The RPI Engineers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...

(RPI). The Engineers are a member of ECAC Hockey (ECACH). They play at the

Houston Field House Houston Field House is a multi-purpose arena located on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York. It is the nation's third-oldest college hockey rink, behind Northeastern University's Matthews Arena and Princeton ...

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 Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman ...

, 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 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

, 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 ECAC Hockey is one of the six conferences that compete in NCAA Division I ice hockey. The conference used to be affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a consortium of over 300 colleges in the eastern United States. This relati ...

. 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 Adam Robert Oates (born August 27, 1962) is a Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) o ...

and Daren Puppa, two players during that time, both went on to become stars in the NHL.

Joe Juneau Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

, who played from 1987 to 1991, also spent many years in the NHL.

Graeme Townshend Graeme Scott Townshend (born October 23, 1965) is a Jamaican-born Canadian retired ice hockey right winger. He was the first Jamaican-born player to play in the National Hockey League (NHL), and played 45 games in the NHL between 1990 and 1993. T ...

, 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

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

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 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Season-by-season results

Source:

Records vs. current ECAC Hockey teams

As of the completion of 2018–19 season

Head coaches

David Smith, RPI Engineers ice hockey coach

As of the completion of 2021–22 season

Current roster

As of December 24, 2022.

Statistical Leaders

Source:

Career points leaders

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 30 games Statistics current through the start of the 2021–22 season.

Awards and honors

Hockey Hall of Fame

Source: *

(2012)

United States Hockey Hall of Fame

Source: * Ned Harkness (1994)

NCAA

Individual awards

NCAA Scoring Champion *

Frank Chiarelli Frank Chiarelli is a retired Canadian ice hockey player. He captained Rensselaer to its first National Title in 1954 and was the all-time NCAA leader in career goals at the time of his graduation. Career Like many Canadian players of the era ...

: 1952 *

Jerry Knightley Gerald N. "Jerry" Knightley is a Canadian retired ice hockey Winger and coach who was a two-time All-American for Rensselaer. Career Knightley was one of the final recruits for Ned Harkness with the Engineers, arriving in Troy in the fall of ...

: 1964 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player *

Abbie Moore Albert W. "Abbie" Moore is a Canadian retired ice hockey center who was the MOP for the 1954 NCAA Tournament. Career Abbie Moore was in the second recruit class for Ned Harkness after Rensselaer brought back its ice hockey program in 1949. Afte ...

: 1954

All-Americans

AHCA First Team All-Americans *1952-53:

Herb LaFontaine Herb LaFontaine is a Canadian retired ice hockey defenceman who starred for Rensselaer. Career LaFontaine played two seasons for Rensselaer as the team was ascending to the top of the college hockey landscape. In each of his two campaigns, the ...

, D;

, F *1955-56:

Garry Kearns Garry Kearns is a Canadian retired ice hockey head coach and player who was in charge of the program at Rensselaer for five seasons. Career Kearns joined the Rensselaer program a year after it won its first national title in 1954. After sit ...

, F *1957-58: Paul Midghall, F *1958-59: Paul Midghall, F *1962-63:

Bob Brinkworth Robert J. "Bob" Brinkworth (born May 10, 1942) is a Canadian retired ice hockey Center and coach who was a two-time All-American and ECAC Player of the Year for Rensselaer. Career Brinkworth was recruited to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ...

, F *1963-64:

, F;

, F *1964-65:

, F *1983-84: John Carter, F;

, F *1984-85: Ken Hammond, D;

, F *1985-86: Mike Dark, D *1989-90:

Joé Juneau Joseph Juneau () (born January 5, 1968) is a Canadian former professional hockey player and engineer, born in Pont-Rouge, Quebec. He played in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators ...

, F *1999-00: Joel Laing, G *2001-02:

Marc Cavosie Marc Cavosie (born August 6, 1981) is an American former professional ice hockey player who last played for the Tohoku Free Blades of the Asia League Ice Hockey. He was selected by the Minnesota Wild in the 4th round (99th overall) of the 2000 NH ...

, F *2009-10: Chase Polacek, F *2010-11: Chase Polacek, F *2012-13:

Nick Bailen Nick Bailen (born December 12, 1989) is an American-Belarusian professional ice hockey defensemen. He is currently playing for Kölner Haie of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Playing career Undrafted, Bailen played collegiate for RPI Engineer ...

, D AHCA Second Team All-Americans *1951-52:

, F *1953-54:

, F;

, F *1983-84: Daren Puppa, G *1984-85: John Carter, F *1990-91:

, F *1992-93:

Neil Little Leslie Neil Little, Jr. (born December 18, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was a member of the Philadelphia Flyers organization nearly his entire professional career, helping backstop the Philadelphia Phantoms to ...

, G *1996-97: Eric Healey, F *1997-98: Eric Healey, F *1999-00:

Brian Pothier Brian Pothier (born April 15, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. Pothier played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2000 until 2010. Playing career As a youth, Pothier played in the 1991 Quebec International Pee ...

, D;

Brad Tapper Brad Tapper (born April 28, 1978) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Atlanta Thrashers over parts of three seasons. After retiring from playing, he remained active in ho ...

, F *2001-02:

Matt Murley Matt Murley (born December 17, 1979) is an American former professional ice hockey forward who played with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Phoenix Coyotes in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is currently a Sports betting expert for Barstool Spor ...

