ERIE, Pa. – One night after tying the Mercyhurst Lakers 2-2 at Dwyer Arena, the Purple Eagles hockey team ended the four-game season series with a second straight game ending in that score. Despite 19 third-period shots, Niagara could not find a game-winning goal, as the Purple Eagles and Lakers skated to a 2-2 tie Saturday night at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.
Stanislav Dzakhov and Sam Rennaker picked up the goals for Niagara, who moved to 2-0-2 in the month of February. Derian Plouffe, Tanner Lomsnes, Nick Farmer, and Niko Kovachis all picked up assists. Guillaume Therien made 33 saves on 35 shots, as Niagara finished the weekend with one of its better all-around games of the season.
“We learned a lot about our team tonight,” head coach Dave Burkholder said. “We went on the road against one of the best Atlantic Hockey teams we have played all season and nearly came out with two points.”
After falling behind in the first two minutes Friday night, Niagara (5-20-5, 5-15-4 Atlantic Hockey) weathered the Mercyhurst attack early and took a 1-0 lead 12:51 into the game. The line of Tanner Lomsnes, Derian Plouffe, and Stanislav Dzakhov generated a three-on-two chance. Lomsnes passed from the right wing over to Dzakhov on the left wing, and the sophomore sent a wrist shot home over the glove of Mercyhurst goaltender Brandon Wildung.
Mercyhurst (14-13-3, 12-9-3 Atlantic Hockey) struck back just 1:43 later as Lester Lancaster’s point shot snuck through traffic and beat Therien high. Except for the goal, Therien was phenomenal in the opening period, making numerous acrobatic saves and closing the first 20 minutes with 14 in total.
In the second period, Kane Elliot gave Mercyhurst a 2-1 lead 6:20 in before Rennaker tied the game for Niagara. Farmer won a faceoff back to Kovachis, who set up Rennaker along the right wing boards. Rennaker’s long shot along the ice found the back of the net for his fifth tally of the season, the most among Niagara freshmen.
A late power play in the second period gave Niagara the momentum they needed to start the third period strong. The Purple Eagles put 13 shots on net in the first ten minutes of the final period and got plenty of traffic in front of the net, but each of those shots was turned away by Wildung. Niagara was outshooting Mercyhurst 18-3 in the third with just under five minutes to play, but Mercyhurst got a strong final push. The Purple Eagles turned in an impressive late-game stand in front of Therien, who did his part to give Niagara a chance to win.
“Our third period was our best period of the season,” Burkholder said. “Guillaume was terrific tonight and deserved the win.”
For the large part, Mercyhurst controlled the possession in the overtime period as the Lakers had five shots in the extra period to Niagara’s two. Johnny Curran and Albin Karlsson had chances in the closing seconds, but Mercyhurst’s Wildung finished the night with 41 saves as the two teams skated to another tie.
With points in four straight games, Niagara now looks ahead to another home-and-home weekend series, this time with the RIT Tigers. The weekend begins at Dwyer Arena with a 7:05 p.m. faceoff on Friday, Feb. 19 before heading to the Gene Polisseni Center on Saturday, Feb. 20. Tickets for Friday’s game are available at the Dwyer Arena ticket office or by phone at (716) 286-TIXX (8499).
Stay connected with the Purple Eagles through social media. Follow Niagara Athletics on Twitter @NUPurpleEagles and follow Purple Eagles hockey on Twitter @NiagaraUHockey. Check in with the Purple Eagles on Facebook.com/PurpleEagles and on Instagram @NUPurpleEagles.
