# Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey

The Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Niagara University. The Purple Eagles are members of Atlantic Hockey America. They play at the Dwyer Arena in Lewiston, New York.

## History

After several years of playing at the club level, the team turned varsity in the 1996–97 season, which they played as independent.
In 1999 they became charter members of College Hockey America (CHA), joining two other independent teams (Air Force and Army) and three former Division II teams (Alabama–Huntsville, Bemidji State and Findlay).
Niagara went undefeated in conference play that season, 1999–00, winning the conference tournament and gaining an at-large invitation to the NCAA tournament, as the conference did not gain an automatic bid until the 2003 tournament. Starting goaltender Greg Gardner set a single-season NCAA record for shutouts with 12 as Niagara posted its first (and only as of 2019) 30-win campaign. The Purple Eagles upset the University of New Hampshire to advance to the Elite Eight, where they lost to North Dakota. North Dakota went on to win that national championship.
Niagara also won the College Hockey America Championship in 2004 and 2008, appearing in the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship again those years. In 2004 they lost against Boston College and in 2008 against Michigan.
On January 29, 2009, Niagara University announced that the team was moving to the Atlantic Hockey Association beginning in the 2010-11 season, following the closure of CHA's men's division. CHA would continue to operate as a women-only conference for the next 14 years.
On October 14, 2010, it was announced that Jay McKee would serve as a volunteer assistant coach for Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey, while not ruling out a return to the NHL.
On December 14, 2013 the Purple Eagles faced off against the RIT Tigers in an outdoor hockey game known as Frozen Frontier tying 2-2.
Shortly after the 2023–24 season, the Atlantic Hockey Association and CHA, which had shared a commissioner and conference staff since 2010, merged under the banner of Atlantic Hockey America.

## Season-by-season results

Source:

## Head coaches

As of the completion of 2022–23 season
| Tenure | Coach | Years | Record | Pct. |
| 1996–2001 | Blaise MacDonald | 5 | 91–58–17 | .599 |
| 2001–2017 | Dave Burkholder | 16 | 247–279–68 | .473 |
| 2017–Present | Jason Lammers | 6 | 77–111–21 | .419 |
| Totals | 3 coaches | 27 seasons | 415–448–106 | .483 |

## NCAA tournament appearances

| Year | Location | Opponent | Result |
| 2000 | Target Center | New Hampshire | W 4-1 |
| 2000 | Target Center | North Dakota | L 1-4 |
| 2004 | Verizon Wireless Arena | Boston College | L 2-5 |
| 2008 | Times Union Center | Michigan | L 1-5 |
| 2013 | Van Andel Arena | North Dakota | L 1-2 |

## Statistical leaders

Source:

### Career points leaders

| Player | Years | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Barret Ehgoetz | 2001–2005 | 141 | 71 | 95 | 166 | 142 |
| Mikko Sivonen | 1996–2000 | 126 | 65 | 77 | 142 | 80 |
| Michael Isherwood | 1996–2000 | 126 | 55 | 87 | 142 | 112 |
| Chris Moran | 2006–2010 | 146 | 38 | 103 | 141 | 103 |
| Ted Cook | 2005–2009 | 139 | 78 | 59 | 137 | 226 |
| Peter DeSantis | 1996–2000 | 126 | 67 | 66 | 133 | 46 |
| Sean Bentivoglio | 2003–2007 | 145 | 43 | 89 | 132 | 142 |
| Kyle Martin | 1996–2000 | 124 | 60 | 69 | 129 | 58 |
| Matt Caruana | 2004–2008 | 146 | 51 | 78 | 129 | 108 |
| Joe Tallari | 2000–2004 | 144 | 60 | 64 | 124 | 111 |

### Career goaltending leaders

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
minimum 30 games played
| Player | Years | GP | Min | W | L | T | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
| Carsen Chubak | 2010–2013 | 45 | 2588 | 27 | 11 | 6 | 93 | 6 | .930 | 2.16 |
| Chris Noonan | 2009–2012 | 61 | 3262 | 29 | 18 | 8 | 132 | 3 | .922 | 2.43 |
| Greg Gardner | 1996–2000 | 113 | 6638 | 64 | 33 | 12 | 270 | 16 | .907 | 2.44 |
| Juliano Pagliero | 2005–2009 | 98 | 5311 | 47 | 32 | 11 | 231 | 8 | .921 | 2.61 |
| Chad Veltri | 2019–2023 | 98 | 5691 | 41 | 46 | 9 | 253 | 6 | .910 | 2.67 |
Statistics current through the end of the 2023–24 season.

