RPI Engineers men's ice hockey

RPI Engineers
University Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Conference ECAC
Head coach Dave Smith
2nd season, 6–27–4 (.216)
Captain(s) Jared Wilson
Viktor Liljegren
Mike Prapavessis
Arena Houston Field House
Capacity: 4,800
Surface: 200' x 85'
Location Troy, New York
Colors Cherry and White[1]
         
NCAA Tournament championships
1954, 1985
NCAA Tournament Frozen Four
1953, 1954, 1961, 1964, 1985
NCAA Tournament appearances
1953, 1954, 1961, 1964, 1984, 1985, 1994, 1995, 2011
Conference Tournament championships
1984, 1985, 1995
Conference regular season championships
1952, 1953, 1954, 1984, 1985
Current uniform
The RPI starting lineup before a November 2014 game against Michigan

The RPI Engineers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). The Engineers are a member of ECAC Hockey (ECACH). They play at the Houston Field House in Troy, New York.[2][3]

History

Men's ice hockey at RPI dates back to 1901 and is one of the oldest programs in the country.[4] The team played as an independent NCAA Division I team from its inception in 1901 through 1938.[4] The team resumed after World War II for the 1949–50 season and in the following season Rensselaer joined Clarkson, Colgate, Middlebury, St. Lawrence, and Williams to form the Tri-State League for the 1950–51 season.[4] The next three seasons, 1952–1954 team won the Tri-State League season championships. RPI's first NCAA Tournament berth in 1953, coming in third and the following season, in 1954, the team won its first NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Championship.[4] After a 6-year drought the program again made the NCAA Tournament in 1961, finishing 4th.[4] The 1960–61 season would be the last season RPI competed in the Tri-State League as RPI and fellow Tri-State League members Clarkson and St. Lawrence joined the new ECAC Hockey League.[5]

Depending on how the rules are interpreted, the RPI men's ice hockey team may have the longest winning streak on record for a Division I team; in the 1984–85 season it went undefeated for 30 games, but one game was against the University of Toronto, a non-NCAA team. Continuing into the 1985–86 season, RPI continued undefeated over 38 games, including two wins over Toronto.[6] Adam Oates and Daren Puppa, two players during that time, both went on to become stars in the NHL. Joe Juneau, who played from 1987 to 1991, also spent many years in the NHL. Graeme Townshend who also played in the late 1980s, had a brief NHL career. He is the first person of Jamaican ancestry to play in the National Hockey League.

Traditions

The hockey team plays a significant role in the campus's culture, drawing thousands of fans each week to the Houston Field House during the season. The team's popularity even sparked the tradition of the hockey line, where students lined up for season tickets months in advance of the on-sale date. Today, the line generally begins a week or more before ticket sales.[7] Another tradition since 1978 has been the "Big Red Freakout!" game held close to the first weekend of February. Fans usually dress in the schools colors Red and White, and gifts such as tee-shirts are distributed en masse. From 1995 to 2009, RPI's Division III teams were known as the Red Hawks. However the hockey, football, cross-country, tennis, and track and field teams all chose to retain the longstanding Engineers name. The Red Hawks name was, at the time, very unpopular among the student body; a Red Hawk mascot was frequently taunted with thrown concessions and chants of "kill the chicken!" This was a major factor behind "Engineers" being restored for all teams in 2009.

The official hockey mascot, The Puckman–an anthropomorphic hockey puck with an engineer's helmet–has always been popular.

Season

The RPI Engineers men's ice hockey typically plays between 35-42 regular season games per season in the ECAC Hockey Conference. They also usually play one exhibition game against a Canadian college hockey team from Ontario, Nova Scotia, or Quebec. During the season, RPI will play 22 conference games against the other 11 teams in the ECAC. RPI will play each team home at the Houston Field House and away at the respective university's campus. The conference games are typically played on Friday and Saturday nights with the ECAC scheduling reflecting the Ivy League scheduling of having traveling partners. RPI's travel partner has been Union College since they joined the league in the 1991-92 season. They also play 10-12 non-conference games against teams not in the ECAC. These games typically take place at the beginning of the season in October and around the Thanksgiving and New Year holidays. RPI also plays one non-conference game against their Capital District geographic rival, Union at the Times Union Center typically on the last Saturday of January in what has become known as the Mayor's Cup. RPI has opened ECAC Hockey conference play on the last weekend of October against Union since the 2012-13 season. The first conference home game is known as Black Friday or Black Saturday which alternates each year. Other highlights of the season include the Big Red Freakout, which is played on the last or second to last Saturday home game in February.

