) on the night of the game.

Continue reading "Engineers Visit Army: Pre-Game Dinner and Game Details" »

Posted by John Cloninger at 8:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Times Union reports that RPI gave up two power play goals to Merrimack en route to a 5-3 loss in the first game of the season. This was the opening game of the University of Nebraska-Omaha Maverick Stampede Tournament on Saturday night. Chris Hussey, Matt McNeely, and Nick Economakos scored for the Engineers. Goaltender Andrew Martin gave up five goals to Merrimack on 16 shots.

RPI plays its second game of the season Sunday night against Connecticut in the Maverick Stampede Tournament Consolation Game.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Albany Times Union reports that St. Lawrence's beat RPI 26-21 in football to end a 12-year losing streak against RPI. The Saints defense tightened up in the second half, stalling RPI's offense and stifling a comeback.

Jay Bernardo scored on a 28-yard run for the Engineers. Quarterback Dan Wysocki hooked up with Dan Stephens to put RPI up 14-7. The RPI defense yielded the next 19 points to the Saints, putting St. Lawrence up for good.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sandeep Nandy wrote, "Join fellow RCNJ members on a trip to West Point to see RPI's men's hockey team take on Army on Saturday, October 23, at 7 p.m. We are looking forward to cheering the Engineers to victory over the Cadets in this long standing rivalry. "

"A limited number of tickets are available for $10 each, so reserve yours today. If you are interested in attending this game, please contact John Cloninger at jpcloninger@alum.rpi.edu."

"Directions to the Rink can be found on Army's main web site, http://www.usma.edu/directions/."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

D3football points out that RPI won the Shotglass Trophy 28-7 over Coast Guard led by the rushing efforts of Jay Bernardo and Otis Williams. Bernardo scored three of Rensselaer's four touchdowns while rushing for 220 yards. Williams had 111 yards on the ground.

Freshman quarterback Chad Wysocki threw a 40-yard TD pass to Dan Stephens to close out the scoring for RPI in the fourth quarter. The Engineers are now 2-2 overall, 1-1 in the Liberty League, and will face St. Lawrence next week in Canton.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If it wasn't clear from last week's report, the RPI Football Team has lost strength on both sides of the line of scrimmage since the end of last season.

In their third game, the Engineers met the Hobart Statesmen on '86 Field. They jumped out to a quick 13-0 lead, converting two Hobart turnovers. Hobart answered with 54 points and 536 yards of total offense, doing to Rensselaer what Rensselaer did to many teams last year.

RPI Head Coach Joe King summed things up nicely:

We're not the same team. We don't have the same players; we don't have the same coaches. We need to find ourselves, and hopefully we can do it soon and win a couple of games.

Next week the Engineers take on Coast Guard for The Shotglass Trophy.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We missed reporting on the opening game of the 2004 football season for RPI last week. On September 11, Chad Wysocki led RPI to an easy 42-7 victory over Endicott College. Wysocki, a Freshman from Hoosick Falls, NY, relieved starting quarterback Frank Catellier who left the game with a slightly separated shoulder before halftime.

The game was not as one-sided as it looked. Endicott produced a lot of offense, but could not score. RPI should have scored with more ease than they did, but they failed to convert on a number of third downs and were penalized for 59 yards.

It's difficult to say if this weekend's game at Utica was further demonstration of these problems, but Rensselaer managed to lose to the Pioneers 9-7. Utica has only played football for four seasons, and had never had a winning streak until Saturday.

Look for the Engineers to drop out of the Division III Top 20 this week.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sandeep Nandy pointed out that an article in the Boston Globe on May 3 indicated that Dan Cole was invited to the New England Patriots Mini Camp for a tryout. Cole was the senior quarterback for RPI's UCAA championship football team, which advanced to the NCAA Division III Semifinals before losing to eventual national champion St. John's of Minnesota.

According to the article, Cole was invited to camp along with four other rookie free agents: Harvard linebacker Dante Balestracci, Bentley College safety Ryan Ferguson, Hofstra wide receiver Ricky Bryant, and Michigan tight end Andy Mignery. Bryant and Mignery were reportedly signed by the Patriots.

Dan Cole is the first Rensselaer football player ever to be invited to a mini camp by a National Football League team.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rensselaer Athletics announced the 2004-2005 schedule for the Men's Ice Hockey Team. Games of particular interest to alumni in our area include:

• Saturday, October 9, season opener at Maverick Classic- Omaha, NE
• Saturday, October 23, at Army
• Friday, November 5, Second Annual Black Friday vs Clarkson
• Friday, November 19, at Yale

• Saturday, November 20, at Princeton
  
• Friday, December 31, "Tux for Pucks" vs Mercyhurst
  
• Saturday, February 12, 28th Annual Big Red Freakout vs Brown
  

A permanent link to the schedule will be provided once it is posted on an RPI website.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson recently announced that the women's hockey team will begin play at the Division I level in the 2005-6 season. Next season, they will continue to play at the Division III level.

Reportedly, the team will join the ECAC Division I as a full member in the 2006-7 season, and the team will reach a full complement of 18 grants-in-aid, coaching, and support staff in the 2007-8 season.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 1:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Campus.News reports that Rensselaer senior Meghan Hartman won the 200M breaststroke at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championship in St. Louis two weeks ago. According to the article:

This is the fourth straight year Hartman, a native of Seattle, Wash., has qualified for the NCAAs. She is now a seven-time National All-American, including twice as a junior. The civil engineering major has earned the honor in the 200-individual medley (twice), the 400-IM (three times), and in the 200 breaststroke.

Meghan is the first national champion that Rensselaer has had in swimming.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rensselaer Men's Hockey Team's season ended Sunday night with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Dartmouth. It's kind of hard to believe that the outcome would be so close in this game, after RPI won Game 1 by a 3-1 score and Dartmouth came back to blow out the Engineers 6-0 in Game 2.

These teams are probably as evenly matched as they can be, if they are playing on neutral ice. But, RPI has had real difficulty winning in Hanover for the past several years (one win in the past eight games played). As the Times Union article correctly concluded, Rensselaer's regular season head-to-head record against Dartmouth made a big difference in the outcome of the series.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dave Aiello wrote, "No time to do the weekend series between RPI and Princeton justice. If I get time later this week, I will add details. In the meantime, here are links to the USCHO recaps:"

• Friday night, RPI 5 - Princeton 4
• Saturday night, RPI 3 - Princeton 2 in OT

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Many of us watched RPI thoroughly dominate Princeton and Yale this weekend. On Friday night, Kevin Broad broke a 1-1 tie with a power play goal with 2:14 left in the first period. The Engineers never looked back, cruising to a 5-1 win. Kevin Croxton, Ryan Shields, Brad Farynuk, and Kirk MacDonald also scored for Rensselaer. Nathan Marsters made 31 saves, and deserved a shutout.

Saturday night, Rensselaer played a very similar game, this time against Yale. The game was scoreless for the entire first period and seemed even to many in attendance. However, Oren Eizenman and Kevin Croxton scored goals 16 seconds apart early in the second period, and RPI rolled to a 6-0 victory. Eizenman ended the night with two goals and two assists. Croxton had two goals. Vic Pereira and Matt McNeely also scored for the Engineers. Nathan Marsters made 36 saves to earn the shutout.

The regular season is now over. Rensselaer finished in a tie for fourth place, but fell to fifth as a result of head-to-head record against Dartmouth (0-1-1). The Engineers will open the playoffs at 7:00pm on Friday in the Fieldhouse, against ECAC 12th place finisher, Princeton.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This morning, Henry Scheuer submitted some little known facts about the RPI Men's Hockey Team:

This weekend dear ol' RPI will be playing Princeton and Yale at their respective venues in Princeton, NJ and New Haven, CT.

In an effort to make the hockey attendance experience more meaningful for all, I feel that the following statistics (courtesy of The Sports Network via COMTEX and accessed on my BLOOMBERG) highlights the team's strengths (on a national level!!!):

1. # 7 in Scoring Defense with a 2.31 goals against average (BC is #2 1.75; Cornell is #3 1.81; Brown #4 1.85; Colgate #5 2.19).

2. # 16 in Scoring Margin with a 0.63 advantage (BC is #2 1.91; Maine #3 1.84; Colgate #7 0.94; UNH #8 0.91; Brown & Cornell tied for # 11 0.74).

3. #13 in Power Play Percentage with 20.0% (39 out of 195). (UNH #3 22.9%; Dartmouth #5 21.3%; Providence #6 20.8%, Colgate #7 20.6%; Mercyhurst (!!!) #9 20.5%; Brown #11 20.3%;Mass-Lowell #12 20.3%).

4. # 12 Penalty Killing Percentage with 86% (22 goals scored against The Red Machine in 157 opportunities) (I'll spare you the details....getting bored with this blur of numbers.......).
   

In summary, watch RPI's defense and their special teams (power plays and penalty killing) and above all.......ENJOY THE GAME.

RPI at Princeton, 7:00pm on Friday. RPI at Yale, 7:00pm on Saturday. Hope to see you there.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dave Aiello wrote, "I've been extremely busy with work since I got back from vacation, so I was unable to point out last weekends men's ice hockey results until now."

"On Friday night, Cornell won a close game with RPI by a final score of 2-1. Everyone who saw the game said it was defensive in nature, with a lot of clutching and grabbing. In games like that, it's important to not retaliate when the opponent is about to receive a penalty. Rensselaer could have had a power play with 1:25 to go in regulation, but Kirk MacDonald evened things up by slashing Cornell's Chris Abbott back. Maybe that was the difference in the game."

"Vic Pereira scored the lone goal for RPI, on an assist from Conrad Barnes. Nathan Marsters had 21 saves."

"Saturday, Colgate came to the Field House and spoiled Senior Night, winning by a 3-2 score. Despite a furious rally in the third period, RPI probably lost this game because it took too many penalties. Colgate scored two power play goals, while Rensselaer went 0-for-4 in man up situations."

"Vic Pereira and Blake Pickett had the goals for the Engineers. Nathan Marsters made 27 saves."

"As a result, RPI falls into sole possession of fifth place. They must win both games at Princeton and Yale this weekend to earn a bye in the first round of the ECAC Playoffs."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Men's Hockey Team extended its winning streak to three with key wins against Harvard and Brown. On Friday night, the Engineers did to Harvard what other teams had been doing to Rensselaer: they struck for two unanswered goals to snatch a 3-2 victory from the jaws of defeat.

Scott Basiuk scored two goals for RPI including the game tying goal. Ryan Shields scored the game winner with 0:54 remaining in regulation. Nathan Marsters made 34 saves for the victory.

On Saturday night, RPI jumped out to a 1-0 second period lead against Brown on the strength of Scott Basiuk's power play goal. In the third period, the Engineers poured it on with three unanswered goals to score a dominating 4-0 victory. Kirk MacDonald, Ben Barr, and Ryan Shields scored the third period goals.

Senior goaltender Nathan Marsters made 30 saves to shut out the Bears, impressing a lot of people in the building who had expected this sort of dominating performance from Brown's goalie, Yann Danis.

Summarizing the weekend, RPI coach Dan Fridgen said:

This weekend was huge. We played hard for all 120 minutes this weekend, starting last night with Harvard. The guys are playing with confidence. After coming back the way we did last night, we had a lot of confidence coming into this one.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dave Aiello wrote, "Kathleen and I were able to attend all of the Alumni Hockey Weekend festivities at Houston Field House on Saturday. These events were focused on the 1954 NCAA Championship Team and honored its members and their families."

"In the morning, a breakfast was held for the players of the current team, the hockey alumni, and their families. Each of the members of the 1954 team had an opportunity to speak, including head coach Ned Harkness, now 82 years old. This breakfast had a very large turnout which made it difficult for me to meet everyone that I hadn't met before. I had the opportunity to talk to John Magadini, the only 1954 team member who lives in New Jersey, and Gord Peterkin, the member of the team who scored the game winning goal in the championship game. That was a very nice experience."

"The breakfast was immediately followed by the Alumni Hockey Game. Three of my classmates (from the Class of 1989) who played for RPI attended Alumni Hockey Weekend for the first time. Graeme Townshend played in the game and we played together on the same forward line at times. Steve Moore and Rob Schena also attended the game, but did not play. Steve Duncan also attended the game, but he has played in the Alumni Game previously. This was Rob Schena and Steve Moore's first visits to campus since we graduated 15 years ago."

"Gord Peterkin '55 played a few shifts in the Alumni Game, probably setting the record for on-ice participation. There were a number of strong performances in the game, by alumni like Tony Hejna, Dino Macaluso, Graeme Townshend, Mike Robinson, and Scott Prekaskie."

"There was time between the Alumni Game and the Big Red Freakout for people to relax and possibly attend the Alumni Ice House before the Big Red Freakout."

"The Freakout was totally sold out this year. John Cloninger told me that he was told that the seats that were not reserved for the hockey alumni had sold out several weeks ago. This was obvious because the Clarkson Pep Band was unable to attend, and relatively few Clarkson fans got seats."

"The pre game included a 30-minute ceremony honoring the 1954 team. Each member of the team was presented with an NCAA Championship ring by President Shirley Ann Jackson and Athletic Director Ken Ralph. The custom of awarding championship rings had not developed in 1954, but has since become a standard for national championship teams at the college and professional levels. I did not expect RPI to do this, and my wife and I were thrilled that the school made this gesture."

"During the first intermission, the remaining hockey alumni were introduced to the sell-out crowd. Each year that I have attended the Alumni Hockey Weekend, we've had more former players and managers return. This year we had more alumni to introduce than ever before, and I hope the trend continues." [Photo courtesy of Rensselaer Athletics]

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dave Aiello wrote, "This past weekend, my wife Kathleen and I drove up to Troy to participate in the annual RPI Hockey Alumni Weekend. This year, the weekend included two men's varsity games against St. Lawrence and Clarkson, a breakfast for hockey alumni and their families honoring the 1954 NCAA Championship Team, and the annual Alumni Game."

"Due to work schedules and weather condition, we didn't arrive in time to see Rensselaer play St. Lawrence on Friday night. The Times Union reported that Engineers faied to capitalize on a number of scoring chances late in the third period, and lost to St. Lawrence 3-2. Although St. Lawrence is in ninth place, they swept the season series with RPI."

"Kevin Croxton and Nick Economakos each had a goal and an assist to lead RPI. Nathan Marsters made 28 saves for RPI. SLU's goaltender Mike McKenna made 31 saves for the victory and came up big down the stretch."

"On Saturday night, RPI scored three unanswered goals in the third period to win a convincing 4-2 victory over Clarkson in the 27th Annual Big Red Freakout. Unlike the 2002 Freakout when Rensselaer won in overtime, victory in this game was never in doubt in my mind. RPI has a lot more talent than Clarkson this year, and there was too much magic in the building for us to lose."

"Kirk MacDonald, Oren Eizenman, Ben Barr, and Kevin Broad scored for the Engineers. Nathan Marsters made 29 saves for the victory."

"For those of you who did not see the Freakout, it was one of the oddest college hockey games I've seen in a long time. Referee Dan Murphy called a lot of penalties, but it was not a particularly rough game or a mismatch. A lot of the penalties were obstruction and unsportsmanlike conduct fouls, which don't usually get called as often as they were in this game. As a result, the game almost resembeled an inter-squad scrimmage where both teams were working on power play and penalty killing situations throughout."

