2023–24 RPI Engineers men's ice hockey season

The 2023–24 RPI Engineers Men's ice hockey season was the 104th season of play for the program and the 62nd in ECAC Hockey. The Engineers represented Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, played their home games at Houston Field House and were coached by Dave Smith in his 6th season.

2023–24 RPI Engineers
men's ice hockey season
Conference12th ECAC Hockey
Home iceHouston Field House
Rankings
USCHONR
USA HockeyNR
Record
Overall10–23–4
Conference6–13–3
Home4–9–3
Road6–13–1
Neutral0–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachDave Smith
Assistant coachesMathias Lange
Chuck Weber
Kārlis Zirnis
Captain(s)Jake Gagnon
RPI Engineers men's ice hockey seasons
« 2022–23 2024–25 »

Season

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From the very start of the season, Rensselaer encountered a problem that would plague them all year long. In their first four games, the defense surrendered a veritable avalanche of shots to the opposing teams. While their opposition at this time would all end up finishing the year ranked in the top 20, the porous defense persisted. Their three goaltenders, who weren't brilliant to begin with, suffered as a result. RPI allowed at least 4 goals in ten of their first twelve games and gave the team little chance to win from night to night. At one point, the team turned to Brett Miller, a senior who had seen very little playing time in his college career, as starter but that experiment lasted just a few games. It wasn't until after Christmas that the Watson was able to settle down and string together some decent performances.

After winning four of five coming out of the winter break, Rensselaer miraculously found itself in the middle of the conference standings. The reprieve, however, was short-lived. The defense faltered and team won just twice in its final fourteen games. The Engineers stumbled to a last-place finish in ECAC Hockey and entered the postseason with no momentum or expectations. However, once the postseason began, RPI found itself with an opportunity. Rensselaer was pitted against its long-time rival, Clarkson, and they relished the chance to ruin the Golden Knights' season. The Engineers scored twice in the first period to take an early lead all the while letting Clarkson sleep-walk through the opening 40 minutes. After Sutter Muzzatti increased the team's lead in third, the Knights finally fought back and ended up firing 22 shots in the third period. They managed to get the puck past Watson twice but he held up over the final two minutes and carried the Engineers to victory.

The rather surprising upset caused RPI to be set against defending national champion Quinnipiac in the quarterfinals. The first match was entirely controlled by the Bobcats but RPI gave a good performance in the rematch. The match remained close throughout until Quinnipiac scored two-empty-net goals in the final 70 seconds.

Rensselaer finished the season with one of its worst defensive performances. RPI had allowed more than 4 goals against on average and were the second-worst defensive team that season. Only Stonehill, who was in the process of transitioning from Division II, was worse.[1]

Departures

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Player Position Nationality Cause
Kyle Hallbauer Defenseman   United States Graduation (signed with Adirondack Thunder)
Louis Helsen Defenseman   United States Graduation (retired)
Rory Herrman Forward   United States Graduation (signed with Cardiff Devils)
Mason Klee Defenseman   United States Graduate transfer to Ohio State
Reid Leibold Defenseman   United States Left program (retired)
Ryan Mahshie Forward   Canada Graduate transfer to Connecticut
James McIsaac Forward   Canada Left program (retired)
Henri Schreifels Forward   United States Transferred to Stonehill
T. J. Walsh Forward   United States Graduate transfer to Sacred Heart

Recruiting

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Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Ryan Brushett Forward   Canada 25 Verdun, QC; graduate transfer from Massachusetts Lowell
Tyler Hotson Forward   Canada 20 Stratford, ON
Jimmy Goffredo Defenseman   United States 20 Mount Laurel, NJ; joined team mid-season
Lucas Matta Defenseman   Canada 20 Kleinburg, ON; transfer from Western Michigan
Brad McNeil Forward   United States 21 Royal Oak, MI
Jérémie Payant Forward   Canada 20 Saint-Lazare, QC
C. J. Regula Defenseman   United States 25 West Bloomfield, MI; graduate transfer from Ohio State
Nathan Sullivan Forward   United States 19 Calgary, AB
Dovar Tinling Forward   Canada 20 Pointe-Claire, QC; transfer from Vermont

