2022–23 Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey season

The 2022–23 Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey season was the 27th season of play for the program, the 25th at the Division I level, and the 13th in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Purple Eagles represented Niagara University and were coached by Jason Lammers, in his 6th season.

2022–23 Niagara Purple Eagles
men's ice hockey season
Conference6th Atlantic Hockey
Home iceDwyer Arena
Rankings
USCHONR
USA TodayNR
Record
Overall19–18–3
Conference10–13–3
Home7–6–2
Road12–12–1
Coaches and captains
Head coachJason Lammers
Assistant coachesIan Burt
Mark Phalon
Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey seasons
« 2021–22 2023–24 »

Season

edit

The Purple Eagles kicked off their season with a trip west that resulted in a surprise sweep of Omaha. While riding high on the rare victories, the defense slipped after the team returned home and allowed nearly 5 goals against per game over the next five games. Niagara recovered by the end of October and then went on a 5-game winning streak to pull themselves out of the Atlantic Hockey cellar. Due to expected heavy snowfall in the Buffalo area, the game against St. Lawrence was moved from November 19 to January 5.[1]

Niagara ended the first half of the season with a sluggish performance by their offense but they still possessed a winning record. The Purple Eagles opened the second half by splitting a pair of non-conference series. Unfortunately, the team remained inconsistent for the remainder of the year. While they were able to sweep a ranked RIT squad, they were in turn dropped by both Bentley and Holy Cross in the back half of the year. The result was that Niagara finished 6th in the conference standings despite seeing improvements across the board.

The team began the postseason on the road and dropped the first match to Sacred Heart. Afterwards, Chad Veltri turned in a masterful performance in goal and allowed just 4 goals on 70 shots. Carter Randklev's 5-point effort in the deciding game sent the Purple Eagles into the semifinal where the team faced local rival Canisius.[2] Veltri continued to stand on his head and led the Purple Eagles to a 2–1 victory over the Golden Griffins. Ordinarily, that would have been enough to send the team to the league championship, however, Atlantic Hockey had changed the playoff format prior to the season. WHile the First Round games had been eliminated, the semifinal round was extended to be a best-of-three series like the quarterfinal.[3] This meant that Niagara had to win a second match against Canisius to advance. Unfortunately, the Griffins were able to rally from the loss in game 1 and stormed back with two wins to knock Niagara out of the postseason.

While the end of their campaign was disappointing, the team had taken a big stride forward. Niagara had scored 37 more goals and though they allowed 7 more goals against, they had done so in 4 additional games. The Purple Eagles also posted their first winning season in a decade; a successful season despite the ending.[4]

Departures

edit
Player Position Nationality Cause
Michael Corson Goaltender   United States Graduation (retired)
Luke Edgerton Forward   United States Graduation (retired)
Mike Faulkner Defenseman   United States Graduation (retired)
Chris Harpur Defenseman   Canada Graduation (signed with Orlando Solar Bears)
Zac Herrmann Defenseman   United States Graduation (signed with Cincinnati Cyclones)
Jonathan Hill Forward   United States Graduation (retired)
Trevor Poeze Forward   Canada Left program (retired)
Jesse Pomeroy Defenseman   Canada Left program (retired)
Trevor Poeze Forward   Canada Left program (retired)
Alexandre Roy Defenseman   Canada Left program (retired)
Walker Sommer Forward   United States Graduation (signed with Wichita Thunder)
Jack Zielinski Defenseman   United States Graduation (retired)

Recruiting

edit
Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Lucas Bahn Defenseman   United States 23 Hendersonville, TN; transfer from Alabama–Huntsville
Lane Brockhoff Defenseman   Canada 22 Edberg, AB
Casey Carreau Forward   United States 24 Acushnet, MA; transfer from Boston College
Mike Egan Forward   United States 25 Billerica, MA; graduate transfer from Babson
Noah Hackett Forward   Canada 20 Ponoka, AB
Ethan Lund Defenseman   Canada 21 Calgary, AB
Ryan Ouellette Goaltender   Sweden 21 Colorado Springs, CO; transfer from Wisconsin–Eau Claire
David Posma Defenseman   United States 19 Pomona, NY
Gļebs Prohorenkovs Forward   Latvia 20 Riga, LAT
Max Ruoho Defenseman   United States 23 Madison, WI
Drew Vieten Forward   United States 21 Calabasas, CA
Johnny Wescoe Forward   United States 21 Mechanicsburg, PA
Jonathan Ziskie Defenseman   United States 21 Macomb, MI

