Few could have predicted the stunning turnaround from Niagara, a team that finished dead last in the conference the prior two seasons.
However, thanks to first-year coach Jason Lammers as well as first-year assistant coaches Andy Boschetto (Watertown, Mass.) and Matt Nicholson, the Purple Eagles were the premier team in the conference in the first half of the season. Niagara won four of its first five games against Atlantic Hockey foes and earned its first national ranking in four years.
Lammers, who was an assistant coach at UMass Lowell last season, said the key was giving every guy on the team a clean slate. The new coaching staff didn’t even watch any video of last year’s squad.
"Everybody gets a clean slate, everybody gets a chance to prove themselves," Lammers said. "It’s really exhilarating for the guys, and you’ve seen some guys really flourish, and it’s a credit not to us as a staff, but to the work and the effort that everybody’s put in."
Niagara has relied on a mix of experienced stars and exciting young contributors. Senior forward Derian Plouffe has bounced back from an injury-shortened season to lead the team in scoring with 26 points as of Jan. 18. Juniors Tanner Lomsnes and Johnny Curran take some of the pressure off Plouffe. And underclassmen Noah Delmas and Brian Wilson have been pleasant surprises, with Delmas racking up the assists and Wilson succeeding between the pipes.
With plenty of more hockey to be played, Lammers hopes his team acknowledges the mental aspect of being one of the top teams in the conference.
"We’ve done a good job in the short term and now we realize we’re getting everybody’s ‘A’ game. We’re not surprising anybody anymore," Lammers said. "Often times, people have a tough time handling success, and so now it’s our first challenge to handle success and continue to build on it."
The Notebook
The Atlantic Hockey conference had a proud moment early in the year, as Mercyhurst alum Ryan Zapolski was selected to the 2018 U.S. Olympic Team. Zapolski, who played for the Lakers from 2007 to 2011, manned the net in 107 collegiate games. He currently plays for Jokerit of the Kontinental Hockey League, where he has 23 wins in 34 appearances this season. …
An interesting note from the first half of the season is Army’s struggles at home and success on the road. The Black Knights have only two wins Tate Rink this but have stayed in the conference race thanks to a 7-5-2 away record. Recently, they defeated Bentley 4-0 at home on Feb. 13 thanks to a hat trick from freshman Michael Wilson. …
AIC started 2018 on the right foot with a weekend sweep of Holy Cross to jump to fourth in the conference. The Yellow Jackets then traveled to Canisius and came away with two points against the conference heavyweight. AIC’s hot streak earned it a vote in the USCHO poll for the first time in program history. …
Eight Atlantic Hockey teams had at least one athlete nominated for the 2018 Hobey Baker Award, given to the best player in college hockey. Congrats to Myles Powell from RIT, Brennan Kapcheck from American International, Derian Plouffe and Noah Delmas from Niagara, Brady Ferguson from Robert Morris, Scott Pooley from Holy Cross, Kyle Schmidt from Bentley, Dylan McLaughlin from Canisius and Jack Riley from Mercyhurst. …
It hasn’t been the type of season many expected from Air Force, the team that won last year’s conference tournament. However, the Falcons have turned it around in the new year, winning three of their first four games in 2018. This includes a weekend sweep of RIT at Rochester, N.Y. Head coach Frank Serratore will look to keep his guys on track as the regular season winds down.
In the Spotlight
Stefano Durante, AIC
The freshman earned his first conference shutout Jan. 12 in a 3-0 win at Canisius, making 26 stops. The weekend before, he made 44 stops in two games to help AIC get its first-ever sweep of Holy Cross. His GAA of 2.16 leads Atlantic goalies.
Danny Lopez, Holy Cross
The senior forward dominated in a weekend series for the Crusaders against Sacred Heart, totaling three goals and two assists to help Holy Cross sweep. He was named the Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week for his efforts.
Billy Christopoulos, Air Force
Christopoulos came up huge in a series vs. RIT, a club that scores almost three goals per game in conference matchups. The junior stopped 55 of 56 shots in the series sweep, with 30 of those saves coming in a 4-0 victory on Jan. 13.
Players to Watch
Derek Barach | Mercyhurst | The Steady Contributor In a Tuesday matchup against RIT on Jan. 16, Barach, from Glenmont, N.Y., scored twice and added an assist to power the Lakers to a 6-3 victory. The performance tied Barach for first on the team in points and kept him on pace to record 30-plus points for the third straight season.
Brendan Riley | Mercyhurst | A Coach’s Son The West Point, N.Y., native came up big in just his fifth game of the season, scoring twice to power Mercyhurst to a 3-2 victory against Niagara on Jan. 13. Brendan’s brother, Jack, also scored in the contest. Both are the sons of Army head coach Brian Riley.
Dominic Racobaldo | AIC | The Team Player A senior alternate captain for the Yellow Jackets, Racobaldo, from Pennsauken, N.J., blocked five shots in a 3-0 win against Canisius on Jan. 12. His 36 total blocks lead the team.
The Clash
Army at Bentley | Feb. 16, 7:05 p.m.
Bentley Arena, Waltham, Mass.
The first game of a weekend series pits the conference’s best power-play unit in the Falcons against the strongest penalty-kill team in the Black Knights. This game is also the first to be played in the new on-campus Bentley Arena. Army came away with three points in its series against Bentley in January, winning the second game of the series 4-0.
The Quote
‘We’re counting on each other, the campus is counting on us, the university is counting on us, the community is counting on us, so we are leaders, and all of our guys have really contributed one way or another.’
— Niagara coach Jason Lammers, on leadership
