The Niagara hockey team’s impressive play has led to its continual recognition on the national scene in the nation’s major polls.
For the second consecutive week, Niagara (8-2-3; 7-0-0 AHA) is slated in the 20th spot in the most recent USCHO.com Division I Poll released Monday afternoon. The USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll has Niagara receiving 12 votes, just four spots away from being ranked in the top 15.
The Purple Eagles have also received recognition from D1Hockey.com which lists Niagara at the No.14 spot in the country, while Men’s Division I Pairwise Rankings (PWR) has the team at 15 out of 27 teams.
The PWR is a system which attempts to copy the process used by the NCAA Selection Committee to determine participants for the NCAA Division I men’s hockey tournament, judging them by four criteria: record against common opponents, head-to-head competition, record against team’s under consideration (TUC) if a team has played 10 or more games against TUC, and the ratings percentage index.
Niagara’s national recognition comes during its nine-game unbeaten streak that has seen the Purple Eagles outscore their opponents by a 24-3 margin. Niagara is one of two teams in NCAA Division I hockey, along with Quinnipiac, that are currently undefeated in conference play. The Bobcats are 4-0-0 in the ECAC conference, while the Purple Eagles holds a 7-0-0 mark in the Atlantic Hockey Association.
Niagara will play host to Sacred Heart University on Friday, Nov. 30 and Saturday, Dec. 1 at Dwyer Arena with a 7:05 p.m. start for both contests.
For ticket information, please call the Niagara Tickets Office (located inside Dwyer Arena) at 716-286-TIXX, visit www.PurpleEagles.com/Tickets or by emailing [email protected].
