The hits just keep on coming.
After much speculation that it would happen, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute announced on Monday that it is officially canceling its participation in the 2020-21 winter campaign. It marks the ninth Division 1 college hockey program to pull the plug on its season.
In a statement release, the school attributed the decision to “a continued effort to safeguard the students, faculty, staff and community from the COVID-19 virus.”
RPI is a member of the ECAC hockey conference.
The notion that the Engineers wouldn’t have a season first came last week when it was reported that RPI’s stout junior netminder, Owen Savory, put his name in the NCAA transfer portal, pointing to the possibility that RPI may not play in 2020-21.
Now, that is a reality.
“As we navigate the global pandemic, we must make every effort to protect the health, safety and well-being of the Institute community, and unfortunately, canceling the hockey seasons is prudent as we attempt to achieve that objective," said Dr. Lee McElroy, associate vice president and director of athletics.
“It was a very difficult decision, and we share with our student-athletes and their families the disappointment and uncertainty that comes with this news. The administration will continue to offer support and guidance in every way we can to those affected.”
Also Monday, the Beanpot committee announced that the 2021 men's Beanpot Championship has been canceled for the first time in the history of the tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A statement from TD Garden read: "The Beanpot, TD Garden's annual college hockey tournament, will not be played in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We look forward to hosting the 69th Beanpot tournament in 2022."
On a conference call last week, Hockey East commissioner Steve Metcalf said the possibility of a 2021 Beanpot Tournament is “very unlikely.”
“Let’s just get the season started successfully and get a few games under our belt,” he remarked. “And then we’ll turn our attention to how we handle the postseason.
Northeastern swept both the men's and women's Beanpot titles last season for the fifth time in program history, and was the first school to do so since 2014. The men have won three consecutive Beanpot championships for the first time in program history.
RPI's Monday announcement comes on the heels of the last Thursday’s decision by the Ivy League, which houses six teams in the ECAC, to cancel all of its winter seasons.
Now, without RPI and the six Ivy League schools, the conference is left with five teams to put on a season: Clarkson, Colgate, Quinnipiac, St. Lawrence and Union.
The ECAC took to Twitter on Friday afternoon following the Ivy League’s announcement, expressing its commitment to put forth a season in 2020-21.
“Details on the plan for returning to play will follow in the coming days,” the league’s statement said.
Atlantic Hockey’s Rochester Institute of Technology, WCHA’s Alaska Anchorage and the six Ivy League members of the ECAC (Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Yale, Harvard and Princeton) were the first to opt out of the 2020-21 campaign — which officially got under way with four games this weekend — before it could even begin.
In other, less dramatic, news: Army West Point postponed the first two games of its season on Friday, set for Nov. 14 against LIU and Nov. 20 against Holy Cross, following the team’s recent suspension of all hockey-related activities due to “a small number of COVID-19 cases and subsequent contact tracing,” the team said.
On Sunday, Vermont (Hockey East) followed suite with Army’s decision, delaying the start of its first season under Todd Woodcroft until Dec. 18, due to concerns of the ongoing surge of the pandemic. In total, the Catamounts will miss eight games.
The Hockey East slate is set to begin with a pair of league games this Friday night.
Liam Flaherty can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @_LiamFlaherty.