Roster

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As of September 19, 2023.[2]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1   Carson Cherepak Sophomore G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2002-10-09 Winnipeg, Manitoba Dauphin (MJHL)
2   Jimmy Goffredo Freshman D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2003-04-24 Mount Laurel, New Jersey Des Moines (USHL)
3   Lauri Sertti Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1999-07-11 Espoo, Finland Amarillo (NAHL)
6   Jack Agnew Senior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-10-22 Oakville, Ontario Boston College (HEA)
7   Max Smolinski Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2003-04-02 Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Fargo (USHL)
8   C. J. Regula Graduate D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1998-05-29 Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Ohio State (Big Ten)
9   Ryan Brushett Graduate F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-06-14 Montreal, Quebec UMass Lowell (HEA)
10   Dylan Davies Senior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-02-09 Traverse City, Michigan Sioux Falls (USHL)
11   Nick Ardanaz Sophomore D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2002-05-30 Surrey, British Columbia West Kelowna (BCHL)
12   Austin Heidemann Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-06-27 Blaine, Minnesota Mercyhurst (AHA)
14   John Evans Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 150 lb (68 kg) 2002-04-08 South Surrey, British Columbia West Kelowna (BCHL)
15   Altti Nykänen Senior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2001-09-26 Vihti, Finland Bishop's College (CISAA)
17   John Beaton Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-10-30 Stittsville, Ontario Youngstown (USHL)
18   Jakob Lee Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-02-12 Owen Sound, Ontario Merrimack (HEA)
19   Sutter Muzzatti Sophomore F 6' 6" (1.98 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 2003-06-28 Okemos, Michigan Austin (NAHL) NSH, 143rd overall 2023
20   Nathan Sullivan Freshman F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 191 lb (87 kg) 2004-05-31 Calgary, Alberta Camrose (AJHL)
22   Danny Ciccarello Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2001-03-23 Kirkland, Quebec Fort McMurray (AJHL)
23   Nick Strom Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-03-21 Dayton, Minnesota Western Michigan (NCHC)
24   Jack Brackett Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2000-12-31 Manassas, Virginia Maryland (NAHL)
25   Dovar Tinling Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2003-03-03 Pointe-Claire, Quebec Penticton (BCHL)
27   Jake Gagnon (C) Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1999-11-04 Pointe-Claire, Quebec Wellington (OJHL)
28   Tyler Hotson Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 163 lb (74 kg) 2003-03-17 Stratford, Ontario Sioux City (USHL)
29   Brendan Budy Graduate F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-06-06 Langley, British Columbia North Dakota (NCHC)
30   Brett Miller Senior G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-04-26 Northville, Michigan Austin (NAHL)
34   Jack Watson Junior G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-03-14 Toronto, Ontario Coquitlam (BCHL)
43   Brad McNeil Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2002-03-15 Royal Oak, Michigan Maryland (NAHL)
51   Finn Brown Sophomore F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2002-04-06 Toronto, Ontario Alberni Valley (BCHL)
61   Lucas Matta Sophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-10-04 Kleinburg, Ontario Western Michigan (BCHL)
71   Jérémie Payant Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2002-10-07 Saint-Lazare, Quebec Nanaimo (BCHL)

Standings

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Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#6 Quinnipiac 22 17 4 1 0 2 0 54 99 39 39 27 10 2 160 79
#9 Cornell * 22 12 6 4 1 2 3 44 74 45 35 22 7 6 115 65
Colgate 22 13 7 2 2 2 2 43 85 68 36 16 16 4 120 112
Dartmouth 22 9 6 7 1 1 3 37 66 60 32 13 10 9 92 91
Clarkson 22 12 9 1 4 2 1 36 62 58 35 18 16 1 95 97
Union 22 9 10 3 1 1 2 32 75 75 37 16 18 3 123 121
St. Lawrence 22 8 10 4 1 1 1 29 49 64 39 14 19 6 90 118
Harvard 22 6 10 6 1 2 3 28 49 64 32 7 19 6 70 106
Princeton 22 8 11 3 4 0 2 25 70 90 30 10 16 4 89 114
Yale 22 7 13 2 1 2 1 25 46 57 30 10 18 2 63 91
Brown 22 6 14 2 2 3 1 22 43 69 30 8 19 3 61 98
Rensselaer 22 6 13 3 0 0 0 21 58 89 37 10 23 4 93 150
Championship: March 23, 2024
† indicates conference regular season champion (Cleary Cup)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Whitelaw Cup)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

