Freshman Matt Caruana leads all rookies with 10 points this season. |
FACING OFF
Riding a three-game winning streak, the Niagara University men’s hockey team (10-13-0, 5-5-0) faces College Hockey America newcomer Robert Morris University (5-14-3, 1-8-1) in a two-game series at the Island Sports Center, in Pittsburgh, Friday and Saturday.
Game time is set for 7:35 p.m. both evenings.
ON THE AIR
Both Friday’s and Saturday’s contest against the Colonials can be heard live on WJJL 1440-AM and www.PurpleEagles.com, with Paul Hamilton handling play-by-play duties.
A LOOK AT NIAGARA
After sweeping the U.S. Air Force Academy last weekend, closing out a five-game homestand, the Purple Eagles enter this weekend’s series having won their last three contests.
Returning in between the pipes last weekend against the Falcons was junior goaltender Jeff Van Nynatten. After missing the last eight weeks with an injury, Van Nynatten promptly stopped 31 of 33 Air Force shots in the two-game series, picking up his first shutout of the season in Saturday’s 3-0 Niagara win. The junior goaltender moved his overall record to 5-5-0 on the season, with a 2.59 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage.
Offensively, the senior duo of Barret Ehgoetz and Ryan Gale continue to tear through the second half of the 2004-05 season.
Ehgoetz, with his two goals in Niagara’s 3-2 win Jan. 21, tied the Niagara all-time goal mark with his 66th and 67th goals of his collegiate career. Continuing to lead the team with 33 points (12 goals, 21 assists) this season, Ehgoetz remains among the national leaders in points and assists.
Gale is currently riding an eight-game points streak, registering 14 points (8 goals, 6 assists) in the eight-game span. Leading the nation with five game-winning goals this season, Gale has already set career highs in every offensive statistic.
In the Purple Eagles’ last contest, freshmen contributed to four of the team’s six points, led by goals by rookie forwards Matt Caruana and Tayler Simpson.
Caruana leads all Niagara rookies with five goals and five assists for 10 points this season.
SCOUTING ROBERT MORRIS
The Colonials picked up their first conference win in the program’s history Sunday against Wayne State.
Scoring the game-winning goal in the 4-3 overtime win was freshman Brett Hopfe. The rookie forward leads the team with seven goals this season, among the CHA rookie leaders in scoring with 10 points.
Leading Robert Morris in scoring is rookie Jace Buzek, with a team-leading 11 assists and 15 points, scoring four goals.
In goal, freshman Christian Boucher has played in 19 of the team’s 22 games this season. Registering a 5-11-3 record, Boucher has a 3.03 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage. NIAGARA SWEEPS
Limiting Air Force to 33 shots in the two-game series, the Purple Eagles swept the visiting Falcons last weekend at Dwyer Arena.
In the Jan. 21 win, senior Ryan Gale broke a 2-2 tie early in the third period, scoring his conference-leading fifth game-winning goal of the season.
Short-handed, Gale stole the puck at center ice, beating Air Force goaltender Peter Foster through the legs for his 17th goal of the season.
The following evening, freshmen forwards Matt Caruana and Tayler Simpson scored second period goals to lead the Purple Eagles to a 3-0 shutout win over the Falcons.
For Caruana, the goal -- his fifth of the season -- was his first game-winning goal of his collegiate career.
The return of junior goaltender Jeff Van Nynatten highlighted the two-win weekend.
Van Nynatten, the reigning CHA Tournament Most Valuable Player, picked up his first shutout of the season in the Jan. 22 win, stopping all 15 Falcon shots.
BARRET IN A TIE FOR 1ST
With one more goal, senior captain Barret Ehgoetz becomes Niagara’s all-time leading goal scorer.
Already scoring 67 goals in his collegiate career and standing as the men’s hockey program all-time leader in points, Ehgoetz is currently tied with Mike Isherwood atop the Niagara goals list.
The senior captain tallied two goals in Niagara’s 3-2 win over Air Force Jan. 21.
GALE CONTINUES SURGE
Registering points in his last eight games, senior forward Ryan Gale continues his breakout senior season.
Standing second on the team with 29 points (18 goals, 11 assists), Gale has 14 points in his last eight games, standing second in the CHA with 18 goals this season.