"RPI went 3-for-9 on the power play, and generated a lot of offensive chances. Clarkson went 0-for-10 in man advantage situations, although I think that several of their power plays were shorter than two minutes. RPI's special teams played very well this weekend. In fact, the biggest question I left Troy with is can they score goals consistantly when they are at equal strength?"

"Rensselaer ends the weekend with a record of 15-11-2, 9-6-1 in the ECAC. This is good for third place. The Engineers are in a three way tie with Cornell and Dartmouth, although RPI has more conference wins than either of them. The team hits the road for key games against Harvard and Brown next weekend. More of us will have an opportunity to see the team in person-- the Princeton hockey game is only two weeks away."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The RPI Men's Hockey Team almost got swept this weekend on a trip to Dartmouth and Vermont, but managed a split thanks to an overtime goal on Saturday night.

On Friday night, Rensselaer rallied from a 2-0 deficit to a 3-2 third period lead against Dartmouth. The lead was not safe, however, as The Big Green struck for two unanswered goals in the last two minutes of regulation enroute to a 4-3 victory. USCHO reported that Kevin Croxton missed a shot at an open net with five minutes to go in regulation that would have given the Engineers a commanding two goal lead.

Goaltender Nathan Marsters made 31 saves in the loss. Brad Farynuk, Scott Basiuk, and Matt McNeely scored for RPI.

On Saturday, Rensselaer capitalized on the aggressive play of Vermont in overtime and converted an odd-man rush into a Vic Pereira goal. The result was, as USCHO said, "a hard-fought {3-2} road victory over Vermont at sold-out Gutterson Fieldhouse."

Kevin Croxton came back from the frustration of Friday night with a two goal effort on Saturday. Nathan Marsters made 19 saves.

RPI ends the weekend with a 14-10-2 overall record. They're 8-5-1 in ECAC league play.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:12 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 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)

RPI lost the consolation game of the Rensselaer/HSBC Holiday Tournament 2-1 to Colgate. Kyle Wilson scored two goals to lead Colgate to victory.

USCHO.com carried a couple of choice comments by members of each team:

RPI coach Dan Fridgen: "When you're playing a perfect hockey game out there defensively, one five-on-five goal over the course of 120 minutes is not going to win you a lot of games."

Colgate sophomore Kyle Wilson: "It's good to set the tone with this team.... We're going to see them twice more, so it's good to get a win against them right off the bat and show them a few things of what's to come."

Nice bulletin board material there.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

USCHO is a little slow with the game recap, so we go to the RPI Athletics Web Site for a report on Mercyhurst's 3-2 defeat of Rensselaer in the teams' opening game at the 53rd Annual Rensselaer/HSBC Holiday Tournament at Houston Field House in Troy. Nick Economakos staked the Engineers to a 2-0 lead with goals in the first and second period. Mercyhurst College, coached by former RPI assistant Rick Gotkin, scored three unanswered goals including the game winner with 1:44 left in regulation time. T.J. Kemp got the winner for the Lakers.

Mercyhurst goaltender Jordan Wakefield made 40 saves to earn the victory.

Mercyhurst moves on to face Northeastern University who were 6-4 winners over Colgate in the tournament opener. The championship will take place at 7:00pm on Monday night. RPI will face Colgate University in the consolation at 4:00pm.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Earlier today, St. John's of Minnesota defeated RPI 38-10 to win a place in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, the Division III Football national championship game. RPI and St. John's fought to a 10-10 tie at halftime. But, in the second half, St. John's constant defensive pressure kept quarterback Dan Cole on the run, while their offense found its traction.

Rensselaer ends its season champions of the East Region of Division III. This is the first time in 118 years that RPI has won an NCAA Football playoff game (they actually won two in a row). This was a fantastic season, worthy of being called the greatest in school history.

We will point to additional accounts of the game as they become available.

Update:

• Engineers Lacking Spark, Times Union, main article about game
• St. John's beats RPI 38-10 in Div. III playoffs, Associated Press via ESPN
• Football Falls in National Semi-Finals, Rensselaer Athletics News Release

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Those of you who have been following Rensselaer Football all season with RCNJ.org already know that the Engineers will take on the St. John's Johnnies in the Division III Football Semifinals on Saturday, December 13, at 1:00pm Eastern Time. The game will be played in Collegeville, MN on St. John's home field.

RPI Alumni Relations is providing information on a number of different ways that the game can be enjoyed live. If you are in the New York Metropolitan Area the options available to you either require a large satellite dish or a broadband internet connection.

D3football.com published another article about an RPI team leader. Mark Simon profiles senior quarterback Dan Cole and how well his style of passing works in adverse weather conditions.

The Times Union covered RPI Football's first airplane trip in its 118-year history-- a charter flight from Albany to Minneapolis, en route to Collegeville.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dave Aiello wrote, "On Friday, I received a message from RPI Men's Hockey Coach Dan Fridgen that read, in part:"

Subject: Signed Stick

Dave:

Just a quick note to thank you and the others for your support on the NCAA D3 Proposal.... Hope all is well in Jersey and please give my regards to everyone, and once again, thank them for their continued support. See you in the New Year and Happy Holidays!

Dan Fridgen

Head Men's Ice Hockey Coach

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

NCAA CHAMPIONS 1954 1985

My response to Coach Fridgen was:

Dan:

Glad to hear from you on this. We had wondered whether one of those sticks made it to the Field House. I see on the latest Campus Bulletin email that you guys did a similar promotion this weekend at the Yale and Princeton games. I think the more people we can get to participate in this type of consciousness-raising, the better it is for us and the other schools affected.

No one who signed on for the original Play-Up Rule could have imagined that the Presidents' Council would try to include a provision to end it in a large package of reforms. This is ridiculous and the worst kind of bureaucratic wrangling.

I hope everyone associated with the team has a great holiday season. I remember what it was like to make it to this point in the hockey season, and everyone needs a couple of days at home with their families-- the sooner, the better....

Take care,

Dave Aiello

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Monday, Campus.News reported on a banner signing to support Division I hockey at Rensselaer that took place over the weekend at the men's hockey games at Houston Field House.

The banner reads "Support Puckman, Support 65-1". Puckman is a name of the RPI Hockey mascot (see the photo on the Campus.News page). "65-1" refers to a proposed amendment to Amendment 65 which would eliminate the waiver allowing eight Division III schools (including RPI) to "play up" in Division I sports that they have traditionally participated in.

Not to steal any of the thunder from this event, but, we have to wonder if the Rensselaer Athletic Department got the idea to do this from the RCNJ stick signing that took place on October 21?

Dave Aiello received an email from men's ice hockey head coach Dan Fridgen last week. In his response to Coach Fridgen, Dave said: "I think the more people we can get to participate in this type of consciousness-raising, the better it is for us and the other schools affected."

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

In what can best be described as a game played in some of the most challenging conditions in NCAA football history, RPI defeated Ithaca College 21-16 to advance to the Division III Football Semi-finals against St. John's University of Minnesota next weekend.

Want an idea how bad the conditions were? Check out these photos of the game, reportedly taken by a Rensselaer alumnus. (We would provide attribution, but the person who pointed out the existence of these pictures did not fully identify himself.)

RPI jumped out to a 14-0 lead on its first two posessions. Senior quarterback Dan Cole connected on a 59-yard touchdown pass to Pat Hughes on the third play from scrimmage. On the next drive, Cole connected with freshman John Branche on a 37-yard pass. Ithaca could manage only a 21-yard field goal before halftime, to make the score 14-3.

During halftime, WRPI color commentator Bob Conway suggested that 14 points wouldn't be enough to win the game, and he was right. Ithaca struck first in the second half, with a 26-yard TD pass from Josh Felicetti to Justin Esposito. The PAT-attempt failed, so RPI lead 14-9.

Cole then hooked up with Branche again for a 16-yard TD. Kicker Matt Verenini made the last of his three extra points to make the score 21-9. Ithaca subsequently scored a touchdown with 3:42 to go in regulation, but was intercepted in its next posession. RPI ran out the clock for the victory.

The Times Union has an excellent article about the RPI-Ithaca game. In it, Rensselaer head coach Joe King said:

It's a game that I think everybody who played and coached in it will remember forever. I've never seen conditions like that before. I don't know if anybody else has. But I thought both teams played very well under the circumstances. I thought we played outstanding on offense.

RPI is now one game away from the Stagg Bowl, the Division III National Championship Game. Before it gets to participate in that, it must meet and defeat St. John's on their home field in Collegeville, Minnesota. That game will take place next Saturday at 1:00 Eastern Time.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This weekend, the Rensselaer Men's Hockey Team split games with Yale and Princeton. All things considered, this was a good weekend to have two home games. But, the team was less than 100 percent throughout as a number of players had the flu.

On Friday, Yale came back from a 4-3 deficit early in the third period to beat RPI 5-4. Joe Callahan had a hat trick for the Elis. Scott Basiuk and Kevin Croxton each had a goal and an assist for the Engineers. Kevin Kurk made 23 saves in his second start this season in the net.

On Saturday, the game against Princeton had to be delayed about 45 minutes because the Tigers had travel problems. When they finally got on the ice, they fell behind 4-0, before rallying back to 4-3 with 14 1/2 minutes left to go in regulation. RPI came back to life then, and cruised to a 6-4 victory.

Alexander Valentin led the Engineers with a goal and an assist. Conrad Barnes scored the game winner for RPI. Nathan Marsters recovered enough to play in this game. He made 24 saves en route to the win.

Rensselaer is now 8-5-2 overall, 3-2-1 in the ECAC. It next plays in the Renssealer/HSBC Holiday Tournament after Christmas.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The RPI Football Team will take on Ithaca College at '86 Field in the NCAA Division III Football Quarterfinals at noon on Saturday. The National Weather Service forecast posted this morning says:

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 AM EST SUNDAY...

SNOW WILL BE OCCASIONALLY HEAVY TODAY. THE SNOW WILL CONTINUE
TONIGHT BEFORE TAPERING TO SNOW SHOWERS TOWARD DAYBREAK SUNDAY.
SNOWFALL WILL RANGE FROM AROUND 2 FEET IN THE BERKSHIRES...SOUTHERN
TACONICS AND LITCHFIELD HILLS...TO 8 TO 16 INCHES IN THE BALANCE OF
EASTERN NEW YORK AND WESTERN NEW ENGLAND. BRISK WIND GUSTING UP TO
30 MILES AN HOUR OVER THE HILLS AND MOUNTAINS WILL CAUSE SOME BLOWING
AND DRIFTING OF THE SNOW.

It will be interesting to see how extreme weather like this affects the gameplan for both teams.

The game will be broadcast over WRPI at noon. It will also be broadcast via an affiliate of D3football.com beginning at 11:40am.

A few interesting articles were published about the football team this week. The Times Union published an article on Friday about how far football at RPI has come since the 43-game winless streak ended in 1965. D3football.com published an article by Mark Simon about the Cochran family tradition of playing football at Rensselaer. Six of seven Cochran brothers from Kent, Washington have attended RPI and played football.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The RPI Football Team advanced to the finals of the NCAA Division III East Region by defeating top-seed Springfield College 40-34 on Saturday, at Springfield. The Rensselaer defense stopped two consecutive drives by Springfield in the waning moments of the fourth quarter to preserve the hard-fought victory.

Senior quarterback Dan Cole went 26-for-44 for 348 yards and threw five touchdowns. The RPI offense was as different from the Springfield offense as day is to night. According to the Times Union, Springfield rushed for 441 yards on 79 carries, but never completed a pass.

RPI was losing 27-17 early in the third quarter, but then scored 20 unanswered points to take the lead for good. During the time, they were passing the ball into a strong wind.

Rensselaer next faces Ithaca College at '86 Field on Saturday, December 6, at 12 noon in the NCAA Division III East Region Finals. This will be RPI's first appearance in a regional final, which can also be considered the NCAA Football quarterfinals. RPI was defeated by Ithaca two years ago in a second round game that also occurred in Troy.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rensselaer Men's Hockey Team continued its string of strong performances this weekend in road games against two Hockey East opponents. On Friday night, Kevin Croxton and Kirk MacDonald both scored in the second period to lead RPI to a 2-1 victory over UMass-Lowell. Junior Andrew Martin played strongly in his first start as an Engineer, making 24 saves.

On Saturday, RPI travelled up to Durham, NH, to play the fourth-ranked University of New Hampshire. Scott Romfo, Nick Economakos, and Conrad Barnes scored to give the Engineers a 3-2 lead at the end of two periods. But, UNH came back with two goals early in the third period to put the game away.

Nathan Marsters had 23 saves in the loss from Rensselaer.

RPI is now 7-4-2 overall, 2-1-1 in the ECAC. They face Yale and Princeton at Houston Field House next weekend.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

USCHO.com reports on a surprising sweep by the RPI Men's Hockey Team over fifth-ranked St. Cloud State on Friday and Saturday.

On Friday night Vic Pereira scored a goal with 3:28 remaining in regulation time, assisted by Mikael Hammarstrom. St. Cloud State coach Craig Dahl set the stage for Saturday night by providing the following bulletin board material:

That last goal was kind of a cheesy goal but hey, we've also gotten cheesy goals before.... All those breaks have a way of evening out and I just think we didn't play like we're capable of.

Those breaks didn't even out on Saturday night either. The score was tied 1-1 at the end of two periods, when Kevin Croxton scored a power play goal at 9:42 of the third. Nick Economakos and Scott Basiuk got helpers.

St. Cloud gave up a power play goal after a too many men on the ice penalty. St. Cloud coach Dahl was a little more generous in his assessment after this game:

RPI worked really, really hard and deserved the bounces they got and we didn't.... It wasn't that we didn't work hard, but we didn't get the bounces that we've been getting. We can't score to save our lives.

Nathan Marsters played two excellent games this weekend, making 29 and 35 saves, respectively.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

D3Football.com reports that senior quarterback Dan Cole threw for four touchdowns and 362 yards as RPI prevaled over Curry College, 34-20. Flynn Cochrane was on the other end of a lot of this offensive production. He caught 15 passes for 216 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Unfortunately, Cole was somewhat unsteady in this game, throwing three interceptions in addition to his four touchdown passes. Cochran also had problems at times, fumbling the ball at Curry's goal line early in the game.

The NCAA Division III playoff game opened up significantly in the third and fourth quarter. At halftime, the score was tied 6-6.

This was the Engineers first NCAA football tournament victory in school history. Rensselaer, now 9-1, moves on to face top-seeded Springfield College, 10-0, next Saturday at noon in Springfield.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Saturday, Hobart shocked RPI 43-25 at '86 Field in Troy. With the victory, Hobart wins the UCAA championship for the second-consecutive year. This is the first time Hobart has beaten RPI in Troy since 1983.

Hobart amassed four fourth quarter touchdowns including two long touchdown passes in 38 seconds. Rensselaer had been leading 15-7 at halftime. The Engineers record is now 8-1, 3-1 in the UCAA.

At the time, the loss to Hobart was thought to be severely damaging to RPI's hopes for a birth in the NCAA tournament. However, that was before it was known that both Ithaca and Washington and Jefferson lost this weekend as well.

When the Division III Playoff Pairings were announced, RPI learned that it will face Curry in Troy on Saturday. As anyone could conclude from D3football.com's bracket analysis article, this is a doubly unusual turn of events:

One home location got switched because of facilities, as No. 5 RPI will host No. 4 Curry. Curry couldn�t host in their stadium and got sent on the road, where RPI has a field to spare (they�ll play on �86 Field, for those in the know).

