2025–26 Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey season

2025–26 Niagara Purple Eagles
men's ice hockey season
Conference8th AHA
Home iceDwyer Arena
Rankings
USCHONR
USA HockeyNR
Record
Overall13–23–1
Conference9–16–1
Home11–10–0
Road2–13–1
Coaches and captains
Head coachJason Lammers
Assistant coachesMark Phalon
Niko Kovachis
CaptainEthan Lund
Alternate captain(s)Noah Hackett
Declan McDonnell
Ross Roloson
Spencer Young
Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey seasons
« 2024–25 2026–27 »

The 2025–26 Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey season was the 30th season of play for the program, the 28th at the Division I level and the 2nd in Atlantic Hockey America. The Purple Eagles represented Niagara University in the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, played their homes games at the Dwyer Arena and were coached by Jason Lammers in his 9th season.

Season

With Niagara losing its three top scorers from last year, among several others, the Purple Eagles were hard-pressed to replicate their outstanding scoring production. While several new additions would be key features in Niagara's offense over the course of the year, particularly two transfers from Canadian colleges (Declan McDonnell and Jacob Maillet), the team still saw its output fall by nearly a full goal per game (3.35 to 2.51). With the vastly reduced scoring, the team was much more reliant on its defense. The Purple Eagles were better at limiting chances for their opponents but the loss of Pierce Charleson did not serve them well in goal. Deivs Rolovs, in his first season as a starter, put up respectable numbers but his lack of consistency led the team to utilizing Tomas Anderson in several games.

A feature of Niagara's season was the club's poor performance on the road. While the Eagles were able to post a winning record at Dwyer Arena, the team was deficient on the road. In just 3 of 16 away matches did Niagara score more than 2 goals; coincidentally, those games were the only three that did not end up in defeat. The subpar road record led to the team finishing the regular season nine games below .500. While Niagara fell 4 spots in the conference standings, they were nonetheless able to earn a postseason home game and hosted Army in the first round.

Their final home game of the year began well with Niagara scoring three times in the first. With a commanding lead, the team seemed to relax in the second and allowed the Black Knights to claw their way back into the match. Army's three-goal second was followed up with a fourth goal mid-way through the third and put Niagara on the brink. Fortunately for the Eagles, Nicholas Niemo responded just 14 seconds later and knotted the score at 4-all. A little over two minutes afterwards, Noah Hackett converted on the team's fourth power play to put them back into the lead. The defense stiffened and held Army back for the rest of the game, rescuing victory from the Knights.[1] The quarterfinal round pitted the team against Sacred Heart and saw the offense stopped cold. Niagara scored one goal in each of the two games (both by Dallon Melin). They never held the lead and were 1 for 7 on the power play. The offense squandered a solid performance by Rolovs who stopped 55 of 59 shots and gave the Eagles a chance to win both matches.

Departures

Player Position Nationality Cause
Jay Ahearn Forward  United States Transferred to Massachusetts Lowell
Noah Carlin Defenseman  United States Graduate (signed with Kalamazoo Wings)
Pierce Charleson Goaltender  Canada Graduation (signed with Greenville Swamp Rabbits)
Rainers Dārziņš Forward  Latvia Graduation (retired)
Braden Doyle Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with Greensboro Gargoyles)
Trevor Hoskin Forward  Canada Transferred to Merrimack
Kyler Kleven Forward  United States Graduate transfer to Augsburg
Alex Murray Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with Vimmerby HC)
Luke Mylymok Forward  Canada Graduation (signed with Rapid City Rush)
Shane Ott Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Bloomington Bison)
Lars Christian Rødne Forward  Norway Graduation (signed with Adirondack Thunder)
Brett Roloson Forward  United States Graduation (signed with Allen Americans)
Tyler Wallace Forward  Canada Transferred to Rensselaer
Johnny Wescoe Forward  United States Joined club team

