RPI got off to a great start last weekend with a split against a strong Ohio State team. They’ll look to keep up the good play this weekend against LIU. It’s going to be much tougher than you might think. First, the two teams could not be more different. Ohio State is a very fast and skilled team that was all over the ice and had the puck a lot. LIU doesn’t have that level of talent, but they are one of the grittiest teams in all of college hockey. They always give their opponents a challenge, no matter how good they are. Anyone expecting this to be an easy weekend for RPI is mistaken.
Last Year and Early This Year
Last year, LIU was in their first season under up-and-coming head coach Brendan Riley. He took over from Brett Riley after he accepted the job at Ferris State. Brett Riley did an excellent job building up the program from absolutely nothing into a very competitive team, and Brendan Riley continued along that path last season in his first year on the job. Brendan Riley was actually an assistant at AIC under Eric Lang before the program was disbanded, so that will be a fun matchup of the mentor taking on his mentee.
LIU ended up at 14-18-1 last season and 42nd in the NPI. They had some good results throughout the year against quality opponents. They opened the season against BU and played them extremely tight the entire game. They also took Penn State to OT and probably should have won that game. They got a big time win on the road against Minnesota, and they also picked up a win against a Merrimack team that won Hockey East.
This year, LIU continued that trend. They gave Minnesota Duluth all they could handle in the first game by taking a 4-3 lead in the third period before Duluth came storming back to win. In the second series, they split with Canisius.
Roster Breakdown
Up front, LIU has a few dangerous forwards returning from last year. JR Perdion and Sixten Jennersjo both had 25 points while Dylan Kinch had 24 points as just a freshman. Isaac Lambert had 15 points last year and looks primed for a breakout year this year. Perdion has been fighting an injury, so I’m not sure if he will be in the lineup. Jennersjo, however, has 4 points in 4 games to start the year. Kinch and Lambert only have 2 points so far but are among the team leaders in scoring chances, so I don’t expect that to last long.
On the blue line, Nate Benoit returns after 13 points in 31 games and 21 minutes of ice time per game. Trent Powell also returns after 11 points in 33 games. Benoit currently has no points this season, but he is second on the team in ice time. Powell has 2 points in 4 games and is 3rd in ice time. He also has 10 shots on goal, so he’s been generating a lot for LIU offensively. The leading defenseman is actually familiar face Lucas Lemieux. He is averaging 21.5 minutes a night, but he has just 1 assist to start.
In net, Daniel Duris started the first 3 games for LIU, but he left during the 3rd game due to an injury, presumably. Lukas Renaud stepped in for the rest of that game and started for the win over Canisius. I’m not sure who we will see in net because of that injury, but Renaud has played pretty well in relief with a 0.912 SV% in those two games.
Preview
RPI finds itself in a role reversal this weekend compared to their usual spot. For most of their games last year and against Ohio State, they were the lesser team in talent and had to make up the difference with tons of competitiveness along with being opportunistic with chances and strong in the net.
This weekend, there’s no doubt that RPI is the more talented and skilled team. LIU is known for how hard they play and for the ability to give even the best programs huge scares. Despite being more talented and skilled, RPI can’t let the compete level and work rate they have consistently shown to dissipate. LIU will absolutely make them pay if they do. The best teams combine their raw talent and skill with that, and that is what RPI will need to do this weekend.
I’m expecting that one of the games RPI will win comfortably with a strong offensive performance, but due to the youth and inexperience, the other game they will drop in a close one for a split. LIU is a veteran team with very few freshmen in the lineup, and the ones that do play are at the bottom of it. I think that the youth and inconsistency for RPI compared to LIU’s experience will lead to a split.
Here’s to hoping I’m wrong though, and they get a nice sweep to keep the start of the season going well! Let’s Go Red!