Adam Oates and John Tiano celebrate the Engineers’ national championship.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The winning streak was 29, matching Cornell’s record from 1970. <\/p>\n
But the Engineers weren’t happy. <\/p>\n
“We didn’t play tight hockey in the ECAC tournament, and we knew we had to step it up a notch,” said Sadeghpour. <\/p>\n
The Engineers remembered what had happened a year ago against North Dakota — how the Sioux came into the Field House and left with the series, leaving the Engineers shaking their heads. They remembered and they didn’t let down in Game 1 against Lake Superior State to open the NCAA tournament. <\/p>\n
Servinis scored twice in the third period to put the game out of reach as the Engineers downed the Lakers, 7-3, to set the NCAA record for consecutive wins at 30 games.<\/p>\n
The next night the streak would end as the Lakers tied the Engineers, 3-3, but RPI won the total-goals series, 10-6, to move on to the Frozen Four in Detroit. <\/p>\n
“We got off to a slow start and then we started to click,” said then-sophomore defenseman Mike Robinson. “We didn’t expect to go 30 games without a loss. But we did, and we weren’t done.” <\/p>\n
“We had a couple of quick losses and then we didn’t lose again,” said Dark. “We were ready to get to our goal.” <\/p>\n
It started in Detroit, in the NCAA semifinal against Minnesota-Duluth. Providence was awaiting the winner of this game and the excitement was in the Joe Louis Arena air. <\/p>\n
“That was the game,” said Jooris. “We all knew that Duluth was the team to beat.” <\/p>\n
“When you look at the rosters of those two teams, it was an All-Star game,” said Sadeghpour. “Oates, Carter, [Kraig] Nienhuis, Puppa, Bill Watson, Tom Kurvers, Brett Hull.” <\/p>\n
The two teams engaged in a battle of wills, and at the end of 60 minutes it was 5-5. Into overtime they went. And then into another overtime.<\/p>\n
And then a third. <\/p>\n
“The overtimes and the emotion and adrenaline are just something you never forget,” said Jooris. <\/p>\n
And then it happened. <\/p>\n
“I remember Johnny shooting the puck and then there was a roar,” said Jooris. “I was standing in front of the net and then it went nuts.” <\/p>\n
John Carter had fired a slapper from inside the blueline, on the power play, into the net at 5:45 of the third overtime to give the Engineers the 6-5 victory and a berth in the NCAA title game.<\/p>\n
“When it happened, I knew at that moment that it was the biggest goal of my life,” said Carter. “It’s one of the biggest highlights of my life.” <\/p>\n
“That game against Duluth was the best college game I have ever played in,” said Sadeghpour. <\/p>\n
“We knew were in a battle and both teams were special,” said Servinis. “We pulled it out. Every time that we were down, we knew that this team would find a way to win.” <\/p>\n
With the championship against Providence the next day, there was no time to rest. There were certainly worries. <\/p>\n
“We were the late game that day and we didn’t get back until late and we had to play the next night, so there was a concern,” said Prendergast. <\/p>\n
“The overtime took so much out of everybody and it took so much to get right back out onto the ice to play when Providence had the night off,” said Hernberg. “It was a real test of everybody’s will.” <\/p>\n
Hernberg scored the first goal of the championship game, on the power play, from DiPronio and senior defenseman Ken Hammond. The championship-winning goal would come from Servinis, shorthanded, 3:49 into the second. <\/p>\n
“Georgie had jumped off the faceoff and went right through the guy,” said Jooris. <\/p>\n
“I got a good jump and I made some moves and put it past him,” added Servinis. <\/p>\n
Servinis’ deke beat the Tournament MOP that year, Chris Terreri. The Engineers had taken a 2-0 lead. <\/p>\n
Halfway through the third, Providence scored to make it 2-1, but the Engineers hung on and the feat was complete. After 33 straight unbeaten games, the Engineers were the NCAA champions for the second time in school history.<\/p>\n
“I grabbed John Tiano, hugged him and sticks were everywhere, and it was so special,” said Servinis. <\/p>\n
“It took a while to sink in because it was amazing to be in Detroit,” said Hernberg. “It was such an incredible experience.” <\/p>\n
“We had so much talent in all positions and we won it,” said Oates. “That team was the best one in the country, by far.” <\/p>\n
“There was a lot to prove and we did it,” said Prendergast. “We showed everyone that we were the number-one team in the country.” <\/p>\n
“I cried like a baby,” said Sadeghpour. “I came off the ice with 10 seconds to go. I was standing next to Mike Dark and we were counting down the clock and I was crying like a four-year old who didn’t get his toys.<\/p>\n
“It was a sense of total relief and a great memory. It’s still so vivid in my mind.” <\/p>\n
Twenty years later that great season echoes through the minds of those same men. Twenty years later they are a little wiser, a little grayer, and the better for the experience. <\/p>\n
“It’s something we will cherish for the rest of our lives,” said Carter. “There’s no other way to describe it.” <\/p>\n
“My first day at RPI, I knew that the guys that they brought in, everyone was a certain type of hockey player and we were such a team,” said Servinis. “We knew it was special right off the bat.” <\/p>\n
“We knew we had a special team with the mix of guys on and off the ice,” agreed Jooris. “It was just a fantastic team. It was one of the best college teams that ever played.” <\/p>\n
“We were at a different level. Winning put a swagger into our team,” said Oates. “As a group we did everything so well. The special teams, the depth, everything. We were a real team.” <\/p>\n
“We never realized how special this whole group of guys were,” said Hammond. “These guys knew where each other was going to be — it was something special on the ice and even better off the ice.” <\/p>\n
“A lot of guys go through their college careers without a lot of excitement, I won’t be able to say that,” said Dark. “What a life-changing experience it was. I came here as a young adult and left a man. I learned discipline, the game of hockey and things for all aspects of my life.” <\/p>\n
Perhaps Sadeghpour put it best.<\/p>\n
“I grew up at RPI,” said Sadeghpour. “The guys that we played with, I was at the right place at the right time — and I am so appreciative of it.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
20 years ago a group of young men from Troy, N.Y. engineered the longest winning streak in all of college hockey. Built from a loss in the NCAA Tournament in 1984, the 1985 Rensselaer Engineers took the game to another level and a place that would stand in NCAA history.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":140328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Engineering A Dream - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n