Recruiting

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Tomas Anderson Goaltender  United States 20 Stillwater, MN
Mitchell Becker Defenseman  United States 24 Rogers, MN; transfer from Massachusetts Lowell
Davis Codd Forward  United States 22 Brighton, MI; joined mid-season
Cameron Eke Defenseman  Canada 20 St. Catharines, ON
Marshall Finnie Forward  Canada 21 Lethbridge, AB
Aidan Litke Forward  Canada 22 Winnipeg, MB; joined mid-season
Jacob Maillet Forward  Canada 22 Dundas, ON; transfer from St. Francis Xavier
Declan McDonnell Forward  United States 23 Buffalo, NY; transfer from Saint Mary's; selected 217th overall in 2020
Dallon Melin Forward  Canada 23 Camrose, AB; transfer from Calgary
Maxim Muranov Forward  Canada 21 Moskva, RUS
Nicholas Niemo Forward  United States 24 Middlebury, VT; transfer from Maine
Hunter Wallace Forward  Canada 22 Oak Lake, MB; transfer from Merrimack
Tyson Zimmer Forward  Canada 21 Russell, MB

Roster

As of January 1, 2026.[2]

No. Nat. Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Deivs Rolovs Sophomore G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 2004-05-08 Riga, Latvia Lone Star Brahmas (NAHL)
2 Jonathan Ziskie Senior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2001-03-19 Macomb, Michigan Bismarck Bobcats (NAHL)
3 Mitchell Becker Senior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 2001-05-24 Rogers, Minnesota Massachusetts Lowell (HEA)
4 Gļebs Prohorenkovs Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2001-11-12 Riga, Latvia Amarillo Wranglers (NAHL)
8 Cameron Eke Freshman D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 2005-04-23 St. Catharines, Ontario Collingwood Blues (OJHL)
9 Nathan Oickle Sophomore D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2003-02-05 Peterborough, Ontario Surrey Eagles (BCHL)
10 Hunter Wallace Sophomore F 5' 7" (1.7 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2003-05-02 Oak Lake, Manitoba Merrimack (HEA)
12 Ross Roloson (A) Junior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2003-01-30 Woodbury, Minnesota Lake Superior State (CCHA)
13 Grayson Dietrich Senior F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2001-12-18 Calgary, Alberta American International (AHA)
14 Marshall Finnie Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 2004-01-02 Lethbridge, Alberta Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
15 Maxim Muranov Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2004-06-02 Moskva, Russia Vancouver Giants (WHL)
16 Andy Reist Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2004-05-15 Waterloo, Ontario Cobourg Cougars (OJHL)
17 Aidan Litke Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 2003-03-16 Winnipeg, Manitoba Evansville Thunderbolts (SPHL)
18 Spencer Young (A) Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2003-08-25 Elmira, Ontario Collingwood Blues (OJHL)
19 Drew Vieten Junior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2001-01-10 Calabasas, California Wichita Falls Warriors (NAHL)
20 Tyson Zimmer Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 2004-09-05 Russell, Manitoba Vernon Vipers (BCHL)
21 Dallon Melin Junior F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 2002-03-26 Camrose, Alberta Calgary (CWUAA)
22 Lane Brockhoff Graduate D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 2000-04-11 Edberg, Alberta Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL)
24 Nicholas Niemo Senior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2001-03-28 Middlebury, Vermont Maine (HEA)
25 Declan McDonnell (A) Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-02-25 Buffalo, New York Saint Mary's (AUS) TBL, 217th overall 2020
26 Jacob Maillet Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2003-03-13 Dundas, Ontario St. Francis Xavier (AUS)
27 Ray Murakami Sophomore D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2003-04-03 Tomakomai, Japan Lone Star Brahmas (NAHL)
28 Ethan Lund (C) Senior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-03-16 Calgary, Alberta Brooks Bandits (AJHL)
29 Davis Codd Freshman F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2003-08-19 Brighton, Michigan Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL)
30 Mitchell Day Junior G 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2002-01-18 St. Louis, Missouri North Iowa Bulls (NAHL)
31 Thomas Anderson Freshman G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 2004-10-06 Stillwater, Minnesota Bismarck Bobcats (NAHL)
34 Noah Hackett (A) Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2001-12-11 Ponoka, Alberta Brooks Bandits (AJHL)

