LIU Sharks men's ice hockey

LIU Sharks men's ice hockey
Current season
UniversityLong Island University
ConferenceIndependent
First season2020–21
Head coachBrendan Riley
1st season
ArenaNorthwell Health Ice Center
Brookville, New York
ColorsBlue and gold[1]
   

The LIU Sharks men's ice hockey team represents Long Island University in NCAA Division I ice hockey. The school announced their intention to begin a varsity schedule for the 2020–21 season on April 30, 2020.[2] While starting out as an independent, the Sharks were a scheduling partner of Atlantic Hockey for at least their first season.[3]

As of 2025, the Sharks are the only Division I program located in the New York City-area, though all their home games are played in Nassau County, outside of the New York city limits.

History

After the college hockey season had been ended prematurely in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Long Island University announced their intention to found a men's Division I ice hockey team.[4] The school had already established its women's team the year before and, despite the uncertainty for the upcoming season, LIU hired a coaching staff and recruited a full team of players.

Due to scheduling problems resulting from COVID-19, LIU entered into a scheduling partnership with Atlantic Hockey for its inaugural season. LIU would officially remain an independent program and would not be eligible for the conference tournament.[3]

Season-by-season results

[5]

Coaches

Brett Riley was named as the team's first head coach on May 26, 2020.[6] After five seasons, Riley left to take over at Ferris State and was replaced by his cousin, Brendan Riley.[7]

As of the completion of 2024–25 season

Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
2020–2025 Brett Riley 5 62–85–7 .425
Totals 1 coach 5 seasons 62–85–7 .425

Current roster

As of September 19, 2025.[8]

No. Nat. Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Michael Polston Sophomore G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2004-10-07 Cedarburg, Wisconsin Provo Predators (NCDC)
2 Trent Powell Sophomore D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2004-03-09 Soldotna, Alaska Anchorage Wolverines (NAHL)
3 A. J. Casperson Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2001-07-19 Flower Mound, Texas Janesville Jets (NAHL)
4 Blake Dangos Senior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2002-04-08 St. Louis, Missouri American International (AHA)
5 Trevor Griebel Senior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2001-03-07 Tampa, Florida Merrimack (HEA)
7 Jack Darby Freshman D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2004-04-29 New Hartford, New York Anchorage Wolverines (NAHL)
9 Daniel Baldassarra Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2002-03-15 Woodbridge, Ontario North York Rangers (OJHL)
10 Heath Armstrong Sophomore F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 2002-05-12 Calgary, Alberta Brooks Bandits (AJHL)
11 John McMahon Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2004-05-25 Oceanside, New York New Jersey Titans (NAHL)
12 Brennan Nelson Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2003-03-21 Edmonton, Alberta West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL)
15 Luca Leighton Sophomore F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2003-08-13 Old Brookville, New York Rochester Jr. Americans (NAHL)
17 Sixten Jennersjö Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 2003-04-18 Ekerö, Sweden Northeast Generals (NAHL)
18 Anthony Lucarelli Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2003-10-16 Chatham, Ontario Powell River Kings (BCHL)
19 Chad Muller Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2003-07-13 Kingston, Ontario Minot Minotauros (NAHL)
22 Nate Benoit Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 2002-11-26 Bow, New Hampshire Quinnipiac (ECAC) MIN, 182nd overall 2021
24 Luke Hause Freshman D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 2004-03-24 Saint Paul, Minnesota Kenai River Brown Bears (NAHL)
26 Isaac Lambert Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2003-08-28 Victoriaville, Quebec Salmon Arm Silverbacks (BCHL)
27 Dylan Kinch Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2004-12-25 Salzburg, Austria Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL)
28 Garrett Valk Junior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2002-10-20 North Vancouver, British Columbia Langley Rivermen (BCHL)
29 Jaden Dyke Freshman G 6' 4" (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2004-08-06 St. John's, Newfoundland Rochester Jr. Americans (NAHL)
30 Daniel Duris Sophomore G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2003-08-15 Martin, Slovakia Oklahoma Warriors (NAHL)
31 Carter Bickle Freshman G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2004-05-27 Brooklin, Ontario Milton Menace (OJHL)
37 Lukas Renaud Freshman G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 2004-01-06 Montréal, Quebec Calgary Canucks (AJHL)
38 J. R. Perdion Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2003-06-25 Strongsville, Ohio Prince George Spruce Kings (BCHL)
48 Nick Bernardo Sophomore D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2003-05-13 Hauppauge, New York Maine Nordiques (NAHL)
52 Onni Leppänen Junior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2003-12-01 Helsinki, Finland Jokerit U20 (U20 SM-sarja)
55 Brett Rylance Senior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 167 lb (76 kg) 2001-08-03 Edmonton, Alberta American International (AHA)
67 Casey McDonald Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2001-05-10 Plenty, Saskatchewan American International (AHA)
91 Noah Serdachny Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2003-03-09 Edmonton, Alberta American International (AHA)

Statistical leaders

Career points leaders

Player Years GP G A Pts PIM
Cade Mason 2022–2025 89 10 67 77 22
Josh Zary 2022–2025 92 44 24 68 35
Isiah Fox 2021–2025 120 36 32 68 204
Chris Pappas 2022–2025 78 18 37 55 26
Austin Brimmer 2022–2025 97 23 32 55 54
Nolan Welsh 2020–2024 109 19 33 52 49
Noah Kane 2022–2024 67 16 31 47 62
Anthony Vincent 2022–2023 36 17 20 37 78
Jordan Di Cicco 2020–2024 109 12 25 37 32
Jack Quinn 2020–2024 111 13 22 35 60
Riley Wallack 2022–2025 79 19 16 35 36

Career goaltending leaders

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

minimum 1,000 minutes played

Player Years GP Min W L T GA SO SV% GAA
Noah Rupprecht 2023–2025 30 1,402 17 7 0 53 0 .901 2.27
Brandon Perrone 2021–2024 44 2,180 16 18 1 102 3 .891 2.81
Vinnie Purpura 2020–2023 47 2,543 12 30 1 142 1 .893 3.35
Kris Carlson 2021–2022 18 1,049 4 11 3 62 2 .887 3.55

Statistics current through the end of the 2024-25 season.

See also

References

  1. ^ Long Island University Style Guide for Print and Visual Application (PDF). July 25, 2019. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  2. ^ "Long Island University adding D-I men's hockey for upcoming 2020-21 season". USCHO.com. April 30, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Men's Hockey Announced as Atlantic Hockey Scheduling Partner" (Press release). LIU Sharks. October 15, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  4. ^ Kennedy, Ryan (May 1, 2020). "NCAA shocker: Long Island University announces new men's program for 2020-21". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  5. ^ "LIU Men's Hockey Team History". USCHO.com. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  6. ^ "Brett Riley announced as inaugural head coach of LIU men's hockey". NCAA.com. March 27, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  7. ^ "LIU hires Brendan Riley, keeping head coaching position in the family". USCHO. April 9, 2025. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  8. ^ "2025-26 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". LIU Sharks. Retrieved October 3, 2024.