{"id":50013,"date":"2013-03-13T05:30:15","date_gmt":"2013-03-13T10:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=50013"},"modified":"2013-03-13T20:55:42","modified_gmt":"2013-03-14T01:55:42","slug":"rensselaers-resurgence-extends-beyond-current-9-1-stretch-appert-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2013\/03\/13\/rensselaers-resurgence-extends-beyond-current-9-1-stretch-appert-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Rensselaer’s resurgence extends beyond current 9-1 stretch, Appert says"},"content":{"rendered":"
The schedule says Rensselaer’s hot streak began Feb. 1, when the Engineers blanked Harvard 3-0 to start a 9-1 stretch that helped lock up the program’s first-ever bye in the ECAC Hockey tournament.<\/p>\n
But that’s not how coach Seth Appert sees it.<\/p>\n
“These things are never one moment,” Appert said. “Despite what everybody thinks, that’s not the case.”<\/p>\n
RPI went 12-24-3 last season, but 7-6-3 after Jan. 1, a turnaround that continued into the offseason when seniors Nick Bailen and CJ Lee stayed and trained in Troy over the summer.<\/p>\n
That dedication paid off early, as the Engineers took three points from national runner-up Ferris State in the opening weekend and followed that with a pair of overtime games at Minnesota State. But things went downhill quickly, as RPI lost its first five league conference games.<\/p>\n
“We played poorly in our first four league games,” Appert said. “I didn’t do a good job and we didn’t have the right mind-set. It’s a slow, steady march trying to be on the same page, trying to be a hard team to play against. Since mid-November, those moments have started to get better.”<\/p>\n
It was around that time that freshman goalie Jason Kasdorf began to work his way into the picture, moving ahead of incumbent goalies Bryce Merriam and Scott Diebold.<\/p>\n
“We were struggling a little bit and Bryce and Scotty weren’t playing up to their expectations. But neither was the team,” Appert said.<\/p>\n
“It was time to give him an opportunity and he’s played well,” Appert said of Kasdorf, who has a 13-3-2 record and is among the top 10 nationally in goals against average and save percentage.<\/p>\n
As the only NHL draft pick on the team, it would have been easy for Kasdorf to sulk over his lack of playing time. But that wasn’t the case for the freshman, who was a sixth-round pick by Winnipeg in 2011.<\/p>\n
“Give credit to Jason; he came in and worked his tail off,” Appert said. “We’re struggling and he’s not playing, but he didn’t whine and complain. He spent a lot of extra time on the ice, honing in on the little details.”<\/p>\n
It hasn’t all been Kasdorf, though. RPI has gotten balanced scoring and better play throughout the lineup, especially from sophomore forwards Matt Neal, Jacob Laliberte, Ryan Haggerty, and defensemen Curtis Leonard and Luke Curadi.<\/p>\n
“The biggest thing that a sophomore needs to do is have an unbelievable summer,” Appert said. “The sophomore slump comes when they have success as a freshman and don’t believe they have to work as hard anymore.”<\/p>\n
That commitment has paid off, as RPI hosts Brown this weekend, looking to advance to the semifinals for the first time 2002.<\/p>\n