Standings

Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OW OL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#20 Bentley †* 26 16 6 4 1 0 2 53 85 56 39 23 11 5 122 89
Sacred Heart 26 15 8 3 1 0 1 48 80 61 40 23 14 3 118 96
Robert Morris 26 13 11 2 0 2 2 45 69 69 40 16 21 3 103 128
Holy Cross 26 14 10 2 1 1 1 45 81 69 38 18 18 2 113 116
RIT 26 13 11 2 2 1 2 42 69 68 36 17 17 2 93 96
Air Force 26 13 10 3 2 1 0 41 75 73 37 18 15 4 108 112
Canisius 26 12 12 2 1 0 2 39 81 74 35 17 16 2 107 105
Niagara 26 9 16 1 1 3 0 30 67 83 37 13 23 1 93 118
Army 26 7 15 4 2 3 2 28 61 75 35 12 17 6 91 96
Mercyhurst 26 5 18 3 0 0 1 19 47 87 37 6 28 3 65 143
Championship: March 21, 2026
† indicates conference regular season champion (DeGregorio Trophy)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated March 22, 2026
Source: AHA

Schedule and results

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
October 4 6:00 pm St. Lawrence* Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Rolovs W 5–2  982 1–0–0
October 10 6:00 pm Bowling Green* Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Rolovs W 2–0  609 2–0–0
October 11 5:00 pm Bowling Green* Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Rolovs W 5–2  887 3–0–0
October 17 8:00 pm at Union* M&T Bank CenterSchenectady, New York ESPN+ Rolovs L 2–3  1,712 3–1–0
October 18 8:00 pm at Union* M&T Bank CenterSchenectady, New York ESPN+ Anderson L 0–6  1,426 3–2–0
October 24 6:00 pm at USNTDP* Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York (Exhibtion) FloHockey Day W 4–1  826
October 31 7:00 pm at Robert Morris Clearview ArenaNeville Township, Pennsylvania FloHockey Rolovs L 2–4  587 3–3–0 (0–1–0)
November 1 6:00 pm Robert Morris Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Rolovs L 3–4  619 3–4–0 (0–2–0)
November 7 6:00 pm at Holy Cross Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Anderson L 1–5  927 3–5–0 (0–3–0)
November 8 2:00 pm at Holy Cross Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts FloHockey Rolovs L 2–6  761 3–6–0 (0–4–0)
November 14 6:00 pm Army Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Anderson W 6–4  863 4–6–0 (1–4–0)
November 15 5:00 pm Army Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Anderson W 4–1  657 5–6–0 (2–4–0)
November 18 7:00 pm RIT Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Rolovs W 2–1 OT 870 6–6–0 (3–4–0)
November 28 6:00 pm Rensselaer* Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Rolovs L 4–1  863 6–7–0
November 29 5:00 pm Rensselaer* Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Rolovs L 2–3  837 6–8–0
December 5 7:00 pm at Bentley Bentley ArenaWaltham, Massachusetts FloHockey Rolovs W 3–1  1,319 7–8–0 (4–4–0)
December 6 6:00 pm at Bentley Bentley ArenaWaltham, Massachusetts FloHockey Rolovs L 2–3  1,280 7–9–0 (4–5–0)
December 31 2:00 pm Guelph* Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York (Exhibition) FloHockey Anderson W 4–2  445
January 3 6:00 pm Clarkson* Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Rolovs L 2–6  773 7–10–0
January 9 6:00 pm Sacred Heart Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Rolovs L 4–5 OT 762 7–11–0 (4–6–0)
January 10 5:00 pm Sacred Heart Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Anderson L 2–4  754 7–12–0 (4–7–0)
January 16 7:00 pm at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, Pennsylvania FloHockey Anderson L 0–3  894 7–13–0 (4–8–0)
January 17 6:00 pm Mercyhurst Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Anderson L 2–4  270 7–14–0 (4–9–0)
January 23 6:00 pm RIT Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Rolovs L 2–4  598 7–15–0 (4–10–0)
January 24 7:00 pm at RIT Gene Polisseni CenterHenrietta, New York FloHockey Day T 3–3 SOL 3,533 7–15–1 (4–10–1)
January 30 7:00 pm at Canisius LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York (Rivalry) FloHockey Day W 5–3  1,367 8–15–1 (5–10–1)
January 31 7:00 pm Canisius Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York (Rivalry) FloHockey Anderson L 3–4 OT 1,186 8–16–1 (5–11–1)
February 6 6:00 pm Air Force Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Anderson L 1–2 OT 703 8–17–1 (5–12–1)
February 7 6:00 pm Air Force Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Anderson W 4–2  743 9–17–1 (6–12–1)
February 10 7:00 pm at RIT Gene Polisseni CenterHenrietta, New York FloHockey Anderson L 1–2  2,057 9–18–1 (6–13–1)
February 13 6:00 pm Robert Morris Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Anderson W 5–2  640 10–18–1 (7–13–1)
February 14 7:00 pm at Robert Morris Clearview ArenaNeville Township, Pennsylvania FloHockey Anderson L 1–5  848 10–19–1 (7–14–1)
February 20 7:00 pm at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, Pennsylvania FloHockey Rolovs L 2–3  853 10–20–1 (7–15–1)
February 21 7:00 pm Mercyhurst Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York FloHockey Rolovs W 3–1  846 11–20–1 (8–15–1)
February 27 6:00 pm Canisius Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York (Rivalry) FloHockey Rolovs W 3–2  1,187 12–20–1 (9–15–1)
February 28 6:00 pm at Canisius LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York (Rivalry) FloHockey Rolovs L 1–5  903 12–21–1 (9–16–1)
Atlantic Hockey America Tournament
March 3 7:00 pm Army* Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York (AHA First Round) FloHockey Rolovs W 5–4  323 13–21–1
March 6 7:00 pm at Sacred Heart* Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut (AHA Quarterfinal Game 1) FloHockey Rolovs L 1–3  1,374 13–22–1
March 7 5:00 pm at Sacred Heart* Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut (AHA Quarterfinal Game 2) FloHockey Rolovs L 1–2  1,613 13–23–1
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[3]

