RPI takes on Colgate in the annual Freakout! game tonight. Colgate has been pretty good this year and currently sits tied for 3rd in the league. Both teams are coming off losses last night and will be hungry to pick up wins tonight. With what is sure to be a raucous crowd, it’s shaping up to be a very good game. Let’s get into it!
Team Breakdowns
Colgate is a pretty well-rounded team that does everything fairly well. They both score and defend well and have solid special teams.
Offensively, they can possess the puck and generate chances well, and they do a solid job finishing them off. While they aren’t outstanding in these areas, it has been enough to generate a solid amount of even strength offense.
Where Colgate excels offensively is on the power play. They have been a top team in that regard with the 11th best power play in the country in terms of goals per 60 minutes of PP time. They convert at a 23.8% rate, so RPI will need to be disciplined and not give them too many chances.
Defensively, Colgate is similar where they do a pretty good job of limiting scoring chances and possession. In net, Carter Gylander helps elevate their defense. He only has a 0.904 SV%, but he’s been pretty good at even strength.
The PK is where the Colgate defense struggles. They actually seem to do a good job in terms of limiting chances, but Gylander has struggled on the PK. RPI got a power play goal last night against Cornell, and they could potentially do the same tonight against a weak Colgate PK.
Roster Breakdowns
Colgate has a better roster by game score, but RPI actually matches up fairly well here. RPI’s lineup is pretty balanced with only one skater in the red. Colgate is definitely better throughout, but their advantage isn’t a crazy one.
Ryan McGuire and Ross Mitton lead the team in scoring with 22 points. McGuire also leads the team in goals with 13. Brett Chorske has been an immediate impact player from Colorado College after joining the team through the transfer portal.
Defensively, the top pairing of Pierson Brandon and Nick Anderson has been great. The senior duo both play 2 way games and complement each other well. Anderson is the more offensive player of the two with 70 career points across his 4 years. Brandon is the big, more shutdown defender of the two. He does not have a season with a +/- rating in the negatives. He also has some offense with 42 career points. Both are great players.
Tommy Bergsland leads the team in points from the backend with 19. This has been a breakout year for him after two pretty good seasons prior to this one. He has taken it to another level this year though.
Overall, Colgate is a good team, and RPI will have to bring their best game tonight. The crowd and atmosphere should be a boost for an Engineers team in need of a win. Let’s Go Red!