RPI Engineers men's ice hockey
Current season
University	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Conference	ECAC
First season	1901–02
Head coach	Dave Smith 7th season, 75–131–17 (.374)
Assistant coaches	Mathias Lange Chuck Weber Liam Thrawl
Captain	Jake Gagnon
Arena	Houston Field House Troy, New York
Colors	Cherry and white[1]
NCAA Tournament championships
1954, 1985
NCAA Tournament Frozen Four
1953, 1954, 1961, 1964, 1985
NCAA Tournament appearances
1953, 1954, 1961, 1964, 1984, 1985, 1994, 1995, 2011
Conference Tournament championships
1984, 1985, 1995
Conference regular season championships
1952, 1953, 1954, 1984, 1985
Current uniform

The RPI Engineers men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). The Engineers are a member of ECAC Hockey conference and play their home games at Houston Field House in Troy, New York.^[2][3]

Men's ice hockey at RPI dates back to 1901 and is one of the oldest programs in the United States.^[4] The team played as an independent NCAA Division I team from its inception in 1901 through 1938.^[4] The team resumed after World War II for the 1949–50 season, and in the following season Rensselaer joined Clarkson, Colgate, Middlebury, St. Lawrence, and Williams to form the Tri-State League for the 1950–51 season.^[4] The next three seasons, the 1952–1954 team won the Tri-State League season championships. RPI's first NCAA tournament berth in 1953, coming in third, and the following season in 1954 the team won its first NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Championship.^[4] After a six-year drought the program again made the NCAA tournament in 1961, finishing fourth.^[4] The 1960–61 season would be the last season RPI competed in the Tri-State League, as RPI and fellow Tri-State League members Clarkson and St. Lawrence joined the new ECAC Hockey League.^[5]

Depending on how the rules are interpreted, the RPI men's ice hockey team may have the longest winning streak on record for a Division I team; in the 1984–85 season it went undefeated for 30 games, but one game was against the University of Toronto, a non-NCAA team. Continuing into the 1985–86 season, RPI continued undefeated over 38 games, including two wins over Toronto.^[6] Adam Oates and Daren Puppa, two players during that time, both went on to become stars in the NHL. Joe Juneau, who played from 1987 to 1991, also spent many years in the NHL. Graeme Townshend, who also played in the late 1980s, had a brief NHL career. He is the first person of Jamaican ancestry to play in the National Hockey League.

The hockey team plays a significant role in the campus's culture, drawing thousands of fans each week to the Houston Field House during the season. The team's popularity even sparked the tradition of the hockey line, where students lined up for season tickets months in advance of the on-sale date. Today, the line generally begins a week or more before ticket sales.^[7] Another tradition since 1978 has been the "Big Red Freakout!" game held close to the first weekend of February. Fans usually dress in the schools colors Red and White, and gifts such as tee-shirts are distributed en masse. From 1995 to 2009, RPI's Division III teams were known as the Red Hawks. However the hockey, football, cross-country, tennis, and track and field teams all chose to retain the longstanding Engineers name. The Red Hawks name was, at the time, very unpopular among the student body; a Red Hawk mascot was frequently taunted with thrown concessions and chants of "kill the chicken!" This was a major factor behind "Engineers" being restored for all teams in 2009.

The official hockey mascot, The Puckman–an anthropomorphic hockey puck with an engineer's helmet–has always been popular.

The RPI Engineers men's ice hockey typically plays between 35 and 42 regular season games per season in the ECAC Hockey Conference. They also usually play one exhibition game against a Canadian college hockey team from Ontario, Nova Scotia, or Quebec. During the season, RPI will play 22 conference games against the other 11 teams in the ECAC. RPI will play each team home game at the Houston Field House and each away game at the respective university's campus. The conference games are typically played on Friday and Saturday nights, with the ECAC scheduling reflecting the Ivy League scheduling of having traveling partners. RPI's travel partner has been Union College since they joined the league in the 1991-92 season. They also play 10-12 non-conference games against teams not in the ECAC. These games typically take place at the beginning of the season in October and around the Thanksgiving and New Year holidays. RPI also plays one non-conference game against their Capital District geographic rival, Union, at the Times Union Center, typically on the last Saturday of January in what has become known as the Mayor's Cup. RPI has opened ECAC Hockey conference play on the last weekend of October against Union since the 2012–13 season. The first conference home game is known as Black Friday or Black Saturday which alternates each year. Other highlights of the season include the Big Red Freakout, which is played on the last or second to last Saturday home game in February.