Paired with fellow-senior Barret Ehgoetz on Niagara’s top line, Gale has accounted for 25 percent of the Purple Eagles’ goals this season.
FRESHMAN LEAD
For the first time this season, rookies registered the majority of Niagara’s points in a game.
In the Purple Eagles’ 3-0 win over Air Force Jan. 22, four of six points were credited to freshmen.
Those freshmen involved in the scoring were Matt Caruana and Tayler Simpson, both scoring goals, along with Trevor Mallon and Tim Madsen, who both picked up assists.
With 11 freshmen on the Niagara roster, the rookies make up the largest contingency of any class on the team.
PENALTY KILLERS
Superb special teams played a large part in Niagara’s two-game sweep of Air Force last weekend.
In the two wins, the Purple Eagles did not allow a power-play goal, a testament to both the Niagara defense and the goaltending of junior Jeff Van Nynatten.
In the two games, Niagara killed off all 12 Falcon power-play opportunities.
Counteracting the penalty killing, the Purple Eagles scored three power-play goals and two short-handed goals -- both by senior forward Ryan Gale -- to win the special teams battle.
SIMPSON TALLIES FIRST
Playing in 10 games this season, freshman forward Tayler Simpson scored his first collegiate goal in Niagara’s 3-0 win over Air Force Jan. 21.
The Ottawa, Ontario, native is the eighth rookie to register a point this season.
VAN NYNATTEN AND CHA
Junior goaltender Jeff Van Nynatten moved his record to 2-1-0 in CHA conference games this season.
With one shutout in conference play, Van Nynatten has a 1.33 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage in three CHA starts.COLLEGE HOCKEY AMERICA
One College Hockey America conference game headlines the weekend schedule.
Niagara visits CHA-newcomer Robert Morris for a two-game series at the Island Sports Center Friday and Saturday.
In non-conference action, Wayne State visits CCHA-opponent Nebraska-Omaha, with Bemidji State visiting North Dakota.
EHGOETZ/ROSS FIGHT FOR CHA
Niagara senior captain Barret Ehgoetz, along with Alabama-Huntsville senior Jared Ross, continue their battle in the conference record books.
With Ehgoetz leading in the all-time points race with 153 career points to Ross’ 149, the two are tied in the all-time goal race with 67.
Entering this season, Ehgoetz stood fourth in CHA history in career points, with Ross right behind in fifth place.
OVERTIME WOES
Niagara continues to have problems when entering the overtime period.
Playing in three overtime games this season, Niagara fell to 0-3-0 in the extra period with its 4-3 loss to Wayne State last weekend.
The Purple Eagles’ other two losses in overtime came to UMass Lowell Oct. 9 and Bemidji State Nov. 20.
NIAGARA PLAYS 300TH
In the Jan. 22 game against Air Force, the Niagara men’s hockey team played its 300th game in program history.
Starting out in the 1996-97 season, the Purple Eagles have amassed 154 wins in the nine seasons of playing.
EHGOETZ/GALE ADVANCE
Senior forwards Barret Ehgoetz and Ryan Gale advanced to the Preliminary Voting phase for this season’s Hobey Baker Award.
Both among the CHA and national leaders in points, goals and assists this season, Ehgoetz and Gale have accounted for 52 percent of Niagara’s points this season.
This marks the second consecutive season Ehgoetz has advanced to the second phase of voting.
EHGOETZ PASSES CENTURY
Dating back to his freshman season, senior captain Barret Ehgoetz has played in 102 consecutive games.
Starting the streak March 1, 2002 against Wayne State, the Kincardine, Ontario native, has shown incredible durability in his four seasons with the Purple Eagles, routinely playing with injuries.
GALE PASSES THREE-YEAR
Exploding onto the national scene in his final season, senior Ryan Gale passed his career total from his previous three seasons in the Jan. 21 game against Air Force.
Totaling 27 points (16 goals, 11 assists) in his first three seasons, Gale is among the CHA leaders with 18 goals this season, adding 11 assists for 29 points.
The St. Catharines, Ontario, native, continues to excel playing alongside fellow-senior Barret Ehgoetz.
VAN NYNATTEN EARNS AWARD
Playing in his first series in the past eight weeks, junior goaltender Jeff Van Nynatten was named CHA Defensive Player of the Week Monday.
Stopping 31 of 33 shots by the Falcons, Van Nynatten picked up his first shutout of the season Jan. 22, stopping all 15 Air Force shots.