Maybe catching up on all that deferred maintenance around campus will directly help one of our highest profile athletic programs? We'll see on Saturday.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Engineers battled the Vermont Catamounts and Dartmouth Big Green at Houston Field House this weekend, emerging with a win and a tie. I attended both games.

Friday's game against Vermont was promoted as "Black Friday", a new promotion where admission to students was free, the crowd was strongly encouraged to wear black clothing, and the team wore black jerseys that were auctioned off during the game. The jerseys were quite reminiscent of the jerseys worn throughout the eighties, and featured the letters "RPI" diagonally from top left to bottom right in red text on a black background.

Friday's game was never a contest. Undisciplined play resulted in a large number of penalties for the Catamounts, who went on to lose to the Engineers, 7-1. The game featured ninety minutes in penalties, resulting in three power-play goals for the Engineers. Sophomore Kevin Croxton led scoring with two goals and an assist, followed by junior Nick Economakos with a goal and two assists.

Saturday's game against Dartmouth was an entirely different matter. After two scoreless periods, junior Matt McNeely beat Dartmouth netminder Dan Yacey at 6:12 in the third. Dartmouth won the resulting faceoff and scored eight seconds later, with Eric Przepiorka beating RPI goaltender Nathan Marsters on his glove side. After the overtime period, each team took home one point, with the game ending in a 1-1 tie.

Attendance for both contests hovered just above 3,000. While one of Friday's aims was to boost student attendance, Friday's attendance was only about a hundred more than that of Saturday. I applaud the Department of Athletics for making an attempt to draw more students to games; Friday's crowd was a bit more fervent than Saturday's, perhaps due to the number of penalties and the ability of the Engineers to capitalize on power-play opportunities.

After four ECAC games, Rensselaer has five points on the season and is in a four-way tie for third place in the conference.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here are the details on the men's hockey teams' interesting trip to the North Country this weekend. On Friday night, USCHO.com reported that RPI took advantage of a controversial 5-on-3 powerplay in overtime to beat Clarkson 4-3. Ben Barr got the winning goal during a scramble with 1:30 remaining in overtime. Nathan Marsters made 22 saves, including stopping a penalty shot, for the victory.

According to the Times Union, this was RPI's first victory at Clarkson or St. Lawrence since the 1999-2000 season. Also, the Engineers had been held to one goal or less in its last three games at Cheel Arena in Potsdam.

On Saturday night, St. Lawrence goaltender Mike McKenna emphatically shut out the Engineers by a score of 4-0. This win broke a nine-game losing streak for the Larries.

RPI now has a 3-3-1 overall record, and has a 1-1 record in ECAC play.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Albany Times Union reports that senior quarterback went raised his season total beyond 2,000 passing yards for the third consecutive season, leading 25th ranked RPI to a 55-0 victory over St. Lawrence University in Canton. According to the article:

Cole has been nothing short of a sensational surprise since coming to RPI. A relative unknown until his senior season at {Bishop Maginn High School in Albany}, he now holds 11 different passing records at RPI, which has a long tradition of top small college quarterbacks.

The article goes on to point out that Cole is one of a number of outstanding Rensselaer players to come out of high schools in New York State's Section II. Over 40 percent of the roster is comprised of players who went to high school in the Capital District.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

D3football.com reports that Quarterback Dan Cole threw a 22-yard touchdown pass with 1:22 remaining in the fourth quarter to give Rensselaer a 24-17 victory over St. John Fisher. The RPI defense denied Fisher a tieing touchdown with no time left on the clock by breaking up a pass at the goal line.

Rensselaer moves to 6-0 for the season.

This was a closely watched game because RPI was the 20th ranked team in Division III in the nation in points per game (37.8), while St. John Fisher was 36th (33.4 points per game) coming into the game. The final score of 24-17 was lower than many people probably expected.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

USCHO.com reports that RPI scored four goals in the last 21 minutes of the game to defeat Merrimack 5-4 in the last non-conference game before ECAC play starts next weekend. Conrad Barnes scored the game winner for the Engineers with about 4 1/2 minutes left in regulation. Nathan Marsters made 17 saves to earn the victory.

Rensselaer opens the ECAC schedule next weekend at Clarkson and St. Lawrence.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

D3Football.com reports that Joe King got his 100th victory as RPI's head football coach as Rensselaer trounced Hartwick 52-7 in Oneonta. According to the article:

The Engineers (6-0, 2-0 UCAA) gave 15th-year head coach Joe King the 100th victory of his career at RPI. King, who has a 100-36-2 record, has led the Engineers to two NCAA Playoff appearances (1999, 2001), five victories in Eastern College Athletic Conference Bowl Games (1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2002) and four UCAA Championships (1997, 1998, 1999, 2001) during his tenure. In addition, he guided RPI to undefeated regular seasons (9-0) in 1999 and 2001.

RPI was winning 42-0 at halftime. Hartwick committed 11 turnovers. Most of the Rensselaer starters were watching from the sidelines in the second half.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Albany Times Union reports that Freshman Julie Aho scored a goal with 1:04 left in regulation time to give Rensselaer a 4-4 overtime tie with Union College in the opening game of the season for both schools.

This is the first game RPI has played since women's head coach Bill Cahill passed away. As such, it was John Burke's first game as acting head coach.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

USCHO.com reports that the RPI Men's Hockey Team rolled over Army 6-0 to win their first game of the season. Freshman Tommy Green scored two goals and junion Cody Wojdyla had a goal and an assist to lead the Engineers. Nathan Marsters was perfect in goal, making 12 saves for the win.

It's hard to believe that 12 shots on goal is not an all-time low number of opponent shots against Rensselaer in a single game. But with a 100 year history of ice hockey, it would take some research to confirm.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SKNandy writes, "John Burke has been named acting head coach for the Rensselaer women's ice hockey team. Burke had served as assistant coach for the Rensselaer men's ice hockey team for the past 8 years. He replaces the late Bill Cahill, who died suddenly after a heart attack on October 5."

"Burke is happy to be named to the position. In an article on the Rensselaer Athletics website announcing his appointment, he said":

I am honored to have the opportunity to take over the women�s program. Bill was a man I really enjoyed being around and learned a lot from, not just in hockey but in life. I look forward to building on the foundation and tradition he established. It remains our goal to make Rensselaer one of the top women�s hockey programs in the country.

"The RPI women's hockey team opens their season this Saturday night with a contest at Union College."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

USCHO.com reports that Rensselaer scored three goals late in the third period to tie UConn, 4-4. Freshman Oren Eizenman scored two goals. Nick Economakos and C.J. Hanafin each scored one for the Engineers. Kevin Croxton had two assists. Kevin Kurk made 22 saves in his first start of the season.

Our intrepid correspondent John Cloninger reportedly attended this game. We hope that he will file a first-hand report soon.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In its Friday edition, The Albany Times Union pointed out that the Rensselaer varsity hockey programs are rebounding from the deaths of two very important staff members. Two weeks ago, we mentioned the sudden death of Bill Cahill who had served as men's assistant coach and acting head coach before assuming his most recent role as women's head coach. However, men's equipment manager Tom Cavosie also passed away in July, while on a fishing trip.

Tom was an integral part of the men's hockey program and the father of Marc and Eric Cavosie, two alumni of the men's varsity program. Many of the upperclassmen on the team played with one or both of the Cavosies, and had a close relationship with Tom.

A commemorative shoulder patch with the initials "TC" was placed on game sweaters prior to the beginning of the season. It will now be joined by a similar patch in honor of Bill Cahill.

The loss of these two men was also discussed in an article by Jayson Moy '89 that appeared recently on USCHO.com. Jayson has been one of the voices of RPI Hockey on WRPI for the past 12 seasons. He also serves as the General Manager of USCHO.com.

There has been little written about the reactions of the players on the women's team to the death of their coach. One of the more detailed discussions of the impact on the women's hockey program appeared in the Troy Record back on October 7.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Early in the third period of Sunday night's game against Providence College, Rensselaer had a potential game tieing goal disallowed because the officials ruled that the goal net had been dislodged from its moorings. Moments later, Providence sophomore Nate Meyers scored an insurance goal, and the Friars went on to win 5-2. The game was played at Schneider Arena in Providence before a crowd of only 921.

Kirk MacDonald staked RPI to an early 1-0 lead. Ryan Shields scored the other goal for the Engineers. Nathan Marsters made 23 saves in the game.

The team returns to Troy for its home opener on Friday night against UConn. Faceoff is at 7:00pm.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

USCHO.com reports that Boston University defeated Rensselaer 5-2 in RPI's 2003-4 season opener at Walter Brown Arena. Ben Barr and Scott Basiuk scored for the Engineers, while Nathan Marsters made 24 saves in the loss.

RPI plays Providence College tonight in Providence.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

D3football.com reports that senior quarterback Dan Cole led RPI to a 33-7 victory over Union College to claim the Dutchman's Shoes for 2003. Cole threw for 272 yards and four touchdowns, and also rushed for over 100 yards.

With the victory Rensselaer sweeps all of its traditional trophy games for the season (Shotglass, Transit, and Dutchman's Shoes). This is only the third time this has happened in school history. The last time was in 1999.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dave Aiello wrote, "The Albany Times Union reported yesterday that Rensselaer Women's Hockey Coach Bill Cahill passed away of a heart attack on Sunday at age 53. Bill was a friend and mentor to many people who were involved in men's and women's ice hockey at Rensselaer over the past 15 years. He served as assistant coach of the men's team under Mike Addesa during my senior year. He later served as the interim coach after Coach Addesa resigned, and as an assistant to Buddy Powers and Dan Fridgen."

"Bill assumed the role of head coach of the women's team in 2000, at the behest of Bob Ducatte, Rensselaer's athletic director at the time. An article that appeared in last week's edition of The Poly points out Cahill's achievements as women's head coach in the past year:"

• school record for wins last season (20-7 overall)
• school record for consecutive home victories, 11
• ECAC Coach of the Year for 2002-2003
• finalist for ACHA Division III Women's Coach of the Year

"Although the Times Union extensively quotes Dan Fridgen, neither of these articles give the players' perspective on the loss of Bill Cahill. I can't speak for members of the women's team, who lost the only head coach that their program has had since it achieved varsity status. But, everybody I know from the men's teams over the years loved to work with Bill. He was a man who always seemed to find a way to make people feel better about their circumstances. As Coach Fridgen said in the Times Union, he was very supportive of everyone with whom he worked."

"This is a terrible loss for the Women's Hockey Team, the Athletic Department, and the Rensselaer community. If any details of funeral arrangements are provided to the public, I will post them as an update to this story."

Update: Kevin Beattie, Rensselaer's Sports Information Director told us, "Viewing hours will be Thursday from 4-8pm at Athy Funeral Home at 111 Lancaster Street in Worcester. The funeral will be held on Friday morning at 11am at Blessed Sacrament Church on Pleasant Street in Worcester. In lieu of flowers, gifts should be made payable to Let's Go Red-Women's Hockey and sent to Let's Go Red!, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, AS&RC Building, 110 Eighth Street, Troy, NY 12180-9987."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday, the RPI football team dominated the University of Rochester, 47-26. According to D3football.com, Rensselaer "...scored on seven of its first eight posessions of the second half all unanswered". The article further underscored the domination by pointing out that RPI has outscored Rochester 75-6 in the second half of their last three meetings.

Rensselaer senior quarterback Dan Cole finished 35 of 52 for 474 yards with 3 touchdowns. He also rushed for 42 yards and had 516 yards of total offense. The number of completions, yards passing, and yards of total offense are all individual school records.

RPI moves to 4-0 overall, 1-0 in the UCAA.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday, we reported that the NCAA Division III Presidents' Council proposed the elimination of athletic scholarships at Division III schools that play one or more sports at the Division I level. This proposal, if it passed, would affect the Rensselaer Mens' Ice Hockey Team, and 11 other athletic teams at 7 other colleges or universities.

Today, the RPI Athletic Department issued a statement from President Shirley Ann Jackson in response to that proposal. The statement reads as follows:

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute strongly opposes the National Collegiate Athletic Association�s (NCAA) proposal to eliminate the awarding of athletics aid by Division III member institutions in sports classified in Division I. If it is approved, this proposal could place Rensselaer�s well-respected hockey tradition in jeopardy, and hamper the ability of ice hockey players to receive the benefits of a Rensselaer education. Rensselaer has a fabulous tradition in ice hockey. It has sent a number of players to the National Hockey League (NHL), and has been inspirational and satisfying for our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends.

The NCAA President�s Council recommended the proposal apparently in the belief that reforms are needed in Division III athletics to address the ongoing relationship between athletics and education. At Rensselaer, we scrupulously maintain a balance that encourages our hockey players to perform at optimum levels in academics and on the ice. These players truly represent the highest values of the scholar-athlete. Their grades, graduation rates, and their overall achievements in life are a testament to the success and integrity of our program. In short, Rensselaer already adheres to the spirit of the Division III philosophy, and, as such, is a credit to the NCAA.

In our view, the NCAA should not punish the multi-divisional schools to address Division III concerns. Rather, the NCAA should consider conducting audits of all Division III institutions. Rensselaer�s program would easily withstand such scrutiny.

We are proud of our athletic programs, our players, our fans, and our long tradition of Division I men�s ice hockey, which we intend to continue at Rensselaer as we support all of our athletic programs at the highest possible levels. Rensselaer will engage in a vigorous and sustained effort to defeat the NCAA President�s Council�s proposal.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

USCHO.com reports that the NCAA Division III Presidents' Council has proposed eliminating scholarship awards at Division III schools that "play up" to Division I in one sport. Among the schools that would be affected by this proposal is Rensselaer, one of four Division III schools that play up to Division I in mens' ice hockey that also grants scholarships.

This proposal is subject to a final vote at the next NCAA convention in January 2004. According to the article, "Should the legislation pass, the options for {RPI, Colorado College, St. Lawrence, and Clarkson} would be to continue playing in Division I without scholarships, move to Division III, or move the entire athletic program to Division II or I."

Union College is the only Division III school playing up to Division I in ice hockey that does not grant athletic scholarships.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

USCHO reported on the annual ECAC awards banquet that took place in Albany earlier this week. Kevin Croxton was the lone award recipient from Rensselaer. He was named to the ECAC All-Rookie Team.

Cornell cemented its dominant position in the minds of the ECAC awards committee. It won or shared five of the six major end-of-season awards.

In other news, the ECAC Hockey Tournament will take place this weekend at Pepsi Arena in Albany. Several games will be broadcast on YES, NESN, and Leafs TV in Canada.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Over the weekend, the Mens' hockey team travelled to Cornell for a best-of-three game series in the ECAC Quarterfinals. The Big Red are ranked #2 in the nation in Division I ice hockey, and they lived up to that ranking with two very strong victories. In the Friday game, Cornell scored a goal in each period of the game and held on for a 3-2 victory. Nathan Marsters, who has raised his game back to the levels he reached last season, led Rensselaer with 23 saves.

On Saturday, Cornell consistently out-muscled the Engineers en route to a 4-0 victory. This game was televised on YES and NESN, so many RPI fans in our area were able to see it live in their living rooms. Nathan Marsters stopped 29 Cornell shots to keep the game relatively close.

RPI closes out the season with a 12-24-3 record. This was a very tough year for the team, with a long, frustrating losing streak in the middle of the year. The Engineers rallied in the playoffs, and their decisive series victory over Union in the opening round of the playoffs made the season's outcome far more positive than it otherwise would have been.

