Record: 14-11-5
Series Record: 59-33-7
Friday February 22, 2013
Last Meeting:
Saturday January 19, 2013
The last meeting between the Engineers and the Big Red saw a tight game, a season-ending injury, and inevitably an RPI win. RPI had just beaten Colgate the night before and Cornell had beaten Union. RPI lit the lamp first. Cornell then was given the opportunity to score on a major when Cole Bardreau's neck was fractured. Less than forty seconds into the major, John McCarron scored the only goal Cornell would see in the first. The second had an RPI goal with the second ending exactly the same as the previous night for Cornell. Down 2-1. RPI put on a third goal and even though Lowry tried to battle back with a second Big Red goal, the Engineers pulled out the win.
This Season:
RPI was on the beginning of an upswing the last time they met the Big Red. Since that game, the Engineers have tallied only a single loss (Union) to their six wins. That puts RPI at an overall record of 14-11-5 and in second in league play overall. A stark difference from the last time the Engineers met the Big Red. What seems most different about the Engineers from the first part of their season is Jason Kasdorf. Kasdorf has seen 14 games and has a record of 10-2-2. Their other goaltenders have combined records of 4-9-3.
Keys to the Game:
Solving Kasdorf. Kasdorf has an impressive .942 save percentage and a 1.52 GAA. In our last game against him, we managed to out-compete his GAA. The special teams for RPI are also important. Most important to watch will be RPI's power-play unit. RPI scored two of its three goals on the power play in January when they played the Big Red. What is of note, however, is that this time, the RPI power-play unit is tenth in the country. Goaltending and the Big Red penalty kill will remain the biggest keys to winning the RPI game.
Historical Dimensions:
As WAFT has explored in a post in a post earlier this year, Ned Harkness has historical significance for both Cornell and RPI. Harkness helmed RPI from 1949 through 1963 and garnered a record of 176-96-7 in his time there, a 0.643 winning percentage. But how did he do against his future team? In fact, in that time RPI never played Cornell. Before Ned arrived, the last time the Big Red met the Engineers was January of 1931 and the fall of 1963, after Harkness left. On the other hand, when Harkness was the head coach of Cornell, from 1964-70, he grabbed an even more impressive record, 163-27-2, a 0.854 save percentage. How did Ned do against his former team? Ned played them seven times in that span, winning six of them and losing only one, a 4-3 overtime win in Houston. His winning percentage against his former team was very similar to his overall winning percentage at Cornell, coming in at 0.857.
This weekend, when RPI and Cornell meet for the 100th time in series history, let the best formerly Harkness-helmed team win. And as we both are so fond of saying, Let's Go Red!
While we by no means wish to imply that this video is the GREATEST Harlem Shake video ever, (that honor clearly belongs to the Cornell one done in the AD White Room), it is nice to see an RPI version with the ever-excellent mascot, Puckman in Houston Field House during the Brown-RPI game.