By Warren Kozireski —
“I’ve been an underdog my whole life; I was never drafted to any junior leagues and never made any festival teams. Always the alternate, so I definitely have a chip on my shoulder.”
Niagara captain Jay Ahearn is more than proving everyone wrong as he sits atop the Purple Eagles scoring list with 15 goals and was a point-per-game player with 30 points over the first 29 games this season.
But college hockey did not start well.
“My first year I had to medically redshirt; I tore my labrum and they had to put nine anchors in and I was out for nine months,” Ahearn said. “And then my second year I played four games before I broke my arm in practice off of a slapshot. Freak accident so that was unfortunate.”
Last season, wearing the “C,” Ahearn posted 26 points in 34 games. Now he is listed as a senior on the roster, but due the time lost with injuries, he has one year of eligibility remaining next season. He will use that to enroll in a finance graduate program.
“My dad works on Wall St. and my grandfather worked on Wall St. so that has potential.”
Before Niagara, the Staten Island native split three years between his Monsignor Farrell high school team and Mercer Chiefs in the AYHL before moving away from home to play with the North Jersey Avalanche for two seasons.
“They allowed that (playing for two teams) back then. My Mercer team was good; we were always a top 20 team, but my high school team wasn’t very good but I got to play with some of my best friends and those are memories that I’ll have forever.”
“My 18-U team (North Jersey) lost in the national championship and then the next year we were number one all year and covid shut us down.”
Then came a breakout campaign in the NAHL with the Johnstown Tomahawks where Aheran netted 31 goals and 31 assists over 52 games that put him on many coaches’ radar.
“I got a call from (assistant) coach Mark Phalon on I believe it was Dec. 8, 2020, and we talked up until February. I got my offer February 8th and then I committed February 17th of that year. It was a really cool process.”
Aheran also leads the team this season in shots and first goals and is tied for the team lead in shorthanded tallies as he sees ice time in all situations.
Still proving them wrong and maybe one of the few in Niagara hockey history to wear the “C” for three seasons.
(Photos by Niagara Athletics)
