Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey

After several years of playing at the club level, the team turned varsity in the 1996–97 season, which they played as independent.

In 1999 they became charter members of College Hockey America (CHA), joining two other independent teams (Air Force and Army) and three former Division II teams (Alabama–Huntsville, Bemidji State and Findlay).

Niagara went undefeated in conference play that season, 1999–00, winning the conference tournament and gaining an at-large invitation to the NCAA tournament, as the conference did not gain an automatic bid until the 2003 tournament. Starting goaltender Greg Gardner set a single-season NCAA record for shutouts with 12 as Niagara posted its first (and only as of 2019) 30-win campaign. The Purple Eagles upset the University of New Hampshire to advance to the Elite Eight, where they lost to North Dakota. North Dakota went on to win that national championship.

Niagara also won the College Hockey America Championship in 2004 and 2008, appearing in the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship again those years. In 2004 they lost against Boston College and in 2008 against Michigan.

On January 29, 2009, Niagara University announced that the team was moving to the Atlantic Hockey Association beginning in the 2010-11 season, following the closure of CHA's men's division. CHA would continue to operate as a women-only conference for the next 14 years.

On October 14, 2010, it was announced that Jay McKee would serve as a volunteer assistant coach for Niagara Purple Eagles men's ice hockey, while not ruling out a return to the NHL.

On December 14, 2013 the Purple Eagles faced off against the RIT Tigers in an outdoor hockey game known as Frozen Frontier tying 2-2.

Shortly after the 2023–24 season, the Atlantic Hockey Association and CHA, which had shared a commissioner and conference staff since 2010, merged under the banner of Atlantic Hockey America.^[3]

Source:^[4]

As of the completion of 2025–26 season

Source:^[5]

As of August 30, 2025.^[6]

More information No., Nat. ...

No.	Nat.	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
1		Deivs Rolovs	Sophomore	G	6' 2" (1.88 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	2004-05-08	Riga, Latvia	Lone Star Brahmas (NAHL)	—
2		Jonathan Ziskie	Senior	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	2001-03-19	Macomb, Michigan	Bismarck Bobcats (NAHL)	—
3		Mitchell Becker	Senior	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	2001-05-24	Rogers, Minnesota	Massachusetts Lowell (HEA)	—
4		Gļebs Prohorenkovs	Senior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	2001-11-12	Riga, Latvia	Amarillo Wranglers (NAHL)	—
8		Cameron Eke	Freshman	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	2005-04-23	St. Catharines, Ontario	Collingwood Blues (OJHL)	—
9		Nathan Oickle	Sophomore	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2003-02-05	Peterborough, Ontario	Surrey Eagles (BCHL)	—
10		Hunter Wallace	Sophomore	F	5' 7" (1.7 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2003-05-02	Oak Lake, Manitoba	Merrimack (HEA)	—
12		Ross Roloson	Junior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2003-01-30	Woodbury, Minnesota	Lake Superior State (CCHA)	—
13		Grayson Dietrich	Senior	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2001-12-18	Calgary, Alberta	American International (AHA)	—
14		Marshall Finnie	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	2004-01-02	Lethbridge, Alberta	Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)	—
15		Maxim Muranov	Freshman	F	6' 2" (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2004-06-02	Moskva, Russia	Vancouver Giants (WHL)	—
16		Andy Reist	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	2004-05-15	Waterloo, Ontario	Cobourg Cougars (OJHL)	—
18		Spencer Young	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	2003-08-25	Elmira, Ontario	Collingwood Blues (OJHL)	—
19		Drew Vieten	Junior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2001-01-10	Calabasas, California	Wichita Falls Warriors (NAHL)	—
20		Tyson Zimmer	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	2004-09-05	Russell, Manitoba	Vernon Vipers (BCHL)	—
21		Dallon Melin	Junior	F	6' 4" (1.93 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	2002-03-26	Camrose, Alberta	Calgary (CWUAA)	—
22		Lane Brockhoff	Graduate	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	2000-04-11	Edberg, Alberta	Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL)	—
24		Nicholas Niemo	Senior	F	5' 9" (1.75 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2001-03-28	Middlebury, Vermont	Maine (HEA)	—
25		Declan McDonnell	Junior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2002-02-25	Buffalo, New York	Saint Mary's (AUS)	TBL, 217th overall 2020
26		Jacob Maillet	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	2003-03-13	Dundas, Ontario	St. Francis Xavier (AUS)	—
27		Ray Murakami	Sophomore	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	2003-04-03	Tomakomai, Japan	Lone Star Brahmas (NAHL)	—
28		Ethan Lund	Senior	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2001-03-16	Calgary, Alberta	Brooks Bandits (AJHL)	—
30		Mitchell Day	Junior	G	5' 10" (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2002-01-18	St. Louis, Missouri	North Iowa Bulls (NAHL)	—
31		Thomas Anderson	Freshman	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	201 lb (91 kg)	2004-10-06	Stillwater, Minnesota	Bismarck Bobcats (NAHL)	—
34		Noah Hackett	Senior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	2001-12-11	Ponoka, Alberta	Brooks Bandits (AJHL)	—

Close

The following is a list of people associated with the men's ice hockey program who were elected into the Niagara Purple Eagles Hall of Fame (induction date in parentheses).^[7]

As of July 1, 2025.^[8]

• Niagara Purple Eagles women's ice hockey