(RV/--) Niagara Purple Eagles (2-2-0)
At Home: 1-0-0 • On the Road: 1-1-0
Neutral: 0-1-0 • Current W/L Streak: W1
vs.
(19/RV) Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks (0-0-2)
At Home: 0-0-1 • On the Road: 0-0-0
Neutral: 0-0-1 • Current W/L Streak: T2
Full Stampede Ahead
Niagara University returns to the Mutual of Omaha Stampede for the second time in school history. This year they will face Nebraska-Omaha Friday at 8 p.m., and either UMass.-Lowell or Northern Michigan Saturday at either 5 or 8 p.m. The River Hawks and Wildcats will face off prior to the Niagara-UNO contest on Friday.
Follow the Purple Eagles on the Internet
You can follow Friday’s contest on Nebraska-Omaha’s Gametracker at PurpleEagles.com by clicking the link at the top of this page.
Tournament History
In their only trip to the Stampede, the Purple Eagles went 0-1-1, losing to the host school, 4-0, and tying Notre Dame, 3-3, in 2000.
Eager Eagles
Niagara will be hungry for its first regular-season tournament championship in five years. The Purple Eagles haven’t returned home with a trophy since winning the Syracuse Invitational for the second-straight time in 2001-02, Dave Burkholder’s first year at the helm.
Last Time Out
Niagara 5, Holy Cross 4, ot - Oct. 14, 2006
Sophomore Vince Rocco scored the game-winning goal to help Niagara come from behind Oct. 14 for a 5-4 overtime victory over Holy Cross. Down 4-1 late in the second period, the scoring barrage came from four different Purple Eagles and was capped by Rocco’s tally just 1:51 into the extra period. It was Rooco’s second goal of the game, while Matt Caruana, Ted Cook and Les Reaney each tallied one goal. Juliano Pagliero made 30 saves in the win.
Friday’s Opponent
Nebraska-Omaha
After a pair of splits in their opening weekend, the Mavericks debuted in the USCHO.com/CSTV Poll at No. 19. Nebraska-Omaha skated to a pair of 2-2 ties with Colorado College and Alaska-Anchorage. Though both contests go into the record books as ties, UNO won a shootout over Colorado to advance in the tournament, but lost a shootout to the Sea Wolves.
Nebraska-Omaha is led by senior Scott Parse. The forward started the year right where he left off last season. Parse finished his junior campaign as the all-time leading scorer in Maverick history. This season’s two goals and an assist upped his career totals to 57 goals, 91 assists and 148 points. While his assist and point totals are already school records, Parse needs just eight goals in his final season to grab top honors in all three categories.
The Series - Niagara, 4-2-1
Niagara and Nebraska-Omaha face off Friday for the first time in six years. After the Purple Eagles won the first three meetings, all in 1998, the Mavericks have held the upperhand recently, winning two of the last four, including a 4-0 win in the opening round of the Stampede in 2000.
Not Wasting Any Time
Last year’s Co-CHA Rookies of the Year Ted Cook and Les Reaney haven’t wasted any time getting their names in the national statistics. Cook leads the nation with eight points (3 goals and 5 assists) while Reaney’s six points (3 goals and 3 assists) ties him for fifth nationally. Cook’s five assists is tied for the team lead and third-best in the nation.
College Hockey America Accolades
Sophomore Vince Rocco garnered CHA Offensive Player of the Week honors while freshman Chris Moran picked up the CHA Rookie of the Week for their efforts in Niagara University’s 1-1-0 week. Rocco netted the game winner and Moran added three assists in Niagara’s 5-4 overtime victory against Holy Cross.
Freshmen Helpers
Four games into the 2006-07 season and four Purple Eagle rookies already have contributed 10 assists.
Freshman Chris Moran is tied for the team lead with five assists, including four last week. Egor Mironov and Tyler Gotto each have two helpers, while Nate Bostic has added one. All four pitched in during the 5-4 overtime victory over Holy Cross Oct. 14.
Commissioners’ Cup Underway
This season marks the third annual Commissioners’ Cup Series, and through the early standings, the CHA is on top with two points. Robert Morris took care of Canisuis while Alabama-Huntsville dropped a 4-3 decision to Air Force in the first week of action. Niagara is involved in two contests with Cup ramifications, the Jan. 6 meeting at RIT and Quinnipiac’s venture to Dwyer Arena on Jan. 20.
Stranded
When Mother Nature struck Western New York on Oct. 12-13, a State of Emergency was called, the Greater Buffalo area got hit with over 22 inches of snow, 350,000 people lost power and the Purple Eagles were right in the middle of it, literally.
Traveling back from the Colgate game in Rochester, the team bus sat on I-90 while the snow accumulated, stranding Niagara for a combined 11 hours. The bus was stuck just 30 miles away for eight hours and then broke down near the Grand Island Bridge for another three. The team finally returned home, to less than an inch of snow in Niagara, at 10 a.m. the next morning.