The TV commentators at the game on Saturday night pointed out that Rensselaer seems to have rediscovered quality goaltending in Nathan Marsters after a long stretch of mediocre performances in December and January. This should give all RPI fans hope as we head into the long off-season.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sandeep Nandy told us that Rensselaer Athletic Review and Preview says that Saturday night's ECAC quarterfinal playoff game between the Rensselaer Engineers and the Cornell Big Red will be shown on both The YES Network and NESN.

YES will broadcast the game live at 7:00pm Eastern Time on Saturday, March 15. (Editor: Please note that this a correction to what we originally reported, that the game would be shown on two hour time delay at 9pm.) This is the best bet for fans in the New York Metropolitan Area who do not have DirecTV or the Dish Network. NESN will also broadcast the game live at 7:00pm Eastern Time. This feed will be widely available on cable networks in New England and the eastern part of Upstate New York.

Reportedly, re-broadcasts of the game will be aired from time-to-time over the following week on the same channels.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sandeep Nandy wrote, "On March 5, the Rensselaer women's basketball team hosted the Nazareth Golden Flyers in the first round of the ECAC tournament. Behind the efforts of junior Kristin Kaczynski and sophomore Kaitlin Saunders, the Red Hawks emerged with a 73-51 victory. RPI jumped out to a 33-21 halftime lead and held on for a comfortable victory. Kaczynski scored 22 points, while Saunders added 21. Junior forward Caitlin Vestal also had a strong game, contributing 10 points and 10 rebounds."

"Kacyznski also reached an important milestone in this contest as she topped the 1,000 point mark for her career. She ranks eighth on the Red Hawks all time scoring list. In addition to her accomplishments on the court, Kaczynski was also recently selected as a 2002-2003 Verizon District 1 College Division Women's Basketball All Academic First Team."

"With the win, the Red Hawks, coached by John Greene, advanced to the ECAC tournament semifinals on March 8. Rensselaer took to the court against Oneonta State on the campus of SUNY Geneseo. In this contest, Rensselaer held a 5 point halftime lead and charged to a 79-65 win. Saunders led the Red Hawks with 21 points, while Vestal and Kaczynski added 14 and 10 points, respectively."

"On Sunday March 9, the Red Hawks faced the SUNY Geneseo Blue Knights for the ECAC Upstate Women's Basketball Championship. Despite getting off to an early lead in the contest, the Red Hawks trailed by five at halftime. Although RPI got close on several occasions in the second half, the Blue Knights emerged with a hard fought 74-71 victory."

"The Red Hawks ended the season with an 18-10 record."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We noticed that Rensselaer Athletics has relaunched their web site at http://www.rpi.edu/dept/athletics/. According to Kevin Beattie, RPI's Sports Information Director, the relaunch took place in mid-February.

The benefits of the changes are obvious. The appearance of the web site has been made consistant with other major RPI sites. This makes navigation to other Institute information resources easy. The home page has also been made more useful with a composite sports schedule and a chronological list of news releases.

With the introduction of permanent links to athletics-related stories, it will be possible for RCNJ to link to stories about Red Hawks teams that do not get as much general media attention as men's hockey and football. We hope to point out the results of more varsity sports events soon.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In a demonstration that anything can happen in the ECAC playoffs, RPI beat Union two games in a row, to win their first round playoff series 2-0. These games were RPI's first two victories away from Houston Field House this season.

On Friday night, Vic Pereira and Kevin Croxton scored goals on breakaways and Nathan Marsters made 37 saves, en route to a 2-1 victory. The game was broadcast on several cable channels, including The YES Network in the New York Metropolitan Area.

On Saturday, Union had a 2-1 lead with about 10 minutes to go in the third period. But, they later gave up two shorthanded goals on a single power play, and lost the game 3-2 to RPI. Ben Barr scored both shorthanded goals-- the first two shorthanded goals for RPI this season. Nathan Marsters played another great game, finishing up with 29 saves.

As a result of the series victory against Union, the Engineers will face #2-ranked Cornell next weekend in a best-of-three series in Ithaca.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

According to the USCHO message boards, Friday night's first-round playoff game between the Engineers and the Union Skating Dutchmen will be shown on both NESN and the YES Network. The YES Network feed will be tape-delayed by two hours and begin at 9PM EST on Friday, March 7. Future re-broadcasts will be available as well.

We are considering a group get-together for the game at a location TBA. Please visit RCNJ.org for further details. Please also note that Cablevision subscribers do not obtain the YES Network as part of their channel lineup. If you are interested in a get-together or a location to watch the game, please contact John Cloninger '96.

It is nice to see that our Cherry and White (and Puckman as well!) are appearing on commercials here in the Metro area. Tune into YES for an hour or so tomorrow to see what I mean! My thanks go out to Sandeep Nandy '94 for bringing this item to my attention!

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Eric Cavosie scored two goals on Senior Night as RPI defeated Vermont 4-2 in the last mens' hockey game of the season at Houston Field House. According to Buzz Gray's article in The Times Union:

...The senior forward from Cohoes took a long, slow skate by himself around the Houston Field House ice Saturday night after playing his final college hockey game there for RPI. He bent low over his stick and let the moment linger.

Cavosie had just led the Engineers to a 4-2 triumph over Vermont in what was easily the best game of his career. The left wing scored two goals, including the game winner, and assisted on another as RPI wrapped up its regular season before meeting Union in Schenectady in next weekend's ECAC tournament.

In one night, Cavosie scored more goals than he did in his 120 previous games combined. The former standout at Albany Academy had gone 97 contests since his last and only goal in college. That too was a game winner, coming on Oct. 28, 2000 against Army.

This is a great article, well worth reading in its entirety.

Congratulations Eric, on a great performance in the most difficult Engineer's season in recent memory.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The fans at Houston Field House probably had hope for a victory when Carson Butterwick scored a goal at 10:22 of the first period to make the score of the men's hockey game RPI 1, Dartmouth 0. But, Dartmouth responded with seven unanswered goals to win the game 7-1.

RPI's overall record is now 9-23-2. According to The Times Union, the team has broken the school record for losses in a single season. Bummer.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The headlines from the Times Union say it all:

• RPI Runs into a Big Red Wall
• RPI Continues Its Downward Spiral

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The homestanding RPI Men's hockey team tied Princeton and lost to Yale this weekend. As a result of this weekend's games, Rensselaer remains in 11th place, trailing everyone but Princeton.

The most interesting development of the weekend, from the perspective of reading the USCHO.com recaps, was what Yale coach Tim Taylor said after the game on Saturday night:

I don't know how many games RPI has won, but that's the best 11th-place team I have ever seen. They skate well, play hard and it will be an interesting playoff situation.

This season's team is a nice looking group of young men who are obviously struggling. They've had some tough breaks. Hearing Taylor's comments might make the weekend a little less painful for them. But, only a little. Above all, they need to win.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today's Times Union reports that Ryan Shields scored on a deflection with 7.1 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Engineers to an improbable 4-3 victory over Brown in The Big Red Freakout of 2003. Over 5,000 boisterous fans attended the game, the highest turnout of the season.

Scott Basiuk had two goals and Kevin Croxton has one goal for RPI. Nathan Marsters made 18 saves for the victory.

This is RPI's 13th consecutive win or tie in Freakout competition, (9-0-4). Brown is 0-6 in Freakout games. Of the Freakout, Basiuk said, "It's quite a spectacle. In my 16 or 17 years of playing hockey, I've never seen anything like this. The fans are pumped up and crazy; it's one of the greatest things a player can be part of."

In Friday night's game, Harvard scored five consecutive goals en route to a 6-4 victory. RPI actually led the game 2-1 at the end of one period of play.

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

The Rensselaer Mens' Hockey Team suffered through its fifth and sixth straight losses this weekend on the infamous North Country trip. On Friday night, St. Lawrence scored three unanswered goals in the third period to defeat RPI 4-2. Ben Barr scored both goals for Rensselaer, while Kevin Kurk had 29 saves.

In the annual Satellite Hockey game on Saturday night, Clarkson destroyed Rensselaer 7-1. The Golden Knights scored seven consecutive goals in the first two periods of the game. Chris Hussey scored for RPI on the power play with a little over 3 minutes remaining in the game.

Nathan Marsters had a game he would probably like to forget: 12 saves / 5 goals in 24 and one half minutes. Kevin Kurk relieved Marsters and largely stopped the bleeding.

RPI returns home for a weekend series against Harvard and Brown, beginning on Friday. Saturday night is the Big Red Freakout.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This past weekend, the men's hockey team lost two games in explosive fashion. On Friday, Vermont scored five consecutive goals in 18 minutes and survived a late Engineer rally, to win 5-3. The Catamounts have now won 3 of their last 4 games. Kevin Kurk and Nathan Marsters had frustrating nights, saving only 15 and 11 shots, respectively.

On Saturday, Dartmouth broke a five game losing streak by rolling to a 7-3 victory over RPI. The Big Green scored three consecutive goals to break the game open early in the third period. This was Rensselaer's fourth consecutive loss, bringing their record to 8-16-2 overall, 2-8-2 in the ECAC.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last week, the RPI Men's hockey team made news for some off ice activities. Rensselaer announced that head coach Dan Fridgen has received a three year contract extension, keeping him in Troy through at least through the 2005-2006 season.

In another happy development, the team Grade Point Average in the Fall Sememster reached 3.019, up from 2.658 in the Spring Semester last year. The GPA of RPI varsity athletes as a whole is now 3.142, with 357 of 520 student-athletes on the Dean's List.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 4:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This weekend, Colgate and Cornell travelled to Houston Field House and handed the men's hockey team two losses. On Friday night David Cann made 28 saves to lead Colgate to a 3-0 victory. This was Cann's third career shutout. Kevin Kurk also made 28 saves for RPI.

Rensselaer reportedly dominated the action in the second period, but was unable to break through for a goal. Colgate scored all three of its goals in the third period. RPI coach Dan Fridgen said, "I thought we played really, really well too. I thought we played a solid game and the opportunities were there. You know, again it comes down to a bounce here or there, and they got one off a faceoff. And the puck went through a couple of legs on the second goal."

Saturday, RPI battled back from a 3-1 deficit after two periods, but still fell short of #4 Cornell, 3-2. Nick Economakos and Kirk MacDonald scored for the Engineers. Nathan Marsters made 21 saves in the net for Rensselaer.

Cornell coach Mike Schafer said, "It was a real good win for us without being 100 percent healthy. I thought RPI played real well, they did a good job for the game."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Friday night, RPI and Union met for the second time this season. This game featured a pre-game victory guarantee from Union captain Nathan Gillies and a delay of game penalty on Union as a result of spectators repeatedly littering the ice with navel oranges. In the end, Union paid for both of these mistakes, tying Rensselaer 2-2.

Achilles Rink at Union College is notorious for spectator control problems, such as the two orange-throwing incidents. But, such outbursts don't always have a direct impact on the scoreboard. For some reason, officials have a tendency to warn spectators after the "traditional throwing of oranges" that accompanies Union's first goal, rather than proceed directly to a delay of game penalty.

However, Union was penalized after their second goal. According to USCHO:

After the goal, Union was penalized for delay of game after a couple of oranges were tossed on the ice. Scott Basiuk scored on the two-man advantage, tying the score at 2-2.... "I was thoroughly disgusted by that," Union coach Kevin Sneddon. "That's zero respect not only for our own team, but zero respect for college hockey."

You said it, Coach.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rensselaer Men's Hockey Team took on Minnesota-Duluth in non-league action this past weekend and split the two game series. On Friday night, Nolan Graham and Kevin Croxton led RPI to a 5-2 victory. Graham had one goal and four assists in the game; This was the first time an Engineer had scored five points since Matt Murley did it in November 2000.

In the game on Saturday, T.J. Caig scored a breakaway goal with 16 minutes to go in regulation, leading UMD to a 3-2 victory. Kirk MacDonald and Ben Barr had power play goals for Rensselaer in defeat.

The Friday game had the lowest actual attendance for a men's varsity game at Houston Field House in most people's memory. Reportedly, only 464 spectators made it to the game. This was because of the huge snowstorm that hit Upstate New York that evening.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In a frustrating return to action, RPI's offense failed to respond when clutch goals were needed, and the men's hockey team lost both of its games in the Rensselaer/HSBC Holiday Hockey Tournament in Troy.

On Friday, Brendon Clark scored the game winning goal with 7:36 left in the third period, giving Merrimack a 2-1 victory over Rensselaer. RPI coach Dan Fridgen said, "I didn't think they beat us on their merit; I thought we had a hand in that as well. But their goalie played real solid and you've got to take care of things better in your own end."

RPI extended its winless streak to three on Saturday, losing 4-3 to Princeton. As USCHO reported, "Against teams other than ECAC foe Rensselaer, Princeton is 0-14 this season. Plus, the Tigers lost three games during a recent exhibition tour of England. But against the Engineers, the Tigers are 2-0."

Summing up the tournament from his perspective, Coach Fridgen said, "I was hoping to use this tournament as a springboard for the second third of the season. We completely missed the board. We'll see how deep of a hole this is." RPI is now 7-11-1 overall.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In a midweek matchup that ends the pre-Christmas part of the schedule, Boston University defeated RPI 4-1 at Houston Field House. This game was a rematch from the final game of the Ice Breaker Tournament in Wisconcin at the beginning of the season.

Although Rensselaer ended up losing by three goals, the Times Union said that this game was closer than the first matchup earlier in the year:

Despite failing to score in the first period, this was a much better start for the Engineers than their earlier meeting in the championship game of the IceBreaker Tournament at Wisconsin when BU broke out to a 3-0 lead and went on to win 5-1.... "I thought it was a more even game than the score, especially the second and third period," said veteran Boston coach Jack Parker.

The game was decided, however, largely on neutral zone turnovers. RPI has developed a tendency to turn the puck over in the neutral zone, rather than dumping the puck in or carrying it into the offensive zone. As much as Rensselaer has shown improvement in its physical intensity lately, it has to minimize puck-handling mistakes in order to beat nationally-ranked opponents like BU.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dave Aiello wrote, "RPI considered the men's hockey game on Friday night against Union to be a must win. In its last four ECAC league games, the Engineers had three losses and a tie. In the last four games against Union, RPI's record was almost as bad: two losses and two ties."

"So, it was a great relief for everyone that RPI pulled out a 4-2 victory on two decisive goals by Ryan Shields in the third period. The line of Shields, Kevin Croxton, and Mikael Hammarstrom is now providing consistant offensive production."

"A major part of the story of this game was Rensselaer's physical domination of Union, a tactic that Union has previously employed with success against the Engineers. RPI is still only 2-4-1 in the ECAC and must keep up its intensity in order to move up in the standings."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Over the weekend, the RPI Men's Hockey Team travelled to Brown and Harvard for a weekend of competitive games. On Friday night, RPI tied Brown 1-1 after a scoreless overtime. Ryan Shields scored the only goal for Rensselaer. Kevin Kurk came up with 21 saves.

On Saturday, Harvard stopped RPI 3-1, with the victory catapulting the Crimson into first place in the ECAC. Danny Eberly scored the goal for Rensselaer, midway through the second period on a 5-3 power play. This made the score 2-1, but RPI would get no closer. Nathan Marsters made 38 saves for the Engineers.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The RPI Men's hockey team beat Mercyhurst College 5-3 on Saturday night. The Times Union reports that Ben Barr led RPI with two goals and an assist. Scott Romfro, Mikael Hammarstrom, and Nick Economakos scored the other goals. Nathan Marsters had 20 saves for Rensselaer.

