Gearing Up for the Last Month
RPI will look to pick up league points with 8 games left on the '25-'26 calendar
Since we haven’t recapped in a few weeks, I am going to try to cover my bases here with all the recent matters of the program that we have been tracking. RPI has a month left to go in the regular season, with all their remaining games coming in the ECAC.
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and we have been very upfront about that with you all season. I think a lot of the fans we interact with who were the most outspoken about wanting a coaching change got a little out over their skis expecting overnight results. These overnight rebuilds are certainly happening much faster than they used to before the portal, but that was never really in the equation for RPI this year. It took a long time for Eric Lang to be chosen, at which point the best players on last year’s team were already in the portal. There have been bright spots this year, none bigger than the incoming recruiting class shaping up to be RPI’s deepest since the classes of 2018 and 2019. Public announcements about HFH renovations this offseason are encouraging, as has been the marketing for the team, which we have long called for. Our internal goal here at The Field House was 10 wins and/or home ice in the ECAC first round, both of which RPI has some work to do in order to achieve. Let’s dig a bit deeper:
Mayor’s Cup & Last Weekend
None of us are local right now and due to the lack of streaming (why…) we weren’t able to see any of this game live. Nonetheless, this one stings about as bad as a loss can. Coach Lang called it one of the most crushing defeats and most surprising finishes of his career. It would have been a great one to have to gain some traction locally, in a rivalry that has been totally one-sided in the past decade plus. Lang seems hellbent on changing that narrative, and this one could have been planted a flag in the ground. Listen to the very end of his presser… “As our program builds and gets pretty good, and then we’re going to get frickin’ really good and you can take that to the goddamn bank”. Yeah, I’m all in.
This past weekend at Harvard and Dartmouth was the exact synopsis of the ‘25-’26 season. Great effort, low scoring, not enough puck possession and shots on net, and not enough goals.
It is what it is at this point with this team, and I do agree with Lang that they will be a tough out in the playoffs. Krawchuk has proven that he’s capable of stealing you one, and the team can clearly play with anyone. They just can’t score yet, and that’s going to take time through recruiting and development.
Remaining Schedule
RPI has at least 3 very winnable games, albeit they are all on the road. I think 3-5 is doable, and then hopefully a playoff win to get to double digit wins on the year. That is my hope…
Recruiting Corner
Evaschesen on fire lately in the WHL.
Michael —> Evaschesen. More of that to come in Troy!
Ryan Michael committed to the program in January, and we will have a piece out shortly detailing that one. His high-IQ, 2-way game will be an immediate plug and play on the left side.
Leo-Gabriel Gosselin gets time in the QMJHL.
Gosselin is just an ‘09 birth year, meaning he has a ton of time to develop. His rights were recently traded from Chicoutimi to Baie-Comeau in the QMJHL, notoriously a top program in the league. He has been called up a few times recently and is gaining solid experience in the league this year.