USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Niagara Purple Eagles hockey team completed its first sweep at Air Force since February 2005 with a 5-2 victory Saturday night at Cadet Ice Arena. Zach Mills opened the scoring 26 seconds into the game and the Purple Eagles never trailed. Nick Farmer registered his first career two-goal game, Tanner Lomsnes scored his team-high 12th goal of the season for the eventual game-winning goal, and Derek Brown added an empty-net tally.
Game Summary
· Final Score: Niagara 5, Air Force 2
· Niagara Goal Scorers: Derek Brown, Nick Farmer (2), Tanner Lomsnes, Zach Mills
· Niagara Assists: Chris Harpur, Sean King, Niko Kovachis, Derian Plouffe, Ben Sokay
· In Goal: Brian Wilson (7-4-1) – 2 GA, 23 SV
· Power Plays: Niagara – 0-for-3 (3 SOG); Air Force – 0-for-6 (6 SOG)
· Records: Niagara – 9-5-1 (8-2-1 AHC); Air Force – 7-8-3 (3-7-2 AHC)
· Location: Cadet Ice Arena – USAF Academy, Colorado
· Attendance: 1,687
Game Recap
· Zach Mills opened the scoring just 26 seconds into the game after Niagara dug a puck out from behind the Air Force goal. Both teams had plenty of chances at the loose puck but it was Mills who was able to get a stick on it first, giving Niagara the 1-0 lead.
· Niagara was able to hold Air Force to just four shots in the first period, including one in the final 15 minutes.
· Matt Serratore tied the game for Air Force at the 13:14 mark of the second period, and a Niagara penalty shortly after gave the Falcons a shot at the lead. Nick Farmer caused a turnover at center ice on the ensuing power play, speeding ahead on a breakaway and beating Air Force’s Billy Christopoulos glove-side to give Niagara the lead for good.
· The Purple Eagles allowed 12 shots on goal to Air Force in the final eight minutes of the second period, but with the exception of Serratore’s goal, Brian Wilson weathered the storm in goal for Niagara.
· Air Force had four power plays in the second period and the Purple Eagles killed off all four, including 30 seconds of 5-on-3 play.
· 2:45 into the third period, Niagara extended the lead to 3-1 on Tanner Lomsnes’ team-high 12th goal of the season. Sean King forced a turnover and streaked up the right wing, finding Lomsnes behind the Air Force defense and Lomsnes finished over the blocker of Christopoulos.
· At the 13:08 mark of the third, Air Force capitalized after Niagara’s power play was held at bay on a too many men on the ice penalty. Hopping out of the penalty box, Air Force’s Trevor Stone crashed the back door and pushed Erich Jaeger’s feed past Wilson to make it 3-2.
· Niagara held Air Force off the board late, with Farmer and Derek Brown scoring empty-net goals for insurance to help the Purple Eagles to the 5-2 victory.
Coach’s Corner
· Head coach Jason Lammers: “I think it’s real important that the guys continue to believe in themselves and they did a great job of that. Tonight it was a great road win, just the way we played the game, every play mattered, getting pucks in and out, every pass was important, and I was real impressed with the way they responded and the effort. I thought we were real hard to play against tonight, which was cool to see.”
Inside the Numbers
· After snapping a six-game road losing streak to Air Force on Friday night, the Purple Eagles earned their first road sweep of the Falcons since February 18 and 19, 2005 when both teams were members of College Hockey America (CHA).
· Niagara’s power play was a perfect 6-for-6 in Saturday’s win. The Purple Eagles have four straight games with a perfect penalty kill now, and they have killed 17 straight penalties dating back to Nov. 21 at then-No. 7/7 Cornell.
· Niagara allowed 12 shots in the last 8:04 of the second period, but yielded just 13 shots the rest of the game.
· The Purple Eagles also blocked 18 shots compared to Air Force’s eight. Derian Plouffe had a game-high four blocked shots to go with one assist, and Noah Delmas had three blocked shots for the second-straight game.
· Nick Farmer scored twice in one game for the first time in his Niagara career. Farmer’s career-high for points in a game is four, all assists, in a November 2015 win over American International.
· Tanner Lomsnes was involved in both game-winning goals this weekend; after setting up Johnny Curran for a power-play goal that proved to be the deciding goal Friday night, Lomsnes’ third-period goal on Saturday was the game-winner in the 5-2 victory.
· Lomsnes also finished with a game-high plus-3 rating.
· Niagara was held without a power-play goal for just the third time in 14 games this season, but the Purple Eagles have won all three of those games.
· Farmer’s shorthanded goal moved the Purple Eagles back into the NCAA lead for team shorthanded goals with five.
Up Next
· Niagara closes out the fall semester with a big-time Atlantic Hockey matchup with the first two of four Battle of the Bridge games this season. The Purple Eagles host crosstown rival Canisius on Friday, Dec. 8 at 7:05 p.m. After the game, fans can enjoy a postgame skate and autograph session with the Purple Eagles. For ticket information, call (716) 286-TIXX (8499), email [email protected], or visit www.PurpleEagles.com/Tickets.
· The Battle of the Bridge heads south on Saturday, Dec. 9 as Niagara and Canisius face off at the HARBORCENTER at 4:35 p.m. to close the weekend.
