Niagara Purple Eagles 2011-12

[Runsub5]

Re: Niagara Purple Eagles 2011-12

The Purple Eagles actually leave for Maine today, arriving well in advance of their game 1 (of 2) start of 2:00 PM Saturday Nov 12. Niagara will certainly have their work cut out for them with the Black Bears. IMHO, the keys to a successful series will be to once again cut down on the very untimely penalties, get their scoring back (when compared to the Colgate Series), and to continue to receive consistent goaltending.

After starting the season 0-4, I think Niagara feels very fortunate to be sitting at 6-5-2. I wish them well this weekend and hope that they can continue to show their team character when needed.

I'm also very pleased that Niagara received CHA awards this past week in all three categories... Well done! However, it should be noted (and they know) that all but Syracuse (one exhibition game) had last weekend off. None the less, they are deserving of the acknowledgement! Congrats!

They'll be able to see the men's game tomorrow night between the UMass -Lowell River Hawks and Black Bears at the Alfond.

 

[osualum86]

Re: Niagara Purple Eagles 2011-12

Hey, osualum86 ... best of luck to you guys this season with our former Purp player and old friend Nate Handrahan. Good guy, best of luck to Nate.

Hey 5hole! Sorry I am just now noticing your response (LOL)! I gotta tell you, most, if not all, OSU women's hockey fans are very happy with the job Coach Nate is doing with our program. I have said this on other threads, the girls look faster, the passing is better, and the freshmen who came in this fall can really play (they're already contributing). No one ever gives up on the puck. We also have two solid goaltenders. We just got swept at home this past weekend vs #1 Wisconsin by scores of 3-1 and 2-0. We were right there with them, just couldn't get enough pucks in the net. Hope to see some Niagara fans here in Columbus when OSU takes on the Purple Eagles (12/2 & 12/3).

 

[PurpleEagles]

Re: Niagara Purple Eagles 2011-12

Hope to see some Niagara fans here in Columbus when OSU takes on the Purple Eagles (12/2 & 12/3).

I haven't given up hope on making this trip to OSU. Trying to round up a posse!

 

[osualum86]

Re: Niagara Purple Eagles 2011-12

Sounds good PurpleEagles!

 

[Runsub5]

Re: Niagara Purple Eagles 2011-12

The Purple Eagles were at Alfond Arena last night for the men's game. They appeared to enjoy the atmosphere while sitting under the balcony where the students are located.

 

[PurpleEagles]

Re: Niagara Purple Eagles 2011-12

Disappointing 3-0 loss to the Black Bears today. Niagara lacked intensity and had no battle in them, giving up a short handed goal on their first power play. Must be the altitude....

Hopefully they can turn it around tomorrow.

 

[PurpleEagles]

Re: Niagara Purple Eagles 2011-12

Niagara was better today in a 3-3 tie that I'm sure feels more like a loss as they held the lead for most of the game.

 

[PurpleEagles]

Niagara hosting WCHA's St Cloud State this weekend. Keys for the Purple Eagles will be to match the physical play of SCS, get pucks and bodies in front of Sr goalie Van Deneker, avoid turning pucks over at the two blue lines, and adjust their forecheck if they get the lead.

Niagara blew a 2 goal lead going into the 3rd vs Maine last Sunday because (IMHO) they got too aggressive on the forecheck (3 players caught below the offensive dots numerous times) and D pinched on points when they should have been accepting the rush. Therefore, they gave up way too many odd player rushes which included to breakaways in the 3rd.

I think the teams match up well, but the Purple Eagles could sweep if they receive above average goaltending.

Good luck Purple Eagles!

 

[joxs]

Re: Niagara Purple Eagles 2011-12

NU beat SCSU 5-1 tonight, the flood gates opened in the third.
Way to Go Purple Eagles! Good luck tomorrow.

 

[PurpleEagles]

College Hockey America Goaltender of the Week
Sarah Moses - Niagara - Sophomore, Goaltender, New Hamburg. Ontario
Moses was a rock in net for the Purple Eagles, stopping 53 or 56 shots, going 1-0-1 against the St. Cloud State Huskies this past weekend. On Friday, Moses stopped 22 of 23 shots to secure a 5-1 victory over the Huskies, while on Saturday, she made 31 of 33 saves in a 2-2 tie. Moses earned a 1.45 GAA and a .946 save percentage in the two games

College Hockey America Honor Roll
Kalli Funk, Niagara (Freshman, Forward, Roseville, Minn.)– Funk was a strong presence for Niagara on the ice this weekend, scoring a goal, two assists and three points in a 1-0-1 weekend for Niagara. In Niagara’s 5-1 win over St. Cloud State, Funk scored a goal and an assist for two points. Funk picked up an assist during Saturday’s 2-2 tie against the Huskies.

 

[PurpleEagles]

NIAGARA: Niagara had the Thanksgiving week off…The Purple Eagles are currently 7-6-4, while they haven’t started CHA play yet…Head coach Josh Sciba currently has seven wins, ranking him fourth out of four Niagara coaches for wins in their first season…Sciba needs six more wins to overtake the Niagara record for coaching wins in the coach’s first season with Niagara…Niagara is 5-1-4 in its last 10 games, including a 2-1-3 stretch on the road in the team’s last six games away from Dwyer Arena…Niagara was last in action when they went 1-0-1 against the St. Cloud State Huskies, defeating them 5-1 and playing them to a 2-2 tie…Niagara is now 11-5-2 in its last 18 games at Dwyer Arena, dating back to the 2010-11 season…Niagara’s 7-6-4 record after 17 games is better than where the Purple Eagles were last year at the same mark, when the team was 3-11-3…Freshman Kalli Funk is playing well as of late, scoring three goals in her last five games.

