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2023–24 Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey season

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2023–24 Niagara Purple Eagles
men's ice hockey season
Conference7th Atlantic Hockey
Home iceDwyer Arena
Rankings
USCHONR
USA HockeyNR
Record
Overall18–18–3
Conference13–10–3
Home8–5–3
Road10–13–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachJason Lammers
Assistant coachesMark Phalon
Nate Skidmore
Captain(s)Jay Ahearn
Alternate captain(s)Olivier Gauthier
Shane Ott
Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey seasons
« 2022–23 2024–25 »

The 2023–24 Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey season was the 28th season of play for the program, the 26th at the Division I level and the 14th in Atlantic Hockey. The Purple Eagles represented Niagara University, played their homes games at the Dwyer Arena and were coached by Jason Lammers in his 7th season.

Season

[edit]

Niagara lost more than half of its players in the offseason but the biggest void was in goal. In losing their starter and likely replacement, the team brought in graduate transfer Jarrett Fiske to compete with Ryan Ouellette for the starting role. Fiske had a rather poor start to the season, surrendering 5 goals in 40 minutes to Omaha. Ouellette then became the starter for about a month but could not establish himself in the position. Fiske regain the starting job in early November and performed much better the second time around. He remained the primary netminder for the remainder of the year with Ouellette and Mitchell Day filling in now and again.

The offense, too, was in need of new leadership and got a boon with freshman forwards Tyler Wallace and Jack Richard. The two newcomers combined with upperclassmen Jay Ahearn and Carter Randklev to lead the offense and keep the team competitive on most nights.

After an up-and-down opening to the year, Niagara went through a very poor stretch in December and January, going 1–6 and putting themselves behind the 8-ball. They were able to arrest their slide with a win over RIT, the best team in the conference, and went 8–3–2 down the stretch. The improved play didn't quite get the team a bye into the quarterfinal round but it did afford them with home ice in the opening round of the playoffs.

Niagara opened its postseason with a fairly easy win over Army despite Richard being ejected for slew-footing in the first period. The major penalty resulted in the only goal for Army but otherwise didn't affect the outcome of the game. Niagara then faced Sacred Heart in the quarterfinals and found a opponent in the midst of a losing skid. The Eagles took full advantage and flew through the Pioneers' defense. Niagara scored 11 goals in two games, give Fiske all the goal support he needed for a sweep. Randklev was particularly outstanding, recording 6 points in the two games.

In the semifinals, Niagara found itself opposite RIT, who had lost the season series to the Purple Eagles despite finishing first in the standings. Niagara was hoping for more of the same but the Tigers did not take the underdogs lightly and kept to their defensive structure. Niagara piled on the shots in the opening game, recording 39 in regulation, but were only able to get one into the RIT cage, and even then they needed an extra attacker. The second saw RIT jump out to a 3–0 lead in the first period and Niagara had no answer. The Eagles were able to cut into the advantage in the final frame but it was too little too late and Niagara ended its season with a pair of losses.

Due to a snowstorm, the game against Mercyhurst scheduled on January 13 was postponed to a later date.[1]

Departures

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Cause
Lucas Bahn Defenseman  United States Graduation (retired)
Matt Cameron Forward  United States Left program (retired)
Casey Carreau Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Kansas City Mavericks)
Ryan Cox Forward  Canada Graduation (signed with Toledo Walleye)
Jack DeBoer Forward  United States Graduation (signed with EHC Neuwied)
Mike Egan Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Pensacola Ice Flyers)
Zane Kindrachuk Forward  Canada Left program (retired)
Ryan Naumovski Forward  United States Graduate transfer to Augustana
Albin Nilsson Forward  Sweden Graduate transfer to Miami
Jason Pineo Forward  Canada Graduation (signed with Wichita Thunder)
David Posma Defenseman  Canada Left mid-season (returned to juniors)
Jake Sibell Goaltender  United States Transferred to St. Thomas
Brandon Stanley Forward  Canada Graduation (retired)
Chad Veltri Goaltender  United States Graduate transfer to Robert Morris
Jordan Wishman Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with Wheeling Nailers)

