I have seen all five college hockey games between Capital Region rivals RPI and Union at the Knickerbocker Arena/Pepsi/ Arena/Times Union Center. Two games were played in the Capital Skates Classic (1996 and 1997), while the other three came during the Governor?s Cup tournament (2006-08).
The biggest crowd for any of those games came in the inaugural Capital Skates, when 5,660 fans saw Union beat RPI, 2-0, Nov. 19, 1996. The following year?s game drew only 3,364 fans, The next two Capital Skates were played at the Glens Falls Civic Center before that series ended in 1999.
There were three Governor?s Cup matchups between RPI and Union from 2006 to 2008, but those games attracted less than 5,000 fans each year.
TU Center general manager Bob Belber isn?t ready to give up on having those two teams making a go of it in his arena.
The two squads will meet for the first time at the TU Center since the 2008 Governor?s Cup. They will be playing for a different kind of Cup. The Mayor?s Cup will go to the winner of the Jan. 26 game.
Why does Belber think this particular game will work?
?Union and RPI is, obviously, a huge rivalry,? said Belber, who expects a crowd of 8,000 for the non-conference contest. ?As you get into the second half of the year when these teams match up, it becomes more and more important for their quest to get to the playoffs and into the ECAC [tournament]. I think more people want to come. Everybody?s thinking hockey now.?
And it seems like everyone is embracing the concept of the Mayor?s Cup.
During Monday?s press conference at the TU Center, the three mayors ? Albany?s Jerry Jennings, Schenectady?s Gary McCarthy and Troy?s Lou Rosamilia ? were there, along with Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings, Albany County Executive Dan McCoy and Rensselaer County Executive Kathy Jimino. They all took turns talking about how wonderful it is to have this game.
Union was represented by coach Rick Bennett, athletic director Jim McLaughlin, senior forward Kyle Bodie and senior defenseman Greg Coburn. RPI had coach Seth Appert, athletic director Jim Knowlton, senior forward CJ Lee and senior defenseman Nick Bailen (who had to shave his beard. You will how different he looks without the beard in a video link below).
Even though the game won?t count in the ECAC Hockey standings, both sides are excited to face off against one another. A sample of the comments.
Appert: ?Playing Union is an elite experience because the animosity between the two teams is unique, and the location on how close we are. But now to do it in a non-conference setting a third time for the Mayor?s Cup in downtown Albany, we have an opportunity here [for] both programs and both schools and fan bases to create a really special, unique experience for our programs, and this will help both programs long-term, not only in the play, but if we can build this event into an event where we?re getting 7,000 to 10,000 people annually, it becomes a marquee event and a recruiting advantage for both of our programs, and a great student-athlete experience.?
Bennett: ?The Governor?s Cup was more of a tournament format, where [the Mayor?s Cup] is a one-game matchup. It?s like Game 7 of the Stanley Cup. It?s kind of nice to put an emphasis on that. We haven?t played them in a while, so it rejuvenates the rivalry because the two games we played this season were sellouts in both places. I don?t care if it?s a street hockey game. There?s going to be tremendous competition, it?s going to be a great game and we?re looking forward to it.?
Bodie: ?It?s going to be a great event in a great building. To have it local instead of going to Lake Placid to play, both schools will bring a lot of fans. I?m sure both schools will bring lots of fans. Every time we play them in my four years since I?ve been here, it?s been the most intense games of the year. There will be no problem for either side getting up here.?
Bailen: ?Going against Union, it?s a battle every single time. Knowing they beat us the last few times, it?s going be real intense, real physical. It?s going to be a playoff game. It?s going to be real hostile.?
Lee: ?Personally, I feel very fortunate to be a part of it. It?s a special event for us and for Union, as well.?
Coburn: ?It?s exciting. It?s a good idea. It?ll be a lot of fun.?
Part of me wants to believe this game will be a success. But having seen the previous five games at the Knick/Pepsi/TUC not draw well, the other part of me wonders if this will be a failure, as well.
There are two things that will attract the fans. One is the date. Playing the game in January, when people are thinking hockey, is a smart move. People tend to be distracted in October and November because of either the World Series or college football, and hockey may not be on everyone?s mind then.
The other factor is that RPI is tired of being dominated by Union. The Dutchmen have won the last seven meetings, including the two ECACH matchups in November. And Union has won the last nine Capital Skates trophies, which is still alive and goes to the winner of the season series.
There are a couple of drawbacks. One is the perception that people don?t like to go to downtown Albany at night. The other is that the game doesn?t mean anything for the league standings.
I hope the Capital Region sports fans embrace this game like they do the Dutchman Shoes football game between RPI and Union, and the Mayor?s Cup men?s and women?s basketball games between UAlbany and Siena. If they do, it will become a great tradition.