At the conclusion of the regular season the team will play a minimum of two postseason games in the ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament in the beginning of March. If RPI wins the ECAC Tournament or is invited to the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team, they would then play at least one postseason game in late March in the single elimination tournament. RPI last played in the NCAA Tournament in 2011.

Results by season (1980–2018)

Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Mike Addesa (ECAC) (1979–1989)
1979–80 Mike Addesa 16-11-014-8-06th
1980–81 Mike Addesa 16-13-010-11-010th
1981–82 Mike Addesa 9-18-26-12-214th
1982–83 Mike Addesa 18-11-013-7-07th
1983–84 Mike Addesa 32-6-017-3-01stNCAA Quarterfinals

1984 ECAC Tournament Champion
1984 ECAC Hockey Regular Season Champion

1984–85 Mike Addesa 35–2–120–1–01stNCAA National Champions

1985 ECAC Tournament Champion
1985 ECAC Hockey Regular Season Champion

1985–86 Mike Addesa 20-11-113-7-14th
1986–87 Mike Addesa 13-18-29-13-07th
1987–88 Mike Addesa 15-17-09-13-08th
1988–89 Mike Addesa 12-17-38-12-28th
Mike Addesa: 186–124–9
Buddy Powers (ECAC) (1989–1994)
1989-90 Buddy Powers 20-14-014-8-02nd—
1990-91 Buddy Powers 19-12-114-8-05th—
1991-92 Buddy Powers 14-15-46-12-410th—
1992-93 Buddy Powers 20-11-415-6-12nd
1993-94 Buddy Powers 21-11-412-6-43rdNCAA Regional Quarterfinals
Buddy Powers: 73–52–961-40-9
Dan Fridgen (ECAC) (1994–2006)
1994–95 Dan Fridgen 19-14-410-9-36thNCAA Regional Quarterfinals

ECAC Tournament Champion

1995–96 Dan Fridgen 10-22-37-13-2T-7th—
1996–97 Dan Fridgen 20-12-412-7-34th—
1997–98 Dan Fridgen 18-13-411-7-43rd—
1998–99 Dan Fridgen 23-12-213-7-23rd—
1999–00 Dan Fridgen 22-13-211-9-13rd—
2000–01 Dan Fridgen 17-15-211-9-2T-5th—
2001–02 Dan Fridgen 20-13-410-9-3T-3rd—
2002–03 Dan Fridgen 12-25-34-15-311th—
2003–04 Dan Fridgen 22-15-213-8-1T-4th—
2004–05 Dan Fridgen 14-22-26-15-111th—
2005–06 Dan Fridgen 14-17-68-8-6T-6th—
Dan Fridgen: 211-193-38116-116-31
Seth Appert (ECAC) (2006–2017)
2006–07 Seth Appert 10–18–86–11–5T-8th—
2007–08 Seth Appert 11–23–46–13–310th—
2008–09 Seth Appert 10–27–26–15–111th—
2009–10 Seth Appert 18–17–410–9–3T-5th—
2010–11 Seth Appert 20–13–511–9–2T-4thNCAA Regional Semifinals
2011–12 Seth Appert 12–24–37–12–310th—
2012–13 Seth Appert 18–14–512–7–32nd—
2013–14 Seth Appert 15–16–68–9–57th—
2014–15 Seth Appert 12–26–38–12–29th—
2015–16 Seth Appert 18–15–78–7–7T-5th—
Seth Appert: 144–193–4782–104–34
Dave Smith (ECAC) (2017–present)
2017–18 Dave Smith 6–26–45–17–211th—
Dave Smith: 6-26-45-17-2
Total:185–220–53