 

[CanHockGuy]

Re: Niagara Purple Eagles 2011-12

NIAGARA: Niagara had the Thanksgiving week off…The Purple Eagles are currently 7-6-4, while they haven’t started CHA play yet…Head coach Josh Sciba currently has seven wins, ranking him fourth out of four Niagara coaches for wins in their first season…Sciba needs six more wins to overtake the Niagara record for coaching wins in the coach’s first season with Niagara…Niagara is 5-1-4 in its last 10 games, including a 2-1-3 stretch on the road in the team’s last six games away from Dwyer Arena…Niagara was last in action when they went 1-0-1 against the St. Cloud State Huskies, defeating them 5-1 and playing them to a 2-2 tie…Niagara is now 11-5-2 in its last 18 games at Dwyer Arena, dating back to the 2010-11 season…Niagara’s 7-6-4 record after 17 games is better than where the Purple Eagles were last year at the same mark, when the team was 3-11-3…Freshman Kalli Funk is playing well as of late, scoring three goals in her last five games.

The new record should be in the bag.

 

[ARM]

Re: Niagara Purple Eagles 2011-12

Sciba needs six more wins to overtake the Niagara record for coaching wins in the coach’s first season with Niagara…

The new record should be in the bag.

Maybe, but other than Syracuse, all of the remaining opponents have a higher Rutter ranking. Assuming Niagara could go 3-1 versus the Orange, getting 6 or more wins may come down in large part to how the Eagles do versus RMU.

 

[CanHockGuy]

Re: Niagara Purple Eagles 2011-12

Maybe, but other than Syracuse, all of the remaining opponents have a higher Rutter ranking. Assuming Niagara could go 3-1 versus the Orange, getting 6 or more wins may come down in large part to how the Eagles do versus RMU.

Ya I looked at that and thought I'd put the old pressure cooker on. The poster put a lot of time into that post, so I thought I'd give them the benefit of the doubt.

 

[OnMAA]

Re: Niagara Purple Eagles 2011-12

Maybe, but other than Syracuse, all of the remaining opponents have a higher Rutter ranking. Assuming Niagara could go 3-1 versus the Orange, getting 6 or more wins may come down in large part to how the Eagles do versus RMU.

IIRC they won a game over MC last year !

 

[CanHockGuy]

Re: Niagara Purple Eagles 2011-12

IIRC they won a game over MC last year !

Ya, they did, but it was under those funny kind of circumstances; non-conference within the conference schedule filler thing where the lineup and the result didn't matter that much. A win is a win though. It certainly mattered to Niagara.

 

[OnMAA]

Re: Niagara Purple Eagles 2011-12

Ya, they did, but it was under those funny kind of circumstances; non-conference within the conference schedule filler thing where the lineup and the result didn't matter that much. A win is a win though. It certainly mattered to Niagara.

Every team in that league makes the playoffs, so what if it was an NC game. In addition MC was looking big time to win it all last year, so every loss on their books counted against them in the rankings. Point is, I'm willing to bet MC wanted to win that game just as much as an In Conference game.

 

[CanHockGuy]

Re: Niagara Purple Eagles 2011-12

Every team in that league makes the playoffs, so what if it was an NC game. In addition MC was looking big time to win it all last year, so every loss on their books counted against them in the rankings. Point is, I'm willing to bet MC wanted to win that game just as much as an In Conference game.

You're probably right, but something about that game was a little odd. Why was it a non-conference game? Were some players missing? I just can't remember. Players at something else that week? I thought it was an exhibition game originally when I looked at the schedule. Doesn't matter. Good for them.

 

[OnMAA]

Re: Niagara Purple Eagles 2011-12

You're probably right, but something about that game was a little odd. Why was it a non-conference game? Were some players missing? I just can't remember. Players at something else that week? I thought it was an exhibition game originally when I looked at the schedule. Doesn't matter. Good for them.

North Country ECAC neighbors SLU and Clarky often play NC games against each other. They use those to fill out the missing gaps in the schedule.

The CHA is by far the smallest league in womens hockey, so those teams play a lot more NC games than teams from the three other conferences. Since there is a real limit to how many NC games the ECAC ivies and WCHA teams can play, it stands to reason that you can run out of NC options in a real hurry if you need to schedule a lot of them. With Penn and Lindenwood joining CHA next year will help to address this, as it reduces the number of NC games for the existing CHA teams.

 

[PurpleEagles]

By Candace Horgan Women's Editor • Thursday, December 8, 2011

Women's Picks:
Clarkson at Niagara

Candace: Niagara might have enough to get one tie against Clarkson, but there's no percentage in picking a tie. Clarkson 3-1, 2-0
Arlan: In case you haven't noticed, I'm running my own private Sweeps Week here, otherwise, I'd give Niagara some love. Clarkson 3-2, 3-2