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Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 7 3:00 pm Union* Houston Field HouseTroy, New York (Rivalry, Exhibition) ESPN+   T 2–2 SOW  
October 8 3:00 pm Guelph* Houston Field HouseTroy, New York (Exhibition) ESPN+   W 6–4   
Regular Season
October 12 7:00 pm at Maine* Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine ESPN+ Watson L 1–4  4,135 0–1–0
October 13 7:00 pm at Maine* Alfond ArenaOrono, Maine ESPN+ Cherepak L 3–6  5,143 0–2–0
October 20 7:00 pm at #3 Boston College* Conte ForumChestnut Hill, Massachusetts ESPN+ Watson L 1–6  5,802 0–3–0
October 21 7:00 pm at #10 Providence* Schneider ArenaProvidence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Cherepak L 2–4  2,026 0–4–0
November 3 7:00 pm at Union Achilles RinkSchenectady, New York (Rivalry) ESPN+ Watson W 8–6  1,979 1–4–0 (1–0–0)
November 4 7:00 pm Union Houston Field HouseTroy, New York (Rivalry) ESPN+ Cherepak L 1–5  3,250 1–5–0 (1–1–0)
November 10 7:00 pm at Clarkson Cheel ArenaPotsdam, New York (Rivalry) ESPN+ Cherepak W 4–2  2,881 2–5–0 (2–1–0)
November 11 7:00 pm at St. Lawrence Appleton ArenaCanton, New York ESPN+ Cherepak L 4–2  1,386 2–6–0 (2–2–0)
November 25 7:00 pm Northeastern* Houston Field HouseTroy, New York ESPN+ Cherepak T 3–3 OT 1,930 2–6–1
November 26 7:00 pm Northeastern* Houston Field HouseTroy, New York ESPN+ Cherepak L 2–9  1,856 2–7–1
December 1 7:00 pm #5 Quinnipiac Houston Field HouseTroy, New York ESPN+ Cherepak L 1–5  1,856 2–8–1 (2–3–0)
December 2 7:00 pm Princeton Houston Field HouseTroy, New York ESPN+ Miller L 4–6  2,241 2–9–1 (2–4–0)
December 9 4:00 pm at #16 New Hampshire* Whittemore CenterDurham, New Hampshire ESPN+ Miller L 0–1  5,299 2–10–1
December 15 7:00 pm Minnesota State* Houston Field HouseTroy, New York ESPN+ Miller W 4–3 OT 1,477 3–10–1
December 16 7:00 pm Minnesota State* Houston Field HouseTroy, New York ESPN+ Miller L 2–4  1,635 3–11–1
December 29 3:00 pm at Canisius* LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Watson W 6–3  719 4–11–1
December 30 1:00 pm at Canisius* LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Watson W 2–1  735 5–11–1
January 5 7:00 pm Yale Houston Field HouseTroy, New York ESPN+ Miller L 1–2  1,677 5–12–1 (2–5–0)
January 6 7:00 pm Brown Houston Field HouseTroy, New York ESPN+ Watson W 2–1  1,572 6–12–1 (3–5–0)
January 12 7:00 pm St. Lawrence Houston Field HouseTroy, New York ESPN+ Watson W 6–3  1,600 7–12–1 (4–5–0)
January 13 7:00 pm Clarkson Houston Field HouseTroy, New York (Rivalry) ESPN+ Watson L 1–4  3,026 7–13–1 (4–6–0)
January 19 7:00 pm at Harvard Bright-Landry Hockey CenterBoston, Massachusetts ESPN+ Watson L 3–6  1,905 7–14–1 (4–7–0)
January 20 7:00 pm at Dartmouth Thompson ArenaHanover, New Hampshire ESPN+ Miller L 2–6  1,578 7–15–1 (4–8–0)
January 27 6:00 pm vs. Union* MVP ArenaAlbany, New York (Mayor's Cup)   Watson L 3–5  5,698 7–16–1
February 2 7:00 pm at Brown Meehan AuditoriumProvidence, Rhode Island ESPN+ Watson W 3–1  679 8–16–1 (5–8–0)
February 3 7:00 pm at Yale Ingalls RinkNew Haven, Connecticut ESPN+ Watson T 1–1 SOL 1,674 8–16–2 (5–8–1)
February 9 7:00 pm #13 Cornell Houston Field HouseTroy, New York ESPN+ Watson L 1–4  2,317 8–17–2 (5–9–1)
February 10 7:00 pm Colgate Houston Field HouseTroy, New York ESPN+ Watson T 5–5 SOL 4,290 8–17–3 (5–9–2)
February 16 7:00 pm at Princeton Hobey Baker Memorial RinkPrinceton, New Jersey ESPN+ Watson W 4–3  1,098 9–17–3 (6–9–2)
February 17 7:00 pm at #9 Quinnipiac M&T Bank ArenaHamden, Connecticut ESPN+ Watson L 2–7  3,261 9–18–3 (6–10–2)
February 23 7:00 pm Dartmouth Houston Field HouseTroy, New York ESPN+ Watson L 1–5  2,186 9–19–3 (6–11–2)
February 24 4:00 pm Harvard Houston Field HouseTroy, New York ESPN+ Watson T 2–2 SOL 2,465 9–19–4 (6–11–3)
March 1 7:00 pm at Colgate Class of 1965 ArenaHamilton, New York ESPN+ Watson L 2–6  908 9–20–4 (6–12–3)
March 2 7:00 pm at #13 Cornell Lynah RinkIthaca, New York ESPN+ Watson L 1–3  3,723 9–21–4 (6–13–3)
ECAC Hockey Tournament
March 9 7:00 pm Clarkson* Cheel ArenaPotsdam, New York (First Round, Rivalry) ESPN+ Watson W 3–2  2,834 10–21–4
March 15 7:00 pm at #7 Quinnipiac* M&T Bank ArenaHamden, Connecticut (Quarterfinal Game 1) ESPN+ Watson L 1–5  2,721 10–22–4
March 16 7:00 pm at #7 Quinnipiac* M&T Bank ArenaHamden, Connecticut (Quarterfinal Game 2) ESPN+ Watson L 2–5  2,909 10–23–4
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[3]

