The Niagara Purple Eagles remain unbeaten in Atlantic Hockey play with the 3-0 shutout victory over the Robert Morris Colonials on Saturday evening at Dwyer Arena. 

The Purple Eagles (8-2-3; 7-0-0 AHA) have played to four straight victories on home-ice, including blanking their opponents in the previous three matchups to set an NU record, beginning with the 5-0 shutout against the UConn Huskies on Nov.2   NU goaltender Carsen Chubak has played in every minute of those games, not allowing a goal in 180 minutes of play.

Chubak registered 43 saves, one shy of his career. The junior currently leads the nation with five shutouts, and is ranked first in the nation in goal-against average (0.99) and save percentage (.970).

“Sometimes you have to tip your hat to your opponent and they were really good today,” head coach David Burkholder said.  “They were really fast on their forecheck, but I thought we battled through it and got a couple timely goals again.  Overall it was a very good team effort. We’re undefeated in league play which is everything for us.  I think every point is big in Atlantic Hockey and this is a great start to the season.”

Hugo Turcotte started the scoring for Niagara as the freshman earned his first goal as a Purple Eagle to put Niagara ahead 1-0 less than four minutes played in the contest.  Ryan Rashid slipped a feed to Turcotte at the top of the slot and the rookie ripped one top shelf over the top of Colonial goaltender Terry Shafer.

Robert Morris (4-4-0; 3-3-0 AHA) had several great scoring opportunities all coming on the man-advantage, but Chubak remained steadfast between the pipes.  Cody Wydo had the Colonial’s best chance with six seconds remaining on their first powerplay, but one-timer from just outside the blue paint was pushed aside by the outstretch pad of Chubak.  

Niagara took advantage of its first powerplay of the game with 2:01 remaining in the first stanza.  Giancarlo Iuorio wristed a shot into traffic from the right circle, and the puck snuck under the pads of Shafer for the senior’s team-leading ninth goal of the year, one shy of his career-high that was accomplished last season.

The period finished with NU holding a slim 14-13 advantage in shots. 

After a scoreless third period that saw RMU outshoot NU 13-10, Ryan Murphy extended the Purple Eagle’s unbeaten streak to nine games with his sixth goal of the season. With 12:39 remaining in the contest Marc Zanette whipped a shot on net from the bottom right circle that connected with Murphy just outside the crease for the easy tip in.  Murphy has been hot as of late, earning five goals and six assists in the last eight games.   
In seven AHA contests, the Purple Eagles have outshot their opponents by a 24-3 margin.   

“Our ability to outscore opponents comes down to team defense and having Carsen Chubak back there,” added Burkholder. “It just seems like every night we’re talking about him [Chubak], but you have to because he made some great saves when it was 0-0 and right up to the final horn he was battling.  Robert Morris had a lot of guys at the top of the crease, but he was unfazed by any traffic and found pucks.”

In addition to the win, the night was a special one for the men’s hockey program as the Redenbach family took the time to honor Volunteer Assistant Coach Jeff Weber for his continued support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  On behalf of the Redenbach family and Meghan’s “Man Up” Scholarship Fund, the family made an annual donation to the foundation, honoring Weber in the process for his constant efforts to ensure that Meghan Redenbach’s legacy lives on. 

As a part of the evening, Niagara and Robert Morris also joined at the end of the game to honor former RMU captain, Chris Kushneriuk as he continues his battle with cancer. 

The Purple Eagles will have a week off before returning to the ice against Sacred Heart in a two-game series at Dwyer Arena.  The first contest will take place on Friday, Nov. 30, with the second coming the following day.   The puck will drop for bo

SUNY Geneseo (5-4-1, 4-1-1 SUNYAC) scored four unanswered
goals to break a 2-2 tie and defeat the SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team
(3-4-0, 2-4) 6-2 in a SUNYAC contest on Saturday night. Freshman forward
Billy Pascalli (Deer Park, N.Y./New York Bobcats) and sophomore defenseman
Dan McCamey (Dayton, Ohio/Minnesota Flying Aces) each scored for the
Bears.

The Ice Knights jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first 4:18 of the contest.
Jonathan Sucese got the first tally at 3:35 and Ryan Donnelly buried the
second 43 seconds later. Geneseo carried the two-goal advantage into the
intermission.

Pascalli halved the lead just 2:25 into the second stanza with an
even-strength marker. Freshman forward Matt Thompson (Anchorage,
Alaska/Kenai River Brown Bears) and sophomore forward Ken Simon (Norwell,
Mass./Philadelphia Revolution) each assisted on the play. At 14:26,
McCamey scored an unassisted short-handed goal to tie the score. With the
momentum in their favor, Potsdam looked to grab the lead, but it wasn’t to
be. Kaz Iwamoto and Justin Scharfe each scored for Geneseo in a span of 72
seconds to restore the Knights’ two-goal advantage. Sharfe’s momentum
killer came with just 27 seconds left in the period.

The score remained the same until Iwamoto notched his second of the
contest at 14:24 on the power play to make it 5-2 Geneseo . With 2:57
remaining, David Ripple iced the game with the Ice Knights’ sixth goal of
the night.

In goal, freshman Austin Keiser (Dunwoody, Ga./Boston Bulldogs) finished
with 28 saves and Adrian Rubeniuk made 34 stops. Potsdam outshot Geneseo
36-34. The Ice Knights were 1-4 on the man advantage and the Bears went
0-6.

Next, Potsdam is back at Massena Arena for the final time in 2012 to take
on the sixth-ranked Hobart Statesmen on Sunday, Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. The
Bears then embark on a 13-game road trip before returning to Massena on
Feb. 8, to battle Brockport.

