October 1 marks the official start of the 2016-17 season for the Purple Eagles hockey team. Niagara opens its home schedule with three home appearances, beginning with an exhibition matchup Saturday against the University of Western Ontario Mustangs. Last season, Niagara hosted Wilfrid Laurier for a preseason exhibition, emerging victorious by a final score of 5-3 on Oct. 3, 2015.
 
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Behind the Bench

• David Burkholder returns for his 21st season with the Purple Eagles and his 16th season as the head coach. Burkholder has 242 career wins in his time leading the Niagara hockey program.
• This season, Burkholder will be assisted by Ethan Moreau and Michael Findorff.
• A 15-year NHL veteran, Moreau begins his coaching career at Niagara this season. Moreau played 928 NHL games from 1995 to 2012 for Chicago, Edmonton, Columbus, and Los Angeles. Moreau spent three years following his retirement from the NHL as a pro scout for the Montreal Canadiens.
• Findorff played collegiately at Miami (OH) from 2005 to 2009, as the RedHawks advanced to the NCAA Tournament each of those four seasons. He spent last season as an assistant coach at Utica College.

 
Back In Purple

• Niagara returns five seniors, four juniors, and 10 sophomores for the 2016-17 campaign.
• Forwards Stephen Pietrobon and TJ Sarcona, defensemen Vinny Muto and Kevin Patterson, and goaltender Jackson Teichroeb will provide the senior leadership for the Purple Eagles.
• Derian Plouffe looks to continue his scoring prowess in his junior season. He is joined up front by Stanislav Dzakhov, while junior defenders Keegan Harper and Larry Smith will be fixtures on the blue line.
• All 10 members of Niagara's 2015-16 freshman class return as sophomores. The class accounted for nearly 37 percent of the team's scoring offense last season.
• Devin Campbell and Niko Kovachis look to grow in their second year at defense, while Guillaume Therien and Joe O'Brien will battle for playing time alongside Teichroeb in goal.
• Sophomores Johnny Curran, Nick Farmer, Sean King, Tanner Lomsnes, and Sam Rennaker will all be major contributors at forward this season.

 
New Kids On The Block

• Niagara welcomes nine freshmen for the 2016-17 season, including six forwards and three defensemen.
• Up front, the Purple Eagles have added significant speed and skill with Derek Brown, Nicolas Carrier, Joey Molinaro, Ben Sokay, Kris Spriggs, and Tyler Tomberlin.
• Caleb Boman, Noah Delmas, and Tyler Hayes are all strong puck-movers that will compete for playing time on the blue line.

 
Mark Your Calendars

• The Purple Eagles have 16 home games in the 2016-17 season, starting with two against Holy Cross to open the season on Oct. 7 and 8.
• Niagara welcomes Big Ten opponent Ohio State to Dwyer Arena on Oct. 28 and 29.
• The Battle of the Bridge returns to a four-game format this season, as Niagara hosts Canisius on Jan. 31 and Feb. 17, 2017.
• Other noteworthy dates at Dwyer Arena include a two-game home stand with defending Atlantic Hockey champion RIT (Dec. 2 and 3) and two games against Robert Morris to close the regular season (Feb. 24 and 25, 2017).

 
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