## Roster

As of August 26, 2024.

## Awards and honors
### NCAA
#### All-Americans

AHCA Second Team All-Americans
* 2010–11: Paul Zanette, F

### CHA
#### All-Conference teams

First Team All-CHA
* 1999–00: Greg Gardner, G; Chris MacKenzie, D; Kyle Martin, F; Mike Isherwood, F
* 2002–03: Joe Tallari, F
* 2003–04: Jeff Van Nynatten, G; Barret Ehgoetz, F
* 2004–05: Barret Ehgoetz, F
* 2005–06: Sean Bentivoglio, F
* 2006–07: Pat Oliveto, D; Sean Bentivoglio, F; Ted Cook, F
* 2007–08: Juliano Pagliero, G; Ryan Annesley, D; Vince Rocco, F
* 2008–09: Juliano Pagliero, G
* 2009–10: Chris Moran, F
Second Team All-CHA
* 1999–00: Mikko Sivonen, F
* 2000–01: Bernie Sigrist, F
* 2001–02: Scott Crawford, D
* 2002–03: Barret Ehgoetz, F
* 2003–04: Andrew Lackner, D; Joe Tallari, F
* 2004–05: Ryan Gale, F
* 2005–06: Jeff Van Nynatten, G; Ted Cook, F; Les Reaney, F
* 2006–07: Juliano Pagliero, G; Les Reaney, F
* 2007–08: Tyler Gotto, D; Matt Caruana, F
* 2008–09: Tyler Gotto, D; Vince Rocco, F; Egor Mironov, F
* 2009–10: Tyler Gotto, D; Ryan Olidis, F
All-CHA Rookie Team
* 2002–03: Brian Hartman, D; Jason Williamson, F
* 2003–04: Pat Oliveto, F
* 2005–06: Ted Cook, F; Les Reaney, F
* 2006–07: Tyler Gotto, D; Chris Moran, F
* 2007–08: Adam Avramenko, G
* 2008–09: Dan Baco, D
* 2009–10: Jason Beattie, F

### Atlantic Hockey
#### All-Conference teams

First Team All-Atlantic Hockey
* 2010–11: Bryan Haczyk, F; Paul Zanette, F
* 2012–13: Carsen Chubak, G; Giancarlo Iuorio, F
Second Team All-Atlantic Hockey
* 2011–12: Chris Noonan, G
* 2012–13: Dan Weiss, D
Third Team All-Atlantic Hockey
* 2010–11: Ryan Annesley, D
* 2012–13: Kevin Ryan, D
* 2013–14: Kevin Ryan, D
* 2017–18: Derian Plouffe, F
* 2018–19: Noah Delmas, D; Ludwig Stenlund, F
* 2019–20: Jack Billings, F
Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team
* 2010–11: Ryan Rashid, F
* 2013–14: Vinny Muto, D
* 2014–15: Keegan Harper, D
* 2018–19: Ludwig Stenlund, F
* 2019–20: Chad Veltri, G
* 2020–21: Josef Mysak, D
* 2021–22: Shane Ott, F

## Niagara Purple Eagles Hall of Fame

The following is a list of people associated with the men's ice hockey program who were elected into the Niagara Purple Eagles Hall of Fame (induction date in parentheses).
* Greg Gardner (2006)
* Peter DeSantis (2007)
* Mile Isherwood (2007)
* Joe Tallari (2012)
* Barret Ehgoetz (2013)
* 1999-2000 Men's Team (2016)

## Purple Eagles in the NHL

As of July 1, 2024.
| Player | Position | Team(s) | Years | Games | Stanley Cups |
| Sean Bentivoglio | Left Wing | NYI | 2008–2009 | 1 | 0 |
| Matt Ryan | Center | LAK | 2005–2006 | 12 | 0 |
Source: