And why is "laer" pronounced the same as "lear"? I suppose it's because RPI is a Tech school? Many Michigan Tech students/alumni that I've met were bad spellers. So I suppose RPI folks can't spell either? RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) is a college or university in Troy, New York. Lucky for bad spellers that they go to a school that is difficult to spell and live in a town that is easy to spell. Troy is often referred to as the Troilet.Anyway, the schools nickname is the Injunaers (or maybe it's Injunears?) or Red Hawks. They have the all time stupidest mascot/logo in the history of sports. The creativity of Injunaering students is legendary. And by legendary of course I mean completely without precedent in terms of futility. What's with the hat on that guy? Some of the teams from RPI go by the name Red Hawks (since 1995) but the hockey team were super sensitive PETA-types and didn't like other fans yelling "Kill the chickens" so they ignored the official name change and stayed with Injunaers.
Way back when there were only 3 other college hockey teams RPI won a national championship. Then in 1985 everbody else crapped the bed and they snagged another one. SCSU is deeply envious of RPI.
The Red Hawks are coached by former Pionaer's assistant Seth Appert. The Pionaers also used a Red Hawk for their logo for a number of years until fans from other schools yelled "Kill the Jelly Donuts". The sensitivity of all Red Hawk-related fans is legendary. Of course by legendary I mean hilarious.
To say the Rensselaers are in a rebuilding year is a bit misleading; a "building" year would be more accurate. They did finish the season fairly strong with a sweep of Dartmouth before pushing Cornell to 3 games in the ECAC playoffs. They lost no real significant scoring from last years 10-27-2 team.
They're not big nor are they small. They have 10 players listed at 6'2" or above. They have 9 players listed at 5'10" or below. They recruit from all over. They've got some decent young players up front. And their goaltending won't likely be teh suck. They opened their 09/10 campaign with a 5-1 loss to UMass and a 3-1 win against UNH.
If the Seawolves play their game with vigor and execute anywhere near the level they're capable then this RPI team will head into their 2nd game versus UA_ with an 0-1 tournament record.
The Seawolves should use their size to it's best advantage and I'd expect at times UAA's speed will present problems. Offensively, the possession game should also serve the Seawolves effectively. UAA fans should notice a distinct difference in the overall talent level akin to what we witnessed versus Mercyhurst.
I'm expecting a superior defensive effort this weekend. Don't be surprised to see UAA using a trapping style in the high neutral zone against this foe. Hemming them in should be an effective strategy. They are young enough (13 underclassmen) to still be working on their breakouts. Disrupting their passing lanes early should frustrate them and put the game solidly on UAA's page.
What I'm mostly trying to say here is that there is no excuse for the Seawolves to falter on Friday afternoon. I'll have a Cigarette University preview tomorrow.
Prediction: UAA 6 - Rensselaers 1
10 comments:
Funny stuff. I lived in the Troilet for an unspeakably long enough time that I'm happy to never have a reason to go back.
And I thought the Seawolf mascot was bad. My oh my!
Anyone else can't reach collegehockeynews.com again?
That site is down for me too Donald.
The last time UAA skated against RPI, was back in 2005, with a 6-3 UAA win. Rookie defenseman Matt Robinson had 4 assists in the game. Will rookie defenseman Lee Baldwin break out for 4 assists?
History does have a history of repeting itself, hoping we bounce back and shutout the competition at the Carlson and, just one t alum 09.
Here is a very interesting look at RPI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPydI-ZgHK0
Here is another:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnl8fueYiBE
RPI has dumped the Red Hawks; we are now only the Engineers. Also, we'll see who's crying at the end of the weekend.
Ted,
I passed on each of those in favor of the more grim one. It's always fun to see students at an expensive private school moaning about how their school sucks though.
Red Cloud (posing as Anon):
What part of "the schools nickname is Injunaers" didn't you read?
With Wikipedia editing being the #1 hobby of RPI students you'd think they'd be more clear on their own entry ...
It says, "The official nickname of some of the school's Division III teams was changed in 1995 from the Engineers to the Red Hawks. However the hockey, football, cross-country, tennis, and track and field teams all chose to retain the Engineers name."
Also, your tears are legendary in the college hockey community. Of course by legendary I mean that everyone points their fingers at you and laughs at the near continuous flow of water from your eyes.
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