Roster

edit

As of June 30, 2022.[5]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
2   Jonathan Ziskie Freshman F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2001-03-19 Macomb, Michigan Bismarck (NAHL)
3   Lucas Bahn Senior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 1999-09-11 Henderson, Tennessee Alabama–Huntsville (NCAA)
4   Gļebs Prohorenkovs Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2001-11-12 Riga, Latvia Amarillo (NAHL)
5   Noah Carlin Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2000-06-13 Marine City, Michigan Omaha (USHL)
7   Jordan Wishman Graduate D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1998-11-22 Des Moines, Iowa Dubuque (USHL)
8   Albin Nilsson Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-09-18 Ljungby, Sweden Providence (HEA)
9   Jay Ahearn Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2001-05-23 Staten Island, New York Johnstown (NAHL)
10   Carter Randklev Junior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 163 lb (74 kg) 1999-11-05 Moorhead, Minnesota Fargo (USHL)
11   Olivier Gauthier Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-04-09 Ferme-Neuve, Quebec Alaska Anchorage (WCHA)
12   Jason Pineo Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1998-02-23 Toronto, Ontario Oakville (OJHL)
13   Drew Vieten Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2001-01-10 Calabasas, California Wichita Falls (NAHL)
14   Ryan Naumovski Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 150 lb (68 kg) 1999-07-28 Shelby Township, Michigan New Jersey (NAHL)
15   Matt Cameron Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-06-08 Berwyn, Pennsylvania New Jersey (NAHL)
16   Zane Kindrachuk Sophomore F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 161 lb (73 kg) 2000-01-04 Calgary, Alberta Okotoks (AJHL)
17   Max Ruoho Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2001-03-05 Madison, Wisconsin Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)
18   Mike Egan Graduate F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 1997-08-24 Billerica, Massachusetts Babson (NEHC)
19   Ryan Cox Graduate F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1998-07-23 St. Albert, Alberta Sherwood Park (AJHL)
20   Christian Gorsack Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 2000-06-08 Jeannette, Pennsylvania Johnstown (NAHL)
21   Shane Ott Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2000-07-21 Centennial, Colorado Janesville (NAHL)
22   Lane Brockhoff Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 2000-04-11 Edberg, Alberta Camrose (AJHL)
23   Lars Rødne Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2000-07-22 Stavanager, Norway Bismarck (NAHL)
24   Josef Myšák Junior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1999-09-08 Litvínov, Czech Republic Austin (NAHL)
25   Johnny Wescoe Freshman F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 150 lb (68 kg) 2001-01-06 Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Rockets (NCDC)
26   Brandon Stanley Graduate F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 1997-05-03 Sioux Lookout, Ontario Philadelphia (NAHL)
27   Jack DeBoer Graduate F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 2000-08-17 Madison, New Jersey Boston University (HEA)
28   Ethan Lund Freshman D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-03-16 Calgary, Alberta Brooks (AJHL)
29   David Posma Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2003-08-27 Pomona, New York New Jersey (NAHL)
30   Jake Sibell Sophomore G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2000-01-03 Isanti, Minnesota Aberdeen (NAHL)
31   Chad Veltri Senior G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1998-06-03 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Youngstown (USHL)
34   Noah Hackett Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2001-12-11 Ponoka, Alberta Brooks (AJHL)
37   Casey Carreau Senior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-08-03 Acushnet, Massachusetts Boston College (HEA)
40   Ryan Ouellette Sophomore G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-12-06 Colorado Springs, Colorado Wisconsin–Eau Claire (WIAC)

