Lang was visibly upset in his interview following the first period of Friday’s game. The game was tied at 1, but RPI had taken three penalties and barely seen the offensive zone. They would go onto win that game 2-1 after Tapper sniped a powerplay goal, but it sloppy.
Saturday night was a different story. LIU didn’t get a shot on goal until nearly 10 minutes in. Lang called it one of the best periods of hockey that the team had played that year. While the final score didn’t fully reflect it, this was a much more comfortable game for RPI. They defended cleaner, won the puck possession battle, and ultimately came away with a sweep on the weekend.
Two very different games, but the team found ways to win both. Let’s break down some of the highlights:
1. RPI was down a man for nearly a quarter of the game and won 2-1
Six powerplay opportunities and just over a minute of empty net time at the end added up to nearly 15 minutes of shorthanded time for the Engineers to deal with on Friday night. And deal with it they did. RPI kept their perfect penalty kill streak intact not only throughout Friday night, but into Saturday as well, leaving them at a perfect 14/14 on the season.
While this may be more an indictment on LIU’s powerplay, which hasn’t scored in 22 opportunities this season, it has been comforting to see the penalty kill be a strength early on for the Engineers.
2. Sobieski is deadly in the offensive zone if given space
After a three-point night on Saturday, Kaz Sobieski is now tied with Rullers for the team lead in both goals and points. He was named as one of the ECAC stars of the night on Saturday, and for good reason. LIU had no answer for him in the offensive zone. Give him space to set up for a shot in the upper slot, and he’s got a good chance of putting in the back of the net.
In the defensive zone he has still had a few missteps, but pairing him with Ryan Michael, who has had a very steady start his college career, has been a success.
3. Klassek is a “business handler”
Klassek hasn’t had quite the offensive output that Sobieski has, but his work in the defensive zone has been stellar so far. The description I keep coming back to for him is “business handler.” Whether it’s winning a puck battle along the back boards, getting a clean poke check in, or chipping out with the perfect weight to avoid an icing, Klassek has just made every play asked of him this season. Handling business consistently.
4. Still trying to find chemistry with the forward group
Lang shuffled up the forward lines on Saturday night after three straight games with effectively the same group up top. Only Bono and Lindberg had swapped spots on the fourth line. The shakeup worked out for Alfie Lindberg and Ian Scherzer, who had several nice sequences together with Sobieski, leading to two goals.
It still feels as though there is more to be unlocked with the wingers in the top six. Guys like Hadland, Gavin, Yurchuk, and Goukler all have shown glimpses, but it hasn’t fully clicked for any of them yet. Rullers and Sitar have looked great to start the year, but if Lang can really get some of the supporting pieces going as well, this could be a potent offense.
5. McCallum gets a first look in net
Krawchuk has obviously had a great start to the year, with a .960 save percentage, but Lang decided to go with McCallum for game two against the Sharks. It was his first game at the college level, and he acquitted himself well. 24 saves on 26 shots on goal. Going forward, you’d probably want him to do a little better on LIU’s second goal, where he could have come out early to clear the puck, but a moment of hesitation in a first college game isn’t the end of the world. It’s been a promising start from the goalie tandem so far.