SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Playing their third road game in five days, the Purple Eagles hockey team suffered a 5-2 setback against the Union Dutchmen Saturday afternoon at Messa Rink. Derek Brown (1+1), Kris Spriggs (1+1), and Stephen Pietrobon (0+2) paired up on a forward line and all three tallied two points.
Guillaume Therien made his first start of the season between the pipes. After giving up three first-period goals, he stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced the rest of the way as Niagara mounted a late comeback attempt, finishing the night with a career-high 43 saves.
Game Summary
· Final Score: Union 5, Niagara 2
· Niagara Goal Scorers: Kris Spriggs, Derek Brown
· Niagara Assists: Stephen Pietrobon (2), Derek Brown, Kris Spriggs
· In Goal: Guillaume Therien (0-1-0) – 4 GA, 43 SV
· Power Plays: Niagara – 0-for-8 (8 SH); Union – 0-for-8 (11 SH)
· Location: Messa Rink – Troy, N.Y.
· Attendance: 2,141
Game Recap
· Niagara and Union held pace with each other for the early moments of the game. Both sides gained early power-play opportunities, with Niagara getting three shots on their first man advantage of the night.
· Just past the midway point of the first period, Union’s Mike Vecchione scored back-to-back goals 29 seconds apart to open up a 2-0 Union lead.
· Union’s Jake Kupsky robbed Sean King on a 2-on-1 chance with two minutes left in the period. The Dutchmen came back and extended their lead to three, as Guillaume Therien turned away Vecchione’s initial shot, but Sebastian Vidmar buried the rebound.
· Union held the 3-0 lead through to the second intermission. The Purple Eagles had four power-play chances in the middle stanza, but could not score on any of them.
· Niagara found its first goal of the contest at the 4:50 mark of the third period. A pass from Derek Brown got bounced up high in the Union zone, and Kris Spriggs gloved it back down to the ice. Spriggs drove through two Union defenders and beat Kupsky to make it 3-1.
· Midway through the period, Therien made six saves on a Union power play to keep Niagara within two. He finished with 17 third-period saves.
· With five minutes to go, Niagara failed to cash in on a power play after a penalty to Union’s Vecchione. Out of the box, Vecchione took a breakout pass to go in all alone on Therien, and his deke move made it 4-1 Union late in the game.
· Not to be denied, Niagara brought the score back to 4-2. After Stephen Pietrobon and Spriggs took cracks at a loose puck in front of the net, Derek Brown buried the rebound, bringing the score to 4-2 with 2:51 to play.
· An empty-net goal in the final 10 seconds by Vecchione made it a 5-2 final for Union.
Inside the Numbers
· The Niagara penalty kill capped a stellar week with an 8-for-8 performance at Union. In three road games this week, the unit went 19-for-20 for a 95-percent efficiency.
· The penalty-kill unit is now 34-for-40 (85 percent) through five games this season.
· Kris Spriggs picked up his second multiple-point game in five outings at Niagara. His one goal and one assist matched his output in a 4-4 tie Oct. 8 versus Holy Cross.
· Derek Brown scored his first two-point game as a Purple Eagle Saturday. He finished the three-game week with one goal, two assists, and a plus-2 rating.
· Stephen Pietrobon had his fifth career multiple-point game, and his third with multiple assists, in the loss at Union.
· Guillaume Therien broke his career-best mark in saves, stopping 43 pucks at Union. He made 41 saves in losses at St. Lawrence and Clarkson last season in his first two starts for the Purple Eagles.
· The 43 saves by Therien were the most by a Niagara goalie in a game this season, and his 17 in the third period were the most in any single period.
Up Next
· The Purple Eagles return to Dwyer Arena next weekend, hosting the No. 19 Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday, Oct. 28 and Saturday, Oct. 29. Both games will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster, by phone at (716) 286-TIXX (8499), or in person at the Dwyer Arena box office.
