Preview: RPI vs Northeastern
The Engineers will take on the Huskies in their first full home weekend of the season
Happy Thanksgiving! Hope everyone had a good holiday with family and friends! This weekend, RPI gets back to its brutal non-conference schedule when it hosts Northeastern for a pair of games on Saturday and Sunday. Luckily for them, Northeastern hasn’t appeared to be quite as good as BC, Providence and Maine, and the Engineers will be at home for these games.
Northeastern Team Outlook
Northeastern is currently 2-7, starting 2-0 in non-conference games and then going 0-7 in their Hockey East games. They’re currently reeling and looking to get back into the win column.
I will say though that their record is misleading. Like RPI, their schedule has been difficult. Out of those 7 Hockey East games, 6 of them have come against teams in the top 11 of the pairwise, and 2 of their losses came in OT.
Additionally, their xG numbers show they are owed many more goals. Their xG per game is 2.8, but they’re only scoring 2.2 goals per game. That may not sound like much on the surface, but 0.6 goals per game adds up very quickly and matters. By Pythagorean expectation, they should have between 3 and 4 wins.
Lastly, Northeastern has been hit significantly by the injury bug. In their last game, they could only dress 11 forwards because that’s all they had healthy. They’ve missed 5 different top 9 forwards for a total of 17 games. They also have missed Hunter McDonald, their top defenseman, for all but 1 game.
Overall, these have led to the struggles of a talented team who was projected to be in the mix for the NCAA tournament in the preseason. They are still a good team who will get healthier and also start to get more bounces to go their way. RPI will be in for a tough weekend.
Biggest Threats
As you can see, the forward group is banged up. They are missing wingers Dylan Hryckowian, Matt DeMelis, and Matt Choupani from their top 9. Whether or not they are in the lineup will be something to watch for.
Justin Hryckowian (C, #29) is Northeastern’s best forward. He had 36 points last season and won Hockey East Defensive Forward of the Year. He has 5 points in 5 games this season as one of their forwards battling injuries. Recently, he has been playing through it at less than 100%. When he’s healthy though, he is an outstanding 2 way center.
Cam Lund (W, #12) is also an outstanding forward. He was a 2nd round pick last year and has 8 points in 9 games to start the season. He’s got the size, skill and shot to play in the NHL following his collegiate career.
Defensively, Northeastern is missing Hunter McDonald (LD, #6) as I said before. In his absence, Vinny Borgesi (#22, RD) has stepped up to lead the blue line with 7 points in 9 games.
Summary
After their losing streak, Northeastern is looking at RPI’s record and thinking this weekend is an easier weekend where they can get back into the win column. They’ll be hungry and desperate to win, and I think the Engineers are going to see their best effort this weekend. With their talent and lack of luck, they can be dangerous since they’re more than capable of creating scoring chances, and I assume they’ll start getting some bounces to go their way.
RPI is going to have to elevate its game to match them. They have shown flashes of both offensive and defensive prowess this year but have not consistently sustained either. If they can put together a good 60 minutes, they for sure can win. For the series, I think they can get a split, but it’ll depend on the health of Northeastern and the play of RPI.
Let’s Go Red!