2022–23 Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey season explained

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.[1]

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.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4]

Departures

Michael Corson Goaltender Graduation (retired)
Luke Edgerton Forward Graduation (retired)
Mike Faulkner Defenseman Graduation (retired)
Chris Harpur Defenseman Graduation (signed with Orlando Solar Bears)
Zac Herrmann Defenseman Graduation (signed with Cincinnati Cyclones)
Jonathan Hill Forward Graduation (retired)
Trevor Poeze Forward Left program (retired)
Jesse Pomeroy Defenseman Left program (retired)
Trevor Poeze Forward Left program (retired)
Alexandre Roy Defenseman Left program (retired)
Walker Sommer Forward Graduation (signed with Wichita Thunder)
Jack Zielinski Defenseman Graduation (retired)

Recruiting

Lucas Bahn Defenseman 23 Hendersonville, TN
transfer from Alabama–Huntsville
Lane Brockhoff Defenseman 22 Edberg, AB
Casey Carreau Forward 24 Acushnet, MA
transfer from Boston College
Mike Egan Forward 25 Billerica, MA
graduate transfer from Babson
Noah Hackett Forward 20 Ponoka, AB
Ethan Lund Defenseman 21 Calgary, AB
Ryan Ouellette Goaltender 21 Colorado Springs, CO
transfer from Wisconsin–Eau Claire
David Posma Defenseman 19 Pomona, NY
Gļebs Prohorenkovs Forward 20 Riga, LAT
Max Ruoho Defenseman 23 Madison, WI
Drew Vieten Forward 21 Calabasas, CA
Johnny Wescoe Forward 21 Mechanicsburg, PA
Jonathan Ziskie Defenseman 21 Macomb, MI

Roster

As of June 30, 2022.[5]

Schedule and results

|-!colspan=12 style=";" | Regular Season|-!colspan=12 style=";" |

Scoring statistics

40 10 21 31 16
40 14 14 28 38
40 10 18 28 6
40 9 17 26 10
38 13 11 24 16
40 10 14 24 49
40 9 13 22 33
35 12 6 18 28
40 11 6 17 10
17 7 10 17 16
39 3 14 17 45
37 6 7 13 16
33 1 11 12 27
26 1 6 7 4
40 1 6 7 12
22 0 7 7 6
37 0 5 5 67
31 1 3 4 14
30 0 4 4 39
6 1 0 1 0
10 0 1 1 2
11 0 1 1 9
14 0 1 1 0
19 0 1 1 0
19 0 1 1 20
37 0 1 1 0
2 0 0 0 6
2 0 0 0 0
3 0 0 0 0
13 0 0 0 12
Total 119 200 319 495
[6]

Goaltending statistics

37 2179:44 18 16 3 101 973 2 .906 2.78
3 118:09 1 1 0 7 42 0 .857 3.55
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

See main article: 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings.

PollWeek
Pre12345678910111213141516171819202122232425 26 27 (Final)
USCHO.comNRbgcolor=FFFFFF-NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRbgcolor=FFFFFF-NRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRbgcolor=FFFFFF-NR
USA TodayNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR
Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13, or 26.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: St. Lawrence-Niagara men’s hockey game scheduled for Nov. 19 postponed due to weather, rescheduled for Jan. 5, 2023 . USCHO . November 17, 2022 . November 17, 2022.
  2. Web site: SUNDAY, MARCH 5, 2023 . College Hockey Inc. . March 5, 2023 . March 14, 2023.
  3. Web site: 2023 Atlantic Hockey Postseason . Atlantic Hockey . February 26, 2023.
  4. News: Niagara Men's Hockey Team History . USCHO.com . May 20, 2019.
  5. Web site: 2022-23 Men's Ice Hockey Roster . Niagara University Athletics . July 27, 2017.
  6. News: Niagara Univ. 2022-2023 Skater Stats . Elite Prospects . June 20, 2020.
  7. Web site: USCHO Division I Men's Poll . USCHO.com . November 26, 2019.

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