SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Rookie Hugo Turcotte tallied the game-winning tally in the 3-2 victory over American International College on Friday evening to keep the No. 17 Niagara Purple Eagles unbeaten in Atlantic Hockey play.

With 8:45 left to play in the game and scored knotted at two apiece, Turcotte sped down the right wing full speed and cut inside before firing the puck glove side past AIC netminder Ben Meisner for his third goal of the season.

Niagara also got scores from Kevin Ryan and Chris Lochner, while NU goalie Carsen Chubak pushed aside 24 AIC looks on net.

“We did a lot of good things which you need to do fundamentally on the road,” head coach David Burkholder said.  “We won the faceoff game, including getting a faceoff goal which ended up being huge.  I think the shot chart was in our favor as well.  It all adds up to a very good road win.  We got into a little penalty trouble at the end of the game, but guys were out there blocking shots.  We’re going to take the two points, but we need to play a lot better tomorrow.”

With 3:11 gone by in contest, the Yellow Jackets (4-11-3; 1-8-3 AHA) caught the Purple Eagles (12-3-4; 11-0-1 AHA) on their heels and shot out to an early lead off the stick of Richard Leitner.  Blake Pleake let a low shot go from the left circle that was tipped over the shoulder of Chubak by Leitner for his sixth goal of the year.

Niagara increased the pressure as the period went on and finally tied the game at the 8:30 mark.  A faceoff won by Jeff Hannan fell back to Dan Kolenda who pushed the puck to Ryan.  The defenseman ripped a high shot from just inside the blue line that went untouched through traffic to beat Meisner for his first goal of the season.

The Purps continued to pepper Meisner with looks on net the remainder of the period, outshooting the Yellow Jackets 14-6.  Turcotte had a chance to break the tie with 2:28 remaining in the stanza on a breakaway opportunity.  The rookie tried to beat Meisner stick side, but a sliding pad save by the goalie kept the game even heading into the second period.

The next pair of tallies came within a one minute span early in the second.  Lochner gave Niagara its first lead of the game two minutes gone off a sharp-angled shot that beat Meisner just inside the pipe.   The lead was short lived as the Yellow Jackets responded off a score from Pleskach at the 17:20 mark to even the game.

The Yellow Jackets finished the game on the powerplay, including a 1:05 of 3-on-5 action, but Chubak and the Purple Eagle penalty-killing unit prevented the AIC comeback.

Milford, Conn. – The Canisius College hockey team cruised to a 5-1 victory at Sacred Heart on Friday night. With the win, the Griffs improve to 7-9-5 and 6-4-2 against Atlantic Hockey foes.

“We had good legs tonight and real good energy,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “A lot of credit goes to our players for coming up with their best hockey when the game was close in the second period. We really pushed to get that two-goal lead and our special teams came up big for us tonight.”

Rookies Stephen Miller (Boxborough, Mass.) and Chris Rumble (Chesapeake, Va.) led the way for the Griffs. Miller netted the first two goals of his career, while Rumble added the first two points of his tenure on a goal and an assist in just the second collegiate game for the defender.

Junior Kyle Gibbons (Westlake, Ohio) and sophomore Matthew Grazen (East Amherst, N.Y.) also netted goals for the Griffs in the winning effort.

Junior Tony Capobianco (Mississauga, Ontario) anchored the Canisius defense on the night with 27 saves.

The Pioneers (0-18-2, 0-12-2 Atlantic Hockey) struck first in the game when Tommy Castonguay finished from the high slot 9:47 into the contest for the 1-0 advantage.

The Griffs, however, answered back in the second frame with the Canisius freshmen leading the way. Sophomore Tyler Wiseman (Burlington, Ontario) dug the puck out of the boards from down low and found Miller open on the opposite side. Miller then buried his chance for his first collegiate goal 5:19 into the period. Sophomore Mitch McCrank (Haileybury, Ontario) also registered an assist on the game-tying tally.

