The Niagara University Purple Eagles rounded off senior night with their second home weekend sweep of the year. Saturday night’s win came over a very talented #14 Syracuse squad while Friday’s victory was a nail biter versus Duquesne. Associate head coach, Tom Mooradian, had this to say about his team’s performance and how they’re looking to build off of it:

“This was far and away our most impressive showing of the year. I wish I could sit here and say that I’m surprised, but this is the hockey we’re capable of playing - night in and night out. The last time we lined up against ‘Cuse, we were completely unprepared and paid for it. The message we preached in practice all week was that of redemption and our guys followed through. It was something we owed to our seniors, but most importantly, our team as a whole.”

He spoke about certain players stepping up when they needed it most and how the roster ‘revamp’ has provided more depth to work with. 

“There are a lot of players that don’t show up on the scoresheet every night that contribute in so many other ways. Against ‘Cuse, I think Anthony Thurston had his best performance since joining our squad and everybody is starting to notice exactly how much our team has missed Kyle Clifford the past few months. Also, it’s hard to overlook Jake Nichols’ dominance last night. That was the best game he’s ever played. Sometimes, we fixate so much on analytics that we often overlook the little things guys do to help their teams win. Between the Duquesne game and last night, we’re very pleased with our compete. It’s what provided us a foundation to execute on the strategy we’ve laid out since returning from Christmas break. We’re starting to hit full-stride at the right time. It’s exciting.”

He spoke about the impact it made on the senior core who participated in the pre-game ceremony and how that helped light a fire in the locker room. 

“Hockey is a game of respect. The bonds you make and the care you have for your teammates is a feeling like no other. Knowing that this was one of their last tilts on home ice, they all went to work for one another. I think that speaks volumes about the type of people we have in our locker room. This wasn’t senior night magic by any means. This was a brotherhood coming together to give it their all. It was special for so many reasons.”

Coach also spoke about having to transition their focus to next weekend as this is the time of year that things get interesting. 

“We’ll enjoy this through the weekend and show up on Tuesday ready to work. Unfortunately, we have to develop amnesia as we’re just over a month away from playoffs with 7 league games remaining on our schedule. A victory over a top 15 team means nothing if we can’t take control of our own destiny in league play. We’re going to do our best to stay sharp and prepare for what’s in front of us. This group is special when we buy in.”

Niagara returns to the ice on Friday to participate in the second of two meetings against a young John Carrol team. They’ll bounce back less than 24-hours later to square up against Oswego State (Dwyer Arena) for their first league game since last December. It’s shaping up to be an exciting conclusion to the 2018-2019 season.