Despite a lot of new faces in the lineup, Rensselaer is picking up right where it left off at the end of the 2019-20 season.
RPI has won four of its last five games heading into this weekend’s games at Colgate and Cornell. That stretch comes after the Engineers ended 2019-20 as one of the hottest teams in ECAC Hockey prior to the league shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. RPI did not play last season after the school made the decision to cancel the season due to the ongoing pandemic.
Just like the six other league teams that didn’t play last season, the Engineers entered this year will a lot of new players on their roster. RPI has 18 new players this season, including six transfers.
Two of those transfers, Justin Addamo (Robert Morris) and TJ Walsh (Northeastern) have teamed with returning junior Zach Dubinsky to form one of RPI’s top lines early in the season. The trio factored in two third-period goals Saturday against Clarkson that help the Engineers break a 1-1 tie en route to a 3-1 win over the Golden Knights.
That win was Rensselaer’s second straight over Clarkson, dating back to 2020. It’s the first time the program has won two consecutive games against the Golden Knights since 2013.
“That line has been very, very good,” RPI coach Dave Smith said. “I think TJ showed some really good puck possession [Saturday night]. We talk about those guys both being transfers. They’re still only nine games in; they have to establish that trust. I’m learning them and they’re still learning me and us.”
Walsh leads the Engineers with six assists, while Addamo’s first goal of the season was the game winner Saturday.
“I definitely consider myself a playmaker,” Walsh said. “I think this year, I’m shooting the puck more, which is good. I do think I’m pass first, and if I can help my teammates get into position to score and creating chances, then I think I’m doing my job…I think if we continue to just build off of each other and build chemistry then we’ll be really successful going forward.”
While that trio has been important to RPI’s good start, the Engineers have gotten solid goaltending from Linden Marshall through the first month of the season. The graduate student has a 1.85 GAA and a .919 save percentage in eight starts so far. It’s been a nice comeback for Marshall, who appeared in 29 games as a freshman in 2017-18, but then only played in a combined 16 games over the last two seasons behind Owen Savory, who transferred to UMass Lowell last year.
Marshall isn’t the only RPI player having a turnaround in the season’s early going.
Graduate student Shane Sellar is tied for the team lead with four goals after not playing in a collegiate game for more than two years. Sellar played for Dartmouth from 2016 to 2019, but then got hurt and missed the 2019-20 season before transferring to RPI. He’s well on his way to matching his career-high 11 goals he scored for the Big Green during the 2017-18 season.
While Sellar is new to the Engineers, he’s familiar with the small margin for error on most nights in ECAC Hockey, something that RPI’s newcomers are starting to learn as the season progresses.
“I get the feeling that every team in the ECAC feels like a rivalry no matter who we play,” Addamo said. “I think it was really tight game [against] Clarkson. It was really nice to get rewarded with the win.”