Videos
I have three videos from Monday?s press conference.
To see the Union perspective of the game, click here.
To see the RPI perspective of the game, click here.
To see my interview with Belber, click here.
Autism Awareness game at RPI
RPI will host an Autism Awareness Game Friday against Colgate.
In addition to raising awareness for Autism, the goal of the arrangements for that night is also to make the experience more comfortable for the children with Autism and special needs who are in attendance at the game.
Among the opportunities to help raise awareness that evening is the elimination of music over the sound system as well as the exclusion of the goal horn as those with autism are sensitive to loud music. Additionally, the volume of the public address announcer?s microphone will be lowered.
Also, because of sensitivity to bright lights, the video board will not feature flashing displays and the Houston Field House spot lights will have blue bulbs. Blue is the signature color of Autism.
RPI?s coaches will wear Autism Speaks Puzzle Piece lapel pins. The pin is a replica of the Autism Speaks logo. On the back of the pin is the slogan, ?Autism Speaks. It?s Time to Listen.?
There will also be opportunities for the Albany Autism Society to raise awareness and money. Members of the group will staff a table with information and literature to distribute. The night?s Chuck-a-Puck proceeds will be donated to the Autism Society.
More information about autism can be found at http://www.autismspeaks.org.
ECACH Power Rankings
My weekly ECACH Power Rankings each week. WARNING: You may agree, or disagree, with my picks.
Team Last week?s ranking
1) Quinnipiac 1
2) Yale 3
3) Dartmouth 4
4) Colgate 2
5) Cornell 5
6) Union 6
7) Princeton 7
8) RPI 8
9) Harvard 11
10) St. Lawrence 9
11) Brown 12
8) Clarkson 10
Pairwise Rankings
Union?s weekend split dropped them from 22nd to 23rd in the USCHO Pairwise Rankings. The Dutchmen beat Princeton, 3-2, Friday, but dropped a 3-2 decision to Quinnipiac on Saturday after blowing a 2-0 lead.
The Pairwise Ranking is a system which attempts to mimic the method used by the NCAA Selection Committee to determine participants for the NCAA Division I men?s hockey tournament.
Rank Team PWR W-L-T Win % Win % Rank RPI RPI Rank vs. TUC TUC %
1t New Hampshire 26 14-4-2 .7500 3t .5935* 1 9-3-0 .7500
1t Boston College 26 13-4-2 .7368 5 .5899* 2 7-3-2 .6667
1t Quinnipiac 26 17-3-3 .8043 1 .5881 3 10-2-1 .8077
4 Minnesota 24 16-3-3 .7955 2 .5827 4 5-2-1 .6875
5 Notre Dame 23 15-6-0 .7143 6 .5700 5 7-4-0 .6364
6t Boston University 21 12-7-0 .6316 12t .5672 6 4-6-0 .4000
6t North Dakota 21 13-6-3 .6591 8t .5599 7 4-4-1 .5000
8 Denver 20 13-6-4 .6522 11 .5565 8 8-5-3 .5938
9 Yale 19 9-4-3 .6562 10 .5519 9 1-1-3 .5000
10t Miami 17 12-5-5 .6591 8t .5512 10 10-4-4 .6667
10t Western Michigan 17 13-5-4 .6818 7 .5440 12 7-2-1 .7500
12 Dartmouth 16 9-5-2 .6250 14t .5505 11 3-3-2 .5000
13 Massachusetts-Lowell 15 11-7-1 .6053 16 .5435 13 0-6-0 .0000
14 Niagara 13 13-3-4 .7500 3t .5350* 14 1-1-0 .5000
15t Minnesota State 12 14-8-2 .6250 14t .5302* 16 6-8-0 .4286
15t Colgate 12 11-7-2 .6000 17t .5237* 18 3-4-1 .4375
17 Nebraska-Omaha 11 13-9-2 .5833 19 .5311* 15 4-8-1 .3462
18t St. Cloud State 9 12-10-0 .5455 22 .5262 17 5-7-0 .4167
18t Cornell 9 7-6-2 .5333 23 .5224 19 2-3-2 .4286
20 Robert Morris 8 11-6-2 .6316 12t .5220 20 3-2-1 .5833
21t Northern Michigan 7 9-10-4 .4783 29 .5102 23 7-10-3 .4250
21t Lake Superior 7 12-11-1 .5208 27 .5093 25 8-7-1 .5312
23 Union 6 10-7-4 .5714 20 .5167 21 0-5-1 .0833
24 Ohio State 4 8-9-5 .4773 30t .5095 24 4-7-4 .4000
25t Wisconsin 3 8-7-5 .5250 24t .5114 22 3-5-2 .4000
25t Alaska 3 8-8-4 .5000 28 .5045 28 5-6-2 .4615
27 Providence 2 9-8-3 .5250 24t .5087* 26 0-5-2 .1429
28 Ferris State 1 10-9-3 .5227 26 .5070 27 4-7-0 .3636
Union falls in polls
Union dropped a spot in the latest USCHO.com/NCAA hockey top-20 poll Monday.
