RPI Engineers men's ice hockey


The RPI Engineers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college ice hockey program that represents Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The Engineers are a member of ECAC Hockey. They play at the Houston Field House in Troy, New York.

History

Men's ice hockey at RPI dates back to 1901 and is one of the oldest programs in the United States. The team played as an independent NCAA Division I team from its inception in 1901 through 1938. The team resumed after World War II for the 1949–50 season, and in the following season Rensselaer joined Clarkson, Colgate, Middlebury, St. Lawrence, and Williams to form the Tri-State League for the 1950–51 season. The next three seasons, the 1952–1954 team won the Tri-State League season championships. RPI's first NCAA Tournament berth in 1953, coming in third, and the following season in 1954 the team won its first NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Championship. After a six-year drought the program again made the NCAA Tournament in 1961, finishing fourth. The 1960–61 season would be the last season RPI competed in the Tri-State League, as RPI and fellow Tri-State League members Clarkson and St. Lawrence joined the new ECAC Hockey League.
Depending on how the rules are interpreted, the RPI men's ice hockey team may have the longest winning streak on record for a Division I team; in the 1984–85 season it went undefeated for 30 games, but one game was against the University of Toronto, a non-NCAA team. Continuing into the 1985–86 season, RPI continued undefeated over 38 games, including two wins over Toronto. Adam Oates and Daren Puppa, two players during that time, both went on to become stars in the NHL. Joe Juneau, who played from 1987 to 1991, also spent many years in the NHL. Graeme Townshend, who also played in the late 1980s, had a brief NHL career. He is the first person of Jamaican ancestry to play in the National Hockey League.

Traditions

The hockey team plays a significant role in the campus's culture, drawing thousands of fans each week to the Houston Field House during the season. The team's popularity even sparked the tradition of the hockey line, where students lined up for season tickets months in advance of the on-sale date. Today, the line generally begins a week or more before ticket sales. Another tradition since 1978 has been the "Big Red Freakout!" game held close to the first weekend of February. Fans usually dress in the schools colors Red and White, and gifts such as tee-shirts are distributed en masse.
From 1995 to 2009, RPI's Division III teams were known as the Red Hawks. However the hockey, football, cross-country, tennis, and track and field teams all chose to retain the longstanding Engineers name. The Red Hawks name was, at the time, very unpopular among the student body; a Red Hawk mascot was frequently taunted with thrown concessions and chants of "kill the chicken!" This was a major factor behind "Engineers" being restored for all teams in 2009.
The official hockey mascot, The Puckman–an anthropomorphic hockey puck with an engineer's helmet–has always been popular.

Season

The RPI Engineers men's ice hockey typically plays between 35 and 42 regular season games per season in the ECAC Hockey Conference. They also usually play one exhibition game against a Canadian college hockey team from Ontario, Nova Scotia, or Quebec. During the season, RPI will play 22 conference games against the other 11 teams in the ECAC. RPI will play each team home game at the Houston Field House and each away game at the respective university's campus. The conference games are typically played on Friday and Saturday nights, with the ECAC scheduling reflecting the Ivy League scheduling of having traveling partners. RPI's travel partner has been Union College since they joined the league in the 1991-92 season. They also play 10-12 non-conference games against teams not in the ECAC. These games typically take place at the beginning of the season in October and around the Thanksgiving and New Year holidays. RPI also plays one non-conference game against their Capital District geographic rival, Union, at the Times Union Center, typically on the last Saturday of January in what has become known as the Mayor's Cup. RPI has opened ECAC Hockey conference play on the last weekend of October against Union since the 2012-13 season. The first conference home game is known as Black Friday or Black Saturday which alternates each year. Other highlights of the season include the Big Red Freakout, which is played on the last or second to last Saturday home game in February.
At the conclusion of the regular season the team will play a minimum of two postseason games in the ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament in the beginning of March. If RPI wins the ECAC Tournament or is invited to the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team, they would then play at least one postseason game in late March in the single elimination tournament. RPI last played in the NCAA Tournament in 2011.

Season-by-season results

Records vs. Current ECAC Hockey Teams

As of the completion of 2018–19 season

Head Coaches

As of the completion of 2019–20 season

Current roster

As of September 5, 2019.

Statistical Leaders

Career points leaders

PlayerYearsGPGAPtsPIM
1951–19558015511026543
1982–1986131117108225207
1982–1985986615021652
1961–19647111010621620
1987–199112469144213157
1956–19596393118211118
1951–19546110210420622
1992–199614180113193146
1962–196571909718799
1982–1986117849918370

Career Goaltending Leaders

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
Minimum 540 minutes
PlayerYearsGPMinWLTGASOSV%GAA
2012–2016885025383792007.9202.39
2008–2011834898373482024.9142.47
2000–200411566385750628210.9172.55
2009–2013563102183051343.9032.59
1996–20009353455231623113.9262.59

Statistics current through the start of the 2019-20 season.

Awards and honors

[Hockey Hall of Fame]

Individual Awards

NCAA Scoring Champion
NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player
AHCA First Team All-Americans
AHCA Second Team All-Americans

Individual Awards

Player of the Year
Rookie of the Year
Ken Dryden Award
Most Outstanding Player in Tournament
First Team All-ECAC Hockey
Second Team All-ECAC Hockey
Third Team All-ECAC Hockey
ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team
PlayerPositionTeamYearsStanley Cup|
Erik BurgdoerferDefensemanBUF, OTT2016–Present0
John CarterLeft WingBOS, SJS1985–19930
Don CuttsGoaltenderEDM1979–19800
Jerry D'AmigoLeft WingTOR, BUF2013–20150
Marty DallmanCenterTOR1987–19890
Mike DarkDefensemanSTL1986–19880
Tim FridayDefensemanDET1985–19860
Ken HammondDefensemanLAK, EDM, NYR, TOR, BOS, SJS, VAN, OTT1984–19930
Eric HealeyLeft WingBOS2005–20060
Joé JuneauCenterBOS, WSH, BUF, OTT, PHO, MTL1991–20040
Jason KasdorfGoaltenderBUF2015–20160
Larry LandonLeft WingMTL, TOR1983–19850
Neil LittleGoaltenderPHI2001–20040

PlayerPositionTeamYearsStanley Cup|
Mike McPheeForward, MNS, DAL1983–19941
Matt MurleyLeft WingPIT, PHO2003–20080
Kraig NienhuisLeft WingBOS1985–19880
Adam OatesCenterDET, STL, BOS, WSH, PHI, ANA, EDM1985–20040
Brandon PirriCenterCHI, FLA, ANA, NYR, VGK2010–Present0
Brian PothierDefensemanATL, OTT, WSH, CAR2000–20100
Daren PuppaGoaltenderBUF, TOR, TBL1985–20000
George ServinisLeft WingMNS1987–19880
Steve StoyanovichCenterHFD1983–19840
Brad TapperRight WingATL2000–20030
Graeme TownshendRight WingBOS, NYI, OTT1989–19940
Allen YorkGoaltenderCBJ2011–20120
Mike ZalewskiLeft WingVAN2013–20170