From: Tony Buffa <[log in to unmask]> >Anyone out there who saw the game want to do a post-mortem from the RPI >viewpoint (the elitist chump viewpoint, I guess! :-)) ? I saw the >description from the Princeton person, but what's up with RPI? Although I've been a subscriber to HOCKEY-L for almost 4 years, I stay pretty much a lurker, since my current residence here in Southern Maryland means I don't get out to see as many games in person as I'd like. Still, I usually try to make it to Princeton's Baker Rink (the closest DivI arena to Solomons :-) once/twice per season, and so it was that I found myself in New Jersey Friday night taking in the RPI (er .... Renssellaer :-) Engineers (er .... whatever their new PC moniker becomes :-) vs. Princeton Tigers match. I almost said "contest," but by the middle of the second period it was clear that there'd be none of that (at least tonight) .... From: Kurt Stutt <[log in to unmask]> >If you saw the Army game, RPI played well in that game compared to this >one. It was as though they had never skated together before warm-ups. From: Keith Instone <[log in to unmask]> >Also, Princeton beat RPI 9-1, from what WMPL radio says. >Hard to believe, however. Not if you were there :-) The box score and other comments have already been posted, so I'll just keep to a few general comments .... Brian Morris <[log in to unmask]> writes: >Going into this season I doubt that few of the loyal contingent thought >that RPI would succeed that well, if only for the fact that the team was >going to have to break-in a new goalie to replace a kid that was universally >revered as the guy that got them to the semis. Going out 5-0 in the ECAC's >to say the least was unexpected, and most fans are still waiting for the >inevitable fall from grace. .... and that they did - in spades. To those in the RPI contingent who perhaps were wondering how this team could have lost to *Army,* I think the better question is how they *beat* Harvard and Brown on the road on succes- sive nights. Princeton flat-out out-hustled, out-worked, and out-thought (how's that for hyphen overload :-) beat the Engineers in all facets of the game, and made it look easy to boot. Freshman goal-keeper Masotta looked shaky at times, especially in the second period in the midst of Princeton's seven-goal barrage, but it fairness to him I felt it was more a break-down in team defense in front of him. The Tigers are blessed with an abundance of team speed, and used it with icy efficiency to consistently force the bigger, slower Engineers to play catch-up all evening. There's been some talk on the List lately as to how the quicker Eastern teams will supposedly be at a disadvantage when playing the bigger/stronger Western teams, but at least on this night Princeton gave the Engineers a clinic on how it's done. From: "Christopher C. Dietrich" <[log in to unmask]> >This was 1 of the best games I've seen the Tigers play in the 8 years I've >been following them. They played 60 minutes of solid hockey at both ends >of the ice. Even with an 8 goal lead in the third period, they did not let >up, they still skated and checked hard .... The defense limited RPI to only >18 shots. This was a team effort in every sense of the word. Every Tiger >line played hard, they put a ton of pressure on RPI's goalie. At the other >end of the ice, they never let RPI establish an offensive flow. What most impressed me about the Tigers was their center-ice transition game, and especially their ability to take advantage of RPI line changes. Time and again RPI would bring the puck to center ice, dump it in the Tiger zone, and veer off for a line change, usually leaving only one player to follow the puck into the offensive zone. But the Tiger D was on the puck in an instant, quickly whipped it to a streaking forward at the blue line, and the Princeton attack was on, consistently breaking into the RPI zone 3 on 2, 2 on 1, at times even 4 on 2. Whenever a back-pedaling Engineer defenseman would challenge the puck-carrier, he'd quickly shovel it off to a (usually) unchecked line-mate for a quality shot on net. Both Masotta and Tamburro were effective at clearing rebounds to the corners, but RPI simply could NOT keep it there or clear the defensive zone. The last two Tiger goals early in the third period were particularly egregious defensive lapses. Less than a minute into the period Sharp picked up a loose puck along the near boards at the goal line, and started towards the net. Both RPI defensemen in deep went out to challenge the PU forwards in the high slot, leaving Sharp with an unmolested path to Tamburro. A nifty fake on the short side enticed Tamburro to commit too soon; Sharp simply slid the puck under Tamburro's pads as he slid too late to cover the far post. As the puck settled in behind him, Tamburro raised both arms in frustration, and I couldn't blame him; he'd been left all alone much as Masotta had for the first two periods. When another Tiger forward came out of the corner with the puck a few minutes later, this time an RPI forward draped himself all over him, but it was all for naught; he couldn't knock Pelle of the puck, and he muscled his way to Tamburro for another 5-hole goal. The RPI forwards seemed reluctant to back-check all evening, and seemed content instead to hang around the blue line looking for an outlet pass. But the Tigers fore-checked with abandon, and simply overwhelmed the Engineer D. Man-for-man RPI is a bigger team than Princeton, and should have been able to wear down the smaller Tigers with some *intelligent* use of the body. But Princeton never let RPI dictate a grind-it-out game, and given carte blanche to dipsy-doodle with impunity from the red line on in, the Tigers stormed the net all night. Carol Singer <[log in to unmask]> writes (from the NY Times): >Princeton - Coach Don (Toot) Calhoun has put together what may be his best >team. Key players are G James Konte, D Brent Flahr, and F Matt Brush. >An important line is Brush and RW Casson Masters. The Tigers should >finish better than the 10th of 12 in the ECAC that the pre-season coaches >poll predicted. This *team* is certainly *not* going to finish in the bottom half of the ECAC. While I don't expect every game to be a cake-walk like the RPI game turned out to be (see the 2-2 tie with Union just yesterday), any team that underestimates the Tigers will be in for a rude surprise .... From: Bill Fenwick <[log in to unmask]> >Princeton 6, Cornell 3 >One other note on Princeton's Masters: this guy is incredible. The box >score shows him with two assists, but when he was on the ice, he was just >about always leading a Princeton rush and was all over the place. If the >Tigers ever figure out how to use him, they are going to be DANGEROUS. A >serious Rookie of the Year candidate, and he'll probably develop into >Princeton's best forward since Andre Faust. I second everything that Bill said; Masters is simply *amazing* to watch. He and fellow freshman Brush work extremely well together, and while the game program noted that Brush/O'Brien/Masters have frequently been teamed together to form the "BOMb Squad" line :-) I'm pretty sure I saw senior forward Kopeck substituting for O'Brien at times. Our seats were down near the goal line, but I'm sure you could have seen the grin on Kopeck's face at the other end of the ice after he nearly scored twice on pin-point passes from Brush and Masters on the same shift. He must think he's playing with the second coming of Gretzky and Howe :-) The regulars at Baker Rink should thank their lucky stars that Masters chose to attend Princeton rather than Cornell; the Big Red's loss is a shot in the arm for the Tiger program. Hmmm, let's see, The Golden Knights visit Baker on 11 February - I think I can find *some* reason to attend :-) :-) And finally - From: Brian Morris <[log in to unmask]> >The loss at the Knick last spring was a shot to the psyche for most RPI fans. >I don't think there were many fans in the 9,000+ at the NC$$'s that harbored >any doubts that the Engineers would triumph over New Hampshire. Well, I know at least *1* fan in attendance who thought otherwise :-) :-) Cheers from Maryland - Jim UNH '79, '85G ... Go Blue !!