The Niagara Purple Eagles remain unbeaten in Atlantic Hockey play with the 3-0 shutout victory over the Robert Morris Colonials on Saturday evening at Dwyer Arena.
The Purple Eagles (8-2-3; 7-0-0 AHA) have played to four straight victories on home-ice, including blanking their opponents in the previous three matchups to set an NU record, beginning with the 5-0 shutout against the UConn Huskies on Nov.2 NU goaltender Carsen Chubak has played in every minute of those games, not allowing a goal in 180 minutes of play.
Chubak registered 43 saves, one shy of his career. The junior currently leads the nation with five shutouts, and is ranked first in the nation in goal-against average (0.99) and save percentage (.970).
“Sometimes you have to tip your hat to your opponent and they were really good today,” head coach David Burkholder said. “They were really fast on their forecheck, but I thought we battled through it and got a couple timely goals again. Overall it was a very good team effort. We’re undefeated in league play which is everything for us. I think every point is big in Atlantic Hockey and this is a great start to the season.”
Hugo Turcotte started the scoring for Niagara as the freshman earned his first goal as a Purple Eagle to put Niagara ahead 1-0 less than four minutes played in the contest. Ryan Rashid slipped a feed to Turcotte at the top of the slot and the rookie ripped one top shelf over the top of Colonial goaltender Terry Shafer.
Robert Morris (4-4-0; 3-3-0 AHA) had several great scoring opportunities all coming on the man-advantage, but Chubak remained steadfast between the pipes. Cody Wydo had the Colonial’s best chance with six seconds remaining on their first powerplay, but one-timer from just outside the blue paint was pushed aside by the outstretch pad of Chubak.
Niagara took advantage of its first powerplay of the game with 2:01 remaining in the first stanza. Giancarlo Iuorio wristed a shot into traffic from the right circle, and the puck snuck under the pads of Shafer for the senior’s team-leading ninth goal of the year, one shy of his career-high that was accomplished last season.
The period finished with NU holding a slim 14-13 advantage in shots.
After a scoreless third period that saw RMU outshoot NU 13-10, Ryan Murphy extended the Purple Eagle’s unbeaten streak to nine games with his sixth goal of the season. With 12:39 remaining in the contest Marc Zanette whipped a shot on net from the bottom right circle that connected with Murphy just outside the crease for the easy tip in. Murphy has been hot as of late, earning five goals and six assists in the last eight games.
In seven AHA contests, the Purple Eagles have outshot their opponents by a 24-3 margin.
“Our ability to outscore opponents comes down to team defense and having Carsen Chubak back there,” added Burkholder. “It just seems like every night we’re talking about him [Chubak], but you have to because he made some great saves when it was 0-0 and right up to the final horn he was battling. Robert Morris had a lot of guys at the top of the crease, but he was unfazed by any traffic and found pucks.”
In addition to the win, the night was a special one for the men’s hockey program as the Redenbach family took the time to honor Volunteer Assistant Coach Jeff Weber for his continued support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. On behalf of the Redenbach family and Meghan’s “Man Up” Scholarship Fund, the family made an annual donation to the foundation, honoring Weber in the process for his constant efforts to ensure that Meghan Redenbach’s legacy lives on.
As a part of the evening, Niagara and Robert Morris also joined at the end of the game to honor former RMU captain, Chris Kushneriuk as he continues his battle with cancer.
The Purple Eagles will have a week off before returning to the ice against Sacred Heart in a two-game series at Dwyer Arena. The first contest will take place on Friday, Nov. 30, with the second coming the following day. The puck will drop for bo
