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Potsdam Women Begin Season; Coaches Poll In

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The SUNY Potsdam women’s hockey team has been picked to

finish fifth in the Eastern College Athletic Conference West pre-season

coaches’ poll. Last year, the Bears were 12-10-3 (7-8-3 ECAC West) and
qualified for the playoffs for the second time in the past four seasons.

The 2012-13 Potsdam Bears are led by captains Katie Komsa (Sault Ste. Marie,
Ontario/Sault Ste. Marie AA Midget) and Brittany Lucky (Kanata,
Ontario/Ottawa Senators) and assistant captains Brittany Westlake
(Georgetown Ontario/Brampton Thunder) and Jenn Crawford (Burlington,
Ontario/Stoney Creek Sabres). Potsdam returns 10 letterwinners and adds 8
newcomers.

The Bears open the season with a seven-game road trip, beginning at Salve
Regina at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 27. Potsdam opens its home slate at
Cheel Arena on Dec. 1 against ECAC West foe Cortland at 7 p.m.

 

SUNY Plattsburgh was selected to finish atop the league with 80 points.
Elmira received a first place vote to finish with 73 points and in second
place. The Bears accumulated 44 points to secure the fifth position in the
poll.

Complete coaches’ poll below:

2012-2013 ECAC Women’s West Preseason Poll:
1.      Plattsburgh – 80
2.      Elmira – 73
3.      Neumann – 55
4.      Utica – 52
5.      Potsdam – 44
6.      Oswego – 38
7.      Cortland – 28
8.      Buffalo State – 25
9.      Chatham – 10

Oswego Loses to Castleton in Season Opener

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CASTLETON, Vt. – The Oswego State women’s ice hockey team (0-1-0) was shut out in the season opener, 3-0, against Castleton State on Friday night.

The Spartans took advantage of a Laker cross-checking penalty near the end of the first period when Nicoline Jensen scored a goal on a pass from Danielle Roberts and Eileen Coyne to open the game’s scoring.

Castleton started the second period strong, scoring 34 seconds after the period began.  Jade Wagner scored for the home team, whil Anna Daniels picked up the assist. The Spartans put the puck into the net again 12 minutes later on a goal from Anna Daniels with an assist going to Roberts.

Both teams were scoreless in the third period to end the game at 3-0.

Jocelyn St. Clair (Jr. Cambridge, Ont.) took the most shots for the Lakers with six, while Tori Trovato (Fr., Fulton, N.Y.) made 29 saves in her first collegiate ice hockey game. Castleton State’s Paula Stephens finished with 28 saves for the win.

Cornell Defeats Brown in ECAC Opener

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ITHACA, N.Y. – Brown goalie Katie Jamieson had a terrific day in stopping 35 shots, but the No. 2 Big Red offense was able to sneak one past her and went on to defeat Brown 2-0 in both teams’ ECAC Hockey opener.

The Big Red (3-1, 1-0 ECAC Hockey) got a second-period power play goal in front of the net by freshman Taylor Woods, and an empty netter  by Jillian Saulnier with 27 seconds left sealed the Big Red’s 12th consecutive victory over the Bears.

In net for Cornell, junior Lauren Slebodnick had her first shutout of the season and stopped all 12 shots she faced.

“It is surprisingly easier and a little bit more fun, too, when you don’t get a lot of shots,” Slebodnick said. “It was more of a focus battle. You really have to be ready for each shot.”

The Bears, playing in their season opener, were completely dominated for most of the game and did not test Slebodnick much. The junior had to make a few dangerous saves, and the defense was excellent in front of her to hold Brown to 0 for 6 on the power play.

The Big Red peppered the Brown net throughout the first period and emerged with a 16-4 shot advantage through 20 minutes. But Cornell was unable to get a puck past Jamieson even with four full minutes on the power play.

A Brown penalty with 10 seconds left in the period, though wound up resulting in Cornell’s goal later in the second.

With just a few ticks remaining on the power play, Kelly Murray took a shot from the blue line. Woods was standing right in front of the net and deflected the puck past Katie Jaimeson for the 1-0 Big Red lead.

