ECAC Hockey | Ticket Information
TROY, N.Y. - The ECAC Hockey PreSeason Coaches and Media Polls have been announced and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men have been chosen second and first, respectively. The Engineers received two first-place votes and placed second in the Coaches' Poll and 18 first-place votes by the media to rank first. Sophomore goaltender Jason Kasdorf was named to both Pre-Season All-ECAC Hockey teams.
RPI, which is led by eighth-year head coach Seth Appert, is coming off a season in which it finished second in the league standings - its highest since the 1992-93 team was also the runner-up. RPI had a 12-7-3 league mark and an 18-14-5 overall record. It finished the regular season with a 10-2-0 record, including a six-game winning streak.
A National Hockey League draft choice of the Winnipeg Jets, Kasdorf (Winnipeg, MB / Des Moines Buccaneers) had a 14-5-2 overall record, a 1.62 goals against average and a .935 save percentage in 2012-13. His goals against average set the school's single season record, which was established by Joel Laing '00 in 1999-00 (1.82), and he finished with the second highest save percentage, behind Laing's .947, which was also established in 1999-00.
Kasdorf, who played each of the last 16 games after returning from an injury, was among the leaders in the nation in goals against average, save percentage, winning percentage (.714) and shutouts. In 17 league contests, he was 12-2-2 with a 1.39 average, a .945 percentage and three shutouts.
He allowed two-or-fewer goals in 19 of the 23 games he played and did not give up more than three in any contest. Among the honors he collected were ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week twice, Rookie of the Week three times, Rookie of the Month once and Goaltender of the Month once. Kasdorf has also garnered the Hockey Commissioners Association national Rookie of the Month award once. He was the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year, an All-League Second Team selection and chosen to the league's All-Rookie Team.
The Engineers also return nine of its top 10 scorers and all but one defenseman and starting goaltender Jason Kasdorf. Offensively, junior forward Matt Neal (Minesing, ON / Stoufville Spirit) is the top point producer who is back. In 34 games last year, he had eight goals and a team-best 22 assists for a career-high 30 points. He was just one point behind the team leader, defenseman Nick Bailen (12 goals, 19 assists), who graduated in May.
Also reaching career-highs were Neal's classmates and fellow forward, Jacob Laliberte (Rockland, ON / Cornwall Colts) and Ryan Haggerty (Stamford, CT / U.S. National Development Team). Laliberte scored 11 goals with 17 assists for 28 points in 34 games. He had seven power play goals, which tied Bailen for the team lead. Haggerty had 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points in 36 contests.
As a team, the Engineers scored 2.86 goals per game, while allowing 2.38. Among the defensemen who are returning are a pair of seniors in Guy Lebeouf (West Palm Beach, FL / Cornwall Colts) and Bo Dolan (St. Paul, MN / Penticton Vees) as well as junior Curtis Leonard (Napanee, ON / Wellington Dukes). Leonard had five goals and 10 assists for 15 points and is the top scoring blueliner to return.
RPI, which is listed ninth in the Let's Play Hockey Pre-Season Poll, has an exhibition game on Saturday, October 5 at the Houston Field House (7pm). Rensselaer begins the regular season the following Saturday afternoon against Sacred Heart (1pm) with a game at nationally-ranked Boston College the next day at 3pm. Following a game at Boston University on October 18 (7pm), the home opener is Saturday, October 19 at 7pm against the Pioneers of Sacred Heart.
Tickets to all home games, which are held at the Houston Field House, are available at the Houston Field House box office or by calling 518-276-6262. More information is available by clicking HERE.