Mercyhurst is a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, the newest of three Division I hockey leagues in the Northeast. Mercyhurst is coached by Rick Gotkin who was an RPI assistant coach until 1987.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Times Union has published an article profiling RPI freshman Kevin Croxton who is providing significant offensive production for the men's hockey team. According to the article:

Croxton, a 6-3 forward from Calgary, has been one of the few bright offensive lights over the last two weeks for the Engineers in a dull ECAC start that has them 1-3 in the league.

After a slow start, Croxton has scored four goals in the past three games for the Engineers....

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RPI Football capped another successful season with an impressive 55-29 victory over Worcester State in the ECAC Northeast Championship Game in Worcester. Dan Cole was named the game's Most Valuable Player, completing 22 of 33 passes for 293 yards and a touchdown, and rushing for 43 yards on 11 carries for two touchdowns.

RPI's offense was effective in the victory, while its defense took advantage of several Worcester State turnovers to put the offense in good field position.

RPI finishes the season with an 8-2 record, with losses coming to Hobart and Union.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 3:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the pivotal game of the 2002 football season in Upstate New York, Hobart beat Rensselaer 34-27 on their home field in Geneva, NY. Hobart led throughout the game, amassing a 21-6 lead midway through the third quarter and hanging on inspite of a late rally by the Engineers.

With the victory, Hobart clinches the UCAA title and is almost guaranteed a bid to the NCAA Division III football tournament. RPI may still get a bid to the ECAC regional championship which will take place on November 23.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 3:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dave Aiello wrote, "In spite of the collective effort of several hundred Rensselaer alumni cheering the team on, the Rensselaer men's hockey team lost to Princeton 4-3 at Baker Rink on Saturday night. This is Princeton's first victory of the season."

"RPI had many, many chances to score in this game, but never actually led. Scott Romfo, Kevin Croxton, and Danny Eberly scored the goals for the Engineers. Kevin Kurk had 25 saves."

"In Friday's game, Yale beat RPI 5-2, with Yale capitalizing on two shorthanded situations and one power play to jump out to a 3-0 lead. Mark Yurkewecz and Kevin Croxton scored for RPI. Kevin Kurk again had 25 saves."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 4:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rensselaer "welcomed" Clarkson and St. Lawrence to the Fieldhouse over the weekend, and split the two game series. On Friday, Clarkson beat RPI 2-1, overcoming the suspension of their head coach, Mark Morris. To read the news accounts, the controversy over Morris' conduct at a team practice last week was the focus of Friday night's game.

Clarkson jumped out to a 2-0 lead early, and shut out RPI for the last 44 minutes of the game. Mikael Hammarstrom got the only goal for the Engineers, and Kevin Kurk made 27 saves.

In the Saturday night contest, Rensselaer came back from a 1-0 deficit after being shutout for 43 minutes and beat St. Lawrence 2-1. Freshman Kevin Croxton scored both goals and Nathan Marsters made 34 saves to lead RPI to victory.

With the split, RPI moves to 5-5 overall and 1-1 in the ECAC.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 3:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In one of the more foregone conclusions in NCAA Division III football this season, UCAA powerhouse Rensselaer defeated UCAA doormat St. Lawrence 49-7. This RPI victory sets up a showdown with Hartwick next week for the UCAA title and a near-certain bid to the NCAA Division III Football Tournament.

Dan Cole was 16-20 for 372 yards and four touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Jimmy Motzkin also threw a 49 yard touchdown pass.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 2:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Junior quarterback Dan Cole set another school record by completing 33 passes en route to a 31-25 victory over St. John Fisher at '86 Field. Cole passed for 379 yards and four touchdowns. According to the article on D3football.com:

....Evan Cochran, a senior, {finished} with 12 catches for 155 yards and a touchdown while Flynn Cochran had nine receptions for 132 yards and a TD. {Pat} Hughes caught eight passes for 54 yards and a touchdown and he ran three times for 24 yards. Defensively, {Mike} Defilippi had a team-high seven tackles, including four solos, three interceptions and three passes defended. J.R. Williams (three solo) and Chris Pierz (one solo) also had seven tackles for the Engineers.

RPI improves to 6-1 on the season, while St. John Fisher falls to 4-4.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 2:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Over the weekend, the Rensselaer Mens' Hockey Team split a two game series with St. Cloud State University out in Minnesota. On Friday night, the Huskies beat RPI 3-0 on the strength of goals by Joe Motzko, Matt Hendricks, and Tim Conboy. Kevin Kurk made 24 saves for the Engineers in defeat. RPI went 0-7 on the power play.

In the second game, the outcome was nearly reversed. RPI beat St. Cloud 3-1 with Nathan Marsters making 40 saves to seal the victory. Ben Barr, Carson Butterwick, and Keith McWilliams scored the goals for RPI. It was St. Cloud's turn to be frustrated on the power play-- Rensselaer killed off 8 penalties, while scoring two powerplay goals themselves.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 2:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For the first time since March 2000, the Engineers posted two shutouts in one weekend, raising their record to 3-3-0 on the season.

Friday night's game in the Houston Field House was against the Iona Gaels. After an uneventful first period, Ryan Shields scored the first goal of the game, four minutes into the second period. Freshman Brad Farynuk netted an insurance goal in the middle of the final period. Read the USCHO summary of the game.

On Saturday, the Engineers traveled West Point to take on Army, a regular non-conference rivalry renewed after a short hiatus. Mikael Hammarstrom, Danny Eberly, and Nolan Graham were credited with the goals in a 3-0 shutout of the Cadets.

The weekend was notable in many ways, not only in that two shutouts were posted. Whereas RPI managed 84 shots on the weekend, scoring five, goaltender Kevin Kurk saved all 30 shots he faced. Curiously, his partner Nathan Marsters did not dress for either game. Freshman Brad Farynuk was a presence in both games, seeing a lot of ice time and getting involved in many of the important plays of the weekend.

The Engineers play a pair this weekend at St. Cloud State University, then return home to open the conference season against rivals St. Lawrence and Clarkson.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In a game that was marked by a number of record-breaking performances RPI Football beat Hartwick 39-38 to keep its NCAA playoff hopes alive. RPI Quarterback Dan Cole set a new school record for total offense in a game: 509 yards. This included completing 30 of 42 passes for 440 yards and five touchdowns, as well as 69 yards rushing.

According to D3football.com, "...the Engineers' point-after-touchdown unit came up with a last second, game-winning stop.... Hartwick... lined up to attempt a game-tying point-after kick but a Rensselaer surge forced Pincelli, the holder, to pick up the ball and throw it. His two-point conversion pass sailed over Hipsman's head and fell incomplete. A Hartwick onsides kick was unsuccessful and Rensselaer ran out the clock for the victory."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

USCHO reports that the Lowell Riverhawks got up on RPI 4-2 after one period on Friday night and breezed to an 8-4 victory. Rensselaer didn't look great in the home opener, giving up a goal on the first shot of the game, and consistantly being beaten to loose pucks by their opponents.

Kevin Kurk played the first 20 minutes and gave up four goals on 13 total shots. Nathan Marsters finished the game, giving up four goals on 22 shots.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sandeep Nandy writes: "The Rensselaer Engineers are taking on the Cadets of Army at Tate Rink at West Point on Saturday October 26, 2002. The opening faceoff is set for 7pm. This will be a joint alumni event as the RCNJ will be attending with the Rensselaer Club of Westchester."

"The RCNJ has been given a limited block of seats for this game. Please contact Sandeep Nandy immediately at Sandeep.Nandy@verizon.com if you would like tickets."

"In addition to the game itself, the Rensselaer Club of Westchester has organized a pre-game meal at the Thayer Hotel on the West Point campus. The meal will be a buffet and it costs $35. Please also let Sandeep know if you are interested in attending the pre-game meal. The payment for the dinner will be accepted at the door.

"Directions to the Rink can be found on Army's main web site,

http://www.usma.edu/directions/
."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Saturday, Rensselaer met Union in football for the one hundredth time. Union defeated RPI 32-14 to win the Dutchman's Shoes Trophy. Rensselaer turned the ball over six times in the game, including four interceptions. Joe King, RPI's Head Coach, is quoted in the Times Union as saying, "Those turnovers are not RPI football. But take nothing away from Union. They were just too physical for us. They shut us down on offense and they showed us that our defense isn't that good."

Evan Cochran scored one of the touchdowns for Rensselaer, on a pass from Dan Cole. With that touchdown, Cochran becomes the all-time leader in TD receptions with 18.

RPI and Union first played football in 1886, and this is the oldest college football rivalry in New York State.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the season opening Ice Breaker Tournament in Madison, Wisconsin, Rensselaer won its opening game 5-1 over Wisconsin, scoring five unanswered goals after trailing 1-0. Kevin Kurk made 30 saves for the win. Scott Basiuk led RPI scorers with one goal and two assists.

In the championship game of the tournament, Boston University beat RPI 5-1, jumping out to a 3-0 lead after one period and never looking back. Nathan Marsters made 36 saves and Danny Eberly scored the lone goal. Both games were attended by over 10,000 spectators.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

D3Football.com reported that RPI travelled to Rochester on Saturday and beat the Yellowjackets 31-19. The Engineers are now 4-0 on the season.

Rochester actually had the lead at halftime, 19-7. But, RPI scored two touchdowns in the first 3:09 of the second half to put the game away. Quarterback Dan Cole completed 18 of 34 passes for 264 yards and two TDs. Flynn Cochran caught one touchdown and one two point conversion, but also fumbled once early in the second quarter.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On September 29, The Times Union reported that RPI beat WPI 33-13 to win The Transit Trophy for the sixth consecutive time. The score ended up being nearly identical to last year, which will seem odd once Google has re-indexed our website.

RPI Quarterback Dan Cole completed 18 of 31 passes for 279 yards, one touchdown,and one interception. Cole also ran for three touchdowns himself.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

USCHO.com reported yesterday that the annual ECAC Mens' Ice Hockey Preseason Poll results have been announced for the 2002-2003 season. Rensselaer was picked by the coaches to finish eighth, with Cornell and Harvard in a nearly dead heat for number 1. In the media poll, Cornell is a clearer favorite and RPI is expected to finish seventh.

Face-off for the first game of the regular season against Wisconsin is Friday, October 11, at 8:35 Eastern Time.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

D3football.com reports that RPI used a series of trick plays to defeat Coast Guard 34-12, and win the Shotglass Trophy for 2002. RPI jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a halfback option play from Flynn Cochran to Pat Hughes, good for 72 yards. In the third quarter Dan Cole completed a pass to Evan Cochran, who lateraled to Pat Hughes for a 59-yard gain, leading to a touchdown on the next play.

Rensselaer also picked off Coast Guard quarterback Matt Gully twice, on consecutive possessions in the first quarter, both for touchdowns. This resulted in RPI leading 21-0 with more than three-quarters of the game left to play, in spite of the fact that they had only run one offensive play.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

D3football.com reports that Rensselaer opened the season with a 47-0 rout of Utica at '86 Field in Troy. Junior Quarterback Dan Cole was made 17 completions in 24 attempts for 262 yards, six touchdowns, and one interception. Cole's six touchdown passes in a game breaks a school record that has stood since 1971.

The Times Union report includes quotes from Cole, from Joe King, Head Coach of the RPI Football Team, and Evan Cochran, a receiver who had 7 receptions for 171 yards and three touchdowns.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Earlier today, Marc Cavosie signed a contract with the Minnesota Wild, forgoing his senior year at RPI for a chance at playing in the NHL.

Cavosie was ECAC Player Of The Year and a finalist for this year's Hobey Baker Award. The USCHO article on the subject details many of his outstanding achievements in three years at RPI.

While we will miss seeing #21 skate at the Houston Field House (and what jersey number will be next?), RCNJ wishes Marc the best of luck as he pursues his career on the next level!

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Joe Pilaro writes, "Chris Migliore '02, has been signed by the Trenton Titans ECHL hockey team. Chris played in the Titans last two regular season games, both won, against the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies. He got one assist in the second game."

"The Titans enter the ECHL playoffs this week having won their division over second-place Atlantic City with 102 points. Unfortunately, Migliore will not be available for the playoffs due to academic committments."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mike Brown '96 reports from Troy that Neil Little '94 is scheduled to start in goal for the Philadelphia Flyers in Thursday night's game against the Carolina Hurricanes. He reports that "...tonight during the Flyers/Rangers game, Bill Barber, coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, has announced that Neil Little will start Thursday night's game...". This statement was allegedly made during the third period of ESPN's national broadcast.

Neil has had numerous instances where he has been called up from the AHL affiliate Philadelphia Phantoms. To this point, however, he has not been offered the starting goaltender position for an NHL game.

We enthusiastically rooted for him during his memorable days in the Houston Field House. In the years since, we've been waiting for this moment. Congratulations (in anticipatory advance) to Neil, if in fact his moment is soon upon us!

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There wasn't much on the line in the ECAC Tournament Consolation Game on Saturday afternoon, except an opportunity for Rensselaer to get its 20th win of the season. Although the Engineers fell behind Clarkson 3-1 after two periods, they came storming back to tie the game with a little less than 12 minutes left. Senior Matt Murley put the game away for RPI with a power play goal with 0:32 remaining in the game.

By winning this game, RPI's senior class has left an enviable mark in the school record book: they won 20 or more games in three of their four seasons. RPI Coach Dan Fridgen said, "It was one of the years where we struggled at times, but we turned it around and it's a credit to the seniors on this team."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RPI went into the ECAC Semi-final game against Cornell as a prohibitive underdog, in spite of its surprising comeback victory against Dartmouth on Thursday night. The game turned out as expected, with Cornell cruising to a 3-0 victory and Cornell goaltender Matt Underhill facing only 21 shots. According to the USCHO article:

...This game was not about RPI playing poorly -- not at all -- it was about Cornell playing at the top of its game.

"It might get frustrating from a player's perspectiuve, but in no way did I sense a letdown on the bench with regards to our work ethic or with regards to guys continuing to dig down," said Fridgen. "There were times when we did put a lot of pressure on them offensively, they just find a way to [hold off] that pressure."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Scott Basiuk and Matt Murley scored goals in the last 2:36 of regulation time to give Rensselaer a 2-1 victory over Dartmouth in the play-in at the ECAC Championship Tournament in Lake Placid. RPI will play Cornell in the semifinals, tomorrow night (Friday, March 15), at approximately 7:15pm Eastern Time.

Update: USCHO.com posted a game recap late last night that provides a great deal more details on the outcome of the game. The article begins, "For 57 minutes, Thursday night's ECAC play-in game was utterly forgettable. But the final three may be the most memorable of any for those on the ice in legendary Lake Placid. Rennselaer scored two goals in the final three minutes of the game to turn a 1-0 deficit into a dramatic, 2-1 victory over Dartmouth in the play-in game held at 1980 Olympic Rink."

Of all of the participants quoted in the article, only RPI Coach Dan Fridgen pointed out a key historical fact about last nights game. Fridgen said: "The win also was a measure of redemption for us as Dartmouth was the team that eliminated us from the playoffs last year."

For a look back at last year, when Dartmouth eliminated RPI from ECAC and NCAA playoff contention, take a look at the RCNJ story from March 11, 2001.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

USCHO reports that RPI junior Marc Cavosie was named ECAC Player of the Year at the ECAC Awards Brunch, Thursday morning in Lake Placid. Cavosie led the league in scoring and has also been named one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, the hockey equivalent of football's Heisman Trophy.

