NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara hockey team was swept on home ice by Holy Cross in an Atlantic Hockey showdown as the Crusaders routed the Purple Eagles, 3-2 on Saturday evening at Dwyer Arena.
The Crusaders (6-15-2; 5-9-2 AHA) would score the go-ahead go at 17:42 of the final period to pull ahead of the Purple and White. Jake Youso carried the puck from the defensive zone before releasing a shot on Niagara goalie Jackson Teichroeb that was mishandled and trickled behind the net. The Purple Eagles could not control the loose puck and it squirted out to Tommy Dwyer at the top of the crease where he deposited it into the net to secure the victory.
“Penalties took us out of the flow in the second period. We regrouped and got through it, but we need to be a little more disciplined,” head coach Dave Burkholder said. “From start to finish we were all over Holy Cross when we were playing 5-on-5, but you have to give them credit. They fought to the bitter end and swept us at home. You can’t give a team like that seven power plays and expect to win. Two nights in a row we put at least 40 shots on goal and we have nothing to show for it so it’s tough to swallow.”
For the second straight night, Holy Cross goaltender Matt Ginn was solid in net, stopping 38 of the 40 shots Niagara fired on goal. Teichroeb finished with 21 saves, suffering the loss for the second straight night.
After sluggish start to the opening frame in game one of the series, Niagara (5-14-3; 5-7-3 AHA) jumped out to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes of play in the second game, outshooting Holy Cross 17-8.
Patrick Conte got the scoring started for the Purple and White at 10:36 of the frame. Conte cleaned by a rebound on a shot by Ryan Rashid, whose attempt hit traffic out front where Conte pushed the loose puck into the back of the goal. Holy Cross seemed to be headed into the first intermission down a goal, but Niagara’s Brock Edwards and Isaac Kohls combined with a textbook play that gave NU a two-goal lead. Kohls connected with Edwards at the top of the slot and the freshman buried the pass with a wrister, beating Ginn glove-side.
Holy Cross responded in the second period with its own pair of tallies to tie the game at two apiece headlining into the final period of regulation. Matt Vidal began the scoring for the Crusaders with 8:04 left in the second. Mike Barrett caused a Niagara turnover behind its own net and fed the puck to Vidal at the top of the slot to cut Niagara’s lead in half.
It became a 2-2 game less than three minutes later as Tim Driscoll backhanded a shot off the post and past Teichroeb.
Niagara went 0-for-6 on the power play and 1-for-7 on the penalty kill.
Following this weekend’s two-game set against Holy Cross, Niagara will wrap up its five-game home stand when it hosts RIT on Jan. 24, a nationally-televised contest on CBS Sports Network. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Tickets are still available so call the Niagara Ticket Office (located inside Dwyer Arena) at 716-286-TIXX, visit www.PurpleEagles.com/Tickets or by emailing [email protected] to reserve your seats today!
