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| PURPLE EAGLES MEN'S HOCKEY |
| AHA First Round |
#11 Canisius Golden Griffins (11-18-5, 8-16-4 AHA) at #6 Niagara Purple Eagles (12-17-5, 11-12-5 AHA) |
| GAME 1 |
Friday, March 8 | 7 PM |
| GAME 2 |
Saturday, March 9 | 4 PM |
| GAME 3* |
Sunday, March 10 | 4 PM (* if necessary) |
| LOCATION |
Dwyer Arena – Niagara Univ., NY |
| TICKETS |
Ticketmaster |
| LIVE VIDEO |
StretchInternet.com |
| LIVE AUDIO |
PurpleEagles.com |
| LIVE STATS |
Sidearm Stats |
| TV |
LCTV |
| RADIO |
1340 AM / 105.3 FM WLVL |
After a strong finish to the season that saw the Niagara men's hockey team end the nation's longest winning streak, win the season series over its archrival, and take six conference points, the Purple Eagles will now host their first playoff series since 2014 when Canisius returns to Dwyer Arena for a best-of-three series to open the Atlantic Hockey tournament.
Matchup Preview
- Niagara is hosting a Griffs team that it went 2-0-2 against in the regular season. It was the fifth time the Purple Eagles have taken the regular season series from Canisius since joining Atlantic Hockey, and the first time since 2013-14.
- All-time, Niagara is now 23-25-6 against their Battle of the Bridge nemesis. That includes a 1-6 postseason mark, with Canisius advancing past Niagara in each of their previous four tournament showdowns.
- Though Niagara earned six of eight possible points towards the Canal Cup in 2018-19, these postseason games will not count towards the season standings. Canisius currently leads, 16-10, with five sports still to compete and 10 points still up for grabs.
- Since Atlantic Hockey became an 11-team league in 2014-15, the sixth seed has moved into the quarterfinal round just once in four tries. Two of the 11-seed upsets came courtesy of Niagara, which defeated Holy Cross in 2015 and RIT in 2017.
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Niagara Notes
- The Purple Eagles enter the postseason undefeated in their last four games. The 2-0-2 stretch began with a win over a white-hot Bentley team on February 15. Two draws against Canisius and a win over RIT gave Niagara its longest unbeaten streak since a 5-0-1 run in November.
- Ludwig Stenlund ended his freshman season as the nation's top rookie in terms of goals (19), points (34), power play goals (9), power play points (15) and shorthanded goals (3). Stenlund's goals, power play goals, and shorthanded goals tallies led all Atlantic Hockey skaters. His three shorties were tied for the most among all skaters in Division I.
- On February 9, Stenlund scored in his eighth straight game to set a new program record for consecutive games with a goal, surpassing Ryan Murphy's mark of five set in 2012. The Swedish native's play in February (8 G, 4 A) earned him his first-ever Atlantic Hockey Player of the Month Award. Stenlund previously had earned two Rookies of the Month in November and January.
- Noah Delmas (12 G, 22 A) tied with Stenlund for a team-high 34 points, fifth-most by a defenseman in the country. The junior is currently on a four-game point streak (3 G, 3 A) and has five goals and 11 assists in 15 games since returning from winter break.
- Luke Edgerton's sensational, highlight-reel, viral goal against RIT in the regular season finale was his first career game-winner. The West Virginia native finished fifth on the team in points (6 G, 13 A).
Scouting The Golden Griffins
- Senior forward Dylan McLaughlin's 19 goals and 18 assists are both team highs.
- Cameron Heath's 21 points (4 G, 17 A) are the most by a Canisius blueliner.
- Canisius' 12.50 penalty minutes per game were the third-most in Atlantic Hockey this season.
- Blake Weyrick's 3.16 goals-against average is 13th among 14 qualifying AHA goalies.
