# 2021–22 RPI Engineers men's ice hockey season

The 2021–22 RPI Engineers Men's ice hockey season was the 102nd season of play for the program and the 60th season in the ECAC Hockey conference. The Engineers represented Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and played their home games at Houston Field House, and were coached by Dave Smith, in his 4th season.

## Season

Rensselaer returned to the ice after losing all of last season to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team began the year with a decent start, albeit against fairly weak competition. But looked to be in good standing after taking down Clarkson in early November. However, the following week, the Engineers were embarrassed by Cornell 3–11, the program's worst loss in decades. Afterwards, the defense recovered but the team was soon beset by a lack of offense over a several week span. RPI ended their first half with a 2–6 run with the only saving grace being that five of those losses were to non-conference teams.
After returning from the winter break, Rensselaer was forced to postpone or cancel several games in early January due to an increase in positive COVID-19 tests. When they did began playing games, the team also found itself in need of a new starting goaltender as presumptive primary netminder, Linden Marshall, had not performed well enough to retain the job. Newcomer Jack Watson was a bit inconsistent in his early appearances, but he possessed a higher ceiling than Marshall and Dave Smith eventually settled on the freshman as the starter. The offense also saw a steady improvement after returning to action but remained hot and cold for the remainder of the regular season. RPI would regularly follow stunning victories with confounding losses and ended the year just under .500. However, with a 6th-place finish, they did at least receive a home site for the first round of the conference tournament.
Despite having Marshall in net for the regular season finale, Watson led the Engineers into the postseason. Despite vastly outshooting Dartmouth in the opening match, RPI fell 2–3. The offense continued to pressure the Big Green net in the next two games and took advantage of several power play opportunities, riding their special team to consecutive wins and advancing to the quarterfinals. Rensselaer took control of the first game when they gained a 3–0 lead early in the third period. Watson kept Harvard off of the scoresheet despite a barrage of shots but, after the Crimson pulled their goaltender, the tide began to turn. RPI was swarmed over by Harvard and surrendered 3 goals in the final 4 minutes, all with the aide of an extra attacker. The momentum remained with their opponents and the Engineers allowed the winning goal just 2 minutes into overtime.
The second game did not have quite as much drama but it still saw Harvard tying the game late and force overtime once more. Watson was again called upon to stop a multitude of Crimson shots but this time he held his ground in the extra frame and sent the match into a second overtime. John Beaton saved the Engineer's season with the winner and set up a deciding third game. Watson was up to the task, holding Harvard to 2 goals, but the offense was not. RPI was stymied by the Crimson defense and the team fell 1–3.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Cory Babichuk | Defenseman | Canada | Transferred to Vermont |
| Alec Calvaruso | Goaltender | United States | Graduate transfer to American International |
| Danny DiGrande | Forward | United States | Transferred to Canisius |
| Brady Ferner | Defenseman | United States | Transferred to North Dakota |
| Billy Jerry | Forward | United States | Graduate transfer to Long Island |
| Tommy Lee | Forward | Canada | Signed professional contract (Åmåls SK) |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Jack Agnew | Defenseman | Canada | 19 | Oakville, ON; transfer from Boston College |
| Anthony Baxter | Defenseman | Canada | 23 | Oakville, ON; graduate transfer from Massachusetts Lowell |
| Jakob Lee | Forward | Canada | 22 | Owen Sound, ON; transfer from Merrimack |
| Reid Leibold | Forward | United States | 19 | Ashburn, VA |
| T. J. Walsh | Forward | United States | 21 | Shrewsbury, MA; transfer from Northeastern |
| Jack Watson | Goaltender | Canada | 21 | Toronto, ON |

## Roster

As of August 19, 2021.

