RPI VS. CORONA
RPI Hockey players comment on barring of fans from second round of ECAC Tournament
For the first time since the 2013 ECAC Hockey Tournament, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Hockey will be hosting a second round series.
Unfortunately, no one will be there to see it.
“When we talked with our guys, we had a lengthy meeting with them so we listend to their thoughts and feelings, and their emotions, we packed that up and we put it on a shelf and said, ‘We are a small piece of a very large worldwide discussion,” said RPI Head Coach Dave Smith. “We can only do, what we can do. We take that, we pack it up and put it on a shelf, and we come back to hockey.”
On Friday and Saturday night, March 13 and 14, RPI will face Harvard in the second round of the ECAC Tournament in front of an empty crowd due to RPI’s social distancing protocols put in place on Sunday, March 8.
RPI’s actions are a reaction to two confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Capital Region.
“Hockey is our story and that’s what we can control,” said Smith. “I think the reac-
tion from the team is the same you see from other campuses, different communities, in and out of athletics. There is always some confusion to, ‘Why us?’ But when you step back you realize that this is something very big, this is not just in Troy, New York. I thought they were very mature in the discussion. They were very understanding of what the challenges are.”
RPI, who claimed the fourth seed in the ECAC tournament in the very last game of the regular season, have been garnering more and more attention from the RPI and Capital Region hockey community as of late. In RPI’s final home game of the regular season against Princeton, 2,764 fans came to watch. The game before that against Quinnipiac, 3,008 fans were in attendance. 3806 fans came to watch the Big Red Freakout! Against Vermont on February 1.
RPI’s most attended night was on November 9 for Military Appreciation Night against Clarkson when 3,426 fans were in attendance.
“It’s frustrating and disappointing for our fans,” said Senior Captain Will Reilly. “Our fans and our families, but at the same it’s a situation that is out of our control. It’s protocol.” Reilly continued. “We have, in our opinion, some of the best fans in college hockey and obviously it’s disappointing that they won’t be there for us, but like I said, it’s not going to change the way we play or the way we prepare. We are just going to go about our business.”
It will be the smallest crowd the Engineers have certainly played in front of in their time at RPI, but it is something that will not distract them come game time.
“I don’t think I’ve ever played in front of an empty crowd, to be honest with you,” said senior forward Chase Zieky. “There would usually be parents there at the very least. This will probably be the first time.”
“It wasn’t a great turnout there,” said Slingerlands native Jake Marello on his crowds playing at Albany Academy. “We have the best fans here. It’s disappointing but out of our control. Like the guys touched on, it’s a hockey game. We have a great opportunity. We’re hosting a second round playoff, a lot of teams are done playing right now.”
“I think the preparation is the same all week,” said sophomore goaltender Owen Savory. “We talked about our concerns and what we wanted to get out and we put it to bed. We moved on and like Will said, it’s business as usual.”
RPI friends and families were planning on making the trek to Troy to celebrate the Engineers second round playoff competition, but now with the social distancing protocal, they will have to watch the game on ESPN + at the Recovery Room.
“My parents come to every game and it was going to be just like every other weekend,” said Marello. “My parents and a lot of other parents are trying to set up a viewing party so they are going to have fun and they are going to enjoy that — I don’t know where they are planning but all the parents are planning to get together and have a good time at the game.”
Individuals who purchased tickets in advance should contact the Houston Field House box office at 518-276-6262 during regular business hours (Monday thru Friday from 9am to 5pm) to obtain a refund. Emails should be directed to Norris Pearson, Operations Manager of the Field House, at pearsn@rpi.edu.
Each game of the quarterfinals series between Rensselaer and the Crimson will be webcast live via ECAC Hockey’s partnership with ESPN+ (US) and Stretch Internet
(International). Links will be posted when available. Live audio of the games will be available on WRPI, 91.5 FM and www. wrpi.org and live statistics will be found at https://rpiathletics.com/sidearmstats/ mhockey/summary.