Now on Deck: The Niagara Recruiting Section

Welcome back to another exciting year of Purple Eagle Hockey on the Ridge. I thought what better way to start a new season...than to look forward to the next one. So, without further ado, the current Niagara Recruits:

Nick Gawron, New England Jr. Huskies

Nick is a 1990 born Defensemen currently playing in the Eastern Jr. Hockey League. Nick is the only player on his team currently committed to a College Hockey program (perhaps thats why they started the season 0-6???). Nick was drafted by Springfield in the NAHL Draft this past summer, in the 4th round, 83rd overall.

Sam Alfieri, Lincoln (USHL)

Sam is a local kid, from Buffalo, who prepped at Shattuck St. Mary's in Minnesota. Sam is currently in his second season with the Lincoln Stars. This was the press release from them...

Lincoln Stars forward Sam Alfieri has committed to play collegiate hockey Niagara University and will enroll at the school following his USHL career.

The native of Buffalo, New York split his first USHL season between the Lincoln Stars and Green Bay Gamblers in 2009-10 and totaled 25 points (11g, 14a) in 56 games. He scored a goal in his first career game in the League on October 3rd while a member of the Gamblers. The 19-year-old tallied nine points (4g, 5a) in the final 22 games of the season after being acquired by the Stars, including two multi-point games (1g, 1a) on both March 13th and 27th.

Three other USHL players from the 2009-10 season are also committed to attend Nigara University; Patrick Divjak (Waterloo Black Hawks), Carsen Chubak (Tri-City Storm), and Ryan Rashid (Sioux City Musketeers).

Niagara University is a member of College Hockey America (CHA) and had five USHL alumni on the roster in 2009-10; Adam Avramenko (Green Bay Gamblers), Dan Baco (Lincoln Stars), Bryan Haczyk (Green Bay Gamblers), Robert Martini (Indiana Ice), and Chris Moran (Omaha Lancers). Niagara assistant coach Tim Madsen spent two seasons as a player in the USHL (2002-04) split between the Waterloo Black Hawks and the Tri-City Storm.


Blake Roubos, Oakville Blades (OPJHL)

From the Blades Website:

Blake joined the Blades prior to 2010-2011 after spending the last couple of seasons playing American Prep School hockey at Culver Academy. He will be heading to Niagara University and the Purple Eagles hockey program in the fall of 2011. In 2010-2011 he will provide the Blades with tremendous offensive skills and be a mainstay on the PP. In addition, he'll work on developing his defensive game against older and stronger players - Roubos is still just 17 years-old. At Niagara he'll play with former Blades sniper Ryan Murphy (Stratford, ON).


Ryan Stouffer, St. Louis (NAHL)

Ryan is a Pennslyvania kid, who previously played for the local Buffalo Jr. Sabres, before moving on to the NAHL.

From St. Louis' website:

The St. Louis Bandits have announced that forward Ryan Stouffer and defenseman Patrick Sheehan have committed to Division I programs for next season.

Stouffer, a 19-year-old from Souderton, Pa., will attend Niagara University (Atlantic Hockey) while Sheehan, a 20-year-old from St. Louis, will head to the University of Connecticut (Atlantic Hockey).

“Ryan and Patrick were instrumental in the Bandits reaching the national tournament last year, and we expect them to get better every time they touch the ice and to provide leadership this season,” said Bandits assistant coach Trevor Stewart.

Stouffer leads the Bandits in scoring through 10 games this season with 11 points on seven goals. Sheehan has yet to play a game in 2010-11.

"Both are well deserving of their opportunities to play college hockey at the highest level,” Stewart added.

Gentlement, Come On Down

Now on Deck: The Niagara Recruiting Section

Scott Arnold is the newest recruit to elect to play at Monteagle. The Montreal Native played four years for the Brockville Braves of the COJHL.

From Brockville's Website:

"Four year veteran all-star Left Winger Scott Arnold has accepted an NCAA DIV I athletic scholarship to Niagara University located in Lewiston, New York.

Scott, who is the 8th Braves Player to commit to the NCAA this season, will be joining the Purple Eagles as they transfer into the elite Atlantic HockeyAssociation for the 2010 season.

Scott is a native of Montreal Quebec has starred for the Braves for four seasons now, he is a fan favourite and is well known for his speed and toughness. The 6 foot 1 Left Winger led the Braves and was 5th in the league with a career high 42 goals this season. Scott has turned his hard work and dedication into the goal of all Junior A hockey players - four more years of hockey and an education."

Scott Arnold, Come on Down...

Goodbye, Seniors

With the end of the season comes the end of another class' time on the Ridge. And so it is with great appreciation that we say farewell and good luck to this years' class of Seniors:

#16-Ryan Annesley: The captain and heart and soul of this team. Despite only playing 7 games all year, he displayed the leadership that led him to be named Captain.

#5-Jim Burichin: A defensive stalwart whose physical play was the backbone of this year's team.

#7-Tyler Gotto: Third on the team in scoring and a leader both on and off the ice.

#10-Egor Mironov: 19 points in 27 games, tied for the team lead in GWG, and an important piece of the Power Play, where he lead the team in PP tallies.