Senior Matt Murley, second leading scorer in the ECAC, was named to the ECAC first all-star team, joining Cavosie, Matt Underhill and Doug Murray from Cornell, Mike Maturo from Dartmouth, and Kerry Ellis-Toddington from Clarkson.

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

USCHO.com reports that RPI defeated Princeton in a best of three playoff series, 2-0,at Houston Field House this weekend. On Friday night, the Engineers defeated the Tigers 5-3. Chris Migliore scored back to back goals 13 seconds apart in the second period to give RPI a commanding lead. Saturday, RPI jumped out to a 3-0 lead after one period and rolled to a 6-0 victory. Six different players turned on the red light for Rensselaer.

All of the teams with home ice advantage in this round of the ECAC Playoffs won their series. As a result, Rensselaer enters the next round as the fifth seed. RPI will take on Dartmouth in the play-in game of the ECAC Tournament on Thursday, March 14, in Lake Placid. The winner of this game will advance to take on #1 seed Cornell.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RPI went into this weekend needing to win at least one, and probably two games, in order to finish high enough in the ECAC standings to play next weekend's ECAC playoff games at home. Things didn't look good for the Engineers after Friday night's 2-1 loss to Cornell. According to the USCHO report, it appeared that RPI had tied the game with about one minute to go in regulation time. But, the apparent goal was waved off by the referee, after a lengthy conference between the on-ice officials and the goaljudge.

On Saturday, RPI clinched home ice in remarkable fashion. They defeated Colgate 3-1 with goals by Carson Butterwick, Jim Henkel, and Ben Barr.

In order for RPI to gain home ice, Yale also had to defeat Brown on Saturday. The Yale-Brown game finished before the RPI-Colgate game, because Senior Night ceremonies at Houston Field House apparently took longer than expected. When it became clear that Yale would win, the RPI-Colgate game became more intense because the winner would get home ice for the first round of the playoffs.

RPI managed to hold on, and will host Princeton in a Best-of-Three series next weekend. Princeton had a great weekend, shutting out Harvard for the first time in 50 years. For more information about the final regular season standings, visit the ECAC page on USCHO.com. There is also a page which summarizes the ECAC playoff matchups.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This past weekend, the mens' hockey team visited Harvard and posted a decisive 5-1 victory. According to the USCHO article, "Rensselaer held an edge in every facet of the game, going 2-for-3 in their power-play chances, playing superb defense, and receiving an excellent game from sophomore goaltender Nathan Marsters, who is now 7-1-2 in his last ten games after hovering around the .500 mark through the first half of the season."

Jim Henkel scored two goals and provided an assist to lead RPI to victory. Nolan Graham, Marc Cavosie, and Matt Murley also scored. Nathan Marsters made 32 saves. Harvard's goaltenders had a tough night, stopping only 15 of 19 RPI shots against them.

Saturday night, Brown edged RPI 2-1 in Providence. Matt Murley was the only goal scorer for the Engineers, notching his goal with just under four minutes remaining in the third period. Nathan Marsters made 21 saves in this defensive battle.

This coming weekend, RPI plays its final ECAC regular season games of the year against Cornell and Colgate at Houston Field House. These games will be of critical importance since RPI has fallen back to seventh place in the ECAC, but could still get home ice for the first round of the playoffs under the right circumstances.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dave Aiello wrote, "U.S. College Hockey Online reports that RPI beat Princeton 5-3, in spite of being outshot 40-19. The game was made more lively by the presence of a large number of members of the RPI Pep Band and the largest contingent of RCNJ member at any single event in recent memory. Thanks to everyone who turned out for the game."

"On Saturday, the Engineer winning streak reached five with a 5-2 victory over Yale in New Haven. This game was played before a sellout crowd of nearly 3,500, and the WRPI announcers remarked that many in the crowd were fans of the visitors."

"RPI has now won both scheduled ECAC league games on two consecutive weekends. This is the first time that they have done this in recent memory. Read on for a comment on the Princeton game...."

Continue reading "RPI Beats Princeton 5-3, Also Defeats Yale for Second Consecutive Weekend Sweep" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RPI celebrated the 100th anniversary of intercollegiate ice hockey in style by winning both games this past weekend. This marks the first time that the team has won two ECAC league games at home in a single weekend since December 1999.

On Friday night, RPI defeated St. Lawrence 3-2 to jump into seventh place in the ECAC. Carson Butterwick led the team with two goals. Conrad Barnes has the other goal. Nathan Marsters made 35 saves for the Engineers, in a game where they never trailed.

On Saturday, a sell-out crowd of 5,117 and a nationwide television audience witnessed a furious third period comeback by the Engineers, culminating in a 4-3 overtime victory over Clarkson. RPI trailed 3-0 a little more than half way through the second period, only to come back with three goals in the third period to tie the game, including Marc Cavosie's second goal of the game, tying it up with 0:58 seconds remaining in regulation. Carson Butterwick scored the game winner with 3:32 remaining in overtime. The other RPI goal was scored by Jim Henkel from Hazlet, NJ. Nathan Marsters made 27 saves to keep RPI in the game.

RPI is now undefeated in the last 12 Big Red Freakouts (8-0-4). Saturday night's game was one of the most exciting games played in Houston Field House in many years. This is also the first time in four years that Rensselaer has defeated Clarkson at Houston Field House.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This past weekend, the mens' hockey team put together a strong performance to gain a tie at Dartmouth and a win at UVM. Friday night RPI squandered a 2-0 lead at Dartmouth ending up in a five minute sudden-death period. But, the game was considered a success becase the team overcame a minor penalty to team scoring leader Marc Cavoisie in overtime.

On Saturday, RPI made it look easy, beating Vermont 6-4 in Burlington. Vermont is currently in last place in the ECAC. New Jersey native Jim Henkel scored two goals to lead the Engineers to victory.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Engineers recovered from a heartbreaking loss at Union on Wednesday night to win and tie in their two-game homestand against Bowling Green.

On Wednesday, RPI squandered three two-goal leads only to lose 5-4. The game winning goal involved a controversial call where goaltender Nathan Marsters made the save, only to be beaten by a quirky rebound off a Union player.

While Wednesday's loss was devastating, many fans were looking toward the weekend of non-conference games for a rebound. Friday night's game was our first win since the Holiday Tournament and came in convincing fashion. Head coach Dan Fridgen started third-string goaltender James Palmer in what was apparently an effort to give the senior a start before he graduates in May. Matt Murley, Marc Cavosie, and Andy McPherson got the goals in a 3-0 shutout of the Falcons.

Saturday's game was much tougher, resulting in a 2-2 tie. Throughout the game, RPI had the upper hand, but a Bowling Green goal late in the 3rd tied things up.

The Engineers spend the next two weekends playing Vermont and Dartmouth. Both teams have been playing well lately, which will present a challenge. Hopefully the Engineers can get six points from the two weekends and work toward making the playoffs. Due to Vermont's win against Clarkson on Saturday, the Engineers (2-6-2 ECAC) are currently in last place in the ECAC.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 3:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Freshman Vic Pereira scored two of the Engineers' three goals on their North Country road trip, losing 4-1 to Clarkson, and then losing 5-2 to St. Lawrence.

Friday's game against Clarkson was a physical match. In the middle of the first period, while already down a man, co-captain Steve Munn took a boarding call that resulted in the Knights' first goal. Pereira was able to even the score, only to have Clarkson reply with three unanswered goals.

Saturday saw the Engineers hold close, but never close enough. Entering the third period down 3-1, Pereira's second goal of the weekend restored hope to the Engineer fans. A penalty-ridden third period had many emotional ups and downs ultimately resulting in SLU's fifth goal, an empty-netter.

Read on for other details...

Continue reading "Pereira Lone Bright Spot in Bleak North Country Trip" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Speaking to the press after a 2-2 tie with Brown on Friday night, Rensselaer Men's Hockey Coach Dan Fridgen said, "We've got to get smarter." Not a good sign. Early in the second period, RPI lead 2-1 on goals by Matt McNeely and Matt Murley. Rensselaer gave up the tieing goal with less than five minutes left in regulation time. Both sides failed to score in the overtime period.

The weak performance continued on Saturday at Houston Field House. The Engineers staked themselves to a 2-0 lead on goals by Matt Murley and Marc Cavosie late in the first period. About two minutes into the second period Harvard scored, beginning an onslaught of five unanswered goals.

Harvard now has a 7-2-2 record in ECAC play. RPI is 2-3-2 in the ECAC. Brown is 3-5-2 in the ECAC. This weekend's results definitely represent a setback for RPI. Last weekend, they performed much better in their first Rensselaer Holiday Tournament victory since 1998. If Rensselaer wants to contend for postseason play, it needs to find a way to win games against teams like Brown.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In today's Times Union, Matt Graves reports that RPI's victory in the Rensselaer Holiday Tournament was based on a balanced scoring and solid goaltending from Kevin Kurk, who has not historically seen as much time in goal as Nathan Marsters. Rensselaer's three leading scorers, who contributed 60 percent of the team's goals prior to the tournament, were held scoreless during the tournament.

This is an interesting article from a statistical analysis standpoint, and it has some good comments from RPI Coach Dan Fridgen.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Over this past weekend, the Mens' Hockey Team beat Quinnipiac and UMass-Amherst, winning both games in overtime, to take its first Rensselaer-HSBC Holiday Tournament title since 1998. In the Friday night game, RPI won the 12th longest game in NCAA history, defeating Quinnipiac 5-4 in two overtimes. Chris Migliore scored a goal for Rensselaer at 10:20 of the second overtime to provide the margin of victory. C.J. Hanafin, Andrew McPherson, Jim Vickers, and Carson Butterwick also scored for the Engineers. Kevin Kurk entered the game midway through the second period, and kept Quinnipiac off the scoreboard for over 55 minutes to earn the win in goal.

In the Championship game of the tournament, Kevin Kurk made 32 saves to lead RPI to victory over UMass-Amherst 3-2. Kurk was named tournament Most Valuable Player. Ryan Shields had two goals for RPI, including the game winner. Blake Pickett also scored for Rensselaer.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Friday's Times Union reports that Rensselaer senior offensive lineman Ken Taylor has been named to the Verizon Academic All-America second team for football. Over 1,800 sports information directors at colleges throughout the country choose the members of the Academic All-America teams.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The RPI Men's Hockey Team ended the pre-exam stretch of the season with a .500 record inside and outside of the conference. Friday night Rensselaer beat Yale 4-2. Marc Cavosie overcame the flu and scored a hat trick. Carson Butterwick had the other goal. Ryan Shields and Nolan Graham had two assists each. Nathan Marsters had 26 saves.

On Saturday, Princeton used two 2-goal spurts to stay ahead of RPI, 4-2. Jim Vicker and Jim Henkel scored for the Engineers. Nathan Marsters had 30 saves. In the Times Union article on the game, Dan Fridgen said, "I think last night's game... took a lot out of us. We played a very up-tempo type of game. We were hoping we would feed off the energy of last night, but unfortunately we didn't get it done tonight."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the only game of the weekend, Rensselaer tied Union 1-1 in an evenly matched game. Matt Murley scored a goal for the Engineers on a feed from Marc Cavosie after over two periods of scoreless play. Two minutes later Jason Kean from Union played the puck off of Nathan Marster's helmet to tie the score. The game ended 1-1 after overtime.

Matt Graves called his article in the Times-Union Goalie's Night at RPI and it sounds like it was an entertaining, but defensive, battle.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Over on USCHO, Jayson Moy reports that RPI scored two unanswered goals in the third period to cruise to an easy 3-1 victory over Iona College. The score is perhaps not indicative of the way Rensselaer dominated the game: the Engineers outshot the Gaels 48-26.

Freshman Nick Economakos put the game away for RPI with his first collegiate goal. He also pitched in with an assist. Ryan Shields scored the first goal of the game for the Engineers. Marc Cavosie scored the game winner. After giving up a goal at 8:02 of the first period, Nathan Marsters made it look easy by making 25 saves en route to the win.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

D3football.com reports that Ithaca College beat RPI 27-10 at '86 Field. After the Engineers jumped out to a 3-0 lead on a Matt Verenini field goal, Ithaca scored 21 unanswered points to put the game away. Dan Cole was 14-for-32 passing for 206 yards. Marc Blevins had 16 tackles and an interception.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 3:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

At the Field House on Saturday night, Rensselaer scored three goals in a 3:32 span of the first period, and held on to beat Mercyhurst 4-3. The Engineers capitalized on three power play situations with goals by Carson Butterwick, Danny Eberly, and Nolan Graham. The other goal was scored by Chris Migliore. Sophomore Nathan Marsters turned back 33 Mercyhurst shots for the victory.

The victory over Mercyhurst brings RPI's overall record to 3-4. Next Saturday night, RPI will face another MAAC opponent, the Iona College Gaels at 7:00pm ET in Troy.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last Friday, RPI opened the ECAC regular season with a 2-1 road victory over Colgate. Matt Murley and Nolan Graham scored for the Engineers. Sophomore Kevin Kurk made 28 saves in the game, 12 in the third period alone. The next night in Ithaca, streaking Cornell was too much for RPI, winning by a 4-1 score. Nolan Graham scored the only goal of the night for the visitors. Cornell is on a 4 game winning streak to start the season.

This weekend, RPI returns home to meet MAAC conference member Mercyhurst. Last year, RPI beat the Lakers 5-0. The game is Saturday night, 7:00pm, at Houston Field House. As usual, the game will be heard on WRPI, and you can listen from wherever you have an Internet connection, via RealAudio.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Engineers came into Saturday's game with Hobart, one win away from a perfect 8-0 regular season. While listening to Saturday's broadcast, it felt like the dream of an undefeated regular season was just that. A dream.

The Engineers kept pace with Hobart throughout the game, but did not earn their first lead until a stunning play late in the 4th quarter. RPI worked their way down the field in the waning minutes. With 1:52 remaining in regulation, RPI was down 29-27. While attempting a 31-yard field goal, Hobart blocked the attempt, which was then recovered by holder Mike Defilippi. Defilippi ran the ball into the endzone for the touchdown, thus securing the Engineers' unbeaten season!

Buzz Gray's account of the event appears on the Times Union site

For the Division III playoff implications, and evidence of our first-round bye, click "Read More..."

Continue reading "RPI Football Earns UCAA Bye, Stuns Hobart in 35-29 Win!" »

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

Dave Aiello wrote, "I've been a little busy for the past two weeks, so I let the article on the RPI-St. Lawrence football game slip until today. On November 4, RPI soundly defeated St. Lawrence 35-10 to raise its record to 7-0. According to D3football.com, the Engineers are now ranked 24th in the nation in Division 3."

"After St. Lawrence pulled to within 14-10 midway through the third quarter, RPI responded with 21 unanswered points. Kevin Siska led the offense with six receptions for 119 yards and a TD. The defense allowed zero yards rushing and registered 10 sacks."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In Pittsford on Saturday, the football team raised its record to 6-0 by beating St. John Fisher 16-12. Matt Verenini kicked three field goals, including two in the fourth quarter to lead the Engineers to victory. Dan Cole only threw one touchdown pass this weekend-- surprising considering the ways RPI has won in earlier games.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Men's Hockey Team went out to the University of Minnesota-Duluth for a weekend series, and were swept in two close games. On Friday, UMD won a 4-3 game in overtime. The Engineers were up 3-2 midway through the third period, but the Bulldogs scored a power play goal late in the third to tie it, and another power play goal in OT for the win.

