Friday, Nov. 10: Tickets | Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | Game Notes (Niagara) | Game Notes (Army)
Saturday, Nov. 11: Tickets | Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | Game Notes (Niagara) | Game Notes (Army)

Coach Lammers Interview with Howard Simon & Jeremy White - WGR 550

The Veteran's Day matchup at Dwyer Arena this weekend pits the two top Atlantic Hockey teams against each other, as the first-ranked Army Black Knights take on the second-ranked Niagara Purple Eagles. Niagara is coming off of a two-game home series against Bentley, where the Purple Eagles took three of four points with a 3-3 tie and 4-3 win over the Falcons. Army earned a road sweep last weekend with 3-2 and 2-0 wins over rival Air Force. Both teams are receiving national attention with Army (17) and Niagara (six) both receiving votes in the USCHO.com Men's Division I Poll this week.

Opening faceoff at Dwyer Arena is set for 7:05 p.m. on both Friday, Nov. 10 and Saturday, Nov. 11, and tickets are still available for both games online and at the Dwyer Arena ticket office. Jeremy White has the play-by-play call on WLVL 1340 AM, while Saturday's game will be televised locally on LCTV.

Making the Junior Jump
• Niagara's hottest offensive line of late has been the junior trio of Tanner Lomsnes, Nick Farmer, and Sean King.
• Lomsnes is on a four-game point streak with eight points (6+2) in that time. The streak includes his first two career three-point games, scoring two goals and one assist in Niagara wins at Sacred Heart (Oct. 28) and vs. Bentley (Nov. 4).
• King, who had 10 points in 38 games as a Purple Eagle the last two years, is currently on a point-per-game pace with seven points in seven games this year. He has two points in each of Niagara's last three games. King also leads the Purple Eagles with a plus-4 rating this season.
• Farmer has five points (2+3) in eight games to go with a plus-2 rating.

Delmas, Plouffe Stay Hot
• Sophomore defenseman Noah Delmas (1+10) and senior forward Derian Plouffe (5+6) are tied for the Atlantic Hockey scoring lead with 11 points each.
• Both Delmas and Plouffe have an eight-game scoring streak to start the season, finding the score sheet in all of Niagara's games this year.
• In the nation, only Western Michigan's Colt Conrad (nine games) has a longer scoring streak currently than Delmas and Plouffe.

Cardiac Kids
• Niagara won its first overtime games to start the season, taking overtime wins over Robert Morris (Oct. 6) and RPI (Oct. 20). before a 3-3 tie against Bentley last weekend. The team is now 2-0-1 in overtime games to start 2017-18 after a 0-1-3 overtime record a season ago.
• Niagara is currently 4-0 in one-goal games after being 2-6 in those situations a year ago.

Quick Turnaround
• After going 3-28-3 in the regular season last year, Niagara is 5-2-1 to start the 2017-18 campaign, the first under new head coach Jason Lammers. It is the best start to a season for Niagara since the team started 5-1 in 2007-08; that club went on to win the CHA Tournament and earn the subsequent NCAA Tournament berth.
• Lammers previously helped UMass Lowell to the second biggest single-season turnaround in program history. In his first year as an assistant coach for the Riverhawks, he helped the team to a 24-13-1 record in 2011-12 after the team went 5-25-4 the year prior.

Scouting the Black Knights
• Army currently ranks first in Atlantic Hockey, leading the Purple Eagles by one point. The Black Knights enter the weekend with a 5-3-0 record, with all eight games coming in conference play.
• Last weekend, Army flew to Colorado and took the weekend sweep of No. 19 Air Force with wins of 3-2 and 2-0.
• Niagara leads the all-time series with Army at 13-5-0, but the Black Knights start this weekend on a four-game winning streak against the Purple Eagles. Last season at West Point, Army defeated Niagara by scores of 6-1 and 5-4 (OT).
• Army has played six games on the road this season with a 5-1 record in those games.
• The Black Knights are led offensively by the forward line of senior Tyler Pham and sophomores Dominic Franco and Michael Wilson. Franco and Wilson lead the team and are tied for third in the AHC with 10 points, followed by Pham at eight points. The line accounts for 46 percent of Army's scoring this season.
• Goaltender Cole Bruns leads the Black Knights between the pipes. In his first season as Army's starter, Bruns has a 2.03 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage to go with a 5-3-0 record and two shutouts.

Stay connected with the Purple Eagles through social media. Follow Niagara Athletics on Twitter @NUPurpleEagles and follow Purple Eagles hockey on Twitter and Instagram. Check in with the Purple Eagles on Facebook.com/PurpleEagles and on Instagram @NUPurpleEagles.