Niagara is not shying away from stiff competition.
The Purple Eagles’ nonconference schedule is shaping up to be the most difficult in Atlantic Hockey:
- Two games at North Dakota
- Two games at Penn State
- Two games at Michigan
- Two games at Notre Dame
American International’s non-league schedule comes close (Quinnipiac, UMass, Providence), but at least the Yellow Jackets play a couple of those games at home.
So far, Niagara is 0-4 out of league, dropping both ends of the North Dakota and Penn State series. Jason Lammers’ team travels to Ann Arbor this week to face off against a Michigan team that was ranked No. 1 before falling twice to Notre Dame, both times in overtime.
The Wolverines certainly won’t be overlooking Niagara as they look to rebound.
“The timing for us isn’t perfect,” said Lammers. “Obviously, I wish they would have swept (Notre Dame) last weekend and yawned as we took the ice. I’m sure they’re having a good week of practice in preparation for us.”
Niagara will try to use to its advantage a mature roster and willingness to play a physical game. The Purple Eagles feature 17 upperclassmen and grad students.
“It’s an asset,” said Lammers. “It’s something we have to use. We need to outcompete them and be aggressive.”
Lammers says it’s not so much getting his team ready for Michigan in particular, but preparing his team each week to get better.
“We’re really focused on ourselves,” he said. “We will do our pre-scouting as we normally do, but we’re always working on what he can do to make our group better every week.”
At this point in the season, Lammers has two priorities for improvement.
“Looking at ourselves, priority one is special teams. Priority two is heating up our sticks and getting more chances near the net.”
Lammers believes that playing a difficult nonconference schedule will pay dividends by the end of the season. It’s working – Niagara made the conference championship game in 2019 and bowed out in the semifinals last season.
And his players relish the opportunity.
“They love playing in these big buildings against top level competition.,” Lammers said. “It’s a chance to further showcase their gifts against players who are obviously gifted themselves. And we also try to schedule (away) games close to players’ hometowns so their family and friends can see them play.”
There’s also a bigger picture at play. Atlantic Hockey has been a one-bid league since its inception with the exception of 2013, when Niagara faltered in the conference semifinals but its 23-9-5 record put it high enough in the PairWise Rankings to make the NCAA tournament as an at-large team.
“We’re here to help (Atlantic Hockey) be a two-bid league,” said Lammers. “It’s rough for a team to have a great season, but slip up (in the tournament) and get left home.
“I think every team is looking for a way to get a second chance.”