On Saturday night, the Engineers fell to the Bulldogs 6-5. The second period of this game must have been wild: in that period, a total of eight goals were scored.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jayson Moy reports on USCHO.com that Mark Cavosie's scored two goals and assisted on a third to lead RPI to a 6-4 victory over the sixth-ranked University of New Hampshire. This was the home opener for RPI, in its 100th anniversary year of interscholastic hockey. Sophomore goaltended Kevin Kurk made 31 saves for the Engineers.

In its article, The Times-Union pointed out that Cavosie changed his sweater number for the third time at the beginning of the season. It is unlikely that any varsity hockey player at RPI has ever undergone so many number changes in a career.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 4:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the latest of a series of impressive performances, Rensselaer Quarterback Dan Cole threw four touchdown passes and ran for 75 yards on his own, to lead the Engineers to a 62-47 victory. As RPI Head Coach Joe King told the Times-Union, "This wasn't a football score. This was a track meet or a basketball score. It was just bizarre. I've never seen anything like it."

Regardless, the victory propels Rensselaer into contention for the Division III national playoffs, according to analysis on D3football.com.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RPI Football continued its turnaround season by beating 10th ranked Union 32-29 at '86 Field. This was the 99th meeting between RPI and Union, dating to 1886. According to D3football.com, Engineers quarterback Dan Cole went 14-for-29 with three touchdowns and zero interceptions to lead RPI to victory.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RPI, trailing 6-1 with 10 minutes left in the third period, came up one goal short with a potential tying goal hitting the post at the final buzzer. Nathan Marsters had 35 saves for the Engineers. RPI was outshot 54-19 in the game. USCHO.com reported that Marc Cavosie scored three goals, including one power-play, one shorthanded, and one goal scored with an extra attacker.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We sort of missed the Times Union's preview article about RPI Hockey about 10 days ago. Matt Graves of the Times Union says that RPI has been picked to finish fifth by the media and sixth by the coaches in the ECAC Pre-Season Poll.

If you look back at the RCNJ article from last season, you will see that this prediction is about the same expected result as last season. Nevertheless, the coaching staff and players are unanimous in their expectation of improving their finish this season. The opening game of the season will be this Saturday, October 13, 7:00pm, at Boston University.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sophomore quarterback Dan Cole threw for four touchdowns to lead Rensselaer to a 31-14 victory over Rochester in the home opener at '86 field. Cole was 18-34 with no interceptions, including touchdowns passes of 34, 72, 47,and 6 yards.

Senior Marc Blevins had 12 tackles and a fumble recovery to lead the defense. This is the second consecutive week that Rensselaer has won by a 31-14 score.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

D3football.com reports that Rensselaer quarterback Dan Cole threw three touchdown passes and ran for another, enroute to a 31-14 victory over WPI. This brings The Engineers' record to 2-0 for the season.

RPI captures the Transit Trophy again this year, bringing its overall record in the series to 13-8-1. This was the 95th meeting between Rensselaer and Worcester, dating back to 1894.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Francois Senez, an Engineer defenseman who is entering his junior year, was selected in the ninth round of the NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings.

Senez has one goal and seven assists in 48 games played over two seasons with the Engineers. Senez is the 51st Engineer player ever selected in the NHL Entry Draft. He joins Marc Cavosie (Wild), Matt Murley (Penguins) and others as current team members that have been drafted.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Men's Ice Hockey Team schedule for the 2001-2002 Season has been posted on the Rensselaer Athletics Web Site. For those of you planning ahead, RPI will take on Princeton at Baker Rink on Friday, February 15, 2002 at 7:00 pm. The next night, they will play Yale University in New Haven at 7:00 pm.

The RCNJ is likely to schedule an event in Princeton on the night of the RPI-Princeton game. Further details will be posted as they become available.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Friday night, the Trenton Titans defeated the Toledo Storm 6-1 at Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, NJ. John Cloninger was on hand to watch the game along with Dave Nangle '94. They interviewed former RPI center Alain St. Hilaire '99 who had two assists and earned the game�s second star.

The Titans will be the first seed in the Northern Conference as they enter the ECHL Playoffs. They open the postseason at home on Saturday against the Johnstown Chiefs.

To read the interview, click "Read More..."

Continue reading "An Interview With Alain St. Hilaire" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Freshman goaltender Nathan Marsters was named to the ECAC All-Rookie Team this weekend in Lake Placid. Nathan is originally from Grimsby, Ontario, and played Junior hockey for the Chilliwack Chiefs of the British Columbia Hockey League.

He finished the season with a 14-13-1 record, a 2.35 Goals Against Average, and a Save Percentage of 0.929. Nathan certainly deserves this recognition, and the RCNJ congratulates him for an excellent performance in his first season in the ECAC.

In other news from the weekend, St. Lawrence won their second consecutive ECAC Championship, beating Cornell 3-1. Harvard won the consolation game 3-2 over Dartmouth in overtime. St. Lawrence was seeded sixth in the NCAA Eastern Regional Tournament, and they will take on third seeded Colorado College this weekend in Worcester, MA.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Dartmouth Big Green defeated the Engineers 5-1 on Saturday night. The loss eliminated the Engineers from contention for both the ECAC and NCAA crowns.

Dartmouth and Vermont will play in Thursday night's "play-in" game at Lake Placid, NY. Vermont defeated Clarkson 3-2 in overtime in the third game of their series.

The season-ending loss allows Engineer fans to focus toward next season, a season with a number of unknowns. Who will be the new Athletic Director? Will Dan Fridgen be back as head coach? Will Matt Murley forego his senior year of eligibility?

The RCNJ's best wishes go to Glenn Coupal, who played his last game in the Cherry and the White. We wish it could have resulted in a better outcome!

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was optimistic when Matt Murley scored the game's first goal within the first minute of play, giving the Engineers the early 1-0 lead. Unfortunately the Engineers' hopes of making it to the ECAC Championships in Lake Placid, NY slowly dwindled as the night went on.

Friday night, Dartmouth proceeded to win Game One of the first-round ECAC playoff game by a score of 4-2; the Big Green's victory capped with an empty net goal.

After Murley's initial goal, each side scored on the power play, sending the Engineers to the locker room with a 2-1 lead. Two quick goals were scored in the second period by Dartmouth, shockingly within a span of 34 seconds. This dramatically changed the momentum of the game, a setback which the Engineers came close to overcoming but didn't.

Continue reading "RPI Loses Game One to Dartmouth" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RPI beat Colgate 3-0 last night, but failed to gain home ice advantage in the ECAC Playoffs next week. The reason is that the Engineers home ice hopes depended upon a Union victory over Cornell, which did not happen.

Rensselaer will play at Dartmouth next weekend in a best of three game series. The first two games will be played on Friday and Saturday nights (March 9 and 10) at 7:00pm EST.

In the victory over Colgate, Nathan Marsters recorded his fourth shutout of the season, including a number of key saves in a first period onslaught. After two periods, neither team was successful in getting on the scoreboard.

Jim Henkel broke through with a controversial goal in the third period after 4:48 of the third period. This was followed by a goal by Matt Murley five minutes later. Carson Butterwick ended the scoring at 15:21. Rensselaer scored all three of its goals on power plays.

Continue reading "RPI Loses Home Ice Despite Shut Out of Colgate" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RPI traveled to Ithaca on Friday night and beat Cornell 2-1. This was a "must win" if the Engineers are to gain home ice for the first round of the ECAC Playoffs. The Times Union reports that the game was played before a sell out crowd of 3,836 at Lynah Rink. Tim Wilkin characterized the crowd as "loud and intimidating", which it always seems to be when RPI and Cornell hook up in Ithaca in a game with playoff implications.

In order for RPI to gain home ice they must beat Colgate tonight and Union must defeat Cornell. This is a tall order, because Union only has two wins and one tie on the road this season.

Cornell took the lead in the first period. New Jersey native Jim Henkel tied it for RPI in the second. Matt Murley scored the winner on a power play in the third. Murley had been in a slump for a while, but broke through when the team needed him last night.

As always the RPI-Colgate game will be carried in its entirety on WRPI. WRPI is streamed over the Internet in RealPlayer format.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Mens' Hockey Team continued to have difficulty scoring this weekend. On Friday, they lost a heartbreaker to Harvard, 1-0. As Tim Wilken from the Times-Union pointed out, that was the first time that RPI had ever been shut out 1-0 in Houston Field House, where we've played hockey for 51 seasons.

On Saturday, The Engineers came out of their scoring slump a little, defeating Brown 4-2. This was a key victory in terms of positioning the team for the playoffs. If RPI had lost this game, they might have been eliminated from contention for home ice during the ECAC playoffs.

Continue reading "RPI Splits Weekend Series with Harvard and Brown" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dave Aiello said, "This weekend, the mens' hockey team held its annual Alumni Weekend in conjunction with the last two home games of the regular season. My fiancee, Kathleen Kuykendall, and I travelled up to Troy for the weekend and we had a great time."

"Here's a picture that Kathleen took of a faceoff during the Alumni Game on Saturday afternoon. It was probably after a goal by the White Team, because the White Team beat the Red Team, 11-8."

"Read on for more pictures and descriptions of the events...."

Continue reading "Mens Hockey Program Holds Alumni Weekend" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tim Wilkin of the Albany Times Union may be one of the best hockey writers in America. Who else would have the courage to relate what Matt Murley said in the aftermath of Saturday's 6-3 loss to Yale?

"This might have been one of the worst games of all-time," RPI winger Matt Murley said. "It was the worst game I have ever played in my RPI career, that's for sure.... This is very frustrating. We are playing a team that's just about in last place and we were terrible."

In Friday's game, RPI got a goal from Conrad Barnes about 9 minutes into the third period to break a scoreless tie. They made that goal stand up, shutting Princeton out 1-0. This is the first time that RPI has shut out Princeton since 1972. It was Barnes' second career goal, and his second goal in as many games.

Continue reading "RPI Splits Weekend, Murley Calls Yale Game "Worst of His Career"" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dave Aiello wrote, "The North Country Trip is fraught with peril for every team in the ECAC. Only the very best teams in league history have gone up to Canton and Potsdam expecting to sweep. So, it should not be a surprise to Engineers fans that RPI did not come out of this weekend with two wins. But, no one ever wants to get swept, and that's exactly what happened to Rensselaer this weekend."

"By all accounts, RPI played pretty well on Friday night. The team was able to battle back in the third period, against a St. Lawrence team that has been tough all year. Matt Murley tied the game with 1:03 left in regulation, while Nathan Marsters was on the bench in favor of a sixth skater. But the game was put out of reach in overtime, when Blair Clarance backhanded the puck off Marsters glove and into the net. The final score was St. Lawrence 4, RPI 3."

"Saturday night, the Engineers went to Cheel Arena looking for a weekend-salvaging win. This is not an easy place to play, no matter what kind of season Clarkson is having. In spite of Conrad Barnes' first collegiate goal which openened the scoring, RPI gave up three unanswered goals and lost to Clarkson 3-1."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Times Union reports that RPI jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the Big Red Freakout against Vermont. But, Vermont battled back with a power play goal late in the second period, and another early in the third period, ultimately earning a 2-2 tie.

By all accounts, this is a game that the Engineers should have won, if only because Vermont was 1-7-2 in its last 10 games. It also turns out that Matt Murley hit the post with 11:19 remaining in the third period. This was Rensselaer's last good scoring opportunity.

Hazlet, NJ native Jim Henkel had a goal and an assist for RPI in the game.

In the Friday game, RPI overcame a difficult first period, where Kevin Kurk gave up two goals on four shots, and beat Dartmouth 4-2.

Continue reading "RPI Ties Vermont 2-2 in Freakout" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nathan Marsters stopped a total of 77 shots and allowed three goals in a split with Vermont and Dartmouth this weekend. RPI defeated Vermont 4-1 at the Gutterson Field House on Friday night and then lost to Dartmouth the following evening at Thompson Arena by a score of 2-1.

Friday's game was much closer than the 4-1 score would indicate. Matt Murley got two empty net goals within the final 1:08 of play to secure the win. It was a fast and well-executed contest, where RPI capitalized on their breaks and Vermont did not. (Read the recaps at USCHO or the Times-Union)

Saturday's game was a very frustrating one for the Engineer faithful. A splendid performance by Marsters was squandered by a disorganized attack and a lackadaisical defense. A consensus of friends whom I brought to the game disagree with Coach Fridgen's comment on USCHO that it was a "well-played hockey game", at least from the RPI perspective. Passing and flow were non-existent and Marsters saved us from a blowout. (Read the recaps at USCHO or the Times-Union)

Posted by Dave Aiello at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The mens hockey team traveled out to Ohio this weekend and got swept by Bowling Green. On Friday night, Bowling Green shut out RPI 4-0. The Times Union report indicated that this was the first time RPI had been shut out this season, and Bowling Green out shot Rensselaer 40 to 20.

The Falcons made it two straight against RPI on Saturday night, with a 4-3 victory. Up to this weekend, Bowling Green had not swept a home weekend this season. Too bad that they had to break the streak against RPI.

This two game series is part of a larger series of meetings that RPI has had with Bowling Green, since former RPI coach Buddy Powers left Troy to return to Bowling Green. He had been at Bowling Green earlier in his career as an assistant coach. Buddy is one of the nicest people in college hockey, but he seems to like to beat ECAC teams whenever he gets the opportunity.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Times Union reports that Rensselaer beat St. Lawrence 6-4 on Saturday night at The Fieldhouse. This win ends a six game losing streak that RPI had against St. Lawrence, including last season's ECAC Championship Final.

Tim Wilkin of the Times Union is right to characterize this as a big victory. It's almost a big enough win to make us forget that Clarkson beat the Engineers on Friday night. The US College Hockey Online game recap implies that it was a very close game, quoting Dan Fridgen as saying, "Third period, lost faceoff, a missed assignment and a goal, it's that simple," said Fridgen. "It's disappointing but we have to park it and come back strong tomorrow." Seems like the team responded to that message, Coach.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NESN's Game of the Week features the St. Lawrence Saints visiting the Engineers this Saturday evening.

The game can be seen on NESN (DirecTV 623) and Empire (DirecTV 626). Those with the DirecTV SPORTS Pack or similar should have easy access to the game, beginning at 7:00pm on the night of the January 13th.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Friday night, Rensselaer beat Brown 4-1 in Providence. This is RPI's first ECAC league game since December 9, and it's nice to see that they didn't sleepwalk through the entire game, although comments from RPI players indicate that they played a bad first period. The Engineers did not fare as well on Saturday, losing to Harvard 5-2. This game was decided on special teams, as Harvard converted on 3 of 4 power play opportunities, while RPI went 0-6.

This media accounts of these games were probably as interesting as the games themselves. Read on if you are interested in hearing about the subtleties.

Continue reading "RPI Splits with Brown and Harvard" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As Tim Wilkin of the Albany Times Union wrote, "No one on the RPI hockey team wanted to be
inside Houston Field House on a snowy Saturday
afternoon. The Engineers would have preferred to
convene at Houston on a snowy Saturday night.

That's when the championship game of the 50th annual
RPI Holiday Tournament was played. But RPI wasn't in
it."

The Engineers beat Notre Dame 6-2 to win the consolation game of the tournament. They got there by losing a 3-2 overtime decision to Northeastern. Northeastern went on to lose the final to St. Lawrence, 4-3.