Standings

edit
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OW OL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
RIT 26 18 7 1 1 3 0 57 85 55 39 25 13 1 127 100
American International 26 14 8 4 2 0 3 47 87 62 39 18 14 7 124 98
Sacred Heart 26 14 9 3 2 0 2 45 87 72 37 17 17 3 107 112
Canisius * 26 13 10 3 3 1 1 41 76 71 42 20 19 3 118 119
Army 26 12 12 2 3 3 1 39 72 81 37 14 19 4 98 119
Niagara 26 10 13 3 0 3 2 38 73 86 40 19 18 3 119 129
Holy Cross 26 12 12 2 3 1 1 37 73 71 41 17 21 3 98 119
Mercyhurst 26 9 14 3 1 5 1 35 77 80 36 10 23 3 98 122
Bentley 26 8 16 2 1 1 1 27 61 89 34 11 21 2 81 124
Air Force 26 8 17 1 1 0 0 24 63 87 36 12 22 2 95 128
Championship: March 18, 2023
† indicates conference regular season champion (DeGregorio Trophy)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

edit
Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
October 7 8:00 PM at Omaha* Baxter ArenaOmaha, Nebraska   Veltri W 4–3  5,748 1–0–0
October 8 8:00 PM at Omaha* Baxter ArenaOmaha, Nebraska   Veltri W 4–3  5,567 2–0–0
October 14 7:00 PM American International Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Veltri L 3–6  903 2–1–0 (0–1–0)
October 15 5:30 PM American International Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Ouellette L 2–5  511 2–2–0 (0–2–0)
October 21 7:30 PM Sacred Heart Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Sibell W 6–4  704 3–2–0 (1–2–0)
October 22 5:30 PM Sacred Heart Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Sibell L 1–5  661 3–3–0 (1–3–0)
October 28 7:35 PM Mercyhurst Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Veltri T 4–4 SOW 708 3–3–1 (1–3–1)
October 29 7:00 PM at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, Pennsylvania FloHockey Veltri W 3–2  612 4–3–1 (2–3–1)
November 4 7:05 PM at Bentley Bentley ArenaWaltham, Massachusetts FloHockey Veltri W 6–0  1,267 5–3–1 (3–3–1)
November 5 5:00 PM at Bentley Bentley ArenaWaltham, Massachusetts FloHockey Veltri W 4–2  1,178 6–3–1 (4–3–1)
November 18 7:00 PM USNTDP* Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York (Exhibition)   Veltri W 8–5  849
November 25 3:30 PM Colgate* Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Veltri W 3–2  496 7–3–1
November 26 3:30 PM Colgate* Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Veltri W 3–2 OT 527 8–3–1
December 2 7:00 PM at Army Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Veltri L 0–3  1,846 8–4–1 (4–4–1)
December 3 4:00 PM at Army Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Veltri W 4–2  1,319 9–4–1 (5–4–1)
December 8 5:05 PM at American International MassMutual CenterSpringfield, Massachusetts FloHockey Veltri T 0–0 SOW - 9–4–2 (5–4–2)
December 9 1:05 PM at American International MassMutual CenterSpringfield, Massachusetts FloHockey Veltri L 1–4  296 9–5–2 (5–5–2)
December 30 7:00 PM at Miami* Steve Cady ArenaOxford, Ohio   Veltri L 3–5  2,007 9–6–2
December 31 4:00 PM at Miami* Steve Cady ArenaOxford, Ohio   Veltri W 5–4  1,254 10–6–2
January 2 3:00 PM Toronto* Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York (Exhibition) FloHockey Ouellette W 3–1  437
January 5 7:00 PM St. Lawrence* Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Veltri W 4–3  437 11–6–2
January 7 7:00 PM at St. Lawrence* Appleton ArenaCanton, New York ESPN+ Veltri L 3–4 OT 1,216 11–7–2
January 13 7:00 PM Bentley Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Veltri L 3–6  587 11–8–2 (5–6–2)
January 14 5:30 PM Bentley Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Veltri L 1–6  625 11–9–2 (5–7–2)
January 20 9:05 PM at Air Force Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado FloHockey Veltri L 3–6  1,465 11–10–2 (5–8–2)
January 21 7:05 PM at Air Force Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado Altitude Veltri W 2–1  1,735 12–10–2 (6–8–2)
January 27 7:00 PM at Canisius LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Veltri L 2–5  1,236 12–11–2 (6–9–2)
January 28 7:00 PM at Canisius LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Veltri W 5–2  1,121 13–11–2 (7–9–2)
February 3 7:00 PM Army Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Veltri L 2–3 OT 678 13–12–2 (7–10–2)
February 4 5:30 PM Army Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Veltri T 3–3 SOW 541 13–12–3 (7–10–3)
February 10 7:00 PM #18 RIT Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Veltri W 4–3  533 14–12–3 (8–10–3)
February 11 7:00 PM #18 RIT Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Veltri W 4–1  909 15–12–3 (9–10–3)
February 17 7:00 PM at Holy Cross Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Veltri L 3–4  475 15–13–3 (9–11–3)
February 18 7:00 PM at Holy Cross Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Veltri L 0–3  480 15–14–3 (9–12–3)
February 24 7:05 PM at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, Pennsylvania FloHockey Veltri L 2–3  783 15–15–3 (9–13–3)
February 25 7:00 PM Mercyhurst Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Veltri W 5–3  1,115 16–15–3 (10–13–3)
Atlantic Hockey Tournament
March 3 7:00 PM at Sacred Heart* Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut (Quarterfinal Game 1) FloHockey Veltri L 1–3  2,046 16–16–3
March 4 7:00 PM at Sacred Heart* Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut (Quarterfinal Game 2) FloHockey Veltri W 4–1  2,088 17–16–3
March 5 7:00 PM at Sacred Heart* Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut (Quarterfinal Game 3) FloHockey Veltri W 7–3  1,196 18–16–3
March 10 6:05 PM at Canisius* LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York (Semifinal Game 1) FloHockey Veltri W 2–1  546 19–16–3
March 11 7:35 PM at Canisius* LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York (Semifinal Game 2) FloHockey Veltri L 1–5  500 19–17–3
March 12 7:05 PM at Canisius* LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York (Semifinal Game 3) FloHockey Veltri L 2–4  457 19–18–3
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[6]

