From what I've seen, RPI has been slipping due to injuries, sickness and
gradual loss of confidence.  After the game verse Yale they looked decent
and seemed set on a battle with Colgate and St. Lawrence for the top 2
spots.  The next night against Princeton they were without Joel Laing(I
believe from the flu and swollen glands) and had Scott Prekaski play.  While
Prekaski is far from a bad goalie, RPI doesn't seem to play with the same
confidence as they do when Laing is in.  Prekaski gave up 4 goals, none of
them bad, but it was enough to give Princeton the win, who pretty much
outplayed the Engineers.  Danny Eberly, a top 4 defensemen for the Engineers
was also out with an injury.  I'm not sure if Laing played against Colgate
at Starr, but from what I heard at the radio RPI, as usual during the slump,
dug themselves into a hole they couldn't climb out of.  Versus Cornell, RPI
got off to a 2-0 lead but gave up 3 goals within 15 minutes and that's how
it ended.  Again, based on what I heard on the radio, they were outplayed
for the majority of the game.  Weak defense really showed up here as they
allowed 61 shots to get to Scott Prekaski, which he saved 58 of for 95%
saves.  Clarkson was far and away their worst game of the year, getting down
3-0 and letting Clarkson absolutely dominate.  RPI was without top freshman
Marc Cavosie as he had an injury, yet I have a hard time believing they
would have won the game with him in.  Danny Eberly is out for the year, and
his absense certainly did contribute to the absolute defensive breakdown
over the streak.  Against St. Lawrence, some bad bounces and heads up plays
by St. Lawrence got them a 3-1 lead.  St. Lawrence scored another in the
second and then the referees absolutely preventing RPI from having any
chance whatsoever to climb out of the 3 goal hole.  Over this 5 game
stretch, absolute lack of defense and the absense of Eberly, and Cavosie and
Laing at times has prevented the normal type of play that RPI uses.  The
transition game was non-existent without the ability to clear the puck out
of the zone.  Some lost confidence also contributed to the streak.  That's
just my take on things.
 
Kyle Smith
[log in to unmask]
My AOL Instant Messenger screen name is DexterJKL.
 
 
And Remember...Exacto knives ARE a necessary evil
 
 
>From: "Anthony J. Buffa" <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: "Anthony J. Buffa" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: A few items
>Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2000 10:09:58 -0800
>
>Hello to all from soggy and getting soggier California,
>
>1) Dick brings up a point I asked about several years ago, and did not
>get an answer to.  Schools like RPI can still, being retroactive,
>support one team for men AND one team for women at D-I? In ohter words,
>TWO teams are allowed at D-I, one of each gender? If so, has any one
>heard of a candidate for the women's team at RPI, or is it just gonna
>stay with one team at men's hockey and that is it?
>
>2) On a different topic, the virus email I referred to IMPLIED TO ME
>that it actually carried the virus. I must admit I read it quickly while
>busy with other things. Tom Rowe has told me that it probably was just a
>warning (which apparently is verboten on the list, but WARNINGS don't
>bother me). If, in fact, it was just a warning, I apologize to the list
>and the sender... but when I glanced at the title and contents, it sure
>as hell didnt sound like a warning, it looked like the real thing - - an
>email containing a virus.
>
>3) Lastly, anyone out there close enough to the RPI Engineers to talk
>about their recent meltdown and any chance of righting the ship before
>the playoffs??????  HOw can a team beat UNH and BU, and then go into
>such a horrendous slump... is it injuries? Perhaps a name change on the
>jerseys back to RPI might help :-)
>
>Tony Buffa
>RPI '64
>
>====================
>[log in to unmask] wrote:
> >
> >         Sorry to have needlessly taken up the bandwidth with this issue,
>folks. I
> > guess Norwich to the MAAC cannot happen due to the new NC$$ rules. No
>more
> > additional D-3 schools playing one D-1 sport (each for men and women)
>are
> > being allowed.   And Norwich certainly isn't going to go D-1 in all
>sports.
> >
> >         For those of you who thought that the possibility of Norwich
>going to the
> > MAAC would have been a step backwards, I would invite you come to Storrs
>to
> > see the MAAC finals three weeks from today. Better yet, if the drive
>from
> > VT is too much, then by all means watch the game on national TV. Not
> > convenient either? Well, next year there is that auto-bid for the MAAC
>to
> > the big NC$$ dance, so perhaps you can evaluate the MAAC quality in
>those
> > surroundings.
> >
> >         -- Dick Tuthill
>
>HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
>[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.
 
______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
 
HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey;  send information to
[log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.