Junior Jeff Van Nynatten is 9-1-0 in his career against Air Force. |
Freshman Tim Madsen tallied his first multi-point game of his career last weekend. |
FACING OFF
Unbeaten in its last two games, the Niagara University men’s hockey team (11-16-2, 6-8-2) faces the U.S. Air Force Academy (13-13-2, 5-9-0) in a two-game series at the Cadet Ice Arena, in USAFA, Colo.
Game time for both Friday’s and Saturday’s games is set for 7:05 p.m. MST.
ON THE AIR
Both Friday’s and Saturday’s games against the Falcons can be heard live on WJJL 1440-AM, in addition to Niagara University’s official athletics website, www.PurpleEagles.com.
Paul Hamilton will be handling play-by-play duties for this weekend’s two-game series.
LOOKING TO EXTEND STREAK
Winning both games at Dwyer Arena earlier this season against the Falcons, Niagara looks to extend its winning streak over Air Force in this weekend’s series at Cadet Ice Arena.
Dating back to a 6-2 win, Nov. 2, 2002, the Purple Eagles have won nine consecutive games against Air Force, outscoring the Falcons, 38-13, during the nine-game span.
This season against Air Force, Niagara was led by the scoring of senior forwards Ryan Gale and Barret Ehgoetz, who totaled a combined five points in the two-game series against the Falcons Jan. 21-22.
Gale leads the team with 19 goals this season, adding 13 assists for a career-high 32 points. Against the Falcons this season, the senior tallied three points on two goals -- one game-winning -- and an assist.
Ehgoetz, two points on two goals this season against Air Force, currently leads the College Hockey America conference with 39 points on 14 goals and 25 assists.
Looking to continue his superb play in net against Air Force is junior goaltender Jeff Van Nynatten. In 10 career starts against the Falcons, Van Nynatten has a 9-1-0 record, with a 1.79 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage. This season, Van Nynatten earned his third-career shutout, helping Niagara capture a 3-0 win Jan. 22.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Air Force split last weekend’s series against Alabama-Huntsville, handing the Chargers only their third conference loss of the season in a 3-2 win Feb. 12.
The Falcons are led by the scoring of sophomore forwards Brandon Merkosky and Andrew Ramsey.
Merkosky leads the team with 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points this season. Of his 11 goals, eight have been on the power play.
Ramsey has 21 points on seven goals and 14 assists.
Freshman forward Eric Ehn is third on the team with 17 points. Among the CHA leaders in points by a rookie, Ehn is tied for the team lead with two game-winning goals this season.
In goal, sophomore Peter Foster is credited with a 11-11-2 record in his 23 starts this season. He has a 2.39 goals-against average.EHGOETZ ADDS ANOTHER
With his 90th assist in his collegiate career, Niagara senior captain Barret Ehgoetz moved out of his tie with former Niagara forward Mike Isherwood and into the top spot on the school’s all-time assists list.
Ehgoetz, the current CHA all-time points leader, now owns the Niagara career record for points (159), goals (69) and assists (90).
NIAGARA GETS 3-OF-4
Picking up a win and a tie in last weekend’s two-game series against Wayne State, Niagara picked up three of four possible points against the Warriors.
Leading the Purple Eagles in the two-game series was the play of junior goaltender Jeff Van Nynatten, who stopped 43 of 46 shots in the two-game series.
In Sunday’s 3-1 win over Wayne State, junior Justin Cross scored the Purple Eagles’ first two goals, notching his second multi-goal effort of the season.
With this three points, Niagara moved past the Warriors into third place in the CHA standings.
THIS SEASON VS. AIR FORCE
Outscoring the Falcons, 6-2, Niagara completed the two-game sweep over Air Force at Dwyer Arena Jan. 21-22.
Making his return after missing eight weeks with an injury, junior goaltender Jeff Van Nynatten stopped 31 of 33 Air Force shots en route to earning CHA Defensive Player of the Week honors Jan. 24.
The combination of senior forwards Barret Ehgoetz and Ryan Gale scored three of six goals on the weekend for the Purple Eagles, with Gale picking up the game-winner in the 3-2 win Jan. 21.
Also scoring goals for the Purple Eagles were freshmen Matt Caruana and Tayler Simpson. Caruana, who leads all Niagara rookies with 12 points this season, notched his first career game-winning goal in the 3-0 win Jan. 22.
NIAGARA LEADS SERIES
The Purple Eagles hold a 23-9-3 advantage over the Falcons in the all-time series.
At Cadet Ice Arena, Niagara is 8-3-1 liftetime, unbeaten in its last seven visits.
The last loss the Purple Eagles suffered on the road against the Falcons came in a 3-2 loss Jan. 23, 1999.
BURKHOLDER VS. AIR FORCE
In his four seasons, Niagara head coach Dave Burkholder has a career record of 11-3-1 against Air Force.
The 11 wins over the Falcons is the greatest number of victories Burkholder has picked up against any opponent.
EHGOETZ LEADS VS. AIR FORCE
With his 21 points in 13 career games against the Falcons, senior captain Barret Ehgoetz is the Niagara points leader in games against Air Force.
Scoring seven goals and adding 14 assists, Ehgoetz is averaging 1.62 points per game against the Falcons.
Also with double-digit points in his career against Air Force is senior forward Kris Wiebe. With 11 points on five goals and six assists, Wiebe is averaging 3.50 points in the last two games against Air Force.
Junior goaltender Jeff Van Nynatten is 9-1-0 in his 10 starts against Air Force, unbeaten in his last nine starts. Van Nynatten has a 1.79 goals-against average against the Falcons.
COLLEGE HOCKEY AMERICA
With Wayne State and Robert Morris not in action this weekend, two College Hockey America conference games headline the weekend schedule.
