With the recent passing of the summer solstice this past week, the countdown to hockey season has already begun for the Rensselaer men’s and women’s hockey teams. Both squads recently announced their full schedules for the 2005-2006 campaigns.
The women’s team, entering their first season as a Division I squad, have compiled a challenging calendar which include battles with rivals Union and Clarkson. The Engineers will open their season at home against Sacred Heart on October 8. RPI has defeated the Pioneers both times the teams have faced off over the last two years at the Houston Field House. The men’s team will open their season the night before, October 7, against Ottawa in Troy.
The women, who will play 15 of their games at home, have not completely abandoned their Division ties as the Engineers will take on top D-III programs Elmira and Utica. The Engineers furthest road game will take place on January 20 and 21 as the team heads to Michigan to battle Wayne State.
The men’s squad’s 2005-2006 travels will take them all the way to Anchorage, Alaska for the Nye Frontier Classic on October 14 and the Engineers schedule will only pick up once they return from the Arctic Circle. RPI will take on three Hockey East opponents, which includes a trip to Boston University, before opening their ECACHL schedule in the third annual Black Friday Contest against conference new comer Quinnipiac.
After the 55th Rensselaer Holiday Tournament with Holy Cross, Nebraska-Omaha, and Providence, the Engineers will pack their bags again, this time heading to Columbus, Ohio for the Ohio Hockey Classic with Miami of Ohio on December 30.
RPI will face rival Clarkson at home on January 14 and cross town foe Union in the traditional home-and-home series on February 3 and 4. This year’s Big Red Freakout! will be the following weekend against Brown, who the Engineers defeated 3-2 after Kirk MacDonald fired a laser top shelf with 11 seconds left in the third period last year.
The men’s hockey team also announced this summer six freshmen who will be joining the Engineers on the ice this coming season. The class of 2009 includes forwards Mathieu Angers-Goulet, Kurtis Colling, Seth Klerer, Andrei Uryadov, defenseman Reed Kipp, and goaltender Mathias Lange.
Lange, who will challenge sophomore Jordan Alford for the starting goaltending job is from Austria and Uryadov of Russia, also hails from across the Atlantic. The other four recruits are from the various Canadian Provinces.
Rensselaer Head Coach Dan Fridgen sighted the playmaking ability of his newest players as the main reason for their recruitment. Lange is extremely quick around the crease while the five others all possess good stick skills, an area in which the Engineers were somewhat lacking this year.
Offensively, Rensselaer needs a boost from its young recruits. RPI averaged just 2.58 goals per game while allowing just over three goals a game. The Engineers will be losing their third leading points man, Nick Economakos to graduation, and might be without senior and leading scorer Kirk MacDonald, who is fighting to recover from testicular cancer.