“We needed to get more people in front of [Jamieson],” Cornell coach Doug Derraugh said. “I felt like she saw too many pucks tonight. It’s pretty tough to make saves when you can’t see it coming through, and our only goal on her the whole night was a result of that.”

The rest of the period saw plenty of power play opportunities for the Bears, as they had six minutes of the man advantage. But Cornell played a stifling penalty kill, holding Brown to just one shot on its three power plays in the period. When 40 minutes had elapsed, Cornell was ahead 25-6 in shots.

The third saw more of the same with each team getting two power play opportunities and neither converting. As the Big Red killed off a Brown advantage with about a minute to go, the Bears pulled Jamieson to get a 6 on 5.

The plan backfired, though, as Lauriane Rougeau started Cornell up the ice and found Brianne Jenner who got the puck over to Saulnier for the empty netter.

The Big Red is now 1-0 in conference play for the fourth consecutive year and has scored a goal in 86 consecutive contests.

Cornell 5-1 Over St. Lawrence in Home Opener

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ITHACA, N.Y. – For 15 minutes, Cornell had no goals. Sixty seconds later, the Big Red had three.

A whirlwind sequence of three goals in 59 seconds vaulted No. 2 Cornell to an 5-1 victory against St. Lawrence in the Big Red’s home opener on Tuesday night. Emily FultonBrianne Jenner and Alyssa Gagliardi had the Big Red goals in that wild minute.

Freshman Anna Zorn added a goal in the third period for the Big Red (2-1) and Fulton – who also had an assist – got her second of the night to give the Big Red its final total and help avenge a loss in last season’s ECAC Hockey Tournament Final to this same St. Lawrence (0-5) squad.

Fulton’s first goal came on a brilliant individual effort as she stole the puck from a Saints defenseman in the Big Red attacking zone and beat Carmen MacDonald high and to the right with 4:59 showing on the first-period clock.

Thirty seconds after that, Jenner put home a rebound off a shot taken by Jess Brown after Brown took a pass from Fulton.

Before the home fans got back in their seats, though, the Big Red was at it again. Jillian Saulnier took a shot from the left point, and the puck was saved by MacDonald. But a funny bounce sent the puck behind her and off the glass. The puck ricocheted off the glass, back over the net and right into the goal crease, where Zorn was there to tap it to Gagliardi and a 3-0 lead. That third goal in 59 seconds caused the Saints to pull MacDonald from the game in favor of freshman Giulia Mazzocchi.

In the second period, neither team was able to score, though the Cornell defense shone bright as it had to kill off more than four consecutive minutes of St. Lawrence power play. Cornell also outshot the Saints 14-8 in the second period but was unable to find twice as Mazzocchi swatted away all 14 pucks that came her way.

The third period, though, saw the Big Red get back on the scoreboard. Fulton got her third point of the night when she scored a power play goal 13 minutes into the period, tipping a shot from the point by Gagliardi past Mazzocchi.

Zorn then earned her second goal of the year on a two-on-one breakaway with Brianne Jenner. Zorn had the puck on her stick last as she roofed it over Mazzocchi.

The Saints, continuing the lightning pace of goal scoring, added their only goal of the night on the power play 1:14 after Zorn scored her second with Rylee Smith nudging the puck past Cornell’s Lauren Slebodnick after a shot from the point by Brooke Fernandez bounced off a friendly body and left Smith with an open look.

Slebodnick was terrific in net otherwise, stopping 16 shots and allowing her fewest goals of the year to pick up her second win.

Union’s Lundberg Earns ECAC Weekly Honors

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 Sophomore goaltender Shenae Lundberg was named ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week, the league announced on Tuesday, October 23.

Lundberg made 30 saves and posted a .938 save percentage in her season debut against rival Rensselaer Saturday, October 20. The netminder was instrumental in Union’s first-ever win at Houston Field House making several point-blank saves and converting a period-high 12 saves in the third stanza to ensure the 3-2 victory. The Peterbourough, NH native is the first Dutchwomen to win the award since Kate Gallagher who won the award on November 8, 2011.