Alabama-Huntsville visits conference-leading Bemidji State Friday and Saturday, with the Beavers already clinching a bye in the CHA Conference Tournament, played March 11-13 at the IRA Civic Center, in Grand Rapids, Minn.
Niagara visits Air Force in a two-game series at the Cadet Ice Arena.
EHGOETZ/ROSS AND 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 conference in career points (159) and assists (90), the two players are tied atop the career goals list (69).
Ross sits six points down from Ehgoetz with 153 career points.
Entering this season, Ehgoetz stood fourth in CHA history in career points, with Ross right behind in fifth place.
CROSS TALLIES TWO
Although not registering a point in his previous 10 games, junior forward Justin Cross scored two goals in Niagara’s 3-2 win over Wayne State Sunday.
Ending his scoring drought, Cross tallied the first two goals of the three-goal second period Sunday against the Warriors, notching his second multi-goal game of the season.
Cross is fifth on the team with 15 points (7 goals, 8 assists) this season.
CARRIGAN NOTCHES FIRST
Senior defenseman Ryan Carrigan scored his first goal in a Niagara uniform Saturday against the Warriors.
Playing in 44 career games at Niagara, Carrigan has six points this season.
Prior to playing with the Purple Eagles, Carrigan played two seasons at Northern Michigan University, registering six goals and six assists for 12 points.
MADSEN’S FIRST MULTI-POINT
Playing in 25 games this season, freshman forward Tim Madsen registered his first multi-point game of the season in the 3-1 win over Wayne State Sunday.
Madsen, who has five assists for five points, had two assists in the two-goal win over the Warriors, assisting on both goals by junior forward Justin Cross.
DOUBLE-DUTY
In recent games, Niagara defensemen have been pulling double-duty, playing on the forward lines.
This season, due to injuries or coach’s decisions, junior Brian Hartman, sophomore Jason Jones and freshman Mike Novosad have played forward.
EHGOETZ CLOSES IN
Senior captain Barret Ehgoetz is close to breaking his career-high for assists in a season.
With 27 assists in his junior season, Ehgoetz is two assists short of tying his career high for helpers.
Already this season, Ehgoetz has broken the Niagara record for career points, goals and assists.
CARUANA LEADS ROOKIES
With his goal in the 3-1 win over Wayne State Sunday, freshman forward Matt Caruana continues to lead the rookie class in points this season.
With seven goals and five assists this season, Caruana is sixth on the team with 12 points.
This season, all 10 eligible rookies have played in at least 1/3 of the Purple Eagles’ games.
CROSS EARNS CHA AWARD
Scoring two goals in Niagara’s win over Wayne State Sunday, junior forward Justin Cross was named CHA Offensive Player of the Week, announced by the conference office Monday.
En route to his first CHA Weekly Award of the season, Cross notched his second multi-goal game of the season, ending a 10-game point drought.
Cross is fifth on the team with 15 points (7 goals, 8 assists).
PENALTY KILLING
The Purple Eagles rank ninth nationally in penalty killing.
Yielding goals on only 14 percent of opponent’s power plays, Niagara has allowed only six power-play goals in the last 10 games, killing off 55 of 61 power plays.
GOING TO OVERTIME
This season, Niagara is 0-3-2 in overtime contests, picking up ties in its last two extra-period games.
The Purple Eagles went 0-3-0 in overtime contests to start the season, losing games to UMass Lowell (Oct. 9), Bemidji State (Nov. 20) and Wayne State (Jan. 14).
Since then, Niagara has earned draws against Robert Morris (Jan. 28) and Wayne State (Feb. 12) when the game goes to overtime.
SECOND PERIOD TURNAROUND?
Struggling this season in the second period, Niagara outscored Wayne State 4-1 in the middle period of last weekend’s two-game series at the Compuware Sports Arena.
The Purple Eagles are still outscored, 43-25, in the second period this season.
SENIORS LEADING THE WAY
Registering 99 of Niagara’s 220 points this season, roughly 45 percent of the team’s total scoring, 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.
The seniors have notched 42 of 51 goals this season for Niagara, with Ehgoetz, Gale and Wiebe also scoring nine of Niagara’s 10 game-winning goals,
Gale, a senior forward, continues to lead the team with 19 goals this season.
The 11-member freshman class, led by forward Matt Caruana’s 12 points, is second on the team with 45 points.
Third on the team is the junior class (44), followed by the sophomore class (32).
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 40 percent of Niagara’s goals this season. In addition, the senior duo have combined for 32 percent of the team’s points.
This marks the second consecutive season Ehgoetz has advanced to the second phase of voting.The two are among seven players from the CHA conference to advance to the second phase in fan voting.
SIMPSON OUT FOR SEASON
Suffering a torn anterior crucial ligament in the Purple Eagles’ last contest, freshman forward Tayler Simpson will miss the remainder of the 2004-05 season.
Expected to make a full recovery, Simpson will undergo surgery on his knee later this month.
Playing in each of the last 12 games, Simpson scored his first collegiate goal in the Purple Eagles’ 3-0 win over Air Force Jan. 22.
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.
NOVOSAD AND CHA
Freshman defenseman Mike Novosad is the only player in the CHA conference to hail from the Canadian province of Quebec.
From Candiac, Quebec, Novosad is also the first player in Niagara history to come from Quebec.
This season, Novosad has appeared in 15 games, notching one goal.
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
Taking a break from conference play, Niagara hosts the University of Massachusetts-Amherst next weekend at Dwyer Arena.
The two teams face off Saturday at 2 p.m.
This season, the Purple Eagles are 0-4-0 against teams from the Hockey East conference, losing games to UMass-Lowell and Maine.
