Preview: RPI at Canisius
RPI kicks its season off with a road trip to Buffalo
After an encouraging start to the young season over the Massachusetts border, the Engineers will head the other direction out to Buffalo to take on Canisius. In what has become a yearly series for obvious reasons, RPI has generally had quite a bit of success against the Golden Griffins. I am not sure why this is the third year in a row RPI must go on the road for this game, seeing as Canisius is hardly Boston College. But regardless, RPI will look to pick up where they left off last weekend and deliver Canisius another sweep like they did last year.
Engineers Preview
RPI looked very sharp last weekend in Amherst, specifically their breakouts and cycle game. This is a very encouraging sign after the struggles they had last year. Something to look out for will be the injury bug, as Sutter Muzzatti did not dress as he rehabs his injury, Jordan Tonelli left in the first period, and Nate Sullivan also did not dress. RPI may be a little thin up front right now, so it will take a team effort to keep the pressure on.
Both goalies were very effective against the Minutemen, and I would expect them to split the weekend. Giesbrecht was stellar and was tested much more than Watson but look for Watson to start Friday and Giesbrecht to get the nod on Saturday. If none of the aforementioned players are ready to go, I would expect the lineup to look like this:
Hotson-Tinling-Lee
McNeil-Payant-Caron
Beaton-Rullers-Gagnon
Brackett-Bourgault-Tapper
Bergmanis-Smolinski
McDermott-Gilson
Strom-Goffredo
Agnew
Canisius Preview
Trevor Large has had a successful run at Canisius, but last year was a bit of a struggle and the loss of Randy Hernandez and Max Kouznetsov didn’t help. Luckily, the Golden Griffins return Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Year, Matteo Giampa. Giampa is coming off a 35-point campaign and received a number of preseason votes for AH player of the year. Sophomore goalie Ethan Robertson figures to get most of the playing time, and former Providence Friar Grant Porter should help on offense. Graduate defenseman Jackson Decker also returns, fresh off a 17-point year and is expected to lead their blue line.
Canisius made the North Country trip to Clarkson and St. Lawrence last weekend but came up empty. They held their own against the Golden Knights, only falling 2-1, and kept the shots nearly even. They actually outshot St. Lawrence the next night but fell 5-2 despite leading 2-0 in the first. Obviously, this is a very small sample size, but I think it is noteworthy that the play driving statistics indicate the series was fairly even. The North Country trip is notoriously difficult, so I imagine the Griff’s will be eager to get on home ice this weekend and avenge those losses.
Keys To The Game
I am curious to see what happens this weekend because I don’t know what to expect out of the Engineers. Last weekend was certainly encouraging, but it is a small sample size, and I don’t want to fall for fool’s gold. We will have to see how the injuries affect them, and who is able to suit up this weekend. Canisius will be eager to get on their home ice, and RPI will need to carry over those positive possession statistics from last weekend. They will need to finish the chances they have better than they did against UMass, but I am less concerned with that than I am with possession. RPI’s first real game will be very telling to see where they are as a group, but I am encouraged by what I saw last weekend. It is the best time of the year to be a hockey fan, let’s have a great year!!