Scoring statistics

edit
Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Casey Carreau F 40 10 21 31 16
Ryan Cox F 40 14 14 28 38
Shane Ott F 40 10 18 28 6
Ryan Naumovski F 40 9 17 26 10
Carter Randklev F 38 13 11 24 16
Albin Nilsson C 40 10 14 24 49
Jason Pineo C 40 9 13 22 33
Gļebs Prohorenkovs F 35 12 6 18 28
Olivier Gauthier LW 40 11 6 17 10
Jay Ahearn F 17 7 10 17 16
Josef Myšák D 39 3 14 17 45
Lars Christian Rødne LW 37 6 7 13 16
Noah Carlin D 33 1 11 12 27
Christian Gorscak F 26 1 6 7 4
Lucas Bahn D 40 1 6 7 12
Max Ruoho D 22 0 7 7 6
David Posma D 37 0 5 5 67
Jonathan Ziskie D 31 1 3 4 14
Lane Brockhoff D 30 0 4 4 39
Mike Egan F 6 1 0 1 0
Johnny Wescoe F 10 0 1 1 2
Drew Vieten F 11 0 1 1 9
Jack DeBoer C 14 0 1 1 0
Brandon Stanley F 19 0 1 1 0
Jordan Wishman D 19 0 1 1 20
Chad Veltri G 37 0 1 1 0
Jake Sibell G 2 0 0 0 6
Ryan Ouellette G 2 0 0 0 0
Noah Hackett F 3 0 0 0 0
Ethan Lund D 13 0 0 0 12
Total 119 200 319 495

[7]

Goaltending statistics

edit
Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Chad Veltri 37 2179:44 18 16 3 101 973 2 .906 2.78
Jake Sibell 3 118:09 1 1 0 7 42 0 .857 3.55
Ryan Ouellette 3 97:51 0 1 0 7 38 0 .844 4.29
Empty Net - 29:17 - - - 1 - - - -
Total 40 2425:03 19 18 3 116 1053 2 .902 2.87

Rankings

edit
Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 (Final)
USCHO.com NR - NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR - NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR - NR
USA Today NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26.[8]

References

edit
  1. ^ "St. Lawrence-Niagara men's hockey game scheduled for Nov. 19 postponed due to weather, rescheduled for Jan. 5, 2023". USCHO. November 17, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  2. ^ "SUNDAY, MARCH 5, 2023". College Hockey Inc. March 5, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  3. ^ "2023 Atlantic Hockey Postseason". Atlantic Hockey. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  4. ^ "Niagara Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  5. ^ "2022-23 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Niagara University Athletics. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  6. ^ "2022-23 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". Niagara Purple Eagles. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  7. ^ "Niagara Univ. 2022-2023 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  8. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.