The Niagara men’s hockey team enters its first year as a member of the Atlantic Hockey Association with a 34-game slate, featuring three games against 2010 NCAA Frozen Four Finalist RIT and first-time matchups against four different teams.

The Purple Eagles take flight on Oct. 9, opening the 2010-11 at home against Merrimack, exactly one week after a scrimmage against York (Canada). Many longtime Purple Eagle fans will have Oct. 15 circled on their calendars, as former head coach Blaise McDonald and his UMass-Lowell team will come to Dwyer Arena to challenge Niagara.

Niagara hits the road for two road games in the Albany area, taking on ECAC Tournament finalist Union (Oct. 22) and RPI (Oct. 23) before coming home to start league play. Head coach Dave Burkholder will be looking to expand on his 20-3-1 (.820) career-record against Atlantic Hockey competition, when the Purps host Mercyhurst (Oct. 29) and former CHA rival Robert Morris (Oct. 30) in the first-ever Atlantic Hockey home games at Dwyer Arena.

The Niagara icers will have a quick turnaround after the Robert Morris game, taking on Canisius (Nov. 2) for the first time since Nov. 11, 2008, where the Purple Eagles scored three shorthanded goals on the same penalty in 69 seconds. Niagara’s shorthanded feat against Canisius was the number two play on ESPN’s Top 10 Countdown on Nov. 12, 2008. The Purple Eagles begin a five-game homestand against Bentley, (Nov. 12-13) in the first meetings ever between these two teams.

Niagara will clash with 2010 Frozen Four participant RIT (Nov. 19), a team that Niagara is 6-0-2 against since the 1996-97 season. Niagara finishes out this homestand with dates against former CHA foe Air Force (Nov. 20) and Colgate (Nov. 23) before hitting the road to take on Army (Nov. 26-27).

The Purple Eagles will close out the 2010 portion of the schedule by hosting the first-ever matchups against UConn (Dec. 3-4) and on the road at Colgate (Dec. 11).

With Dwyer Arena co-hosting the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation Under-20 Championship, the Purps will start 2011 on a four-game road swing, taking on Holy Cross (Jan. 7-8) and its first-ever meetings with American International (Jan. 14-15). Niagara hosts Sacred Heart (Jan. 21-22) for a pair of games before embarking on a home-and-home series with Robert Morris (Jan. 28-29), with the Purple Eagles hosting the first game.

Of Niagara’s eight games in February, five will be played on the road. Niagara hosts the first game of a home-and-home arrangement with Mercyhurst (Feb. 4-5) before heading to Colorado to take on Air Force (Feb. 11-12). The Purps close out the 2010-11 season with two home-and-home series against fierce rivals, taking on Canisius (Feb. 17 & 19) and RIT (Feb. 25-26).

The 2011 Atlantic Hockey playoffs begin on March 5, with the top four teams receiving byes, while the other eight teams compete in a play-in game.  The quarterfinals (March 11-13) are best two-out-of-three series, while the semifinals (March 18) and AHA Championship game (March 19) will take place at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y.

The Niagara Athletics Department will release its full television schedule in the near future, including games that will air on the Niagara Sports Network. For ticket information, please call the Niagara Ticket Office at (716) 286-TIXX (8499).