ERIE, Pa. – After falling into a 2-0 deficit early, the Purple Eagles hockey team knotted their game against the Mercyhurst Lakers at two goals apiece in the final period. With all the momentum midway through the third period, Niagara was held off the scoreboard, and Mercyhurst scored twice in a four-minute stretch, taking a 4-2 win Tuesday night at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.
Tanner Lomsnes scored his first goal of the season, a one-time chance on a late power play in the second period. Freshman Derek Brown, a native of Peoria, Arizona, picked up his first career goal in the third period. Joe O’Brien made 36 saves in net as the Purple Eagles (0-2-1, 0-2-1 Atlantic Hockey) were outshot 40-23 in the contest.
Game Summary
· Final Score: Mercyhurst 4, Niagara 2
· Niagara Goal Scorers: Tanner Lomsnes, Derek Brown
· Niagara Assists: Nick Farmer, Niko Kovachis, Vinny Muto, Sam Rennaker
· In Goal: Joe O’Brien (0-1-1) – 4 GA, 36 SV
· Power Plays: Niagara – 1-for-6 (5 SH); Mercyhurst 0-for-3 (4 SH)
· Location: Mercyhurst Ice Center – Erie, Pa.
· Attendance: 1488
Game Recap
· Mercyhurst started off the game with two goals in the first seven minutes to seize a 2-0 lead. Jonathan Charbonneau started the scoring 33 seconds in, and Charbonneau doubled up the scoring with a rebound from the low slot at the 6:08 mark.
· Sean King had Niagara’s best chance of the first period. On a 2-on-1 chance, Tanner Lomsnes’ shot was turned away by Mercyhurst’s Brandon Wildung. King had an open net on the rebound from the right wing, but his shot narrowly missed wide.
· Joe O’Brien had a tremendous second period, stopping all 17 Mercyhurst shots to keep the deficit at two.
· Niagara earned a late 5-on-3 chance with a pair of separate penalties on the same play; Phillipe Drouin was booked for hooking, and during the delayed play, Jack Riley picked up a five-minute major and game misconduct for contact to the head.
· Nine seconds into the power play, Tanner Lomsnes fired home a one-time shot from the right dot to bring Niagara within one. Nick Farmer and Niko Kovachis assisted on the play.
· Starting the third period with 4:25 of power play time, Niagara was held off the board. Shortly after the penalty expired, however, Derek Brown scored the first goal of his Niagara career with 14:44 to go in regulation.
· After attempts by Vinny Muto and Sam Rennaker, Brown potted a loose puck over the right pad of Mercyhurst’s Brandon Wildung, tying the game at two.
· Niagara continued to pour on the offense, holding a 6-2 shots on goal advantage through the first 10 minutes of the third period.
· Mercyhurst scored the eventual game-winning goal with 7:39 to play, as Josh Lammon redirected Zach Todd’s point shot past O’Brien. Just over four minutes later, Derek Barach added an insurance tally for the Lakers four minutes later.
Coach’s Corner
· Head coach David Burkholder: “This was a really hard-fought game all the way. I’m proud of our team for coming back to tie the game late, but they made more plays than us.”
Inside the Numbers
· Tanner Lomsnes’ 5-on-3 goal in the second period was his fifth career goal and first power-play tally of his collegiate career.
· The Purple Eagles have scored a power-play goal in three straight games to start the 2016-17 season, matching a three-game streak last season from Jan. 9 to 16, 2016. In total, Niagara is 3-for-20 with the man advantage (15.0 percent).
· Niagara held its opponent without a power-play goal for the first time this season, moving to 18-for-23 (78.3 percent) on the season
· Derek Brown became the second of Niagara’s nine rookies to score this season. Kris Spriggs earned his first career goal in Niagara’s last game, Oct. 8 at Mercyhurst.
· Joe O’Brien’s 36 saves were three shy of his career high. He stopped 39 pucks in his first start at Niagara, a 1-1 tie against Penn State on Nov. 6, 2015.
· Niagara won the faceoff battle for a third-straight game to start the season, winning 31 of 58 draws. TJ Sarcona won all but one of his 13 opportunities in the circle.
Up Next
· Niagara heads to the Albany area to start non-conference play this coming weekend. The Purple Eagles will face off against the RPI Engineers on Friday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. before a 4 p.m. matinee on Saturday, Oct. 22 against the Union Dutchmen. Jeremy White has the play-by-play of both games on 1340 AM WLVL.
