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 2025–26 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 9 126–168–28 Totals 3 coaches 30 seasons 464–505–113
NCAA tournament appearances Year Location Opponent Result 2000 Target Center New Hampshire W 4-1 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 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 6638 64 33 12 270 16 .907 2.44 2005–2009 98 5311 47 32 11 231 8 .921 2.61 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 30, 2025.
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 Trevor Hoskin: 2025
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 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
Atlantic Hockey America Individual awards
Rookie of the Year Trevor Hoskin (2025)
All-Conference teams Second Team All-Atlantic Hockey America
2024–25: Trevor Hoskin, F
Third Team All-Atlantic Hockey America
2024–25: Jay Ahearn, F
All-Atlantic Hockey America Rookie Team
2024–25: Trevor Hoskin, F 2025–26: Maxim Muranov, 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, 2025.
Player Position Team(s) Years Games Sean BentivoglioLeft WingNYI2008–200910Matt RyanCenterLAK2005–2006120
See also Niagara Purple Eagles women's ice hockey
References
External links Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey