Niagara Opens 2014 with a Double Dip at Bentley
NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara hockey team wraps up an eight-game road trip when the Purple Eagles bus to Waltham, Mass. to take on the Bentley Falcons in Atlantic Hockey play in a weekend series on Friday, Jan. 3 and Saturday, Jan. 4. Both contests are scheduled for 7:05 p.m. starts.
Niagara will enter the New Year still in search of its first win on the road (0-9-2). Niagara capped off 2013 at the first-ever Greater Rochester Area Honda Dealers Frozen Frontier on Dec. 14 where the Purple Eagles and RIT Tigers skated to a 2-2 tie at Frontier Field. Niagara is tied for seventh place with Holy Cross and Sacred Heart in Atlantic Hockey with eight points and a 3-4-2 mark, while going 3-11-2 in its last 16 games.
NIAGARA TIDBITS
• Ryan Rashid, Isaac Kohls and Mike Conderman lead the Purple Eagles in scoring with nine points each. Rashid has a team-leading five goals, while Kohls has netted six helpers.
• Isaac Kohls is first with a +7 plus/minus rating.
• Hugo Turcotte leads the squad with 56 shots on goal. Patrick Divjak is close behind with 54 looks on net.
• Freshmen goaltenders Jackson Teichroeb (1-6-1) and Adrian Ignagni (2-5-1) have split time between the pipes in the 16 games thus far. Ignagni owns a 3.41 goals against average and a .890 save percentage, while Teichroeb pocketed his first owns a 3.35 GAA and a .894 save percentage.
• The team has killed 60-of-80 opponent power plays thus far, while going 5-for-73 with a man advantage.
FROZEN PURPLE EAGLES
• Niagara halted its five-game losing streak with a 2-2 tie against AHA foe RIT in the first outdoor game of both teams on Dec. 14 at Frontier Field.
• The Purple Eagles received a goal from Ryan Rashid at 11:45 of the final period to send the contest into extra time for the eighth time in 14 meetings. Niagara dominated over time as the Purple Eagles outshot the Tigers, 6-0.
• Matt Chartrain scored the initial Niagara goal, while Purple Eagle goaltender Jackson Teichroeb finished the game with 25 saves. Niagara went 0-for-5 on the man-advantage, while RIT scored one power play goal on six opportunities.
THE NU-BENTLEY SERIES
• Niagara remains unbeaten when matched up against the Falcons, holding a 5-0-1 record.
• The Purple and White are 1-0-1 against Bentley at John Ryan Skating Arena.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
• Bentley currently owns a 9-7-1 overall mark, while owning a 7-2-1 AHA record. The Falcons are tied for first place with Mercyhurst in the AHA standings with each program having 15 points to its name.
• The Falcons are currently on an eight-game unbeaten streak (7-0-1), the second longest in program history and longest since the 1980-81 season. Bentley has also won its previous four matchups with its last loss coming on Nov. 8 against AIC (8-7).
• The Falcons are averaging 3.29 goals a game and are allowing 2.65, placing them 15th and 29th the nation, respectively.
• The power play has gone 17-for-67 while the penalty kill is 74-for-87, ranking them fifth and 14th in the NCAA, respectively.
• Steve Weinstein leads the team in scoring with 24 points with a team-leading 23 assists and has added one goal. Alex Grieve is tops on the team with 12 goals (12-9-21), while Brett Gensler (9-10-19) and Andrew Gladiuk (10-6-16) have also contributed offensively for the Falcons.
• Branden Komm has been the go-to goaltender for the Falcons, making 521 saves for a 2.40 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.
RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR
• Niagara is 5-2-0 in its first home game of the new calendar year since 2006-07, with the most recent win coming last year vs. Air Force, 4-3.
WELCOME HOME
• The Purple Eagles return home on Jan. 10 when they welcome AIC to Dwyer for their first weekend home series since November 15-16 when NU swept Army.
• Tickets are still available for both contests so call the Niagara Tickets Office (located inside Dwyer Arena) at 716-286-TIXX, visit www.PurpleEagles.com/Tickets or by emailing [email protected] to reserve your seats!
• Following their weekend series at Bentley the Purple Eagles host 10 of the team’s final 16 games.