#21-Chris Moran: The Buffalo native led the team in Points and Assists, and played in every game as an Eagle. He graduates with 141 points.

#11-Ryan Olidis: He had a breakout season leading the team in goals (14) and was second in points (33).

They will be missed!

Go Eagles

NCAA's: First games of the Weekend

I got a chance to watch a few of the games last night and replayed this morning on ESPNU. The RIT game was excellent to watch and it was good to see an AHA member get a win in the tourney. DU looked like they took RIT lightly the first two periods, and Burt was once again dominant and scored the eventual game winner on the powerplay with a little more than seven minutes left in the game. The UNH-Cornell game got more out of hand than I expected. Scrivens was good until the end of the Second period when UNH got two goals in 26 seconds. The Butler goal that went through the net was a rifle. Obviously, the RIT-UNH game could be a shootout. If Cameron Burt can skate with the likes of Butler, Thompson, Sislo and DeSimone then RIT can keep it close. I expect UNH to head to Ford Field.

The Northern Michigan-St.Cloud game was solid and went to 2OT before St. Cloud found the winner. The UW-UVM game played out as expected, as UW controlled most of the play and won a one goal game. I expect that UW will come out of that game and head to Detroit. They did split the season series however, with each team going 1-1 at home. There will be a lot of Badger and Saints fans in the building, and it should make for a great regional final at the X.

The other 2 regions get started today and it should be a great night of College Hockey. Just wish we were dancing!

Go Eagles

Now on Deck: The Niagara Recruiting Section

Carsen Chubak is the most recent recruit to commit to wearing the Purple. Chubak is a Goalie for the Tri-City Storm of the USHL and joins an already stellar Recruiting Class on the Ridge. Here is the Storm's Press Release:


The Tri-City Storm announced that goaltender Carsen Chubak has committed to Niagara University and will attend the school beginning in the fall of 2010.

"It's pretty nice to finally have this commitment over with, which takes the monkey off my back," said Chubak. "It allows me to focus on-and-off the ice about this team (the Storm) and not worrying about my plans for next season."

The 20-year-old is playing in his first USHL season. Heading into the weekend, the native of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan has posted a 19-15-6 record and two shutouts for the Storm.

Two other current USHL players are committed to attend Niagara University; Waterloo Black Hawks forward Patrick Divjak and Sioux City Musketeers for Ryan Rashid.

"The hockey program has been a factory for professional hockey players and has fared well against other college programs." says Chubak. "It was appealing to see both coaches were goalies during their playing days and are well-educated in the position."

"The school has a strong business management program that has pride in their business education, which excites me to know that I'm going to a place that is reputable in something that has interested me for awhile."

Niagara University will be competing in the Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) next season, as the College Hockey America (CHA) conference is disbanding following the 2009-10 campaign. Five former USHL players are the Niagara roster this season; Adam Avramenko (Green Bay Gamblers), Dan Baco (Lincoln Stars), Bryan Haczyk (Green Bay Gamblers), Robert Martini (Indiana Ice), and Chris Moran (Omaha Lancers). Niagara assistant coach Tim Madsen spent two seasons as a player in the USHL (2002-04) split between the Waterloo Black Hawks and the Tri-City Storm.

"Carsen has been a big reason why we have had success this season, and he has the opportunity to become a tremendous goalie for Niagara as he moves on in his hockey endeavors," said Head Coach/General Manager Drew Schoneck. "We are extremely proud of his decision and we look forward to the rest of the season with him."

Atlantic Hockey Finals

Let's just say that Cameron Burt is really good! After RIT smoked the daisys on Friday, the Burt show rolled into Blue Cross Arena for the finals Saturday. He had a hand in the first 5 goals, as RIT coasted to a 6-1 win over an overmatched Sacred Heart team. Burt was everywhere on the scoresheet and was by far the best player on the ice, as he took home MOP Honors. RIT's top two defensemen (one of whom is a Freshman) completely controlled the semifinal game and were named to the tournament team as well.

Elsewhere, Michigan earns its way into the tournament with a couple of wins at the Joe, and signs all point to a difficult out for the Wolverines in the NCAA's.

Cornell finished up its ECAC season with a shutout of Brown, and Scrivins looked amazing as usual.

Finally, on a personal note, the local team that I coach finished their regular season with a win in the New York State Tournament, and will travel to Chicago for Nationals in two weeks. Can't wait.

Go Eagles.

Atlantic Hockey Playoffs

I am lucky enough to get to attend the Atlantic Hockey Semi-Finals tomorrow in Rochester, NY. The early game features RIT v. Canisius (Daisies). The later game is Air Force v. Sacred Heart. My first question is why is the de facto host team (RIT) playing in the early game at 4:00 and two out of town teams playing at 7:00? Is it because Air Force travels on game day??? I can't believe that is true. I am sure all the teams are in Rochester right now. So why wouldn't Atlantic Hockey put RIT in the night game? This makes no sense, unless they think that people will stay downtown after work and head on over to the Blue Cross to see the 4:00PM game. I have to question their judgment there. Regardless, should see some good hockey and RIT will almost assuredly smoke the Daisies, which is always nice to see.

Go Eagles!