RPI Women's Hockey

[Ralph Baer]

Leeb, Thanks for the link. It's interesting that she scored 71 points in her career, but only 13 as a senior. I wonder if she played forward in past years.

[leeb]

I noticed that also Ralph. However, it also doesn't say how many games she played, perhaps she missed some games due to injury. Or, perhaps she was asked to play more of a defensive game due to the make-up of her team this past year.

Whatever the case, it says she's a three time All-Star and was her teams's MVP this past year so hopefully she has the ability to step right in and contribute.

[Ralph Baer]

Leeb, I thought about those possibilities also. Not knowing which leagues are good and which aren't in women's hockey, I can't evaluate her performance. In any case, being a three-time All-Star is a plus.

[winsorhockeydad]

Ralph and Leeb,


I do not recall seeing Hammond play so I don't mean to be critical of her. However, her high school team, Wellesley, plays in a weak* league, (although the team had a good year). Also, the linked Globe article said she plays for Charles River; if so, then she was not on the top Charles River midget team last year. Although, of course, there can be many reasons for her not being on the M-1 team.

*It should be noted that the league is geting much stronger each year. I heard tell that the freshmen on Wellesley's team played a large role in the team's success. There seems to be a surge in girl's hockey in eastern Mass.

[BigTimeBU]

Katie Hammond is one of my best friends, I am sure that her work ethic will impress you. She played for the M2 team at Charles River, which is a highly political program (I used to play for them). I assure you that you will like what you see.

[winsorhockeydad]

"She played for the M2 team at Charles River, which is a highly political program"

Politics in hockey? Shocking! Is Charles River any worse than the other major programs with respect to politics? Probably not, but it is a shame when good players are hurt by the b.s. that goes on too often.

BigTimeBU,
Hope your Charles River experience was not too awful and that you are playing somewhere in college.

[rpi_fan03]

Well, all you fans of RPI Women's Hockey...check this out.

Go to the Men's D1 hockey board and check out the thread DIII Proposed Changes/D1 Ramifications...big problems forseen here if this passes.

As we all know, per the beginning of this thread, RPI is in the process of moving the women's team to D1...this may not happen anymore, and along with it the men's team would be forced to move divisions. Check the thread out and post some opinions!

http://board.uscho.com/showthread.php?threadid=28255

[Ralph Baer]

RPI_fan03,

Has RPI actually been moving forward with chnaging the women's hockey team to D-I? That is, has the 'Tute been doing anything more than thinking about it?

I agree that the scholarship issue could derail any such move.

[rpi_fan03]

Ralph- I am not sure how to describe where the Institute is in this process. The best I can do is say that they are somewhere in between thinking about it and moving forward. Basically, when I left in May I was told that they were currently in the process of "hashing out" problems within the entire department that would eventually lead to this jump by the women's team. From what I gather they are referring to the facilities issues for ALL the sports as well as the training room issues (size/location) and also the issues regarding financial support. Ken Ralph, the new AD, is a very smart guy...he knows better than to pull a UVM/Union and send the team to D1 competition without giving them D1 support (finances/facilities). In case you don't follow women's hockey close enough, it took UVM THREE SEASONS to get a single point in D1 due mostly to their lack of scholarship money which would have allowed them to recruit "true" D1 talent instead of playing two seasons with D3 players...they have finally begun to turn that around as of last season. BUT, I would be willing to bet that the same thing happens to Union. I understand that their men's team doesn't offer "scholarships" either, but that makes recruiting know-how even more important and IMHO they never had that prowess even in D3. RPI has started the ball rolling by getting one of the best recruiters in the nation (Cahill) and also by hiring an AD who is smart enough to realize that no matter how good a team is in D3, they will not compete in D1 successfully....we just hope to keep this ball rolling!:D

[nothingbutnet]

RPI fan, your point is well taken about "not" following in UVM's footsteps. They spent 3 years in D3 where they were competitive and then jumped to D1 (with a D3 roster) for the 2001-2002 season and did not beat a D1 opponent (actually their only win that season was against RPI). They won 3 games last season and will improve again this coming season. The transition from D3 to D1 is tough. No scholarships to offer and a very tough schedule against nationally ranked D1 opponents. Their roster is "gradually" improving to include true D1 talent but without scholarships they obviously won't get the top players. I agree that to make the jump to D1 you must offer scholarships to be competitive. Both RPI and UVM have academic reputations that will stand on their own but in the world of big time athletics money talks.