## Standings

2021–22 ECAC Hockey Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record |
| | GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | 3/SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #8 Quinnipiac † | 22 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 54 | 71 | 14 | 42 | 32 | 7 | 3 | 139 | 53 |
| #17 Clarkson | 22 | 14 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 51 | 86 | 47 | 37 | 21 | 10 | 6 | 123 | 85 |
| #15 Harvard * | 22 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 46 | 69 | 46 | 35 | 21 | 11 | 3 | 116 | 82 |
| Cornell | 22 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 73 | 47 | 32 | 18 | 10 | 4 | 100 | 72 |
| Colgate | 22 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 33 | 55 | 57 | 40 | 18 | 18 | 4 | 111 | 112 |
| Rensselaer | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 58 | 63 | 44 | 18 | 23 | 3 | 114 | 119 |
| Union | 22 | 9 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 52 | 66 | 37 | 14 | 19 | 4 | 89 | 110 |
| St. Lawrence | 22 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 26 | 44 | 60 | 37 | 11 | 19 | 7 | 72 | 110 |
| Brown | 22 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 25 | 36 | 61 | 31 | 7 | 20 | 4 | 50 | 100 |
| Princeton | 22 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 54 | 89 | 31 | 8 | 21 | 2 | 70 | 122 |
| Yale | 22 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 38 | 60 | 30 | 8 | 21 | 1 | 55 | 90 |
| Dartmouth | 22 | 5 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 21 | 45 | 71 | 32 | 7 | 22 | 3 | 69 | 110 |
| Championship: March 19, 2022 † indicates conference regular season champion (Cleary Cup) * indicates conference tournament champion (Whitelaw Cup) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll |||||||||||||||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Exhibition ||||||||||
| October 2 | 4:00 PM | at Union* | Achilles Rink • Schenectady, New York (Exhibition) | | | W 5–2 | 0 | |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 8 | 7:00 PM | Bowling Green* | Houston Field House • Troy, New York | | Marshall | T 2–2 $^{OT}$ | 484 | 0–0–1 |
| October 9 | 7:00 PM | Bowling Green* | Houston Field House • Troy, New York | | Marshall | L 2–3 $^{OT}$ | 361 | 0–1–1 |
| October 15 | 7:00 PM | Canisius* | Houston Field House • Troy, New York | | Marshall | W 7–3 | 370 | 1–1–1 |
| October 16 | 7:00 PM | Canisius* | Houston Field House • Troy, New York | | Watson | L 2–3 $^{OT}$ | 304 | 1–2–1 |
| October 23 | 7:00 PM | at Vermont* | Gutterson Fieldhouse • Burlington, Vermont | | Marshall | W 2–1 | 2,882 | 2–2–1 |
| October 29 | 7:00 PM | at Union | Achilles Rink • Schenectady, New York | | Marshall | W 4–2 | 1,738 | 3–2–1 (1–0–0) |
| October 30 | 7:00 PM | Union | Houston Field House • Troy, New York | | Marshall | W 3–0 | 693 | 4–2–1 (2–0–0) |
| November 5 | 7:00 PM | St. Lawrence | Houston Field House • Troy, New York | | Marshall | L 3–4 | 344 | 4–3–1 (2–1–0) |
| November 6 | 7:00 PM | Clarkson | Houston Field House • Troy, New York | | Marshall | W 3–1 | 261 | 5–3–1 (3–1–0) |
| November 12 | 7:00 PM | at Colgate | Class of 1965 Arena • Hamilton, New York | | Marshall | L 2–5 | 350 | 5–4–1 (3–2–0) |
| November 13 | 7:00 PM | at #13 Cornell | Lynah Rink • Ithaca, New York | | Marshall | L 3–11 | 2,322 | 5–5–1 (3–3–0) |
| November 19 | 7:00 PM | Long Island* | Houston Field House • Troy, New York | | Marshall | W 7–2 | 404 | 6–5–1 |
| November 20 | 8:00 PM | at Long Island* | Northwell Health Ice Center • East Meadow, New York | | Marshall | T 2–2 $^{OT}$ | 137 | 6–5–2 |