The Dutchwomen will wrap up their five-game road trip as Union will play Clarkson Friday, October 26 beginning at 3 p.m. and St. Lawrence Saturday, October 27 starting at 2 p.m.

RIT Women Head to Penn State

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The RIT women’s hockey team will look to pick up its first College Hockey America wins as a Division I program, as the squad travels to play fellow Division I newcomer Penn State at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion for a pair of conference games on Thursday and Friday. Both contests begin at 7 p.m.

The Tigers (3-3-0, 0-2-0 CHA) enjoyed a solid weekend, earning a split against ECAC opponents Princeton and Yale. On Friday, the Tigers gave a strong effort, but fell just short to Princeton, 2-1 in front of 1,350 fans at Ritter Arena in a battle of the Tigers. Celeste Brown (Great Falls, MT) scored RIT’s lone goal, midway through the second period. RIT goaltenderLaura Chamberlain (Norco, CA/Norco) was strong in net, stopping 32-of-34 shots. On Saturday, RIT used a balanced attack to defeat Yale, 3-0 at Blue Cross Arena in downtown Rochester. Morgan Scoyne (Drumbo, Ontario), Brown, andErin Zach (Elmira, Ontario/Elmira Secondary) scored for the Tigers, who out-shot Yale, 36-21. In net, Ali Binnington(Oakville, Ontario) was outstanding, stopping all 21 shots she faced for her second shutout of the season.

RIT is out-scoring its opponents, 21-17 this season, including 19-4 over the last four games. Three seniors, Kim Schlattman (Stratford, Ontario/St. Michael’s Catholic), Ellesha Fortuna (Burlington, Ontario/Notre Dame Secondary), and Ariane Yokoyama (Van Nuys, CA/Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies ) are leading the team in scoring with five points each. Schlattman has a team-best four goals, while Yokoyama has four assists. RIT has 10 players with at least three points this season. In net, Binnigton and Chamberlain have split time.  Binnington is 2-1 with a 2.59 goals against average and .896 save percentage, while Chamberlain is 1-2 with a 3.31 goals against average and .879 save percentage.

Penn State (2-4-0, 0-2-0 CHA) enters the two-game series looking to pick up its second straight win after romping Sacred Heart by a score of 6-1 on Saturday. Taylor Gross and Shannon Yoxheimer each tallied a goal and an assist. The Nittany Lions were 3-for-5 with the man-advantage. Yoxheimer leads the team in scoring with four goals, while Gross has four assists. In net, Nicole Paniccia is 2-2-0 with a 2.51 goals against average and .931 save percentage.

These will be the first two meeting between the two schools.

RIT scores on Yale on Homecoming Weekend

Maksymum Inks Agreement with Arena

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Rochester, New York – Maksymum Hockey, one of the leading hockey development companies in the Rochester market has signed a 5 year agreement with the Sports Centre at Monroe Community College.

 

The Sports Centre at Monroe Community College home base for Maksymum Hockey. The agreement includes office space, sports performance training space, hockey shooting training rooms, lockers rooms for two Junior Hockey teams, and ice time for private and group hockey lessons.

 

“My partners and I are excited to establish a new long term relationship with the Sports Centre,” Dave Maksymiu, Owner of Maksymum Hockey said.  “We look forward to working hand in hand with the new ownership group.  This is a situation where all parties benefit, especially the local hockey community.”

 

“We are thrilled to have Maksymum Hockey on board for an additional 5 years,” said Chris Woodworth, Director or Programming & Marketing at the Sports Centre.  “They are one of the nation’s leading hockey development companies, and a staple in the Rochester Hockey community.”

Cornell Losses to Boston U; Splits Series

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No. 3 Boston University pulled away for a 5-1 victory against No. 2 Cornell on Sunday afternoon, splitting the weekend series after the Big Red’s victory on Saturday night.

Isabel Menard had four points for the Terriers, teammate Marie-Philip Poulin had three, and Laura Fortino‘s power play goal for the Big Red was not nearly enough in a game where Lauren Slebodnick had to make 31 saves on a relentless BU attack in the friendly confines of Walter Brown Arena.

The Terriers’ victory was their first against Cornell in the last five meetings dating back to a Frozen Four battle in 2011.