Recruiting

[edit]
Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Mitchell Day Goaltender  United States 21 St. Louis, MO
Jarrett Fiske Goaltender  United States 24 Erie, PA; graduate transfer from American International
Aron Jessli Forward  Norway 18 Lørenskog, NOR
Steven Kesslering Forward  Canada 21 Viceroy, SK
Jaedon Leslie Forward  Canada 25 St. Albert, AB; graduate transfer from Ohio State
Cole Mickel Defenseman  United States 21 Broomfield, CO
Alex Murray Defenseman  United States 23 Glenview, IL; transfer from Miami
Connor Mylymok Forward  Canada 23 Jackson, MS; transfer from Alaska
Luke Mylymok Forward  Canada 21 Wilcox, SK; transfer from Minnesota Duluth
Jack Richard Forward  Canada 20 Stoney Creek, ON
Tyler Wallace Forward  Canada 21 Calgary, AB

Roster

[edit]

As of September 15, 2023.[2]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
2 Michigan Jonathan Ziskie Sophomore F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2001-03-19 Macomb, Michigan Bismarck (NAHL)
3 Colorado Cole Mickel Freshman D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2002-05-03 Broomfield, Colorado Wisconsin (NAHL)
4 Latvia Gļebs Prohorenkovs Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2001-11-12 Riga, Latvia Amarillo (NAHL)
5 Michigan Noah Carlin Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2000-06-13 Marine City, Michigan Omaha (USHL)
7 Saskatchewan Steven Kesslering Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-05-17 Viceroy, Saskatchewan Battlefords (SJHL)
8 Saskatchewan Luke Mylymok Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 2001-09-29 Wilcox, Saskatchewan Minnesota Duluth (NCHC)
9 New York (state) Jay Ahearn (C) Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2001-05-23 Staten Island, New York Johnstown (NAHL)
10 Minnesota Carter Randklev Senior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 163 lb (74 kg) 1999-11-05 Moorhead, Minnesota Fargo (USHL)
11 Quebec Olivier Gauthier (A) Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1999-04-09 Ferme-Neuve, Quebec Alaska Anchorage (WCHA)
13 Ontario Jack Richard Freshman F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-12-13 Stoney Creek, Ontario Burlington (OJHL)
14 Saskatchewan Connor Mylymok Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2000-03-18 Wilcox, Saskatchewan Alaska (NCAA)
16 Alberta Jaedon Leslie Graduate F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1998-08-04 St. Albert, Alberta Ohio State (Big Ten)
17 Wisconsin Max Ruoho Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2001-03-05 Madison, Wisconsin Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL)
18 Alberta Tyler Wallace Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 2002-05-19 Calgary, Alberta Blackfalds (AJHL)
19 California Drew Vieten Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2001-01-10 Calabasas, California Wichita Falls (NAHL)
20 Pennsylvania Christian Gorsack Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 2000-06-08 Jeannette, Pennsylvania Johnstown (NAHL)
21 Colorado Shane Ott (A) Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2000-07-21 Centennial, Colorado Janesville (NAHL)
22 Alberta Lane Brockhoff Junior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 2000-04-11 Edberg, Alberta Camrose (AJHL)
23 Norway Lars Rødne Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2000-07-22 Stavanager, Norway Bismarck (NAHL)
24 Czech Republic Josef Myšák Senior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1999-09-08 Litvínov, Czech Republic Austin (NAHL)
25 Pennsylvania Johnny Wescoe Sophomore F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 150 lb (68 kg) 2001-01-06 Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Rockets (NCDC)
26 Illinois Alex Murray Junior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 2000-03-17 Glenview, Illinois Miami (NCHC)
27 Norway Aron Jessli Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2004-10-29 Lørenskog, Norway Pickering (OJHL)
28 Alberta Ethan Lund Sophomore D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-03-16 Calgary, Alberta Brooks (AJHL)
29 New York (state) David Posma Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2003-08-27 Pomona, New York New Jersey (NAHL)
30 Missouri Mitchell Day Freshman G 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2002-01-18 St. Louis, Missouri North Iowa (NAHL)
31 Pennsylvania Jarrett Fiske Graduate G 6' 4" (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-05-28 Erie, Pennsylvania American International (AHA)
34 Alberta Noah Hackett Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2001-12-11 Ponoka, Alberta Brooks (AJHL)
39 Colorado Ryan Ouellette Junior G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-12-06 Colorado Springs, Colorado Wisconsin–Eau Claire (WIAC)