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Current roster

As of August 31, 2017.[8]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 British Columbia Linden Marshall Sophomore G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1998-07-21 Victoria, British Columbia Trail (BCHL) —
2 Massachusetts Mat Harris Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1996-07-14 Sudbury, Massachusetts Boston Jr. Bruins (USPHL) —
3 Minnesota T. J. Samec Junior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1995-05-03 Edina, Minnesota Brookings (NAHL) —
4 New Jersey Tommy Grant Senior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1994-04-04 Sparta, New Jersey Bay State (USPHL) —
6 South Dakota Brady Ferner Freshman D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997-08-27 Dakota Dunes, South Dakota Sioux City (USHL) —
7 Michigan Nick Bowman Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1997-12-19 Shelby Township, Michigan Coulee Region (NAHL) —
8 Pennsylvania Mike Gornall Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1994-10-26 Irwin, Pennsylvania North Dakota (NCHC) —
9 Minnesota Meirs Moore Senior D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1994-12-04 Duluth, Minnesota Victoria (BCHL) —
11 Finland Ottoville Leppänen Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-06-18 Espoo, Finland Blues U20 (Nuorten SM-liiga) —
12 Connecticut Chase Zieky Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1996-03-24 Avon, Connecticut Providence (HEA) —
13 Alberta Tommy Lee Freshman F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1997-12-07 Calgary, Alberta Chilliwack (BCHL) —
16 Ontario Jacob Hayhurst Junior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 1997-01-20 Mississauga, Ontario Cedar Rapids (USHL) —
17 Arizona Todd Burgess Junior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1996-04-03 Phoenix, Arizona Fairbanks (USHL) OTT, 103rd overall 2016
18 Michigan Daniel DiGrande Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1997-08-05 Macomb, Michigan Green Bay (USHL) —
19 Virginia Ture Linden Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997-07-06 Great Falls, Virginia Lone Star (NAHL) —
20 Wisconsin Billy Jerry Sophomore F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997-11-21 River Falls, Wisconsin Madison (USHL) —
21 Ontario Brady Wiffen Senior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1994-06-09 St. Marys, Ontario Trenton (OJHL) —
22 Pennsylvania Donovan Ott Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1997-02-21 Lebanon, Pennsylvania Johnstown (NAHL) —
23 Minnesota Jake Johnson Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-08-13 Bloomington, Minnesota Cedar Rapids (USHL) —
24 Ontario Will Reilly Junior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1997-07-23 Toronto, Ontario Nanaimo (BCHL) PIT, 217th overall 2017
25 Ontario Jaren Burke Sophomore F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1996-06-26 Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (CCHL) —
26 New York (state) Jake Marrello Junior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1997-08-04 Slingerlands, New York P. A. L. (USPHL) —
27 Alberta Shane Bear Sophomore D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-02-17 Calgary, Alberta Brooks (AJHL) —
28 New Jersey Kyle Hallbauer Freshman D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997-03-02 Howell, New Jersey Lone Star (NAHL) —
29 New York (state) Patrick Polino Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1995-04-11 Buffalo, New York Lincoln (USHL) —
31 Ontario Owen Savory Freshman G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1997-10-11 Guelph, Ontario St. Catharines (GOJHL) —
35 Minnesota Chase Perry Senior G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1996-02-08 Andover, Minnesota Wenatchee (BCHL) DET, 136th overall 2014
39 Slovakia Jakub Lacka Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-11-20 Bratislava, Slovakia Central Illinois (USHL) —

References

  1. ↑ Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Brand Style Guidelines (PDF). Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  2. ↑ "RPI Engineers – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Athletics Facilities".
  3. ↑ "Inside College Hockey – Rensselaer Engineers".
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Statistics". USCHO.com.
  5. ↑ "ECAC Hockey" (PDF).
  6. ↑ "RPI Hockey FAQ". Retrieved 2010-03-03.
  7. ↑ "at the beginning of the Hockey Line". RPI History Revealed. 2009-09-08. Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
  8. ↑ "RPI Engineers – 2018–19 Men's Hockey Roster".
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