RPI hopes to build on momentum of last week
TROY — With visits from Central New York foes Cornell and Colgate on tap this weekend, the RPI hockey team is coming off a successful four-point road trip last weekend as the regular season heads into the final fourweek homestretch.
A big key to the Engineers’ 3-1 win over Brown last Friday and 1-1 tie (RPI lost a four-round shootout at Yale) was the play of junior goaltender Jack Watson, who flashed the form that could fuel RPI’S quest for a home playoff game in the opening round of the ECAC playoffs.
For his part, Watson, who missed 10 games earlier in the season with an undisclosed injury, turned away 68 of the 70 shots he faced last weekend in more than 124 minutes of play, including 38 saves in the win over Brown.
“We played very well defensively. We gave up a fiveon-five goal at the end of a power play and the other one was a six-on-four on the power play at the end of the game,” RPI coach Dave Smith said. “Jack played really well in the net. I thought he played hard and managed pucks significantly better on exits and entries.”
One key stat in Watson returning from injury corresponds with the only number that really matters, wins and losses.
Though RPI is 8-16-2 overall and 5-8-1 in league play, the Engineers are 6-5-1 overall with the junior from Toronto guarding the cage, sitting three points out of the eighth spot in the league standings. Eighth place would earn a first-round home game.
“It is never just one guy. Our team showed up and played solid games (last
weekend),” Watson said. “As a goalie, you are definitely in the spotlight more than others and with that, you get more criticism, but you also get some props that the goalie doesn’t necessarily deserve. It is still a team game and I thought we had a good weekend and why we came away with four points there.”
Riding a hot goaltender can fuel a team from the goal line out to the offensive zone and if RPI can continue the momentum from last weekend, a climb in the tightly packed ECAC is possible, given that seven points separate RPI from fourth-place Clarkson, the final position for a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Watson credited the effort from the RPI defensive corps last weekend in making his job easier than it may have looked.
“Whoever is in net, if they are seeing the puck really well and look confident in net, the boys are going to be a lot more confident in you as well,” Watson said. “It is very important, box-outs are crucial and when the guys are on, it is great for sure. Having good plays on the ice drives momentum on the team. You can hear it on the ice, someone makes a block
(shot), guys are yelling from the bench and banging their sticks. It helps boost energy for the guys.”
Following Friday’s game with Cornell, RPI will celebrate the 46th annual Big Red Freakout on Saturday against Colgate as part of the school’s alumni weekend.
“Big Red Freakout is a game a lot of guys have circled every year, myself included,” Watson said. “It is going to be a fun weekend for sure. You take it one game at a time, but not even thinking about Saturday. Right now, it is Cornell Friday.”
Union: A 5-4 shootout win at Brown last Saturday, a game in which the Garnet Chargers faced two-goal deficits three different times, saved last weekend from being remembered for a pair of losses for Union (12-12-2, 66-2).
The Garnet Chargers scored twice in the final five minutes to force overtime and the eventual win over Brown a night after losing 3-1 at Yale.
Union enters the weekend in fifth place in the league standings, one point behind Clarkson, five behind second-place Cornell and four back of third-place Colgate.