NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – A pair of goals from Ryan Murphy and Marc Zanette gave No. 17 Niagara a lead it would not relinquish in a 6-4 win against Bentley on Saturday night at Dwyer Arena.
The win strengthens the Purple Eagles’ (17-4-5; 16-1-2 AHA) hold on the top spot in the Atlantic Hockey standings, now 11 points ahead of second-place Mercyhurst Tonight’s victory also breaks the record for most conference wins in a season in the program’s 17 year history, previously held by the 1999-00 team that went 15-0-2 in the College Hockey America.
While Zanette and Murphy each pocketed three points on the night with two goals and an assist, line mate Patrick Divjak had a two point night with a pair of helpers to keep the Purple Eagles’ home-ice unbeaten streak alive at 17, dating back to dating back to NU’s 3-3 draw against Air Force on Feb. 11, 2012.
“We have so much respect for Bentley and what they can do to you, and they showed it tonight,” head coach Dave Burkholder said. “The guys persevered and got it gone. Going into the third period with a one goal lead, the motto of this team is do whatever it takes to win, and they certainly did that. We were able to keep the streak alive at home, and we just have to keep it rolling from here.”
Bentley (11-13-1; 9-9-1 AHA) put Niagara in an early hole just 38 seconds into the opening frame as Brett Switzer tipped in shot from Andrew Gladiuk under the pads of Niagara goaltender Carsen Chubak to make it a 1-0 game.
Niagara clawed its way back into the game, netting a trio of goals to head into the first intermission with a 3-1 advantage. Murphy grabbed the game-tying goal at the 6:14 mark for his career best 10th goal of the season. Murphy picked up a mishandled puck in the Purple Eagle defensive zone and rushed in on a breakaway on Bentley goaltender Branden Komm, lifting a backhander top shelf.
Ryan Rashid was next to light the lamp, collecting a feed from Chris Lochner before wristing his eighth goal of the season over the shoulder of Komm. Sam Alfieri wrapped up first period scoring with 26 seconds remaining as Jeff Hannan hit the right winger with a hard pass across the slot for the easy tap in and his first of the season.
The teams combined for five goals in the second period to give Niagara a slim 5-4 lead heading into the final 20 minutes of play.
Bentley got another early period score, this time from Jared Rickord at the 17:55 mark. Zanette responded less than three minutes later with his seventh goal of the year. Murphy took the puck to net and had the initial shot on Komm, but the rebound jumped out to Zanette who was waiting at the doorstep and whacked it home.
Matt Maher made it a 4-3 game nine minutes into the period, before Murphy pocketed his second goal of the game off a shot from the slot that hit a defenseman before popping over the shoulder of Komm to serve as the game’s eventual game-winner.
Justin Breton brought the contest back within one for the Falcons with 55 seconds remaining in the second, but Bentley could not muster the game-tying goal in the final period as Zanette sealed the victory with an empty-net tally with 16 seconds left in the game.
Chubak finished the evening with 21 saves. Lochner now has 10 points in 10 games, scoring four goals and six assists in that span.
The Purple Eagles continue AHA play next week as they battle cross-town rival Canisius in a home-and-home series. The first game will be at Buffalo State Sports Arena on Thursday, Feb. 7, with the second game coming from Dwyer Arena on Saturday, Feb. 9. Both contests start at 7:05 p.m.
Tickets for Saturday’s game can be purchased by calling the Niagara Ticket Office (located inside Dwyer Arena) at 716-286-TIXX, visit www.PurpleEagles.com/Tickets or emailing [email protected].