Scoring statistics

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Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Austin Heidemann F 37 11 16 27 8
Sutter Muzzatti F 33 10 15 25 79
Tyler Hotson F 37 13 9 22 32
Ryan Brushett C 37 6 15 21 14
Dovar Tinling C 34 5 12 17 43
Jake Gagnon RW 30 8 6 14 8
Max Smolinski D 37 2 11 13 50
John Beaton C 32 4 8 12 2
Jakob Lee C 23 7 4 11 41
John Evans F 16 4 6 10 2
Jack Brackett F 33 1 8 9 4
Brad McNeil F 36 4 4 8 9
Lauri Sertti D 36 2 6 8 16
C. J. Regula D 29 2 5 7 22
Jack Agnew D 37 2 5 7 16
Nick Strom D 37 0 7 7 10
Jimmy Goffredo D 22 3 3 6 19
Danny Ciccarello F 25 4 1 5 6
Jérémie Payant C 19 2 2 4 10
Altti Nykänen F 7 1 3 4 0
Nick Ardanaz D 18 1 2 3 6
Lucas Matta D 32 1 1 2 12
Finn Brown LW 16 0 1 1 0
Nathan Sullivan F 21 0 1 1 10
Dylan Davies D/F 3 0 0 0 2
Brett Miller G 7 0 0 0 0
Carson Cherepak G 9 0 0 0 0
Brendan Budy LW 15 0 0 0 8
Jack Watson G 23 0 0 0 0
Total 95 152 247 429

[4]

Goaltending statistics

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Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Jack Watson 23 1351:41 8 12 3 81 681 0 .894 3.60
Brett Miller 7 397:00 1 5 0 25 198 0 .888 3.78
Carson Cherepak 9 473:53 1 6 1 34 242 0 .877 4.30
Empty Net - 22:17 - - - 10 - - - -
Total 37 2243:51 10 23 4 150 1121 0 .882 4.01

Rankings

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Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 (Final)
USCHO.com NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
USA Hockey NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 and 25.[5]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

References

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  1. ^ "Men's Division I Hockey Standings:". USCHO. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  2. ^ "2023-24 Men's Hockey Roster". RPI Engineers. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  3. ^ "2023-24 Men's Hockey Schedule". RPI Engineers. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  4. ^ "RPI (Rensselaer Polytech. Inst.) 2023-2024 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  5. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.