The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men’s hockey captains have been announced and senior Tommy Grant will be joined by classmate Brady Wiffen and junior Willy Reilly in leading the Engineers throughtout the 2018-19 season. The announcement was made by head coach Dave Smith.
A defenseman from Sparta, N.J., Grant played in 30 games last season, registering one assist and 10 penalties for 20 minutes. He appeared in 21 of 22 ECAC Hockey contests, collecting an assist and seven penalties for 14 minutes.
Grant is a multiple ECAC Hockey All-Academic selection, who has played in 77 career games for the Engineers, totaling two goals and four assists for six points. The former Bay State Breakers standout notched two assists in 18 games as a sophomore, following a rookie campaign of two goals and one assist for three points in 29 contests.
A forward out of St. Mary’s, Ont., Wiffen played in 34 games last season, registering five goals and six assists for 11 points. He led the team in shorthanded goals (1), while also scoring one game-winner. The club leader in faceoffs won (307), he finished the year with a 47.0% success rate on the draw. He had three goals and five assists for eight points in 22 conference games, including scoring the eventual game-winning goal in a 2-1 win at Cornell on February 3.
Wiffen made 29 appearances as a sophomore, scoring four goals and adding seven assists for 11 points. The former Trenton Golden Hawk had two special teams tallies (1 power play, 1 shorthanded) and had five penalties for 10 minutes. Through 63 career games with the Engineers, he has nine goals and 13 assists for 22 points.
A defenseman from Toronto, Ont., Reilly is the top returning point-getter from the blue line for the Engineers, having recorded seven goals and six assists for 13 points a season ago. Netting three power play talllies, he played in all 37 games and was asssessed 12 penalties for 24 minutes. He average 1.86 shots per game and had one multi-goal outting – a two-goal night in RPI’s 4-4 tie at St. Lawrence on November 4.
Reilly, who is a Nanaimo Clippers standout and 2016 draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins, has played in 72 games for the Engineers through two season, scoring nine goals and adding 19 assists for 28 points. His seven goals last season were tied with teammate Jared Wilson ’18 for second most among ECAC Hockey defensemen.
RPI hosts the University of Prince Edward Island in an exhibition game at the Houston Field House on Sunday (5pm). The Engineers begin their regular season schedule on October 12 and 13, when they play a home-and-home series with UMass.
