NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – In the second game of the weekend series between Niagara hockey and the Holy Cross Crusaders, the Purple Eagles were able to elevate their offensive game, finding tallies from four different goal scorers. A late extra-man goal by the Crusaders brought the game to a deciding 4-4 tie Saturday night at Dwyer Arena.
Niagara freshmen Noah Delmas (0+2) and Kris Spriggs (1+1) each registered a team-high two points, with Spriggs putting the Purple Eagles up 4-3 with 6:45 to play in regulation. Joe O’Brien relieved Jackson Teichroeb following the first intermission and denied 19 of 20 shots to earn the tie in goal.
Game Summary
· Final Score: Holy Cross 4, Niagara 4
· Niagara Goal Scorers: Nick Farmer (1), Sean King (1), Johnny Curran (1), Kris Spriggs (1)
· Niagara Assists: Noah Delmas (2), Stephen Pietrobon (1), Ryan Kuhn (1), Tanner Lomsnes (1), Kris Spriggs (1), Derian Plouffe (1)
· In Goal: Jackson Teichroeb (20:00, 3 GA, 6 SV); Joe O’Brien (45:00, 1 GA, 19 SV)
· Power Plays: Niagara – 1-for-6 (8 SH); Holy Cross – 2-for-8 (4 SH)
· Location: Dwyer Arena – Niagara University, N.Y.
· Attendance: 797
Game Recap
· For the second straight night, the Purple Eagles opened up the scoring in the first period. Ryan Kuhn created a turnover right in front of the Holy Cross bench, feeding the puck up to a Niagara two-on-one chance. Stephen Pietrobon found Nick Farmer on a pass from the right corner, and Farmer roofed a one-timer for the 1-0 lead.
· Holy Cross tied the game at one goal apiece at the 9:52 mark, but Niagara reclaimed the lead 23 seconds later. Five seconds into a power-play chance, Sean King converted with helpers from Tanner Lomsnes and Noah Delmas.
· Moore scored twice against Jackson Teichroeb in the final 1:25 of the first period. That led to Niagara making a goaltending change and going with Joe O’Brien to start the second.
· The Purple Eagles were able to swing momentum immediately in the second period. Johnny Curran, Derian Plouffe, and Kris Spriggs broke in to the Holy Cross zone on a three-on-one chance after a turnover at the blue line. Spriggs held for a shot to draw Holy Cross’s Paul Berrafato out of the goal. Spriggs’ chance was denied, but Curran converted to bring the game to a 3-3 tie.
· O’Brien made 10 saves in the second period to keep the game even entering the final 20 minutes of regulation.
· Spriggs and Delmas each picked up their third point of the season on the go-ahead goal at the 13:15 mark of the third period. Delmas fed Spriggs up the right wing, and Spriggs drove his way around a Holy Cross defender and behind the net. Attempting to feed the puck out front on a pass, Spriggs found the skate of the defender and the puck ricocheted five-hole past Berrafato, giving Niagara a 4-3 lead.
· With the goalie pulled, Holy Cross converted on the extra-man opportunity in the closing 90 seconds, as Michael Laffin was the first Crusader to beat O’Brien on the evening.
· Berrafato and O’Brien each made three saves in the overtime period to preserve the tie.
Inside the Numbers
· For the second straight season, Niagara has a pair of freshmen opening the year on a two-game scoring streak. Noah Delmas (0+3) and Kris Spriggs (1+2) found the score sheet each night against Holy Cross this weekend. Nick Farmer and Ryan Kuhn registered one point each at St. Lawrence and Clarkson on Oct. 9 and 10, 2015.
· Niagara has scored power-play goals in consecutive games for the first time since a three-game streak from Jan. 9 to 16, 2016. The Purple Eagles are 2-for-14 (14.3 percent) on the man advantage in the 2016-17 season.
· The Purple Eagles also held advantages in faceoff wins (45-41) and blocked shots (16-11) for the second night in a row.
· After being outshot 38-18 Friday night against the Crusaders, Niagara gained the advantage with a 39-29 lead in shots on goal Saturday.
· Niagara gave up a pair of power play goals to Holy Cross in the first period, as the Crusaders had a pair of 5-on-3 opportunities. In the final 45 minutes of play, Niagara was 4-for-4 on the penalty kill and allowed just one shot on goal.
· Senior forward TJ Sarcona played in his 100th game as a Purple Eagle on Saturday.
Up Next
· Niagara has the upcoming week off before playing three road games in a five-day span. The week begins with a Tuesday, Oct. 18 matchup at Mercyhurst, starting at 7:05 p.m. The Purple Eagles then head to the Capital District to start non-conference play against RPI (Oct. 21, 7 p.m.) and Union (Oct. 22, 4 p.m.)
