For Selander, puck stops here
RPI goalie on pace to shatter all-time career Division I saves mark
If there is a save to be made at RPI, get a call into Lovisa Selander.
That’s because making saves is a specialty of the 5-foot-11 senior from Sollentuna, Sweden.
OK, if these hints aren’t enough, Selander is the goaltender for the RPI women’s hockey team. And since arriving on campus in 2015, she has been the protector of the Engineers’ goal. It only seems that she stops every puck that comes her way.
Selander has a real chance to become the all-time career saves leader for a women’s Division I goaltender. She began the season in 16th place but has made a steady ascent towards the top. Selander currently sits in fourth place with 3,552 saves.
Brianne Mclaughlin, who
There is another reason the Engineers won’t be looking past Uconn. The Huskies already own a win over RPI after beating the Engineers 3-1 on Oct. 20 at Houston Field House. Ironically, that was the Saturday before RPI and Union played their two ECAC regular-season games. The Engineers won both of those games.
“Uconn is very good,” said RPI junior forward Jacob Hayhurst, who leads the Engineers with 21 points (three goals, 18 assists). “They are pretty fast, and we have to be ready to play them.”
The Engineers are 6-15 overall and have already matched last year’s number of victories. RPI went through a demoralizing 6-27-4 record a season ago, but has already started to see improvements under Smith, who is in his second year.
RPI is coming off an ECAC split last weekend. The Engineers won at St. Lawrence (6-5) and lost at Clarkson (5-2). Uconn is 7-13-1 overall and 2-10-1 in Hockey East.
Smith gave his team off on Sunday and put them through a light practice on Monday before the final tuneup on Tuesday.
“We want to make sure we are physically and mentally sharp for the (Uconn) game,” Smith said. “We have the trip and you play. These guys want to play games, they want to get after it.”
Smith said this game also gives an opportunity to get more work in for two junior transfers. Forwards Chase Zieky (Providence) and Mike Gornall (North Dakota) have played in six games so far since becoming eligible after sitting out the first semester.
Zieky has a goal and two assists so far and Gornall has four assists.
“You see how important depth is,” Smith said. “Each of the (transfers) has a skill set and a gift that they bring to our
team. None are saviors, but when you add three Division I players, it gives us more consistency and depth.”
A third transfer, defenseman Shane Bear (Massachusetts), has missed the past two games with an injury, one Smith does not talk about. In fact, he doesn’t talk about any injuries.
“We don’t talk about them, ever,” Smith said. “We made that decision at the start of the year.”
After 21 games last season, RPI was 3-15-3.
“We have taken big steps since last season,” Hayhurst said. “We are in more games and we are kind of slowly starting to see things go our way. We are hoping that will continue to happen and we can string a few wins together the last few games of the season.”
RPI is 4-7 in the ECAC and still has 11 regularseason league games left to play after this weekend.