Scoring statistics

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Declan McDonnell C/RW 37 12 14 26 20
Maxim Muranov F 33 8 14 22 26
Jacob Maillet C 37 8 14 22 8
Marshall Finnie F 37 12 9 21 69
Spencer Young C 37 9 12 21 25
Noah Hackett F 37 12 6 18 31
Gļebs Prohorenkovs C 36 1 16 17 20
Nathan Oickle D 34 2 12 14 19
Lane Brockhoff D 34 3 10 13 27
Dallon Melin LW 29 5 6 11 29
Jonathan Ziskie D 32 4 7 11 18
Nicholas Niemo F 24 3 7 10 4
Ross Roloson D 37 2 7 9 12
Andy Reist F 34 1 8 9 10
Mitchell Becker D 37 0 8 8 30
Ethan Lund D 36 2 4 6 14
Ray Murakami D 27 1 4 5 4
Grayson Dietrich C/LW 36 1 4 5 22
Tyson Zimmer RW 14 2 2 4 6
Hunter Wallace F 26 2 2 4 18
Davis Codd RW 12 2 1 3 2
Aidan Litke F 12 1 1 2 26
Cameron Eke D 24 0 1 1 10
Drew Vieten F 1 0 0 0 0
Mitchell Day G 5 0 0 0 0
Tomas Anderson G 16 0 0 0 0
Deivs Rolovs G 23 0 0 0 0
Bench 14
Total 93 167 260 452

[4]

Goaltending statistics

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals against Saves Shut outs SV % GAA
Mitchell Day 5 213:30 1 0 1 9 96 0 .914 2.53
Deivs Rolovs 24 1195:44 8 14 0 58 549 1 .904 2.91
Tomas Anderson 16 805:30 4 9 0 43 349 0 .890 3.20
Empty Net - 21:39 - - - 8 - - - -
Total 37 2236:23 13 23 1 118 994 1 .894 3.17

Rankings

Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 (Final)
USCHO.com NR NR RV RV NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
USA Hockey NR NR RV NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 12.[5]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

References

  1. ^ "Men's Hockey Defeats Army 5-4 in the First Round of the Atlantic Hockey Playoffs". Niagara Purple Eagles. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  2. ^ "2025-26 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Niagara Purple Eagles. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  3. ^ "2025–26 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". Niagara Purple Eagles. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  4. ^ "Niagara Univ. 2025-2026 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  5. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.