For the second consecutive day, neither side was able to break through in the first period. Slebodnick had 11 saves to lead the Big Red, while her opponent on the other end of the ice, Kerrin Sperry, had eight stops to her name. Each side was 0-1 on power play opportunities in the period.

But in the second period, the offenses once again got going.

Fortino had the game’s first goal, taking a rebound of her own shot and roofing it over the left shoulder of Sperry on the power play.

The sequence began as Jessica Campbell took a high sticking penalty, setting up the Big Red for the two-minute five-on-four. Brianne Jenner won the faceoff, fed Jillian Saulnier in the middle of the ice, and the sophomore took a shot that bounced out to Fortino. Fortino took a quick attempt and then re-shot her own rebound for the score.

But a mere two minutes later, Menard got the better of the Big Red defense, putting home a shot to tie the game at 1-1. And with 19 seconds remaining in the period, the Terriers took a 2-1 lead thanks to a three-on-one breakaway. Marie-Philip Poulin put the puck past Slebodnick on a nice cross-ice pass from Menard.

An early penalty against the Big Red in the third period created the Terriers’ third goal, which would prove to be the backbreaker. A failed clearing attempt by Cornell went into the glove of Poulin, and she dropped the puck to her stick and slotted it to Menard on her left. Menard went to the right side of the zone for Jennelle Kohanchuk, and the senior had space to make it a 3-1 game.

Cornell had plenty of chances in the third period but could not capitalize.  The team earned four power play opportunities, including a full minute of five-on-three, but it could not get the puck past Sperry, who allowed four goals the night before and finished with 22 saves on Sunday.

Isabel Menard got an unassisted goal with 1:59 left on the clock when she blocked a Big Red shot and took it 150 feet to beat Slebodnick. A bad turnover in the defensive zone 25 seconds later led to an unassisted goal by Poulin to seal the contest for the home team.

The Big Red took a total of 23 shots Sunday afternoon compared to the 34 it put on goal Saturday night.

Buff State Women Win Exhibition as Season Opens

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Buffalo State Women’s Hockey Clips Rapids in Exhibition, 3-2

BUFFALO, NY—Sophomore transfer Kara Goodwin (Avon Lake, OH/Avon Lake) netted a pair of goals and Buffalo State held on for a 3-2 victory over the Niagara Rapids Midget AA in an exhibition game this evening at the Ice Arena.
 
Kendra Peters (Brier, WA/Inglemoor) opened the scoring for the Bengals with a rebound goal midway through the opening period.  Goodwin extended Buffalo State’s lead to 3-0 with a goal late in the opening frame and another early in the second period.  The Rapids got on the board 4:22 into the final stanza and added a goal on a 5-on-3 power play with 46 seconds remaining, but could not find the equalizer. 
 
Tara Boliard (Canton, MI/Canton) added a pair of assists for Buffalo State.  The Bengals outshot Niagara, 33-27 for the game.   Jordan Lee (Colorado Springs, CO/Widefield) and Sarah Quigley (Canton, MA/National Sports Acad.) split time in goal for the Bengals.  Lee turned aside all 17 shots she faced, while Quigley made eight saves on 10 shots.
 
Buffalo State will officially open its season at home on Friday against first-year program Stevenson University at 4 p.m.

Canisius Falls to Western Michigan

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Kalamazoo, Mich. – The Canisius College hockey team fell to nationally-ranked Western Michigan on Friday night, losing to the No. 12 Broncos, 3-0. The loss drops the Griffs to 1-2-0 on the season, while Western Michigan improves to 2-1-0.

 

“A couple of inches here and there and it is a completely different story,” said Canisius head coachDave Smith. “We hit a post, hit a crossbar and had a goal disallowed. We gave ourselves a chance to be in the game tonight because we were better later in the game and I’m excited to see if we can carry that over into tomorrow.”

 

Junior Tony Capobianco (Mississauga, Ontario) led the Griffs with 38 saves on the night.

 

After a scoreless first period, the Broncos finally broke through halfway through the second frame. Western Michigan skated in on a 2-on-1 break and Josh Pitt got past the Canisius defense and finished for the 1-0 lead with 10:45 remaining in the period.

