Here are Oates' stats for the three years he played at RPI. After
RPI won the NCAA Championship in his junior year, 1985, he signed a
$1 million-plus contract with Detroit.
SEASON GP G A Pts RPI Record
1982-3 ? 9 33 42 18-11-0, ECAC Quarterfinalist
1983-4 38 26 57 83 32-6-0, ECAC Champion, NCAA Quarterfinalist
1984-5 38 31 60 91 35-2-1, ECAC Champion, NCAA Champion
Postseason honors include 1983-4: Second Team All-ECAC, First Team
All-America East (explain that one); 1984-5: First Team All-ECAC,
First Team All-America East.
The 84-5 RPI team ended the season with a 33-game unbeaten streak (32-0-1),
which was extended another five games to 38 (36-0-2) after I came on board
in 1985-6. Ties were with Lake Superior in the NCAA Quarterfinals and
Clarkson in November 1985. The record is still held by Dartmouth, 46, from
1941 to 1946. However, the RPI streak is considered to be the "modern-day"
record. Note that Northern Michigan carries a 26-game unbeaten streak
(24-0-2) into next season. That is a new WCHA record.
Of course, if Oates had seen fit to stay at RPI another year, maybe RPI
would have broken that all-time record, but no... :-)
BTW, Glenn mentioned that Oates was one of the biggest reasons Carter had
such a great 84-5 season. No doubt about it. He had a stretch of four
consecutive 3-or-more goal games early in the season and finished with six
hat tricks and 12 multiple goal games. Here are Carter's numbers in Oates'
two big seasons, and I threw in those of Oates' other winger, Mark Jooris.
All three were juniors in That Championship Season of 1984-5.
Carter Oates Jooris
SEASON GP G A Pts GP G A Pts GP G A Pts
1983-4 38 35 39 74 38 26 57 83
1984-5 37 43 29 72 38 31 60 91 35 23 37 60
I wish I knew people were going to ask these questions. My RPI guide is at
home so I don't have Jooris' 1983-4 stats here, but they didn't approach those
of Carter & Oates due to his missing most of the season with an injury. He
didn't really receive the recognition he deserved until 1985-6, when without
Oates he still finished third in the ECAC in overall scoring with 34-26=60 in
31 games; Carter, meanwhile, dropped off to about 40 points but he missed
several games with a bad knee injury suffered at Yale. Chances are very good
Carter will be left unprotected by Boston after this season, by the way.
I can still see Jooris snap off those quick wrist shots from the right circle.
He had a move called the "Joobie toe-drag" where he would protect the puck
with just the tip of the blade, slide around a defender and be in perfect
position to snap it inside the crossbar. A real character, too. I believe
he is playing in Europe now, after several seasons with Edmonton's farm team
and with Team Canada.
A remarkable Jooris stat: in three games against Michigan in 1985-6, he
scored *13* goals. Five came in the opening game of the GLI, tying the GLI
record. Five more came in an 11-10 overtime loss at Michigan a few weeks
later, and a hat trick closed it out when RPI gained a split the next night
against the Wolverines. If ever a team wished an opposing player got lost
on his way to the rink, it was Michigan & Jooris.
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