Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey

: For information on all Niagara University sports, see Niagara Purple Eagles
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 a member of Atlantic Hockey. 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 the College Hockey America, 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 Atlantic Hockey beginning in the 2010-11 season.
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.
==Season-by-season results==
==Head coaches==
As of the completion of 2019–20 season
Tenure 	Coach 	Years 	Record 	Pct.
1996–2001 	Blaise MacDonald	5 	91–58–17 	
2001–2017 	Dave Burkholder 	16 	247–279–68	
2017–Present	Jason Lammers 	3 	40–59–12 	
Totals 	3 coaches 	24 seasons	378–396–97	
== 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==
===Career points leaders===
Player	Years 	GP 	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
 	2001–2005	141	71	95 	166	142
 	1996–2000	126	65	77 	142	80
 	1996–2000	126	55	87 	142	112
 	2006–2010	146	38	103	141	103
 	2005–2009	139	78	59 	137	226
 	1996–2000	126	67	66 	133	46
 	2003–2007	145	43	89 	132	142
 	1996–2000	124	60	69 	129	58
 	2004–2008	146	51	78 	129	108
 	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
 	2010–2013 	45 	2588	27	11	6 	93 	6 	.930	2.16
 	2009–2012 	61 	3262	29	18	8 	132	3 	.922	2.43
 	1996–2000 	113	 	64	33	12	 	16	 	2.46
 	2005–2009 	98 	5311	47	32	11	231	8 	.921	2.61
 	2017–Present	81 	4826	28	42	9 	220	5 	.908	2.74
Statistics current through the start of the 2020–21 season.
==Roster==
As of October 14, 2020.
==Awards and honors==
===NCAA===
====All-Americans====
AHCA Second Team All-Americans
*2010–11: Paul Zanette, F
===CHA===
====Individual Awards====
Player of the Year
*Greg Gardner: 1999
*Joe Tallari: 2003
*Barret Ehgoetz: 2004
*Jeff Van Nynatten: 2006
*Sean Bentivoglio: 2007
*Juliano Pagliero: 2009
Rookie of the Year
*Ted Cook: 2006
*Les Reaney: 2006
*Chris Moran: 2007
Most Valuable Player in Tournament
*Kyle Martin: 2000
*Jeff Van Nynatten: 2004
*Ted Cook: 2008
Coach of the Year
*Blaise MacDonald: 2000
*Dave Burkholder: 2006, 2007
Three-Star Player of the Year
*Ted Cook: 2007
Student-Athlete of the Year
*Vince Rocco: 2009
====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===
====Individual Awards====
Player of the Year
*Paul Zanette: 2011
*Carsen Chubak: 2013
Rookie of the Year
*Ludwig Stenlund: 2019
Regular Season Goaltending Award
*Chris Noonan: 2012
Regular Season Scoring Trophy
*Paul Zanette: 2011
Coach of the Year
*Dave Burkholder: 2013
Most Valuable Player in Tournament
*Scott Champagne: 2005
====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
Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team
*2010–11: Ryan Rashid, F
*2013–14: Vinny Muto, D
*2014–15: Keegan Harper, D
*2018–19: Ludwig Stenlund, D
==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 parenthesis).
*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==
Player 	Position 	Team(s)	Years 	
Sean Bentivoglio	Left Wing	NYI 	2008–2009	0
Matt Ryan 	Center 	LAK 	2005–2006	0
== See also ==
*Niagara Purple Eagles women's ice hockey
== References ==
== External links ==
*Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey
 
Category:Ice hockey teams in New York (state)