| November 26 | 7:00 PM | #16 Northeastern* | Houston Field House • Troy, New York | | Marshall | L 1–2 | 32 | 6–6–2 |
| November 28 | 3:00 PM | at #16 Northeastern* | Matthews Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | NESN | Marshall | L 1–2 | 1,387 | 6–7–2 |
| December 3 | 7:00 PM | #4 Quinnipiac | Houston Field House • Troy, New York | | Marshall | L 0–2 | 252 | 6–8–2 (3–4–0) |
| December 4 | 7:00 PM | Princeton | Houston Field House • Troy, New York | | Marshall | W 4–1 | 297 | 7–8–2 (4–4–0) |
| December 10 | 11:07 PM | at Alaska* | Carlson Center • Fairbanks, Alaska | | Marshall | W 4–1 | 1,134 | 8–8–2 |
| December 11 | 11:07 PM | at Alaska* | Carlson Center • Fairbanks, Alaska | | Marshall | L 0–4 | 1,325 | 8–9–2 |
| December 14 | 11:07 PM | at Alaska* | Carlson Center • Fairbanks, Alaska | | Marshall | L 2–3 | 1,033 | 8–10–2 |
| December 15 | 11:07 PM | at Alaska* | Carlson Center • Fairbanks, Alaska | | Marshall | L 1–4 | 1,205 | 8–11–2 |
| December 30 | 2:00 PM | Vermont* | Houston Field House • Troy, New York | | Watson | W 3–2 | 2,195 | 9–11–2 |
| January 2 | 2:05 PM | at Army* | Tate Rink • West Point, New York | | Marshall | T 3–3 $^{OT}$ | 1,712 | 9–11–3 |
| January 16 | 7:00 PM | at Clarkson | Cheel Arena • Potsdam, New York | | Miller | L 0–5 | 2,069 | 9–12–3 (4–5–0) |
| January 17 | 7:00 PM | at St. Lawrence | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York | | Watson | W 4–0 | 412 | 10–12–3 (5–5–0) |
| January 21 | 7:00 PM | Yale | Houston Field House • Troy, New York | | Watson | L 3–5 | 0 | 10–13–3 (5–6–0) |
| January 22 | 7:00 PM | Brown | Houston Field House • Troy, New York | | Marshall | L 2–3 | 0 | 10–14–3 (5–7–0) |
| January 25 | 7:00 PM | at Harvard | Bright-Landry Hockey Center • Boston, Massachusetts | | Watson | W 2–0 | 781 | 11–14–3 (6–7–0) |
| January 29 | 2:00 PM | vs. Union* | Times Union Center • Albany, New York (Mayor's Cup) | | Watson | L 0–2 | 4,222 | 11–15–3 |
| February 1 | 7:00 PM | at Dartmouth | Thompson Arena • Hanover, New Hampshire | | Watson | W 2–0 | 101 | 12–15–3 (7–7–0) |
| February 4 | 7:00 PM | at Princeton | Hobey Baker Memorial Rink • Princeton, New Jersey | | Watson | L 2–3 | 1,141 | 12–16–3 (7–8–0) |
| February 5 | 7:00 PM | at #2 Quinnipiac | People's United Center • Hamden, Connecticut | | Marshall | L 0–1 | 0 | 12–17–3 (7–9–0) |
| February 11 | 7:00 PM | #16 Cornell | Houston Field House • Troy, New York | | Watson | W 6–2 | 200 | 13–17–3 (8–9–0) |
| February 12 | 7:00 PM | Colgate | Houston Field House • Troy, New York | | Watson | L 2–3 | 430 | 13–18–3 (8–10–0) |
| February 18 | 7:00 PM | at Brown | Meehan Auditorium • Providence, Rhode Island | | Watson | W 4–2 | 291 | 14–18–3 (9–10–0) |
| February 19 | 7:00 PM | at Yale | Ingalls Rink • New Haven, Connecticut | | Watson | L 2–5 | 984 | 14–19–3 (9–11–0) |
| February 25 | 7:00 PM | Dartmouth | Houston Field House • Troy, New York | | Marshall | W 6–3 | 200 | 15–19–3 (10–11–0) |
| February 26 | 7:00 PM | Harvard | Houston Field House • Troy, New York | | Marshall | L 1–5 | 478 | 15–20–3 (10–12–0) |
| ECAC Hockey Tournament ||||||||||
| March 4 | 7:00 PM | Dartmouth* | Houston Field House • Troy, New York (First Round game 1) | | Watson | L 2–3 | 800 | 15–21–3 |
| March 5 | 7:00 PM | Dartmouth* | Houston Field House • Troy, New York (First Round game 2) | | Watson | W 3–2 | 851 | 16–21–3 |
| March 6 | 7:00 PM | Dartmouth* | Houston Field House • Troy, New York (First Round game 3) | | Watson | W 5–3 | 579 | 17–21–3 |
| Rensselaer Won Series 2–1 ||||||||||
| March 11 | 7:00 PM | at Harvard* | Bright-Landry Hockey Center • Boston, Massachusetts (Quarterfinal game 1) | | Watson | L 3–4 $^{OT}$ | 778 | 17–22–3 |