Continue reading "RPI Finishes Third in 50th Annual Hockey Tournament" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 3:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Marc Cavosie has been named to the U.S. National Junior Hockey Team. The sophomore forward is expected to participate in the IIHF World Junior Championship Tournament in Moscow from December 26 to January 5.

Marc is the first member of the hockey team to participate in the World Junior Tournament since Adam Bartell in 1993. Participation on the National Junior Team is a big honor, and can only go to a player who is under 20 years old.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Times Union is reporting that two hockey players from RPI have swept the weekly awards given by the ECAC. Carson Butterwick, a sophomore from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, was named ECAC Player of the Week. Freshman Nathan Marsters from Grimsby, Ontario, won ECAC Goaltender of the Week.

In other news, US College Hockey Online reports that Rensselaer has risen to eleventh in the USCHO Division I Poll. According to their article, "Things remained relatively calm in the USCHO.com Top 15 this week. The lone exception was Rensselaer's big jump into the rankings, placing at No. 11 after a weekend sweep of Princeton and Yale...."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dave Aiello wrote, "The biggest hockey game of the season, from the New Jersey alumni's perspective, is the RPI-Princeton game. This season, the Engineers honored us by coming into Princeton and delivering a dominant 6-2 victory. Read on for more information about the game and the events that surrounded it."

Continue reading "RPI Rolls Over Princeton, 6-2" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 2:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Friday night, RPI came back from a 3-1 deficit after two periods to beat Yale 5-4 in New Haven. Matt Murley scored a goal with 1:06 left in regulation to pull out the victory.

RCNJ member John Cloninger attended the game, and we hope that he will provide a first hand account.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In our preparation for the RPI-Princeton game, we overlooked the results of last weekend's games. On Friday night, Union came from behind twice to tie Rensselaer 2-2 at Houston Field House. Dan Fridgen was quoted in the USCHO article as saying, "I think it's a disappointing tie. We played hard enough, we played well enough to win the game, but give them credit, they're a good hockey team."

In the Saturday game, RPI beat Quinnipiac 6-3. The Engineers broke the game open with three consecutive third period goals. Quinnipiac is a member of the MAAC Conference.

Summing up the Quinnipiac game as well as the team's weekend experience, Dan Fridgen said, We certainly didn't have a stellar first period; we did a good job of regrouping in the second and kept coming at them in the third. We won two periods out of the three, losing one and that's a good weekend. We played five out of six periods this weekend and took three of four points."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saturday night, RPI beat the Mercyhurst Lakers 5-0 at Houston Field House. Freshman Nathan Marsters made 22 saves en route to the shutout.

For those of you who don't know, Mercyhurst is a college in Erie, PA that is a member of the MAAC Conference. They recently moved up from Division III, as did many of the MAAC Conference teams. This was the first meeting between Rensselaer and Mercyhurst.

As one of the better teams in the ECAC, the Engineers should defeat teams in the MAAC fairly easily. The Times-Union article about this game made that clear by quoting Coach Dan Fridgen: "They were coming in here trying to steal a victory and, you know, this is our building. We don't take kindly to strangers coming in trying to steal games from us."

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rensselaer capitalized on "an extended 5 on 3 power play" in the first period to score six first period goals en route to a 9-2 rout of UMass-Amherst at Houston Field House. This must have been an interesting game, since three players from each side were ejected for fighting in one altercation midway through the first period.

Matt Murley scored his hundredth career point in a game that saw him score four goals in under 18 minutes of playing time. He provided one of the best college hockey quotes in recent memory (in the U.S. College Hockey Online game report): "It was a great period.... I guess I turned into a great goal scorer all of a sudden. Last year those shots would have hit the post and bounced into our own net."

The Engineers may not be a consistant team this season, but they have played an interesting brand of hockey up to now.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dave Aiello wrote, "While I was researching the RPI-UMass Hockey story, I found an article in the Poly that provides statistical analysis of the penalties called in the ECAC Mens' Hockey Games last season. The reporter apparently set out to confirm the widely held theory on our campus that ECAC referees allegedly call more penalties on RPI than on opposing teams."

"The article points out that researchers were unable to prove the hypothesis, but they did discover something interesting -- home teams in the ECAC are penalized more often than visitors."

Continue reading "Poly Reporter Uses Statistics To Prove Referees are NOT Biased" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In what could be the most underpublicized game in Division III Football History, the Engineers visited Geneva, NY last week to play Hobart College. Hobart beat RPI 27-0, ending RPI's season and continuing Hobart's march into the NCAA Tournament.

It's not that we didn't know that the game took place, but we couldn't find a game report in any media outlet. We checked D3football.com, The Times-Union, The Schenectady Gazette, The Poly -- none of these organizations had a story about the game.

But, finally, we found a report on the game. A story was published in The Finger Lakes Times! Should have realized that from the outset....

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This past weekend, Colgate and Cornell came to Troy to kick off the main part of the ECAC regular season. RPI defeated Colgate on Friday night, 3-2. In the Saturday game, the Big Red defeated the Engineers, also by a 3-2 score.

This gives Rensselaer a 3-3 overall record for the season -- not great considering the opportunities the team has had to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, but better than some people had expected to this point.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 1:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rensselaer Football raised its record to 3-5 and got its first UCAA win of the season by demolishing St. Lawrence 49-7 at '86 field.

We have been spoiled in recent years by the consistantly high standard of play that the football team has maintained. In fact, it was natural that RPI would receive some criticism from observers this season, if only because the current team suffers in comparison to the 1998 and 1999 teams. However, anyone listening to the game on Saturday on WRPI heard truly bad Division III football clearly illustrated. That was the brand played by St. Lawrence.

You have to feel bad for St. Lawrence's team in the midst of an awful season. But, their performance this weekend did serve a purpose -- it helped to put the Engineers' season in perspective.

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

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."

Continue reading "Union Steals One from RPI" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rensselaer beat St. John Fisher 35-19 on Saturday to break a three game losing streak. This brings RPI's record to 2-5 for the season. St. John Fisher made it close when they capitalized on a third quarter RPI fumble to close the gap to 21-19. However, RPI came back with two touchdowns to close out the scoring.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Nathan Marsters made 15 saves en route to a 3-0 shut out of Army on Saturday night at the Field House. Eric Cavosie (Marc's younger brother) scored his first career goal to break a 0-0 tie in the second period.

Tim Wilkin's article in the Times-Union says that Dan Fridgen was disappointed with RPI's play in the first period. But, the Engineers responded with 22 second period shots on goal to put some distance between the teams.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The RPI Men's hockey team lost to UMass-Lowell 4-3 Friday night in the Tsongas Arena in Lowell, MA. "I didn't think we did the little things well," says head coach Dan Fridgen in the USCHO recap.

Continue reading "RPI Hockey Loses to UMass-Lowell 4-3" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 2:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dave Aiello wrote, "I've been building a Linux machine this week, so forgive the lack of preview information on this week's football game. I did not have a chance to watch or listen to the game between Rensselaer and Hartwick today, so it's hard to be critical. But the statistics give the unmistakeable impression that this was an ugly loss for the Engineers."

D3football.com reports that RPI turned the ball over 6 times enroute to a 20-13 loss.

Continue reading "Another Frustrating Saturday at 86 Field" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Not all the sports news was bad for Rensselaer on Saturday. The Men's Hockey Team traveled to Boston University and won the game 5-4. Marc Cavosie scored three goals and one assist, and 6'4" freshman goaltender Nathan Marsters made 32 saves to lead RPI to victory.

Tim Wilkin's report in the Times-Union said, "To some, this score might raise an eyebrow or two. BU was ranked
sixth in the country and was picked as the second-best team in
always-tough Hockey East. BU didn't lose a game at home last
year, going 14-0-3."

Continue reading "RPI Surprises BU, 5-4" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 4:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In a turnover filled game, Union scored last. Brian Slekes caught a pass in the back of the RPI end zone with 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter to beat Rensselaer 27-23.

The Times-Union reports that, "The Dutchmen appeared to have botched what looked like a sure victory by turning the ball over four times in the second half. Three
interceptions and a fumble by Union enabled the Engineers to hang
close despite being outplayed statistically."

It would have been great if RPI could have caught enough of a break to win. Instead they slip to 1-4.

Continue reading "Union Beats RPI for the Dutchman's Shoes" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 3:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dave Aiello wrote, "If I could be in the Capital District this weekend, I'd be in Schenectady to see RPI play Union for the Dutchman's Shoes. What else needs to be said?"

Well, Fran Elia wrote a great column about the rivalry and the context in which the game will be played this season. Basically, RPI needs this win to salvage some pride in a season where they've lost some games that were automatic wins during the last two years. Union, on the other hand, is performing the way RPI did last season.

Read on for broadcast details.

Continue reading "RPI Battles Union Saturday for the Shoes" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Rensselaer Men's Hockey Team travels to Boston University for the season opener. Faceoff will be at 7:00pm Eastern Time. The game will be Webcast on WRPI in RealAudio format.

The US College Hockey ECAC Preview article talks about this game and the other non-league games that ECAC Division I teams are playing this weekend. It quotes Dan Fridgen, head coach of the Engineers as saying, "This will be a teaching year."

Continue reading "RPI Opens Hockey Season at BU" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

jpcloninger96 writes,"There had been some internal question as to whether Troy would broadcast a game this year. The issue centered around the transmission method to the remote sites."

Peter Pedone from the alumni house informs us:

I am writing with the GREAT news that Satellite Hockey 2001 is a GO!!!!

Continue reading "Satellite Hockey 2001 is a GO!" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 2:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RPI's Men's Hockey Schedule for 2000-2001 is posted on the Men's Hockey Section of the Athletic Department Web Site.

Read on for a discussion of the games of local interest.

Continue reading "RPI Hockey Schedule Available on Athletics Site" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Albany Times-Union reported that the ECAC Hockey Preseason Poll has been released and Rensselaer is ranked fifth out of 12 teams.

Junior forward Matt Murley, a native of Troy, is quoted as saying, "I know we are going to be a good team. When you are ranked high in the poll, there are a lot of
teams that will really gun for you. We're in the middle of
the pack ... and we are going to surprise some people."

Continue reading "ECAC Hockey Preseason Poll Predicts RPI Will Finish Fifth" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

D3football.com reports that, Rochester beat RPI 17-7 yesterday in Rochester. The Yellowjackets are now 4-0, 3-0 in the UCAA. RPI drops to 1-3 overall, but only 0-1 in the UCAA.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 6:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RPI Varsity Football (1-2) visits the University of Rochester (3-0), on Saturday at 1:00pm Eastern Time. The game will be Webcast on WRPI in RealAudio format.

Rochester has defeated St. John Fisher, Hobart, and St. Lawrence so far this season. The Yellowjackets are in first place in the UCAA and are looking to put more distance between themselves and the rest of the field.

As Fran Elia writes on d3football.com, "If someone asked me who would be leading the UCAA heading into the final
week of September, I would have blown all of my lifelines and still not
answered Rochester.... Rochester finds out if it�s for real as two-time defending league champion
Rensselaer comes to town on Saturday. The Engineers won last year�s
meeting in Troy 34-6 and is 4-0 versus the Yellowjackets since the series was
renewed in 1996. RPI has outscored Rochester 157-27 during that stretch."

Continue reading "Football Travels to Rochester this Weekend" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 11:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rensselaer destroyed Worcester Tech in football on Saturday. The final score was 45-0. RPI's defense stifled WPI, allowing only 37 yards rushing in 28 attempts.

We found two pretty good articles about the game. Tim Wilkin of the Albany Times-Union wrote an article describing the win that should be read in conjunction with his article from earlier in the week that described the problems that have befallen the team this season.

D3football.com also weighs in with a solid, news-oriented account of the action.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RPI Varsity Football (0-2) takes on WPI (1-2) at '86 Field, on Saturday at 1:30pm Eastern Time. The game will be Webcast on WRPI in RealAudio format.

Update: Tim Wilkin of the Times-Union wrote a good article documenting the problems that the team has had this season.

The game against WPI is played each year for The Transit Trophy. Many recent graduates of Rensselaer believe that the Transit Trophy game is steeped in tradition. While that may be true of the rivalry between Rensselaer and Worcester Tech, the trophy itself has only been awarded to the winner since 1980.

Continue reading "RPI Football Hoping to Break Its Losing Streak Saturday" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 5:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

dave_aiello wrote, "Everyone I know who has gone to RPI in the last 15 years played some foosball while they were at school. CNET News.com is reporting that foosball is exploding as a form of indoor entertainment. Much of the resurgence is attributed to the availability of foosball in the work environment at high tech companies."

According to the article, "After spending most of the '80s and much of the '90s in relative
obscurity, virtually unknown to anyone unfamiliar with the inside of
low-rent pubs, foosball has staged a stunning comeback. And it
owes its renaissance to faddish Internet companies that have
embraced the game with gusto."

Dave continued: "I know foosball is a big sport at Rensselaer. If you played foosball when you were in school, tell the rest of us what you like or dislike about it. Do you still play? Add a comment by clicking Read more...."

Continue reading "News.com: Foosball Exploding in USA" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

D3football.com is reporting that the Coast Guard Academy shocked RPI in football, 24-21. The Bears victory stopped an eight game losing streak and gave them the Shotglass Trophy, a trophy signifying victory in the annual football game between the two schools.

The loss drops Rensselaer to 0-2. This is the first time that RPI has started 0-2 since 1987.

Continue reading "RPI Loses Shotglass Shocker" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 7:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RPI Varsity Football takes on the Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT, on Saturday at 1:30pm Eastern Time. The game will be Webcast on WRPI in RealAudio format.

Continue reading "Football Travels to the Coast Guard Academy This Week" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 9:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today, Sports Information at Rensselaer announced the captains of the men's hockey team for the 2000-2001 season. Steve Munn, a junior from Maymont, Saskatchewan, will be the captain. The assistants will be juniors Andrew McPherson and Matt Murley, and sophomore Danny Eberly.

Continue reading "Steve Munn Named Captain of Men's Hockey" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Times-Union is reporting that Rensselaer lost its home opener to Plymouth State, 24-10. This is RPI's first regular season loss since the 1998 season.

Plymouth State, owners of the best school won-loss record in Division III, never trailed in this game as they were able to keep both turnovers and penalties down.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 2:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

RPI Varsity Football takes on Plymouth State at '86 Field this afternoon at 1:30pm Eastern Time. The game will be Webcast on WRPI in RealAudio format. We will post a story on the outcome of the game later this weekend.

For more information on the outlook for the team, coming off its best season in 114 years, read the 2000 Outlook. If you need more information on listening to WRPI over the Internet, check out WRPI's RealAudio FAQ.

Posted by Dave Aiello at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Don Bielecki writes, "Rensselaer's 16th Annual Let's Go Red! Invitational Golf Tournament will
be held on Tuesday, September 26 at the historic and world-renowned
Sagamore Golf Course in Lake George / Bolton Landing, NY. This fun
tournament presents an opportunity to support Rensselaer, meet other
alumni, and have a great time by teeing it up at one of America's truly
classic championship courses. The 18-hole, par 70, course was designed by
Donald Ross and built under his personal supervision in 1928. Every detail
was fully restored in 1985 according to Ross' original blueprints."

Continue reading "Let's Go Red Golf Outing, Sept 26 at Sagamore" »

Posted by Dave Aiello at 8:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)