Preview: RPI vs LIU
The Engineers look to keep the positive momentum rolling on Friday
After sweeping Mercyhurst to start the regular season, RPI will welcome the LIU Sharks to the Houston Field House for a game on Friday night.
LIU Team Outlook
LIU has started out this season against two top-10 opponents in Northeastern and Quinnipiac. They played pretty well against both teams, pushing both games into OT. They lost to Northeastern in OT but managed to get a tie against Quinnipiac. Anyone expecting a pushover is sadly mistaken. Even last year, while RPI did take the first game in the series 7-2, they tied the second game 2-2. This LIU team is definitely better than last year, so the Engineers will have to play well to win.
(Note: I am not counting the game against Stonehill since they are not a D1 program despite what they claim. LIU is the only D1 team Stonehill plays this year.)
Biggest Threats
Anthony Vincent leads the team with 2 points in those 2 games this season. He’s a transfer from Holy Cross after having a solid 4 years there. Chris Pappas is a transfer from St. Lawrence who also is a threat in the top 6 forward group. Santeri Hartikainen was good at Robert Morris, but he was injured the majority of last season with AIC. Lastly, Nolan Welsh is the top returning scorer after having 13 points last season.
On the blue line, Spencer Cox leads the way. He went to an NHL development camp in the offseason, and last season, he had 20 points. He’s going to be playing big minutes, and RPI will have to find a way to neutralize him. Jordan Di Cicco is also a very good defenseman; he had 9 points last season. This season, he’s had a great start to the year and gives the Sharks another threat on the back end.
Finally, and most importantly, Vinnie Purpura has had an outstanding start to the year in net. I was skeptical about him going into the season since he only had a 0.892 SV% last year, but he played extremely well against two top-10 teams. He allowed 5 goals across the two games with 80 saves on 85 shots, which is good for a 0.941 SV%. He’s basically the only reason LIU was able to keep up with those teams since they got significantly outshot and outchanced in both of them.
RPI Keys to the Game
The keys to this game mainly focus on RPI because I believe they should win this game if they play to their standard.
Possess the puck
I felt like the Engineers struggled to possess the puck last weekend, and it allowed Mercyhurst to get way too many shots on goal and chances. Watson stood tall all weekend, but he shouldn’t be seeing that much action. RPI needs to possess the puck better to improve their defense and limit the shots and chances for LIU.
Win the 3rd period
LIU went into the 3rd period in both their games down by 1, but they came back in both to tie them and send it to OT. RPI struggled in the 3rd period against Mercyhurst. In game 1, they took their foot off the gas after going up 5-1 and nearly let the Lakers get back into the game. In game 2, they were up by 1 heading into the 3rd, but Mercyhurst tied the game to send it to OT. With LIU’s strengths and RPI’s struggles in the 3rd period, it’ll be important for the Engineers to play a strong final period.
Continue generating lots of chances off the rush
The Engineers have excelled at creating chances and goals off the rush so far this season. It has made their offense more explosive and dangerous to defend. The best chances tend to come off the rush, so it’s important for RPI to continue to do well in this regard to keep their offense going.
Let’s Go Red!!