2023–24 RPI Engineers men's ice hockey season

From the very start of the season, Rensselaer encountered a problem that would plague them all year long. In their first four games, the defense surrendered a veritable avalanche of shots to the opposing teams. While their opposition at this time would all end up finishing the year ranked in the top 20, the porous defense persisted. Their three goaltenders, who weren't brilliant to begin with, suffered as a result. RPI allowed at least 4 goals in ten of their first twelve games and gave the team little chance to win from night to night. At one point, the team turned to Brett Miller, a senior who had seen very little playing time in his college career, as starter but that experiment lasted just a few games. It wasn't until after Christmas that the Watson was able to settle down and string together some decent performances.

After winning four of five coming out of the winter break, Rensselaer miraculously found itself in the middle of the conference standings. The reprieve, however, was short-lived. The defense faltered and team won just twice in its final fourteen games. The Engineers stumbled to a last-place finish in ECAC Hockey and entered the postseason with no momentum or expectations. However, once the postseason began, RPI found itself with an opportunity. Rensselaer was pitted against its long-time rival, Clarkson, and they relished the chance to ruin the Golden Knights' season. The Engineers scored twice in the first period to take an early lead all the while letting Clarkson sleep-walk through the opening 40 minutes. After Sutter Muzzatti increased the team's lead in third, the Knights finally fought back and ended up firing 22 shots in the third period. They managed to get the puck past Watson twice but he held up over the final two minutes and carried the Engineers to victory.

The rather surprising upset caused RPI to be set against defending national champion Quinnipiac in the quarterfinals. The first match was entirely controlled by the Bobcats but RPI gave a good performance in the rematch. The match remained close throughout until Quinnipiac scored two-empty-net goals in the final 70 seconds.

Rensselaer finished the season with one of its worst defensive performances. RPI had allowed more than 4 goals against on average and were the second-worst defensive team that season. Only Stonehill, who was in the process of transitioning from Division II, was worse.^[1]

As of September 19, 2023.^[2]

More information No., Nat. ...

No.	Nat.	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1		Carson Cherepak	Sophomore	G	6' 0" (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2002-10-09	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Dauphin Kings (MJHL)	—
2		Jimmy Goffredo	Freshman	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2003-04-24	Mount Laurel, New Jersey	Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL)	—
3		Lauri Sertti	Senior	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1999-07-11	Espoo, Finland	Amarillo Bulls (NAHL)	—
6		Jack Agnew	Senior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2001-10-22	Oakville, Ontario	Boston College (HEA)	—
7		Max Smolinski	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2003-04-02	Bloomfield Hills, Michigan	Fargo Force (USHL)	—
8		C. J. Regula	Graduate	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1998-05-29	Bloomfield Hills, Michigan	Ohio State (Big Ten)	—
9		Ryan Brushett	Graduate	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1998-06-14	Montreal, Quebec	Massachusetts Lowell (HEA)	—
10		Dylan Davies	Senior	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2001-02-09	Traverse City, Michigan	Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)	—
11		Nick Ardanaz	Sophomore	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2002-05-30	Surrey, British Columbia	West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL)	—
12		Austin Heidemann	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1999-06-27	Blaine, Minnesota	Mercyhurst (AHA)	—
14		John Evans	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	150 lb (68 kg)	2002-04-08	South Surrey, British Columbia	West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL)	—
15		Altti Nykänen	Senior	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	2001-09-26	Vihti, Finland	Bishop's College School (CISAA)	—
17		John Beaton	Senior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2000-10-30	Stittsville, Ontario	Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)	—
18		Jakob Lee	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1999-02-12	Owen Sound, Ontario	Merrimack (HEA)	—
19		Sutter Muzzatti	Sophomore	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	Freshman	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	191 lb (87 kg)	2004-05-31	Calgary, Alberta	Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL)	—
22		Danny Ciccarello	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	2001-03-23	Kirkland, Quebec	Fort McMurray Oil Barons (AJHL)	—
23		Nick Strom	Junior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2000-03-21	Dayton, Minnesota	Western Michigan (NCHC)	—
24		Jack Brackett	Senior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2000-12-31	Manassas, Virginia	Maryland Black Bears (NAHL)	—
25		Dovar Tinling	Junior	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2003-03-03	Pointe-Claire, Quebec	Penticton Vees (BCHL)	—
27		Jake Gagnon (C)	Senior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1999-11-04	Pointe-Claire, Quebec	Wellington Dukes (OJHL)	—
28		Tyler Hotson	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	163 lb (74 kg)	2003-03-17	Stratford, Ontario	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)	—
29		Brendan Budy	Graduate	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2000-06-06	Langley, British Columbia	North Dakota (NCHC)	—
30		Brett Miller	Senior	G	6' 2" (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-04-26	Northville, Michigan	Austin Bruins (NAHL)	—
34		Jack Watson	Junior	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2000-03-14	Toronto, Ontario	Coquitlam Express (BCHL)	—
43		Brad McNeil	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	2002-03-15	Royal Oak, Michigan	Maryland Black Bears (NAHL)	—
51		Finn Brown	Sophomore	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	2002-04-06	Toronto, Ontario	Alberni Valley Bulldogs (BCHL)	—
61		Lucas Matta	Sophomore	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2002-10-04	Kleinburg, Ontario	Western Michigan (BCHL)	—
71		Jérémie Payant	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2002-10-07	Saint-Lazare, Quebec	Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL)	—

Close

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Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 and 25.^[5]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.