ITHACA, N.Y. – The Niagara Purple Eagles hockey team went toe-to-toe with No. 7/7 Cornell in a thrilling matchup in front of 3,326 at Lynah Rink in Ithaca. Niagara took a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes of play and led 4-2 early in the third period, but Cornell tallied three unanswered goals, including the game-winner from Trevor Yates with 2:49 to play, to send Niagara to a 5-4 loss.
Noah Delmas (0+2) and Derian Plouffe (1+1) led the Purple Eagles offensively with two points each. Freshmen Justin Kendall and Zach Mills scored their first career goals in the loss, and Jack Zielinski scored his first career point with an assist on Mills’ first-period goal. Brian Wilson stopped 24 of 29 shots in the loss.
Game Summary
· Final Score: No. 7/7 Cornell 5, Niagara 4
· Niagara Goal Scorers: Justin Kendall, Tanner Lomsnes, Zach Mills, Derian Plouffe
· Niagara Assists: Johnny Curran, Noah Delmas (2), Keegan Harper, Derian Plouffe, Jack Zielinski
· In Goal: Brian Wilson (4-3-1) – 5 GA, 24 SV
· Power Plays: Niagara – 1-for-2 (3 SOG); Cornell – 1-for-3 (5 SOG)
· Records: Niagara – 6-4-1 (5-1-1 AHC); Cornell – 8-1-0 (5-1-0 ECAC)
· Location: Lynah Rink – Ithaca, NY
· Attendance: 3,226
Game Recap
· After an even start to the game, Niagara opened the scoring just past the ten-minute mark. Jack Zielinski fed a puck low to Derian Plouffe, who found Zach Mills open on the back door for the one-time goal past Cornell netminder Matthew Galajda.
· Cornell converted on the first power play of the game to tie the score at the 15:52 mark of the first period after Alex Rauter tipped a point shot from Matt Nuttle past Niagara’s Brian Wilson.
· The Purple Eagles struck twice in a stretch of 1:47 during the second period to open their biggest lead of the game at 3-1. Keegan Harper drew a penalty while driving to the Cornell net and lost the puck, but Derian Plouffe was able to put the loose puck home past the pad of Galajda to reclaim the lead.
· On the ensuing power play, Noah Delmas fended off three Cornell defenders at the Big Red’s blue line, drove to the Cornell net, and rang a shot off the post, but Tanner Lomsnes potted the rebound to extend the lead to two.
· Three goals scored in a stretch of 1:33 early in the third period made it a 4-3 Niagara lead. After Mitch Vanderlaan beat an outstretched Wilson for Cornell’s second goal, Justin Kendall responded for Niagara, putting a wrist shot glove-side through traffic. Alex Green responded for Cornell just 34 seconds later, and Brendan Smith added the tying goal on a long point shot at the 8:35 mark.
· Trevor Yates scored the go-ahead goal with 2:49 to play, but shortly after, Niagara received its second power play of the game and pulled Wilson for the extra attacker to make it 6-on-4 for the final two minutes. The Purple Eagles had eight shot attempts on the power play but only put two on net and could not find the equalizer, falling 5-4 to Cornell.
Coach’s Corner
· Head coach Jason Lammers: “I think we proved to ourselves that we’re a really good hockey team, and we’re right there but we have to learn and grow from situations like this. This is a tough rink to play in, and I’m really impressed with our guys for how they played.”
Inside the Numbers
· Noah Delmas recorded two assists for the second straight game and fourth time this season. Delmas is now second in the NCAA in scoring by a defenseman, with 15 points (1+14) in 11 games.
· Derian Plouffe recorded his fourth multi-point game of the season, and he leads all active Purple Eagles with nine.
· Plouffe is now tied for eighth in Atlantic Hockey scoring and leads Niagara forwards with 13 points (6+7).
· After a 1-for-2 effort at Cornell, Niagara’s power play now ranks ninth in the NCAA at 26.2 percent (11-for-42).
· Niagara became just the third team in nine games to score more than two goals against the Big Red this season.
Up Next
· The Purple Eagles head to Massachusetts to take on the American International Yellow Jackets for a two-game series on Thanksgiving weekend. Niagara and AIC square off at 2:05 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 24 and 7:05 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 25.