Miller wasted no time netting his second collegiate goal, scoring just 3:12 after the first to give the Griffs the lead for good. Junior defender Ben Danford (Stillwater, Minn.) fired a shot off the boards and the rebound went to the freshman on the far side. Miller finished with the open look for his second goal and the 2-1 advantage with 11:29 remaining in the period. Junior Duncan McKellar (Phoenix, Ariz.) also registered an assist on the tally.

Rumble then tallied his first collegiate goal, connecting on a power play with 5:47 remaining in the second. The rookie fired a shot in from the point to give the Griffs a 3-1 lead. McKellar and seniorPreston Shupe (Weyburn, Saskatchewan) both posted assists on the power-play goal.

Canisius then added a short-handed tally with 4:12 remaining in the period. Senior Torrey Lindsay (Grosse Isle, Manitoba) caused a turnover in the Sacred Heart zone and from behind the net, found Grazen open in front. The sophomore finished his chance for his fifth goal of the season and the 4-1 Griffs lead after two.

Gibbons carried the momentum for Canisius into the third frame, netting his seventh goal of the season 1:37 into the period. Rumble sent a cross-ice pass to Gibbons and the junior forward found the back of the net from the right face-off circle to finish the scoring and seal the 5-1 Canisius victory.

Both teams finished with 28 shots on the night. Canisius was 1-for-5 on the power play, while killing all three Sacred Heart power plays.

Andrew Bodnarchuk finished with 23 saves in the loss for the Pioneers.

The schools wrap up the two-game series tomorrow, playing at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport at 4:05 p.m.

Game Notes: The Griffs did not have a goal from a freshman this season before the game … Canisius was one of four teams to not score or allow a short-handed goal this year … The Griffs are now a perfect 7-0-0 when Lindsay records a point this season (0-9-5 when he is held off the scoreboard) … Capobianco has allowed one or fewer goals in seven of his last eight Atlantic Hockey contests … Sacred Heart’s opening goal ended a 150:54 first-period scoreless streak for Capobianco … Danford now has 45 career assists, one shy of the program’s record for a defender … Canisius won for the first time this season when allowing the first goal of the game.

Friday, Jan. 11, 2013

SPRINGFIELD, MASS.— Junior forward Adam Place (Scarborough,
Ontario/Bowmanville Eagles) scored with 31 seconds left in overtime to
give the SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team (6-8-1) a 4-3 victory over Western
New England (6-7) on Friday night. Potsdam freshman goaltender Jon Hall
(Dexter, N.Y./Stouffville Spirit) made 33 saves to earn his first
collegiate win.

Junior forward Zach Blake (Campbellford, Ontario/Plattsburgh State) got
Potsdam on the board with a power-play tally at the 5:48 mark of the first
period. Senior captain Matt Viola (Toronto, Ontario/Vaughan Vipers) and
sophomore defenseman Erick Ware (Huntsville, Ala./Kenai River Brown Bears)
assisted on the goal. Just 14 seconds later, junior assistant captain Mike
Arnold (Didsbury, Alberta/Kingston Voyageurs) scored with an assist from
sophomore defenseman Dan McCamey (Dayton, Ohio/Minnesota Flying Aces). At
11:11, freshman forward Billy Pascalli (Deer Park, N.Y./New York Bobcats)
made it 3-0 Bears on helpers from Place and junior assistant captain Nick
Avgerinos (Bolton, Ontario/Georgetown Raiders). The Golden Bears finally
broke through with a power-play tally from William Preston. Potsdam led
3-1 at the break.

After tight play midway through he second period, Chris Connors scored an
even strength goal to make it a 3-2 contest. Six minutes later, Connors
struck again to tie the score at 3-3. Western New England outshot the
Bears 13-11 in the second period. The score was knotted at 3-3 after 40
minutes.

The teams traded scoring opportunities and power plays in the third
period, but couldn’t gain the upper hand. Hall stopped nine third period
shots and Golden Bears goalie Tim Carr turned aside 12 to send the contest
to overtime.