, F *2010-11:

, D *2013-14:

Ryan Haggerty Ryan Haggerty (born March 4, 1993) is an American professional ice hockey forward who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played under contract with the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career ...

, F

ECAC Hockey

Individual awards

Player of the Year *

: 1963, 1964 *

: 2002 * Chase Polacek: 2010, 2011 Rookie of the Year *

: 1962 *

Don Cutts Donald Edward Cutts (born February 24, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 6 games in the National Hockey League with the Edmonton Oilers during the 1979–80 season. Cutts was selected in the seventh round ...

: 1972 *

George Servinis George Servinis (born April 29, 1962) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played five games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Minnesota North Stars during the 1987–88 season. The rest of his career, which lasted ...

: 1983 *

Jerry D'Amigo Jerry Vincent D'Amigo (born February 19, 1991) is an American professional ice hockey right winger currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played with Löwen Frankfurt of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). D'Amigo was drafted by ...

: 2010 *

Jason Kasdorf Jason Kasdorf (born May 18, 1992) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He was last contracted with the Manitoba Moose in the American Hockey League (AHL). Kasdorf was originally selected by the Winnipeg Jets in the ...

: 2013

Ken Dryden Award The Ken Dryden Award is an annual award given out at the conclusion of the ECAC Hockey regular season to the best goaltender in the conference as voted by the coaches of each ECAC team. The Ken Dryden Award was first awarded in 1996 and every year ...

* Joel Laing: 2000 Most Outstanding Player in Tournament *

: 1984 * Daren Puppa: 1985 *

Mike Tamburro Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documenta ...

: 1995

All-Conference

First Team All-ECAC Hockey * 1961-62:

, F * 1962-63:

, F * 1963-64: Bill Sack, D; Fred Kitchen, F;

, F;

, F * 1964-65:

, F * 1984-85: Ken Hammond, D; John Carter, F;

, F * 1985–86: Mike Dark, D * 1989–90:

, F * 1992–93:

, G * 1997–98: Eric Healey, F * 1998–99: Dan Riva, F * 1999–00: Joel Laing, G;

, F * 2001–02:

, F;

, F * 2009–10: Chase Polacek, F * 2010–11:

, D; Chase Polacek, F * 2012–13:

, D * 2013–14:

, F Second Team All-ECAC Hockey * 1961-62:

Brian Robins Brian Robins was born in Cheltenham, England, but spent most of his early life in Bournemouth. An early interest in music took him into the record industry, by which time he had realised that he had no future as a performer. This, coupled with ...

, D; Tom McMahon, D; Jim Josephson, F * 1962-63: Brian Pryce, D;

, F * 1963-64: Bill Grisdale, D * 1967-68: Dale Watson, F * 1971-72:

, G * 1972-73:

, G * 1977-78: Ian Harrison, G * 1983-84: John Carter, F;

, F; Marty Dallman, F * 1990–91:

, F * 1991–92: Stephane Robitaille, D * 1992–93: Brad Layzell, D * 1993–94:

Ron Pasco Ron Pasco (born February 3, 1972) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and a former professional ice hockey player. He is currently serving as an assistant coach at Swiss National League team Lausanne HC. Playing career Pasco attended ...

, F * 1994–95: Adam Bartell, D * 1995–96: Patrick Rochon, D * 1996–97: Eric Healey, F * 1999–00:

, D * 2003–04: Nathan Marsters, G; Scott Basiuk, D; Kevin Croxton, F * 2009–10:

Allen York Allen York (born June 17, 1989) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 11 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the National Hockey League. York was selected by the Blue Jackets in the 6th round (158th over ...

, G * 2012–13:

, G * 2015–16:

, G * 2021–22: Ture Linden, F Third Team All-ECAC Hockey * 2005–06: Keith McWilliams, D; Kevin Croxton, F * 2006–07: Jake Luthi, D * 2010–11:

, G ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team * 1987–88:

Bruce Coles The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been a ...

, F;

, F * 1989–90: Allen Kummu, D; Francois Cadoret, F * 1990–91:

, G * 1991–92: Wayne Clarke, F; Craig Hamelin, F * 1992–93:

Tim Regan Tim Regan (born June 27, 1981) is a former American soccer defender. College Regan played college soccer at Bradley University from 1999 to 2002, where he established himself as one of the best players in the program's history. After startin ...

, F; Bryan Richardson, F * 1994–95: Eric Healey, F * 1995–96: Matt Garver, F; Alain St. Hilaire, F * 1996–97: Pete Gardiner, F * 1998–99:

, F * 1999–00:

, F * 2000–01: Nathan Marsters, G * 2002–03: Kevin Croxton, F * 2003–04: Oren Eizenman, F * 2005–06: Mathias Lange, G * 2007–08: Chase Polacek, F * 2008–09: Patrick Cullen, F * 2009–10:

, F;

Brandon Pirri Brandon Pirri (born April 10, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League (AHL). He was selected by the Chicago Bl ...

, F * 2012–13:

, G * 2014–15: Drew Melanson, F * 2015–16: Cam Hackett, G

Olympians

This is a list of Rensselaer alumni were a part of an

Olympic team A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...

Engineers in the NHL

As of July 1, 2022. File:Brandonpirri.jpg,

Source:

References

External links

RPI Engineers men's ice hockey
{{New York Sports Ice hockey teams in New York (state)