 

Western Michigan added a second tally nearly five minutes later when Jordan Osterie’s shot from the point snuck through for a 2-0 advantage.

 

The Griffs attempted a comeback in the third but despite good pressure, couldn’t get on the scoreboard.  In the first five minutes of the frame, the Western Michigan goaltender made a nice save on freshman Stephen Miller (Boxborough, Mass.), junior Kyle Gibbons (Westlake, Ohio) had his shot ring off the pipe and sophomore Mitch McCrank (Haileybury, Ontario) had his goal off a rebound from another shot that hit the post disallowed after a lengthy review.

 

The Broncos then sealed the victory with a power-play tally with 8:26 remaining in the contest with Mike Cichy scoring on a rebound for the 3-0 final score.

 

Western Michigan finished the contest with a 41-21 advantage in shots. The Broncos converted 1-of-8 power-play chances, while the Griffs did not convert in three opportunities.

 

Frank Slubowski recorded 21 saves for the Broncos to earn the shutout victory.

 

The teams wrap up the two-game series tomorrow night with game time set for 7:05 p.m.

 

Game Notes: The Griffs drop to 3-19-2 all-time against nationally-ranked schools and 4-18-4 versus CCHA teams … Canisius was shutout for the second time in three games this season and for the eighth time in the last two years … The Broncos now own a 4-1-0 all-time advantage against Canisius … It marked the first time in the series that a school failed to score two goals in a contest.

Niagara Ties Michigan State

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Twice the Niagara men’s hockey team held the lead over Michigan State, but the Purple Eagles had to settle for a 3-3 draw as the Spartans battled back for the second time in two nights at Munn Ice Arena on Saturday evening.

With 44 seconds remaining in the contest and the Purple Eagles (1-2-2) en route to a 3-2 victory, the Spartans (1-2-1) pulled goalie Will Yanakeff for the extra man and received the game-tying goal from left winger Brent Darnell off a rebound.

The teams battled into overtime, with MSU finding six looks on net to Niagara’s one, but neither team could find the back of the net.

“That was a hard fought weekend,” head coach David Burkholder said.  “We won four out of six periods on the weekend and only come out of it with a road tie which is unfortunate.”

After seeing its two-goal lead erased with a pair of third period tallies from the Spartans, Niagara right winger Dan Kolenda gave NU the 3-2 advantage with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game.  Yanakeff attempted to control a Patrick Divjak dump in, but the puck bounced over his stick to Kolenda who pounced on the mistake and snapped home his first goal as a Purple Eagle, but the team was unable to hold onto the lead.

“We have to be better when we have the lead especially against CCHA teams on the road,” Burkholder added.  “We had a lot of guys that played really well this weekend though, especially tonight.”

For the second straight night, the Purple Eagles were the first team to get on the scoreboard.  Niagara was whistled for a boarding penalty early in the opening period, but did not sit back on the man-disadvantage.  Divjak connected with a streaking Chris Lochner who buried the puck blocker side of Yanakeff 4:53 into the contest for a shorthanded tally.

Niagara’s powerplay unit came through in the second stanza after defender RJ Boyd was called for roughing with 14:12 on the clock.  With 34 seconds remaining on the man-advantage, right winger Ryan Rashid picked up a pass along the boards from Divjak and let a slapper fly from the point that was tipped in by Giancarlo Iuorio with a 7:14 remaining in the period.

Greg Wolfe gave the Spartans hope in the opening minutes of the final period as the winger tipped in a feed from Lee Reimer past NU keeper Carsen Chubak to cut the Purple Eagles lead to one goal 3:21 into the stanza.

MSU continued its second comeback in two nights against the Purps as center Matt DeBlouw tallied the initial game-tying goal off an assist from Brent Darnell with 12:20 on the clock to make it 2-2.

Chubak made his second-straight start between the pipes, pushing aside 35 Spartan shots.
The trio of assists from Divjak was a single-game career-high for the junior.

