2021–22 RPI Engineers men's ice hockey season

Rensselaer returned to the ice after losing all of last season to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team began the year with a decent start, albeit against fairly weak competition. But looked to be in good standing after taking down Clarkson in early November. However, the following week, the Engineers were embarrassed by Cornell 3–11, the program's worst loss in decades.[1] Afterwards, the defense recovered but the team was soon beset by a lack of offense over a several week span. RPI ended their first half with a 2–6 run with the only saving grace being that five of those losses were to non-conference teams.

After returning from the winter break, Rensselaer was forced to postpone or cancel several games in early January due to an increase in positive COVID-19 tests. When they did began playing games, the team also found itself in need of a new starting goaltender as presumptive primary netminder, Linden Marshall, had not performed well enough to retain the job. Newcomer Jack Watson was a bit inconsistent in his early appearances, but he possessed a higher ceiling than Marshall and Dave Smith eventually settled on the freshman as the starter. The offense also saw a steady improvement after returning to action but remained hot and cold for the remainder of the regular season. RPI would regularly follow stunning victories with confounding losses and ended the year just under .500. However, with a 6th-place finish, they did at least receive a home site for the first round of the conference tournament.

Despite having Marshall in net for the regular season finale, Watson led the Engineers into the postseason. Despite vastly outshooting Dartmouth in the opening match, RPI fell 2–3. The offense continued to pressure the Big Green net in the next two games and took advantage of several power play opportunities, riding their special team to consecutive wins and advancing to the quarterfinals. Rensselaer took control of the first game when they gained a 3–0 lead early in the third period. Watson kept Harvard off of the scoresheet despite a barrage of shots but, after the Crimson pulled their goaltender, the tide began to turn. RPI was swarmed over by Harvard and surrendered 3 goals in the final 4 minutes, all with the aide of an extra attacker. The momentum remained with their opponents and the Engineers allowed the winning goal just 2 minutes into overtime.

The second game did not have quite as much drama but it still saw Harvard tying the game late and force overtime once more. Watson was again called upon to stop a multitude of Crimson shots but this time he held his ground in the extra frame and sent the match into a second overtime. John Beaton saved the Engineer's season with the winner and set up a deciding third game. Watson was up to the task, holding Harvard to 2 goals, but the offense was not. RPI was stymied by the Crimson defense and the team fell 1–3.

As of August 19, 2021.[2]

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1		Linden Marshall	Graduate	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1998-07-21	Victoria, British Columbia	Trail (BCHL)	—
2		Simon Kjellberg	Junior	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2000-02-17	Nashville, Tennessee	Dubuque (USHL)	NYR, 163rd overall 2018
3		Lauri Sertti	Sophomore	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1999-07-11	Espoo, Finland	Amarillo (NAHL)	—
4		Mason Klee	Junior	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1999-10-04	Morrison, Colorado	Sioux Falls (USHL)	—
5		Anthony Baxter	Graduate	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1997-11-26	Oakville, Ontario	UMass Lowell (HEA)	—
6		Jack Agnew	Sophomore	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2001-10-22	Oakville, Ontario	Boston College (HEA)	—
7		Nick Bowman	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1997-12-19	Shelby, Michigan	Coulee Region (NAHL)	—
8		James McIsaac	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1999-04-29	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Brooks (AJHL)	—
9		Reid Leibold	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2001-10-23	Ashburn, Virginia	Maryland (NAHL)	—
10		Dylan Davies	Sophomore	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2001-02-09	Traverse City, Michigan	Sioux Falls (USHL)	—
11		Ottoville Leppänen	Senior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1998-06-18	Espoo, Finland	Blues U20 (Nuorten SM-liiga)	—
13		T. J. Walsh	Junior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2000-04-29	Shrewsbury, Massachusetts	Northeastern (HEA)	—
14		Zach Dubinsky	Junior	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2000-03-14	Highland Park, Illinois	Omaha (USHL)	—
15		Altti Nykänen	Sophomore	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2001-09-26	Vihti, Finland	Bishop's College (CISAA)	—
16		Rory Herrman	Junior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1999-03-16	Poway, California	Fargo (USHL)	—
17		John Beaton	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2000-10-30	Stittsville, Ontario	Youngstown (USHL)	—
18		Jakob Lee	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-02-12	Owen Sound, Ontario	Merrimack (HEA)	—
19		Ture Linden	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1997-07-06	Great Falls, Virginia	Lone Star (NAHL)	—
20		Henri Schreifels	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2000-07-01	Newbury Park, California	Victoria (BCHL)	—
21		Louie Helsen	Junior	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1998-06-08	Dallas, Texas	Amarillo (NAHL)	—
23		Jake Johnson	Senior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1998-08-13	Bloomington, Minnesota	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	—
24		Jack Brackett	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2000-12-31	Manassas, Virginia	Maryland (NAHL)	—
25		Ryan Mahshie	Junior	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1999-04-05	Stoney Creek, Ontario	Brooks (AJHL)	—
26		Shane Sellar	Graduate	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1997-06-14	Carlisle, Pennsylvania	Dartmouth (ECAC)	—
27		Jake Gagnon	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1999-11-04	Pointe-Claire, Quebec	Wellington (OJHL)	—
28		Kyle Hallbauer	Senior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1997-03-02	Howell, New Jersey	Lone Star (NAHL)	—
30		Brett Miller	Sophomore	G	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-04-26	Northville, Michigan	Austin (NAHL)	—
34		Jack Watson	Freshman	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2000-03-14	Toronto, Ontario	Coquitlam (BCHL)	—
39		Jakub Lacka	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1998-11-20	Bratislava, Slovakia	Central Illinois (USHL)	—

[4]

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 24.[5]