The Dutchmen went from 16th to 17th. They are point behind 16th-ranked Cornell. The two teams meet Friday at Messa Rink.
Quinnipiac is the top-rated ECAC Hockey team in the poll at No. 4. Other ECACH teams ion the poll are Dartmouth (11th), Yale (12th) and Colgate (20th).
USCHO.com/NCAA poll
Team (First Place Votes) Record Points Last Poll
1 Minnesota (47) 16- 3-3 992 1
2 Boston College 13- 4-2 924 3
3 New Hampshire ( 1) 14- 4-2 875 4
4 Quinnipiac ( 2) 17- 3-3 847 5
5 Notre Dame 15- 6-0 829 2
6 North Dakota 13- 6-3 714 7
7 Denver 13- 6-4 667 9
8 Miami 12- 5-5 623 6
9 Boston University 12- 7-0 617 8
10 Western Michigan 13- 5-4 598 10
11 Dartmouth 9- 5-2 477 12
12 Yale 9- 4-3 432 14
13 Nebraska-Omaha 13- 9-2 359 13
14 Minnesota State 14- 8-2 348 11
15 Niagara 13- 3-4 242 17
16 Cornell 7- 6-2 220 15
17 Union 10- 7-4 219 16
18 Massachusetts-Lowell 11- 7-1 175 20
19 St. Cloud State 12-10-0 135 18
20 Colgate 11- 7-2 118 19
Others receiving votes: Wisconsin 19, Providence 15, Robert Morris 15, Ferris State 12, Lake Superior 12, Holy Cross 5, Northern Michigan 5, Princeton 4, Colorado College 1, Michigan Tech 1.
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine 2012-13 Men?s College Hockey Poll
(First-place votes in parentheses)
Rank School Last Week?s Ranking 2012-13 Record Weeks in Top 15
1 Minnesota, 507 (31) 1 16-3-3 15
2 Boston College, 457 2 13-4-2 15
3 New Hampshire, 430 4 14-4-2 12
4 Notre Dame, 398 3 15-6-0 15
5 Quinnipiac, 397 (3) 5 17-3-3 6
6 North Dakota, 310 7 13-6-3 15
7 Denver, 285 9 13-6-4 15
8 Miami (Ohio), 263 6 12-5-5 15
9 Boston University, 258 8 12-7-0 15
10 Western Michigan, 225 10 13-5-4 15
11 Dartmouth, 148 12 9-5-2 9
12 Yale, 145 14 9-4-3 6
13 Nebraska-Omaha, 71 13 13-9-2 8
14 Minnesota State, 47 11 14-8-2 3
15 UMass-Lowell, 38 NR 11-7-1 7
Others receiving votes: Niagara, 32; Union, 27; Cornell, 25; Colgate, 12; St. Cloud State, 3; Ferris State, 1; Lake Superior State, 1.
My vote
I have a vote in the USCHO.com poll. Here is how I voted:
1) Minnesota
2) Quinnipiac
3) Boston College
4) New Hampshire
5) Notre Dame
6) Denver
7) Western Michigan
8) North Dakota
9) Boston U.
10) Miami
11) Dartmouth
12) Yale
13) Cornell
14) Minn. State
15) Union
16) Neb.-Omaha
17) Niagara
18) UMass-Lowell
19) St. Cloud State
20) Colgate
Daily Gazette Stick Salutes
Time for my weekly awards.
Player of the Week ? Andrew Calof, Princeton
The junior forward had a goal and three assists to help the Tigers beat RPI, 4-1, on Saturday.
Goalie of the Week ? Jeff Malcolm, Yale
The senior helped the Bulldogs to a sweep in the North Country. Malcolm had 35 saves in Friday?s 5-3 win over St. Lawrence, and then stopped 32 shots in Saturday?s 3-1 victory over Clarkson.
Team of the Week ? Yale
The Bulldogs conquered the North Country teams.
If you have any comments, post them below, or e-mail them to me at schott@dailygazette.com. You can follow me on Twitter (@slapschotts) Also, please become a fan of two Facebook pages ? The Daily Gazette On Ice, and my "Slap Schotts" college hockey segment page.
Good Monday! Good Hockey!
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