At the conclusion of the regular season the team will play a minimum of two postseason games in the ECAC Hockey men's ice hockey tournament in the beginning of March. If RPI wins the ECAC Tournament or is invited to the NCAA tournament as an at-large team, they would then play at least one postseason game in late March in the single elimination tournament. RPI last played in the NCAA tournament in 2011.

Source:^[8]

As of the completion of 2018–19 season^[9]

School	Team	Away Arena	Overall record	Win %	Last Result
Brown University	Bears	Meehan Auditorium	63–30–9	.662	0-3 L
Clarkson University	Golden Knights	Cheel Arena	51–97–11	.355	2-5 L
Colgate University	Raiders	Class of 1965 Arena	65–63–5	.508	1-2 L (OT)
Cornell University	Big Red	Lynah Rink	38–63–11	.388	3-2 W
Dartmouth College	Big Green	Thompson Arena	46–42–11	.520	2-5 L
Harvard University	Crimson	Bright-Landry Hockey Center	37–58–8	.398	1-3 L
Princeton University	Tigers	Hobey Baker Memorial Rink	69–37–11	.637	6-2 W
Quinnipiac University	Bobcats	People's United Center	7–17–9	.348	1-2
St. Lawrence University	Saints	Appleton Arena	60–83–7	.423	6-5 W
Union College	Dutchmen	Achilles Rink	53–40–11	.563	0-0 T
Yale University	Bulldogs	Ingalls Rink	57–52–6	.522	0-4 L

As of the completion of 2023–24 season^[10]

Tenure	Coach	Years	Record	Pct.
1901–1904, 1906–1917, 1923–1924	No Coach	15	14–34–3	.304
1917–1923	Leroy Clark	6	3–17–1	.167
1924–1925	W. J. Cook	1	2–2–0	.500
1925–1931, 1936–1937	Marvin Callan	8	6–20–2	.250
1949–1963	Ned Harkness	14	176–96–7	.643
1963–1964	Rube Bjorkman	1	18–8–0	.692
1964–1969	Garry Kearns	5	44–63–4	.414
1969–1972	Leon Abbott	3	41–31–4	.566
1972–1979	Jim Salfi	7	103–94–7	.522
1979–1989	Mike Addesa	10	186–124–9	.597
1989–1994	Buddy Powers	5	94–63–13	.591
1994–2006	Dan Fridgen	12	211–193–38	.520
2006–2017	Seth Appert	11	152–221–48	.418
2017–Present	Dave Smith	6	75–131–17	.374
Totals	13 coaches	104 seasons	1,125–1,097–153	.506

As of September 14, 2024.^[11]

