Asking anyone around the Rensselaer hockey
program about the team's recent 10-game losing streak will
probably yield a response similar to, "What losing
streak?"
ECAC
Hockey Notebook
Jordan
Alford made 32 saves in Saturday's win over St. Lawrence
that snapped a 10-game losing streak for Rensselaer.
RPI didn't get bogged down in what wasn't
going right. Instead, there was a day-to-day focus where
concentrating on details and doing things correctly would
help turn things in the Engineers' favor.
A tough schedule, struggles on the power play,
and the aforementioned lack of confidence were all contributing
factors when things weren't going well for the Engineers.
Now they've got a win to build on after last weekend's 6-3
victory at St. Lawrence.
"We didn't dwell on them or look back
on those things. The biggest thing was that it probably
shook our confidence a little bit because there aren't a
lot of players on our team that have done a lot of winning
during their time in college. We've played a very tough
schedule. It's made us a better team this year and it will
make our program better years into the future," RPI
coach Seth Appert said.
The Engineers are using that same approach
this weekend when Quinnipiac visits on Friday and Princeton
follows on Saturday.
Ceremonial and alumni activities highlight
the weekend, as Engineer great Frank Chiarelli will be added
to the program's Ring of Honor on Friday night as its fourth
member. Chiarelli, a 1955 graduate of Rensselaer, is RPI's
all-time leader in goals (155), goals per game (1.94), and
points (265). He is a four-time All-American and holder
of three NCAA scoring records.
Ned Harkness, Adam Oates, and Joe Juneau are
the other three members of the Ring of Honor.
Saturday's contest is the annual Big Red Freakout!
where RPI alumni and fans pack Houston Field House wearing
red and setting a boisterous scene for the opponents. This
season, Princeton is the victim, err ... opponent. RPI is
undefeated in its last 17 Freakout! games, with a 12-0-5
streak.
While most of the current coaching staff has
only been a part of one Freakout! volunteer assistant coach
Ben Barr was a part of the action for four years, from 2001
through 2004. That span included a pair of overtime wins
and two victories over rival Clarkson.
Appert appreciates the tradition and significance
of the game, but also noted that all of RPI's home contests
are great events.
"Our normal crowd when students are back
has been averaging better than 4,000 people. With the band
and our fans, energy is always high," he said.
But Saturday's festivities will be the furthest
thing from Engineer minds, just like a string of losses
earlier this month. They'll be too focused on Friday.
SEEN AND HEARD IN ECAC HOCKEY
Non-League Intrigue: Rensselaer
isn't the only ECAC Hockey team that has taken on some top
competition outside of the league this year. Clarkson is
another, with previous meetings this season against St.
Cloud State, Boston College, Massachusetts, and the latest
endeavor – this week's two-game series at Colorado
College.
The Golden Knights will look to extend a five-game
unbeaten streak (4-0-1) and keep up their scoring touch,
as they've averaged 3.4 goals per game during this run.
That includes a 1-1 tie at Colgate.
Harvard visits Brown on Saturday, but then
competes against Northeastern on Monday at 5 p.m. The Beanpot
hasn't been great for the Crimson in recent seasons, as
they're just 3-15-0 in the last nine years of the tournament.
Also note that Friday's game at Brown is now
a 7:30 start to accommodate the women's game between the
two schools earlier that day.
Great Weekend Getaway
Quinnipiac
at Rensselaer (Fri.)
Princeton at Rensselaer (Sat.)
The Engineers will have strong support from alumni
and honor one of the program's best players this weekend.
On the ice, they'll face two teams with differing
styles of play.
While You're There: Ask an old-timer
about the Freakout! game in 1987 when the souvenir
horns (and other noisemakers brought by fans) caused
such a ruckus that reprimand from the NCAA followed.
Noise-making promotional giveaways are now prohibited.
Stick
Salute
This week's
INCH Podcast started by addressing e-mails from readers
challenging INCH features such as the Power Rankings
and Hobey Tracker. Credit to those fans. Even though
they disagree with what we publish, they're passionate
about the game and their favorite teams.
Bench
Minor
The news
is a little dated, as it happened early in the season,
but enough time has passed to have a laugh about a
pre-game blunder by St. Lawrence's equipment guy
prior to the Oct. 20 game at Clarkson.
FRIES AT THE BOTTOM
OF THE BAG
• The American Hockey League All-Star
Classic was held Sunday and Monday in Binghamton, N.Y. and
the league invited four elite teenage prospects to participate
in a few events during its skills competition.
One of the participants was Kevin Cole, a
current member of the Binghamton Jr. Senators. Cole has
verbally committed to attend Cornell. Another was Jeremy
Morin of the US NTDP Under-17s, and younger brother of Harvard
sophomore defenseman Chad Morin.
• With a 3-3 tie on Sunday against American
International – highlighted by Jon Grecu's game-tying
goal with one second left in the third period – Dartmouth
finished the non-league portion of its schedule with a 5-1-1
record.
• Five of the wins by Union during its
recent seven-game winning streak came by one goal (or two
goals with an empty-netter). The winning streak was the
longest in Union's program history and the confidence gained
in those close games should help the Dutchmen in the playoffs.
• Speaking of winning streaks, Princeton's
now stands at six games after Tuesday's 5-2 win at Robert
Morris. Kevin Lohry, Mark Magnowski, and Matt Arhontas had
two points each in the victory. It is Princeton's first
six-game win streak since the 1933-34 season.
• Yale had an impressive road trip to
Colgate and Cornell, getting a win against the Raiders and
a tie against the Big Red. Senior Matthew Thomey had three
goals and an assist on the weekend and earned league Player
of the Week recognition. The Bulldogs will need to channel
that winning energy this weekend against Dartmouth, as Yale
is just 2-8-0 in its last 10 games against the Big Green.
• Quinnipiac's nine-game unbeaten streak
was snapped by two losses at home against Niagara last weekend.
The Bobcats allowed five goals in each game and not surprisingly
are 0-6-0 when allowing four or more goals this season.
• Eleven of the last 12 games between
Colgate and Cornell have been decided by two goals or fewer.
Both games of this weekend's home-and-home between the teams
will be broadcast in central and northern New York on Time
Warner Sports 26.
• Matt Vokes scored Brown's only goal
on a weekend trip to Cornell and Colgate.
• After winning its first three January
games against New Hampshire, Harvard, and Dartmouth, St.
Lawrence has now dropped four in a row. The Saints are just
3-7-2 on home ice this year.
A variety of sources were utilized in
the compilation of this report. Joe Gladziszewski can be
reached at gladdy@insidecollegehockey.com.