The top-ranked Oswego State men’s ice hockey team (7-0-0, 6-0-0 SUNYAC) raced out to a 3-0 first period lead and never looked back, as it defeated Fredonia (4-5-0, 3-4-0 SUNYAC), 7-1, Saturday night. Laker special team units played a pivotal role in the contest as it went 3-for-7 on the power play and killed off seven penalties.
 
Senior linemates Luke Moodie (Oakville, Ontario) and Paul Rodrigues (Etobicoke, Ontario) had solid performances, as Moodie registered a hat trick and a pair of assists and Rodrigues tallied a goal and four assists.
 
Less than a minute into the game, the Lakers gained an extra skater thanks to a Fredonia interference penalty. Good puck movement in the zone allowed Chris Muise (Sr., Oakville, Ontario) to bring the puck from behind the goal line and sneak a shot past Mark Friesen on the far post at the 1:40 mark. Paul Rodrigues and Luke Moodie earned helpers on Muise’s first goal of the season.
 
It became a 2-0 game at 8:27 when Moodie buried a rebound from a Jesse McConney (Sr., Barrie, Ontario) blast that bounced off the back of the boards after a Blue Devil bench minor for too many men on the ice. Moodie’s shot bounced off of the inside of Friesen’s leg as he was trying to get to the right pipe. Rodrigues posted his second assist of the game.
 
Shortly after Andrew Hare (Sr., Burlington, Ontario) made a sprawling save to keep Fredonia from scoring on a power play, Oswego State went back down the ice to score with Rodrigues registering his first goal of the night with assists going to Moodie and Muise. Friesen was injured on the play, forcing Jeff Holloway to replace him in goal at the end of the first period.
 
The Blue Devils got on the scoreboard courtesy of a failed Laker clearing attempt over a minute into the second period. Declan Gunovski was the Fredonia player credited for the goal.
 
It stayed quiet from that point on until the 9:38 mark when Chris Ayotte (Sr., Cornwall, Ontario) created a 2-on-1 chance with Kyle Badham (Jr., Oakville, Ontario) by banking the puck off the boards around the defenseman. The Fredonia defenseman stayed with Badham, giving Ayotte an open look at the net for the goal.
 
One minute later, Moodie tapped the puck through Jeff Holloway’s five-hole to make the score 5-1, prompting Fredonia to call timeout. Rodrigues and Chris Brown (Sr., Centreville, Ontario) received assists on the goal that was the final marker of the frame.
 
Ayotte struck again at 1:59 in the third when his wrist shot found its way through traffic into the back of the net for his second goal of the game and Oswego State’s third power-play goal of the contest following a Fredonia hitting-from-behind penalty.
 
Moodie completed the hat trick at 7:52 after Rodrigues carried the puck up the right side. Rodrigues slid a pass through the crease to Moodie on the far pipe as Holloway had no chance to make the save. Tim Carr (Sr., Burlington, Ontario) started the transition goal with the breakout pass to Rodrigues as the squads skated 4-on-4.
 
Physical play picked up as the game wore down, culminating in 25 penalty minutes, including a game disqualification, being handed out with 4.7 seconds remaining.
 
Andrew Hare compiled 27 saves during the game, while Mark Friesen suffered the loss after allowing three goals in the first 19 minutes. Jeff Holloway stopped 24 shots in relief.
 
The Lakers have the Thanksgiving weekend off before hosting White-Out Weekend on November 30 and December 1 against Potsdam and Plattsburgh.

The Brockport Golden Eagles (3-4-1, 3-2 SUNYAC) overcame a
late rally by the SUNY Potsdam men’s hockey team (3-3, 2-3) to down the
Bears 4-3 in overtime. Potsdam junior assistant captain Mike Arnold
(Didsbury, Alberta/Kingston Voyageurs) stayed red hot with another two
goals and an assist for a three-point night. Freshman goaltender Austin
Keiser (Dunwoody, Ga./Boston Bulldogs) had a career-best 52-save effort
for Potsdam.

Brockport struck first in a tightly contested first period. After a Bear
was whistled for slashing, Mike Heyward scored a power-play marker with
assists from Shane Cavalieri and Jesse Facchini) at 6:44. Potsdam tested
Golden Eagle goalie Aaron Green 12 times in the opening 20 minutes, but
trailed 1-0 heading into the break.

Brockport dominated in possession and shots in the second period. The
Golden Eagles outshot the Bears 24-4 and extended their lead to 2-0. Steve
Sachman connected with Marcus Farmer and Bobby Conner at 13:50. Despite
only creating a few scoring chances in the middle stanza, Potsdam was able
to cut into the deficit. At 17:26, sophomore forward Trevor Cope (Swartz
Creek, Mich./Atlanta Jr. Knights) fed Arnold to finish a two-on-one and
make it a 2-1 contest.

The score remained unchanged until midway through the third period. At
10:21, Sachman notched his second of the night with an assist from Hayward
and Brockport restored its two-goal advantage. Just two minutes later,
Arnold wristed a shot from the slot past Green to cut the gap to 3-2.
Sophomore defenseman Erick Ware (Huntsville, Ala./Kenai River Brown Bears)
recorded the lone assist on the play. At 14:13, junior forward Adam Place
(Scarborough, Ontario/Bowmanville Eagles) buried the equalizer with
assists from Cope and Arnold.

The Golden Eagles outshot Potsdam 4-0 through the first four minutes of
overtime, but it was the fifth shot at 4:01 that decided the contest.
Cavalieri finished a pass from Chad Cummings and James Ryan to give
Brockport its third win of the season.

Green made 22 saves for the victory. The Golden Eagles finished with a
56-25 advantage in shots and went 1-4 on the power play. Potsdam was 0-1
on the man advantage.