# 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.

## Season

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.
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. 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. 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.

## Departures

| 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

| 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

As of June 30, 2022.

## Standings

2022–23 Atlantic Hockey Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall 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

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 7 | 8:00 PM | at Omaha* | Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska | | Veltri | W 4–3 | 5,748 | 1–0–0 |
| October 8 | 8:00 PM | at Omaha* | Baxter Arena • Omaha, Nebraska | | Veltri | W 4–3 | 5,567 | 2–0–0 |
| October 14 | 7:00 PM | American International | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | FloHockey | Veltri | L 3–6 | 903 | 2–1–0 (0–1–0) |
| October 15 | 5:30 PM | American International | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | FloHockey | Ouellette | L 2–5 | 511 | 2–2–0 (0–2–0) |
| October 21 | 7:30 PM | Sacred Heart | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | FloHockey | Sibell | W 6–4 | 704 | 3–2–0 (1–2–0) |
| October 22 | 5:30 PM | Sacred Heart | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | FloHockey | Sibell | L 1–5 | 661 | 3–3–0 (1–3–0) |
| October 28 | 7:35 PM | Mercyhurst | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | FloHockey | Veltri | T 4–4 $^{SOW}$ | 708 | 3–3–1 (1–3–1) |
| October 29 | 7:00 PM | at Mercyhurst | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | FloHockey | Veltri | W 3–2 | 612 | 4–3–1 (2–3–1) |
| November 4 | 7:05 PM | at Bentley | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Veltri | W 6–0 | 1,267 | 5–3–1 (3–3–1) |
| November 5 | 5:00 PM | at Bentley | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Veltri | W 4–2 | 1,178 | 6–3–1 (4–3–1) |
| November 18 | 7:00 PM | USNTDP* | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York (Exhibition) | | Veltri | W 8–5 | 849 | |
| November 25 | 3:30 PM | Colgate* | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | FloHockey | Veltri | W 3–2 | 496 | 7–3–1 |
| November 26 | 3:30 PM | Colgate* | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | FloHockey | Veltri | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 527 | 8–3–1 |
| December 2 | 7:00 PM | at Army | Tate Rink • West Point, New York | FloHockey | Veltri | L 0–3 | 1,846 | 8–4–1 (4–4–1) |
| December 3 | 4:00 PM | at Army | Tate Rink • West 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 Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Veltri | T 0–0 $^{SOW}$ | - | 9–4–2 (5–4–2) |
| December 9 | 1:05 PM | at American International | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Veltri | L 1–4 | 296 | 9–5–2 (5–5–2) |
| December 30 | 7:00 PM | at Miami* | Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio | | Veltri | L 3–5 | 2,007 | 9–6–2 |
| December 31 | 4:00 PM | at Miami* | Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, Ohio | | Veltri | W 5–4 | 1,254 | 10–6–2 |
| January 2 | 3:00 PM | Toronto* | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York (Exhibition) | FloHockey | Ouellette | W 3–1 | 437 | |
| January 5 | 7:00 PM | St. Lawrence* | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | FloHockey | Veltri | W 4–3 | 437 | 11–6–2 |
| January 7 | 7:00 PM | at St. Lawrence* | Appleton Arena • Canton, New York | ESPN+ | Veltri | L 3–4 $^{OT}$ | 1,216 | 11–7–2 |
| January 13 | 7:00 PM | Bentley | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | FloHockey | Veltri | L 3–6 | 587 | 11–8–2 (5–6–2) |
| January 14 | 5:30 PM | Bentley | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | FloHockey | Veltri | L 1–6 | 625 | 11–9–2 (5–7–2) |
| January 20 | 9:05 PM | at Air Force | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado 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 Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | Altitude | Veltri | W 2–1 | 1,735 | 12–10–2 (6–8–2) |
| January 27 | 7:00 PM | at Canisius | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | FloHockey | Veltri | L 2–5 | 1,236 | 12–11–2 (6–9–2) |
| January 28 | 7:00 PM | at Canisius | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | FloHockey | Veltri | W 5–2 | 1,121 | 13–11–2 (7–9–2) |
| February 3 | 7:00 PM | Army | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | FloHockey | Veltri | L 2–3 $^{OT}$ | 678 | 13–12–2 (7–10–2) |
| February 4 | 5:30 PM | Army | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | FloHockey | Veltri | T 3–3 $^{SOW}$ | 541 | 13–12–3 (7–10–3) |
| February 10 | 7:00 PM | #18 RIT | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | FloHockey | Veltri | W 4–3 | 533 | 14–12–3 (8–10–3) |
| February 11 | 7:00 PM | #18 RIT | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | FloHockey | Veltri | W 4–1 | 909 | 15–12–3 (9–10–3) |
| February 17 | 7:00 PM | at Holy Cross | Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Veltri | L 3–4 | 475 | 15–13–3 (9–11–3) |
| February 18 | 7:00 PM | at Holy Cross | Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Veltri | L 0–3 | 480 | 15–14–3 (9–12–3) |
| February 24 | 7:05 PM | at Mercyhurst | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | FloHockey | Veltri | L 2–3 | 783 | 15–15–3 (9–13–3) |
| February 25 | 7:00 PM | Mercyhurst | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, 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 Arena • Fairfield, Connecticut (Quarterfinal Game 1) | FloHockey | Veltri | L 1–3 | 2,046 | 16–16–3 |
| March 4 | 7:00 PM | at Sacred Heart* | Martire Family Arena • Fairfield, Connecticut (Quarterfinal Game 2) | FloHockey | Veltri | W 4–1 | 2,088 | 17–16–3 |
| March 5 | 7:00 PM | at Sacred Heart* | Martire Family Arena • Fairfield, Connecticut (Quarterfinal Game 3) | FloHockey | Veltri | W 7–3 | 1,196 | 18–16–3 |
| March 10 | 6:05 PM | at Canisius* | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York (Semifinal Game 1) | FloHockey | Veltri | W 2–1 | 546 | 19–16–3 |
| March 11 | 7:35 PM | at Canisius* | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York (Semifinal Game 2) | FloHockey | Veltri | L 1–5 | 500 | 19–17–3 |
| March 12 | 7:05 PM | at Canisius* | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, 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: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| 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 |

## Goaltending statistics

| 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

| Poll | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | 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.