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
2		Jimmy Goffredo	Sophomore	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2003-04-24	Mount Laurel, New Jersey	Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL)	—
4		Elliott McDermott	Graduate	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	193 lb (88 kg)	1999-02-03	Kingston, Ontario	Massachusetts (HEA)	—
6		Jack Agnew	Graduate	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2001-10-22	Oakville, Ontario	Boston College (HEA)	—
7		Max Smolinski	Junior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2003-04-02	Bloomfield Hills, Michigan	Fargo Force (USHL)	—
8		William Gilson	Junior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2001-06-28	Old Greenwich, Connecticut	Alaska Anchorage (NCAA)	—
9		Jordan Tonelli	Graduate	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2000-06-30	Greenwich, Connecticut	Brown (ECAC)	—
10		Gustavs Ozoliņš	Freshman	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	2003-06-19	Riga, Latvia	Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)	—
11		Rainers Rullers	Freshman	F	6' 4" (1.93 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	2004-12-11	Riga, Latvia	Madison Capitols (USHL)	—
13		Félix Caron	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	168 lb (76 kg)	2004-12-01	Terrebonne, Quebec	West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL)	—
17		John Beaton	Graduate	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2000-10-30	Stittsville, Ontario	Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)	—
18		Jakob Lee	Graduate	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1999-02-12	Owen Sound, Ontario	Merrimack (HEA)	—
19		Sutter Muzzatti	Junior	F	6' 6" (1.98 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	2003-06-28	Okemos, Michigan	Austin Bruins (NAHL)	NSH, 143rd overall 2023
20		Nathan Sullivan	Sophomore	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	191 lb (87 kg)	2004-05-31	Calgary, Alberta	Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL)	—
23		Nick Strom	Senior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2000-03-21	Dayton, Minnesota	Western Michigan (NCHC)	—
24		Jack Brackett	Graduate	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2000-12-31	Manassas, Virginia	Maryland Black Bears (NAHL)	—
25		Dovar Tinling	Senior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2003-03-03	Pointe-Claire, Quebec	Penticton Vees (BCHL)	—
27		Jake Gagnon (C)	Graduate	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1999-11-04	Pointe-Claire, Quebec	Wellington Dukes (OJHL)	—
28		Tyler Hotson	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	163 lb (74 kg)	2003-03-17	Stratford, Ontario	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)	—
31		Noah Giesbrecht	Graduate	G	6' 4" (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1999-04-18	White Rock, British Columbia	Ferris State (CCHA)	—
32		Carson Dorfman	Freshman	G	6' 0" (1.83 m)	179 lb (81 kg)	2003-10-06	Hermitage, Tennessee	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)	—
34		Jack Watson	Senior	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2000-03-14	Toronto, Ontario	Coquitlam Express (BCHL)	—
38		Arvils Bergmanis	Senior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	1999-12-29	Riga, Latvia	Alaska (NCAA)	—
43		Brad McNeil	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	2002-03-15	Royal Oak, Michigan	Maryland Black Bears (NAHL)	—
44		Brody Maguire	Freshman	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2004-04-08	Calgary, Alberta	Okotoks Oilers (BCHL)	—
61		Lucas Matta	Junior	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2002-10-04	Kleinburg, Ontario	Western Michigan (BCHL)	—
71		Jérémie Payant	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2002-10-07	Saint-Lazare, Quebec	Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL)	—
72		Jagger Tapper	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2004-10-01	Calgary, Alberta	Okotoks Oilers (BCHL)	—
82		Mathieu Bourgault	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	176 lb (80 kg)	2003-03-31	Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec	Bismarck Bobcats (NAHL)	—

Source:^[12]

Player	Years	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Frank Chiarelli	1951–1955	80	155	110	265	43
John Carter	1982–1986	131	117	108	225	207
Adam Oates	1982–1985	98	66	150	216	52
Bob Brinkworth	1961–1964	71	110	106	216	20
Joé Juneau	1987–1991	124	69	144	213	157
Paul Midghall	1956–1959	63	93	118	211	118
Abbie Moore	1951–1954	61	102	104	206	22
Bryan Richardson	1992–1996	141	80	113	193	146
Jerry Knightley	1962–1965	71	90	97	187	99
Mark Jooris	1982–1986	117	84	99	183	70

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Minimum 30 games

Player	Years	GP	Min	W	L	T	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
Owen Savory	2018–2021	49	2839	18	24	5	107	6	.929	2.26
Jason Kasdorf	2012–2016	88	5025	38	37	9	200	7	.920	2.39
Allen York	2008–2011	83	4898	37	34	8	202	4	.914	2.47
Nathan Marsters	2000–2004	115	6638	57	50	6	282	10	.917	2.55
Bryce Merriam	2009–2013	56	3102	18	30	5	134	3	.903	2.59
Joel Laing	1996–2000	90	5345	52	31	6	231	13	.926	2.59

Statistics current through the end of the 2022–23 season.

AHCA First Team All-Americans

AHCA Second Team All-Americans

First Team All-ECAC Hockey

Second Team All-ECAC Hockey

Third Team All-ECAC Hockey

ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team

This is a list of Rensselaer alumni were a part of an Olympic team.

Name	Position	Rensselaer Tenure	Team	Year	Finish
Joé Juneau	Left Wing	1987–1991	CAN	1992	Silver
Marty Dallman	Center	1980–1984	AUT	1994	12th
Maurizio Mansi	Right Wing	1984–1988	ITA	1994, 1998	9th, 12th
Mathias Lange	Goaltender	2005–2009	AUT	2014	10th
Miloš Bubela	Forward	2012–2016	SVK	2018	11th

As of July 1, 2024.

= NHL All-Star team

= NHL All-Star[15]

= NHL All-Star[15] and NHL All-Star team

= Hall of Famers

• 
  Brandon Pirri

Source:^[16]

• RPI Engineers men's ice hockey