[BigTimeBU]

[i]BigTimeBU,
Hope your Charles River experience was not too awful and that you are playing somewhere in college. [/B]

Winsorhockeydad,
I couldn't be happier, and I am on an awesome college team, with awesome teammates. I was actually (in an indirect way) just agreeing with you when you made the statement about the many reasons as to why she may not have been on the M1 team. I played on the M2 team at Charles River and loved it. I have NO hard feelings whatsoever, as a matter of fact, Charles River is where I have my fondest memories. Running a hockey program is not easy, and I was in no way trying to criticize. Seeing that you are from Eastern Mass I am guessing that maybe you are familiar with the program.

Were there times when girls who didn't even show up to tryouts and still made the M1 team, while the rest of us worked our butts off? Of course. Am I bitter about it? No, because I ended up having the time of my life, and, when we played our M1 team, we tied them.

I didn't mean to step on any toes with my post. I just wanted to let people know that Katie's definitely a hard worker.

Take care!

[leeb]

So who's going to RPI's first game of the year against Union? It's at Achilles rink on October 25th at 7pm. Anyone? Bueller?

Seriously though, I think I'll try and go. It'll be interesting to see the new D1 Union. I still say RPI wins but Union does have a wicked big incoming class so who knows.

[leeb]

I just checked the men's schedule and the men are playing Army at home on the 25th. Doh!

[rpi_fan03]

Well, RPI men vs. a team from teh league formerly known as the MAAC....or RPI women vs. cross-town rival for bragging rights in the Capital District (not to mention the opportunity to prove that first to the cake doesn't always get the best piece)...I'm thinking I'll go for the latter. I can watch the men either destroy a weak team from a weak conference or fall apart and lose a gimme any day....but seeing RPI beat a Union team that by definition is supposed to be better....now that is priceless!:D

Hopefully if you're a true fan you'll agree;)

[Ralph Baer]

RPI_fan03,
I understand your point, and I see the smilies, but let's not say that a victory over Army is a given. I fell into that trap back in 1994 and received a lot of mail both on the list and off it from the father of one of Army's players. Here is my original messages http://lists.maine.edu/cgi/wa?A2=ind9412&L=Hockey-L&P=R11330&I=-3 . Here is one of the responses: http://lists.maine.edu/cgi/wa?A2=ind9412&L=Hockey-L&P=R13479&I=-3 . It when on for about a month off line. I still think that my original statement, the last line of the first link, was correct, but ...

[leeb]

Very true Ralph, it's never a given these Engineers will win regardless of the competition.

I am leaning towards RPI_fan03's point of view though. The women's game definitely has more allure now that Union is "D1," if in name only.

[rpi_fan03]

Ralph,
while I didn't have time to read those links (or take the time I should say ;)) I would like to point out that I tried not to count the Army game as a gimme...."I can watch the men either destroy a weak team from a weak conference or fall apart and lose a gimme any day"
I was only trying to point out the difference in signifigance of the two games :)

[Ralph Baer]

Originally posted by RPI_fan03
I was only trying to point out the difference in signifigance of the two games :) I do agree with that.

[leeb]

Hmmm, any news about the women's team?

I was just thinking how quickly the Red / White scrimmage is coming up for the men's team (which I'm soooo looking forward to). I think it'd be great if the women could have the same thing. Think there's any chance they would hold something like that eventually?

[hab]

Response to Leeb and RPI Fan: re the new recruits. Sarah Daniel is a forward from Calgary...played the last two years for Bowness AA in the top female midget league in S. Alberta, and trained with Olympic Oval program and Calgary Hockey Development Program. Anything further on the other new players?