Standings

[edit]
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OW OL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#17 RIT †* 26 18 7 1 3 2 0 54 102 64 40 27 11 2 156 96
Holy Cross 26 13 10 3 0 3 1 46 78 62 39 21 14 4 116 93
Sacred Heart 26 14 10 2 2 2 1 45 75 70 36 14 19 3 91 113
Air Force 26 15 10 1 3 0 1 44 88 75 38 18 19 1 115 119
American International 26 12 10 4 1 1 2 42 79 68 40 20 16 4 119 111
Bentley 26 12 12 2 1 2 2 41 69 58 35 16 17 2 95 82
Niagara 26 13 10 3 3 1 1 41 78 79 39 18 18 3 111 122
Canisius 26 10 12 4 2 1 0 33 73 87 37 12 21 4 103 126
Mercyhurst 26 7 15 4 0 1 4 30 77 91 35 9 22 4 98 126
Army 26 8 16 2 0 1 1 28 66 96 35 10 23 2 93 139
Robert Morris 26 7 17 2 0 1 1 25 60 95 39 11 25 3 94 142
Championship: March 23, 2024
† indicates conference regular season champion (DeGregorio Trophy)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

[edit]
Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 7 5:00 pm Royal Military College* Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York (Exhibition) FloHockey Ouellette W 8–3  461
October 8 3:00 pm Canisius* Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York (Rivalry) FloHockey Ouellette L 2–5  28
Regular Season
October 13 8:07 pm at Omaha* Baxter ArenaOmaha, Nebraska   Fiske L 1–8  6,393 0–1–0
October 14 8:07 pm at Omaha* Baxter ArenaOmaha, Nebraska   Ouellette L 1–2  6,240 0–2–0
October 21 7:00 pm Mercyhurst Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Ouellette T 3–3 SOL 988 0–2–1 (0–0–1)
October 27 7:00 pm at Sacred Heart Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Ouellette W 4–3 OT 2,852 1–2–1 (1–0–1)
October 28 6:00 pm at Sacred Heart Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Ouellette L 1–4  2,538 1–3–1 (1–1–1)
November 3 7:00 pm Air Force Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Ouellette L 2–3 OT 637 1–4–1 (1–2–1)
November 4 7:00 pm Air Force Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Fiske W 4–3  755 2–4–1 (2–2–1)
November 10 7:00 pm at Bentley Bentley ArenaWaltham, Massachusetts FloHockey Ouellette L 2–6  1,346 2–5–1 (2–3–1)
November 11 4:00 pm at Bentley Bentley ArenaWaltham, Massachusetts FloHockey Fiske L 1–2  890 2–6–1 (2–4–1)
November 17 7:00 pm Robert Morris Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Fiske W 6–2  1,066 3–6–1 (3–4–1)
November 18 7:00 pm at Robert Morris Clearview ArenaNeville Township, Pennsylvania FloHockey Fiske W 4–1  667 4–6–1 (4–4–1)
November 24 7:00 pm at Colgate* Class of 1965 ArenaHamilton, New York ESPN+ Fiske W 5–2  804 5–6–1
November 25 7:00 pm at Colgate* Class of 1965 ArenaHamilton, New York ESPN+ Ouellette L 1–2  603 5–7–1
December 1 7:00 pm at Holy Cross Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Fiske W 3–2 OT 737 6–7–1 (5–4–1)
December 2 4:00 pm at Holy Cross Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Fiske L 1–4  807 6–8–1 (5–5–1)
December 7 7:00 pm at Robert Morris Clearview ArenaNeville Township, Pennsylvania FloHockey, SNP Fiske L 1–4  514 6–9–1 (5–6–1)
December 9 7:00 pm Robert Morris Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Ouellette L 1–3  693 6–10–1 (5–7–1)
December 29 7:00 pm Miami* Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Fiske W 4–1  605 7–10–1
December 30 5:00 pm Miami* Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Fiske L 0–3  733 7–11–1
January 5 9:00 pm at #6 Denver* Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado   Fiske L 2–5  5,854 7–12–1
January 6 8:00 pm at #6 Denver* Magness ArenaDenver, Colorado   Day L 1–6  6,255 7–13–1
January 11 7:00 pm #19 RIT Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Fiske W 3–1  754 8–13–1 (6–7–1)
January 19 7:00 pm at Canisius LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York (Rivalry) FloHockey Fiske W 4–2  1,161 9–13–1 (7–7–1)
January 20 7:00 pm Canisius Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York (Rivalry) FloHockey Fiske W 6–4  902 10–13–1 (8–7–1)
January 25 7:00 pm at USNTDP* USA Hockey ArenaPlymouth, Michigan (Exhibition)   Day T 2–2 SOW 724
February 1 7:00 pm #19 RIT Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Fiske T 4–4 SOW 807 10–13–2 (8–7–2)
February 3 5:05 pm at #19 RIT Gene Polisseni CenterHenrietta, New York FloHockey Fiske L 2–4  4,123 10–14–2 (8–8–2)
February 6 6:00 pm at Canisius LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York (Rivalry) FloHockey Day W 3–2 OT 792 11–14–2 (9–8–2)
February 9 7:00 pm American International Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Fiske W 4–2  651 12–14–2 (10–8–2)
February 10 7:00 pm American International Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Fiske T 4–4 SOL 749 12–14–3 (10–8–3)
February 16 7:00 pm Army Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Fiske W 6–3  1,002 13–14–3 (11–8–3)
February 17 5:00 pm Army Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Fiske L 0–3  1,004 13–15–3 (11–9–3)
February 20 7:00 pm at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, Pennsylvania FloHockey Fiske W 4–1  924 14–15–3 (12–9–3)
February 22 7:00 pm Mercyhurst Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Fiske L 1–6  719 14–16–3 (12–10–3)
February 24 7:00 pm at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, Pennsylvania FloHockey Fiske W 4–3  1,002 15–16–3 (13–10–3)
Atlantic Hockey Tournament
March 2 7:00 pm Army* Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York (First Round) FloHockey Fiske W 4–1  710 16–16–3
March 8 7:00 pm at Sacred Heart* Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut (Quarterfinal Game 1) FloHockey Fiske W 6–3  2,354 17–16–3
March 9 7:00 pm at Sacred Heart* Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut (Quarterfinal Game 2) FloHockey Fiske W 5–1  2,639 18–16–3
March 15 7:05 pm at #19 RIT* Gene Polisseni CenterHenrietta, New York (Semifinal Game 1) FloHockey Fiske L 1–4  2,564 18–17–3
March 16 7:05 pm at #19 RIT* Gene Polisseni CenterHenrietta, New York (Semifinal Game 2) FloHockey Fiske L 2–5  3,284 18–18–3
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[3]

