NIAGARA UNIV. — The Niagara Purple Eagles hockey team named their captains for the 2016-17 season ahead of Friday’s home opener against the Holy Cross Crusaders. Junior forward Derian Plouffe and junior defenseman Keegan Harper will be the co-captains to lead Niagara, while senior forward Stephen Pietrobon was named an assistant captain.
Plouffe led the Purple Eagles in total scoring during the 2015-16 season. After scoring 10 points as a freshman, Plouffe stepped forward to lead the Purple Eagles with 18 points (11+7) as a sophomore last year. Among all NCAA players with at least 300 faceoffs taken last season, Plouffe ranked fifth with a winning percentage of .596 (346-for-581).
Harper has recorded 20 points (7+13) in 65 games at Niagara. In his freshman season, Harper was named to the Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team after leading Niagara freshmen in scoring, ranking eighth among all Atlantic Hockey defensemen with 17 points. In addition, the Ottawa, Ontario native has been one of Niagara’s leading shot blockers, tallying 41 blocked shots in each of his two seasons.
One of Niagara’s top defensive forwards, Pietrobon enters his senior year with 32 points (14+18) and 64 blocked shots in 108 career games at Niagara. The Toronto, Ontario native scored a career-best eight assists last season to go with three goals for 11 points, while also logging significant minutes on the penalty kill and blocking 20 shots.
from PurpleEagles.com via IFTTT