On the season, Van Nynatten is 5-5-0 with a 2.59 goals-against average.
CARUANA LEADS ROOKIES
Freshman forward Matt Caruana leads all Niagara rookies with 10 points this season.
In a class of 11 players, Caruana has played in all 23 games this season, scoring five goals and adding five assists.
Additionally, defensemen Travis Anderson and Trevor Mallon have contributed with six and seven points, respectively, this season.
In goal, freshman goaltender Scott Mollison is second on the team in minutes played (425:11), tied for the team lead with three wins this season.
MULTIPLE SCORER
Leading the College Hockey America conference with 16 goals this season, senior forward Ryan Gale continues his breakout season for the Purple Eagles.
With his two goals against UMass Lowell Dec. 30, Gale notched his fifth multiple-goal game of the season, tops among all Niagara players.
In his final season, Gale has set career highs in points, goals and assists through 21 games.
STREAKING
Senior forward Ryan Gale has points in his last eight games, averaging 1.75 points per game in the eight-game span.
Additionally, Gale has goals in the last three games, scoring the game-winning goal in two of the last three games.
In goal, junior Jeff Van Nynatten has started the past two games, picking up two wins.
CHA RANKINGS
Seniors Barret Ehgoetz and Ryan Gale continue to rank among the conference leaders in points and goals.
Ehgoetz leads the conference with 33 points this season, tallying a conference-high 21 assists.
Gale, setting career highs in every statistical category, is second in the conference with 18 goals, standing fifth in the CHA in points.Sophomore defenseman Pat Oliveto stands tied for third in the conference in goals by a defenseman.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Niagara offense stands 18th in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 3.13 goals per game.
Standing in the top 10 nationally are senior forwards Barret Ehgoetz and Ryan Gale.
Ehgoetz stands tied for sixth in the nation in both points (33) and assists (21).
Gale stands tied for sixth in the nation with 18 goals this season, leading the nation with five game-winning goals.
SENIORS LEADING THE WAY
Registering 83 of Niagara’s 185 points this season -- including 35 of 63 goals -- the senior class of Shayne Baylis, Ryan Carrigan, Barret Ehgoetz, Ryan Gale and Kris Wiebe continue to lead the Purple Eagles in scoring this season.
With Ehgoetz, Gale and Wiebe also scoring nine of Niagara’s 10 game-winning goals, Gale leads the team with 18 goals this season.
The seven-member junior class -- headed by junior Justin Cross’ 13 points -- is second on the team in scoring with 38 points, followed by the freshmen (36) and sophomores (28).
MOLLISON MAKES HISTORY
Goaltender Scott Mollison became the first freshman in Niagara history to earn a win in their first collegiate start, helping the Purple Eagles defeat Quinnipiac University, 3-1, Nov 12 at Dwyer Arena.
Mollison made 21 saves against the Bobcats, including stopping a Michael Bordieri penalty shot in the second period.
Playing in six games this season, Mollison has a 2-3-0 record with a 3.14 goals-against average.
PURPLE EAGLES HIT BOOKS
This season’s men’s hockey team posted its highest team grade-point average in its nine-year history.
With a team cumulative GPA of 3.25 in the Fall 2004 semester, the men’s hockey team had 22 of its 28 players with a 3.00-or-better GPA, including 10 players with a 3.50-or-better GPA.
Freshmen Cliff Ketchen and Scott Mollison finished with a GPA of 4.0.
CHA TOURNAMENT
The 2005 Wells Fargo College Hockey America Championships will move Minnesota, played at the IRA Civic Center in Grand Rapids March 11-13.With all six CHA teams qualifying for the tournament, with the top two seeds receiving byes in the quarterfinals, the 2005 tournament is the first ever held in the state of Minnesota for the conference.
The two quarterfinal games are scheduled for 3:05 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. CST March 11. The semifinals are scheduled for the same times March 12, with the finals played at 7:05 p.m. March 13.
The 2005 CHA Championship Game can be seen live on College Sports Television.
UP NEXT
Niagara continues College Hockey America conference play next weekend, hosting Alabama-Huntsville in a two-game series at Dwyer Arena.
In the first two games between the two teams this season, Niagara split with the Chargers, winning the Dec. 4 contest, 3-2.
