NIAGARA UNIV. — The Niagara Purple Eagles hockey team kicks off the 2016-17 regular season on home ice this weekend. Niagara will play 16-regular season games at Dwyer Arena this season, starting with two against the Holy Cross Crusaders on Friday and Saturday. Both games are slated for 7:05 p.m. starts.
Tickets are still available for both games this weekend. For ticket information, please contact the Niagara University Ticket Office at (716) 286-TIXX (8499), email tickets@niagara.edu, visit www.PurpleEagles.com/Tickets, or stop by the ticket office at Dwyer Arena.
Jeremy White will have the play-by-play call on Lockport’s WLVL, AM 1340 for both Friday’s and Saturday’s contests. AtlanticHockey.TV live-stream packages are available for the entire 2016-17 season. One-day streaming packages are available for $9.99, and season passes for Niagara hockey are available for $89.
Friday night’s game against Holy Cross is the first season opener at home since 2014 and the first time in history opening against a conference opponent. Niagara plays four games against the Holy Cross Crusaders in the 2016-17 season. The Purple Eagles host two games against the Crusaders before heading to Worcester, Mass. for two games Jan. 6 and 7. Niagara plays 16 regular-season games at Dwyer Arena this season. After hosting Holy Cross this weekend, Niagara welcomes Ohio State for a pair of games on Oct. 28 and 29.
Niagara closed the 2015-16 season with a 2-3-3 record in February 2016, including a season-long five-game unbeaten streak, before losing a closely contested three-game set in the Atlantic Hockey First Round.
Nine of Niagara’s 10 leading scorers from last season return this year. Seniors TJ Sarcona (51 points), Vinny Muto (37 points), and Stephen Pietrobon (32 points) are Niagara’s active scoring leaders, while Derian Plouffe racked up a team-best 18 points (11+7) last season.
All three goaltenders return for 2016-17: senior Jackson Teichroeb and sophomores Joe O’Brien and Guillaume Therien. Teichroeb set career highs in goals-against average (2.60) and save percentage (.909) in 2015-16.
David Burkholder returns for his 21st season at Niagara University and his 16th as the head hockey coach. In his time as head coach, Burkholder has led Niagara to 242 wins, three conference titles, and three NCAA Tournament berths, including the first at-large berth by an Atlantic Hockey team in 2013.
Niagara has the third-largest collection of underclassmen in the NCAA, with a roster including 10 sophomores and nine freshmen. Forwards Johnny Curran, Nick Farmer, Sean King, Ryan Kuhn, Tanner Lomsnes, and Sam Rennaker, and defensemen Devin Campbell and Niko Kovachis all return for this season. That group of eight accounted for 70 of the team’s 192 points last season. Joe O’Brien and Guillaume Therien return in goal. Niagara’s nine-member freshman class includes forwards Derek Brown, Nicolas Carrier, Joey Molinaro, Ben Sokay, Kris Spriggs, and Tyler Tomberlin, along with defensemen Caleb Boman, Noah Delmas, and Tyler Hayes. Colorado College leads the NCAA with 23 freshmen and sophomores this season, while Boston College and Miami (OH) each have 20 underclassmen on their roster.
from PurpleEagles.com via IFTTT