| March 12 | 7:00 PM | at Harvard* | Bright-Landry Hockey Center • Boston, Massachusetts (Quarterfinal game 2) | | Watson | W 4–3 $^{2OT}$ | 765 | 18–22–3 |
| March 13 | 4:00 PM | at Harvard* | Bright-Landry Hockey Center • Boston, Massachusetts (Quarterfinal game 3) | | Watson | L 1–3 | 477 | 18–23–3 |
| Rensselaer Lost Series 1–2 ||||||||||
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Ture Linden | F | 44 | 20 | 19 | 39 | 10 |
| Ottoville Leppänen | F | 42 | 9 | 21 | 30 | 31 |
| Simon Kjellberg | D | 43 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 16 |
| Jakub Lacka | LW | 42 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 16 |
| Zach Dubinsky | F | 44 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 24 |
| Ryan Mahshie | D | 38 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 4 |
| Justin Addamo | RW | 42 | 14 | 5 | 19 | 43 |
| T. J. Walsh | LW | 36 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 4 |
| Jake Johnson | D | 40 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 26 |
| Anthony Baxter | D | 41 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 40 |
| John Beaton | C | 41 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 8 |
| Shane Sellar | F | 39 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 10 |
| Lauri Sertti | D | 40 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 59 |
| Jakob Lee | C | 27 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 25 |
| Kyle Hallbauer | D | 39 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 25 |
| Robert Herrman | F | 33 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 |
| Jack Brackett | F | 26 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
| Mason Klee | D | 36 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 14 |
| Jack Agnew | D | 41 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 |
| James McIsaac | C/RW | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Jake Gagnon | F | 20 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Dylan Davies | D/F | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Reid Leibold | F | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Nick Bowman | F | 22 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Altti Nykänen | F | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brett Miller | G | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Louis Helsen | D | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Henri Schreifels | F | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Watson | G | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Linden Marshall | G | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bench | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| Total | | | 114 | 190 | 304 | 397 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Jack Watson | 22 | 1103 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 44 | 519 | 3 | .922 | 2.29 |
| Linden Marshall | 26 | 1491 | 9 | 13 | 3 | 63 | 535 | 1 | .895 | 2.53 |
| Brett Miller | 6 | 62 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 35 | 0 | .875 | 4.79 |
| Empty Net | - | 23 | - | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 44 | 2684 | 18 | 23 | 3 | 119 | 1089 | 4 | .901 | 2.66 |

## Rankings

| Poll | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | 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 (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 Today | 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 week 24.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award | Ref |
| Ture Linden | ECAC Hockey Second Team | |