Lt Matthew W Jonson writes:
><Mike Machnik writes>
>>       Once that team was gone and the players were replaced
>>     by players recruited with the standards in place, they went gradually
>>     downhill until last year's rebound.
>>
>It seems to me that the number of players who left for the PROS without
>finishing their elgibility had a greater effect on the team's performance
>in '86 than recruiting standards.
 
    Well, I didn't mention anything about how players left - it is true
    that seven players turned pro after winning the NCAA championship, but
    four of them would have graduated anyway.  Only Oates, Servinis, and
    Puppa left early to play pro hockey.  Nienhuis, Hammond, Friday,
    and Langevin were all seniors.  The biggest loss, obviously, was
    Oates; Carter's production dropped without his playmaker (although
    he still had a season most players would have loved to have).  Almost
    all of the rest of the 1985 team played out its eligibility except
    for these three players.  I believe only one other player did not,
    and that was because he left RPI because of personal reasons (he
    didn't play pro).
 
    Also, RPI was still pretty good in 85-86 anyway (again dominated by
    players recruited prior to the index).  The 38-game unbeaten streak
    continued for the first five games of 85-86, and RPI was 9-1-1 at
    Christmas, ranked sixth in the country by one of the polls.  From 84-85
    to 89-90, this was how the team finished:
 
            ECAC           Overall
    84-85  20-1-0, 1st     35-2-1
    85-86  13-7-1, 4th     20-11-1
    86-87   9-13-0, 7th    13-18-2
    87-88   9-13-0, 8th    15-17-0
    88-89   8-12-2, 8th    12-17-3
    89-90  14-8-0, 2nd     20-14-0
 
    Addesa could no longer recruit players the caliber of Oates, Carter, etc.
    due to the index.  That's the main reason why RPI struggled from 87-89.
 
 
    - mike