In overtime the Bears outshot Western New England 4-2. With less than a
minute left in the extra five minutes, Viola forced a neutral zone
turnover and fed Place. Place carried the puck into the zone and roofed it
over Carr for the game-winner. Ware notched the second assist on the play.

Carr finished with 35 saves. The Potsdam was 1-4 on the power play and the
Western New England went 1-3.

The Bears are back in action tomorrow afternoon when they head down the
Mass Pike to Worcester to battle Becker College at 3:30 p.m.

NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara hockey team has found itself on the national polls for the seventh straight week after dropping Air Force this weekend, jumping up one spot to the No. 17 ranking in the most recent USCHO.com Division I poll.

The Purps have been ranked in the prior six polls, tying the program record of seven consecutive weeks that was earned during the 2006-07 season (Jan. 2 – Feb. 12).  The team’s highest ranking this season came during the week of Dec. 10, pulling down a No. 16 ranking in the USCHO.com Poll which was the team’s best position in the poll since the 2006-07 season when NU earned the 16^th spot for two consecutive weeks (Jan. 22 & Jan. 29).

The NCAA Tournament Pairwise Comparison Ratings has NU tied at No. 16 with Robert Morris and Colgate.

A thrilling 4-3 victory over the Falcons this past weekend pushed the Purple Eagles to an 11-3-4 overall record, and a 10-0-1 Atlantic Hockey mark.  The team is tops in the conference, five points ahead of second-place Army.  The win on Saturday also marked the team’s 14^th straight contest without a loss on the scoresheet while on home ice.

The Purple Eagles travel to Springfield, Mass. to battle the AIC Yellow Jackets in a weekend series that begins on Friday, Jan. 11, and wraps up the following day.  The puck is scheduled to drop at 7:05 p.m. at the Olympia Ice Center for both contests.

NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – Center Giancarlo Iuorio and goaltender Carsen Chubak are among 77 initial candidates on the fan ballot for the 2013 Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the nation’s best player in NCAA Division I men’s college hockey.

Fans can vote once per every 24 hours through March 10, 2013 for Iuorio and Chubak HERE.

Chubak anchors Niagara’s defense, which ranks ninth in the nation, allowing 1.46 goals-per game which is good enough for second in the country.  Leading the Purps to a No. 17 national ranking and an 11-3-4 overall record, Chubak ranks first in the nation in save percentage .954 and shutouts (5).

Starting in all, but two games over the last 17 games, he is a five-time Atlantic Hockey Goalie of the Week this season and was the AHA Goalie of the Month for October and November.

Iuorio, who serves as the team’s assistant captain, has played a pivotal role in the NU offense.  The two-time AHA Player of the Week and Player of the Month for November is tied for third in the nation in goals (12), and goals-per game (0.67).  His 1.11 points-per game places him 24^th in the nation, while his four power-play tallies slates him in the 22^nd spot.

He became the first Purple Eagle to net three consecutive 20 point season since Egor Mironov and Chris Moran achieved it during the 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 season, while he is only 12 points away from joining the 100-point club that only 13 Purple Eagles have attained.

In Niagara’s 17-year history, Niagara has had a pair of top-10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award.  Paul Zanette earned this distinction after the 2010-11 season, and Joe Tallari was in the final 10 following the 2002-03 campaign.

The Hobey Baker Award is given annually to college hockey’s Most Valuable Player.  Award criteria include candidates emulating the exceptional character traits exhibited by the award’s namesake, Hobey Baker, a World War I flying star better known as America’s greatest amateur athlete in his day.  Award candidates must demonstrate strength of character both on and off the ice, contribute to the integrity of his team and display outstanding skills in all phases of the game.  Consideration should be given to scholastic achievement and sportsmanship.

Finalists for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award are determined by an initial round of balloting by all 58 Division I college coaches; the top 10 names then advance to the award’s selection committee composed of media, NHL scouts, college hockey coaches and supervisors of officials. A fan vote conducted online at hobeybaker.com allows college hockey fans a one-percent vote in each round of balloting.

The top-10 finalists will be unveiled on March 21.