Niagara continues its second longest road trip of the season next week when the Purple Eagles take on the Clarkson Golden Knights starting on Friday, Oct. 26 and wrapping up the following day.  Both contests are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

Canisius Names Mair Director of Player Development

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A 12-year veteran of the National Hockey League, Adam Mair has joined the Canisius College hockey staff as Director of Player Development, announced by head coach Dave Smith on Monday.

“I’m very thankful for the opportunity that has been provided by Canisius College, Dave Smith and the entire coaching staff where I’ll be able to learn the many aspects involved in coaching and the day-to-day operations of running a program,” Mair said. “I look forward to helping Canisius College and its players achieve their goals and aid in their future success. It is great to be involved and give back to the Buffalo hockey community that has given me so much in my career.”

 

At Canisius, Mair will work directly with the coaches on practice and game evaluation. In addition, he will assist the staff with individual and team video to ensure quality control as well as scouting of opponents.

 

“It is great for our program to have a former NHL player with over 850 professional games join our staff,” Smith said. “Adam’s passion for the game and his interest in helping our program reach the next level is evident on a daily basis. He is a tremendous asset to Canisius College hockey.

 

“Working with Adam will benefit all of the coaches, as well as Adam, and this will make a win-win situation for everybody involved. Our relationship with the Buffalo Sabres continues to grow and it’s great that we can connect with a former Sabre who chooses to reside in the greater Buffalo area.”

 

Mair spent 12 seasons in the NHL as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs (1998-01), Los Angeles Kings (2001-02), Buffalo Sabres (2002-10) and New Jersey Devils (2010-11). A member of the three teams that advanced to conference finals and the 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres team that won the Presidents’ Trophy, Mair appeared in 650 regular-season and postseason NHL games with 122 points, 41 goals and 81 assists.

 

During his career, Mair was mentored by four former Jack Adams Award winners in Lindy Ruff, Jacques Lemaire, Bruce Boudreau and Pat Quinn as well as a finalist in Andy Murray.

 

A native of Hamilton, Ontario, Mair also captained the Canadian World Junior Championship team in 1999, earning MVP honors during the gold-medal game.

NU’s Takes First Win

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The Niagara men’s hockey team earned its first win of the season in a hard fought conference matchup against the Mercyhurst Lakers on Saturday evening in Dwyer Arena.

Junior defensemen Matt Williams scored the game-winning tally midway through the second period, to pocket the year’s first conference win.  After receiving a pass from rookie Dan Kolenda behind the net, sophomore Chris Lochner fed Williams in the left circle and he one-timed the shot for his first tally of the year.

“This is truly the start of our season,” head coach David Burkholder said.  “Obviously every point in Atlantic Hockey is huge and for us to answer the bell like we did tonight was great, especially after playing three games in eight nights which is not the norm in college hockey.”

Williams also added an assist in the Purple Eagles initial score, tallied by Giancarlo Iuorio   Kolenda earned his first point as a Purple Eagle with a helper, while Ryan Rashid had a one-point night with an assist.

Both teams came out firing in the opening period, but neither could get on the board as each goaltender remained solid between the pipes.

It was Iuorio who gave the Purple Eagles the 1-0 lead with less than three minutes remaining in the first period.  Rashid was able to outwork several Laker defenders behind the net, sliding the puck to Iuorio who was waiting at the top of the crease.  Iuorio sniped one top-shelf over the shoulder of Laker goaltender Max Strang for his second goal of the season.

The squads headed into the first intermission with NU holding a 14-10 advantage in shots.

After Williams gave the Purple Eagles a two-goal cushion in the second 20 minutes of play, the Lakers were finally able to get on the scoreboard with a little more than five minutes remaining in the second period after sophomore Ryan Mislak snuck the puck underneath the pads of NU goaltender Carsen Chubak, but it was not enough for the comeback.

Niagara finished the game outshooting the Lakes by a 39-26 margin.

In his second start of the season, Chubak pushed aside 25 Laker looks on net.

NU will begin its four-game road trip next week starting with a double-dip against the Michigan State Spartans on the Spartans on Friday, Oct. 19 and Saturday Oct. 20 at Munn Arena.   The puck is scheduled to drop at 7 p.m. for both contests.