NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Purple Eagles ice hockey team put together one of its most dominating periods of the season to kick off the second game of its weekend stint with AIC. Penalty troubles early in the second period negated Niagara’s momentum, however, as the Yellow Jackets scored two power-play goals en route to a 4-2 win Saturday night at Dwyer Arena.
Derian Plouffe and Dan Kolenda picked up goals in the loss for Niagara. Sean King picked up his first collegiate point with an assist on Plouffe’s goal, and Luke Edwards and Larry Smith also picked up assists. Guillaume Therien gave up three goals on 10 shots in the opening 33:52, and Joe O’Brien made six saves through the remainder of regulation.
“I thought the first period was one of the best periods we’ve played, including on the power play,” head coach Dave Burkholder said. “It’s just one of those nights where it just wasn’t for us. That was a really good effort by us, and if we play like that in Atlantic Hockey we’re going to win a lot of hockey games this year.”
The Purple Eagles (1-7-2) were relentless on offense right from the get-go. Niagara racked up 16 first-period shots, many of which were quality scoring chances close to the net, but could not bury one in the back of the net. The pressure helped to limit the shot totals for AIC (2-11-0) in the opening stanza, as the Yellow Jackets accumulated just one shot on net and six shot attempts to Niagara’s 29 through 20 minutes of play.
Niagara got off to an rough start in the second period, as Niko Kovachis and Sean King were both called for hooking penalties in the same play 1:23 in. AIC capitalized on the five-on-three chance as Austin Orszulak scored on the Yellow Jackets’ second shot of the game. Later in the period, Patrick Conte was also called for hooking on a backcheck, and Ryan Polin scored for AIC on the ensuing man advantage. Polin added his second goal of the night at the 13:52 mark of the second, forcing Niagara to replace Therien with O’Brien.
Just 1:12 later, Niagara got on the board. King and Luke Edwards swung the puck behind the net and found Derian Plouffe alone in front of Murray, and the sophomore buried the shot blocker-side for his third tally of the season.
Niagara had two more power play opportunities to narrow the 3-1 deficit, but failed to convert on both of them. Shortly after the second of those chances, however, Larry Smith’s point shot deflected high in the air and the rebound came to Dan Kolenda on the side of the net, and the senior ripped a shot home. The goal was reviewed at length for possible goaltender interference, but the goal stood as Niagara drew within one with 5:56 to play.
Niagara pulled O’Brien with 1:24 to play following a timeout, and the team generated three shots on net before AIC cleared the puck far down the ice. Chris Porter won a race for the puck and tapped it into the empty net with 10 seconds remaining to give AIC the 4-2 victory.
Next weekend, the Purple Eagles travel to Worcester, Mass. to take on the Holy Cross Crusaders in a two-game series. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. on both Friday, Nov. 27 and Saturday, Nov. 28. Jeremy White will provide the play-by-play on 1340 AM WLVL.
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