RPI hits the road this weekend to get back to ECAC play with games against Quinnipiac and Princeton. First, they’ll take on the Bobcats who are once again a great team that’s ranked in the top 20. However, this year, they actually look a little vulnerable as they have a bit of a rebuilding year following losing many top players.
As you can see, Quinnipiac is not as dominant as they have been in past years. Offensively, RPI actually matches up quite well and has been more effective. Quinnipiac generates slightly more shots and chances, but RPI scores much more due to their excellent finishing ability, ranked 2nd in the nation. After a couple years in a row with a top tier offense, Quinnipiac has taken a step back to be about average at even strength.
The power plays are very evenly matched with Quinnipiac landing just one spot ahead of RPI. Both of these teams have been dangerous on the power play, and they’ll both want to stay out of the box as much as possible.
Quinnipiac’s top offensive threat is Jeremy Wilmer who transferred from BU in the offseason. He was one of the top players in the portal, and it’s no surprise he is leading them in scoring. Outside of him, sophomores Andon Cerbone and Mason Marcellus are both scoring at about a point per game rate along with Travis Treloar who returned for his 5th year. Lastly, Aaron Schwartz and Tyler Borgula have made big impacts as freshmen and have given Quinnipiac good secondary scoring.
Defensively is where Quinnipiac has a big edge. RPI has struggled defensively this year both at even strength and on the penalty kill, while Quinnipiac has excelled. They rank in the top 20 in every even strength defensive category and are great at suppressing scoring chances in particular. They’re not quite as strong on the penalty kill, ranking only 26th in the country, but that’s still pretty solid overall.
Quinnipiac clearly has been the better team this season compared to RPI, but the numbers show that the Engineers have a chance in this one. They’ll need to be explosive offensively to crack Quinnipiac’s vaunted defense, and if they can play a full 60 minutes defensively, they can win this one. RPI showed that they can play with a top team in the country when they played Maine last weekend, but in both games, they let close games get away from them in the 3rd period. RPI needs to play strong all game to win against a tough opponent, but if they do that and stay out of the box, I honestly like their chances! Let’s Go Red!
Good information as always. Keep it going.