Scoring statistics

[edit]
Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Carter Randklev F 37 11 20 31 39
Tyler Wallace C 39 13 17 30 17
Jay Ahearn F 34 10 16 26 26
Jack Richard F 34 10 11 21 33
Gļebs Prohorenkovs F 39 9 12 21 21
Lars Rødne LW 34 8 12 20 4
Shane Ott F 38 5 15 20 25
Luke Mylymok C/W 38 9 7 16 20
Olivier Gauthier LW 39 4 10 14 33
Alex Murray D 22 1 12 13 10
Noah Carlin D 27 3 9 12 10
Josef Myšák D 37 2 10 12 28
Connor Mylymok LW 37 6 5 11 61
Noah Hackett F 29 2 6 8 0
Jonathan Ziskie D 27 2 6 8 2
Lane Brockhoff D 37 2 6 8 54
Johnny Wescoe F 19 4 1 5 6
Cole Mickel D 28 2 3 5 4
Ethan Lund D 33 2 3 5 8
Drew Vieten F 21 3 1 4 21
Aron Jessli LW 28 1 3 4 0
David Posma D 15 1 2 3 2
Jarrett Fiske G 29 0 3 3 0
Christian Gorscak F 23 1 1 2 4
Max Ruoho D 11 0 1 1 2
Jaedon Leslie F 14 0 1 1 8
Mitchell Day G 6 0 0 0 0
Ryan Ouellette G 8 0 0 0 0
Total 111 193 304 438

[4]

Goaltending statistics

[edit]
Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Jarrett Fiske 29 1673:26 16 11 2 76 788 0 .912 2.72
Ryan Ouellette 8 436:34 1 6 1 20 188 0 .904 2.75
Mitchell Day 6 221:47 1 1 0 15 113 0 .883 4.06
Empty Net - 29:31 - - - 11 - - - -
Total 39 2361:18 18 18 3 122 1089 0 .899 3.10

Rankings

[edit]
Poll Week
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 (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 Hockey 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 11 and 25.[5]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

Round Pick Player NHL team
4 106 Trevor Hoskin Calgary Flames

† incoming freshman [6]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Niagara-Mercyhurst, Canisius-RIT men's hockey games scheduled for Jan. 13 postponed due to inclement weather". USCHO. January 13, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  2. ^ "2023-24 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Niagara Purple Eagles. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  3. ^ "2023-24 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". Niagara Purple Eagles. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  4. ^ "Niagara Univ. 2023-2024 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  5. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  6. ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2024 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved June 29, 2024.