RPI Finishes Third in 50th Annual Hockey Tournament
As Tim Wilkin of the Albany Times Union wrote, "No one on the RPI hockey team wanted to be
inside Houston Field House on a snowy Saturday
afternoon. The Engineers would have preferred to
convene at Houston on a snowy Saturday night.
That's when the championship game of the 50th annual
RPI Holiday Tournament was played. But RPI wasn't in
it."
The Engineers beat Notre Dame 6-2 to win the consolation game of the tournament. They got there by losing a 3-2 overtime decision to Northeastern. Northeastern went on to lose the final to St. Lawrence, 4-3.
It's got to be frustrating to finish third in a winnable tournament like this one. On the other hand, one of the best things about the RPI Holiday Tournament in comparison to its peers has been the fact that it has always been designed to be competitive, and to showcase ECAC teams against teams from other D-1 conferences. Many other tournaments run by a single school are vehicles for the home team to rack up easy wins.
Some will make the argument that St. Lawrence, Northeastern, and Notre Dame are not exactly powerhouses this year. Those people do not realize how far in advance the tournament schedule is arranged.