Parity continues to reign in Atlantic Hockey America.
Ask any coach about the league and they’ll tell you one of its strengths is that the margin between the top and bottom is small.
To date, there have been six conference series, with four resulting in splits, and two more that featured one team getting four of the six points.
One of the teams that managed four is Niagara, which battled Robert Morris last weekend in a home-and-home series.
The Purple Eagles won at RMU, 7-3 but settled for a 4-4 tie at Dwyer Arena, with the Colonials picking up the extra point in the shootout.
“They were good games,” said Niagara coach Jason Lammers. “We didn’t get home (from Robert Morris) until three in the morning (on Saturday), and I was impressed with the way we responded.”
There’s anticipation and excitement in the air at Niagara, a feeling that the Purple Eagles are ready to return to the top of the conference.
“We think we’re building something special,” said Lammers. “COVID really hurt us, [and] I feel like we lost two years of progress. But we have tremendous support from the university (including) $4.5 million in improvements to our rink.”
Niagara has also done well with recruiting. There are three NHL draft picks in Atlantic Hockey America, and two are on the Purple Eagles roster: defenseman Braden Doyle, a graduate transfer from Northeastern (a 2019 sixth-round pick by Los Angeles) and rookie Trevor Hoskin (a 2024 fourth-round pick by Calgary).
Hoskin was a late bloomer who found his way to Niagara after scoring 100 points in 52 games for Cobourg (OJHL). He’s currently third on the team in scoring with three goals and four assists in six games.
“He committed in November, ” said Lammers. “He had some connections to some of our players. We’re all about building connections and he felt Niagara was a good fit for that.”
Also on the roster are three players from Latvia: rookies Deivs Rolovs (goalie) and Rainers Darzins (forward) as well as junior forward Glebs Prohorenkovs. Rolovs and Darzins played for Latvia at last year’s World Juniors tournament.
“We’ve also got players from Norway and Japan as well as guys that speak French,” said Lammers. “It’s an eclectic group that learns from each other. It’s important for us in developing better players and men.”
Niagara lost nine players to the transfer portal at the end of last season, but brought in six new ones, including brothers Ross and Brett Roloson from Lake Superior State. It was a package deal that also included their father, former NHL all-star goalie Dwayne Roloson. He
recently came on board as the director of hockey development for the Purple Eagles.
“We’re good friends through (UMass) Lowell,” said Lammers, who was an associate head coach for the Riverhawks from 2011 to 2015. Roloson was an All-American at UMass Lowell in 1993-94.
“We had the chance to take both boys, it was a no-brainer.”
Niagara hosts Rochester Institute of Technology tonight before taking on Mercyhurst in a home-and-home series this weekend.
“I like midweek games,” said Lammers. “It works well with local teams. I think it’s better for fans. I’d support more of an established deal where there’d be games on Wednesdays and Saturdays instead of usually just playing on weekends. People are busy and can’t always spend their weekends at the rink. I think we’d get more hockey fans that way.”
