NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – In a game that saw a lot of goal and momentum swings, the nationally-ranked No. 17 Niagara men’s hockey team defeated RIT, 6-4, in Atlantic Hockey action in front of a sold out crowd at Dwyer Arena on Saturday evening.
Seven Purple Eagles pocketed a two-point night, with C.J. Chartrain leading the way two a pair of goals. Marc Zanette (1-1-2), Dan Kolenda (1-1-2), Ryan Murphy (0-2-2), Patrick Divjak (1-1-2), Chris Lochner (0-2-2) and Ryan Rashid (1-1-2) also collected two points in 60 minutes of action.
In goal, Carsen Chubak had 30 saves to improve to 14-3-5 on the season.
“I thought it was a gusty win on a night that the momentum swings were unbelievable,” head coach David Burkholder said. “There’s a lot of character in that room and they stuck with it. It was a warrior mindset in that locker room tonight. The guys have been asked to play more ice time because it’s a short bench and as a team I couldn’t be more proud of the team coming through for us.”
Despite being outshot 21-10 in the opening 20 minutes, of play, Niagara (15-4-5; 14-1-2 AHA) was able to find the back of the net three times in a three minute span to head into the first intermission with a 3-1 advantage.
With 6:50 gone by in the period, Rashid was the first Purple Eagle to find the back of the net, scoring his fifth tally of the season and third in two nights. With the Tigers down a man down after Matt Garbowsky was called for hooking, Kevin Ryan skated through a pair of defensemen and sneaked a pass across the slot to Rashid who released a wrister past RIT goaltender Josh Watson.
At the 11:30 mark of the period, C.J. Chartrain grabbed his first goal of the year, with an end-to-end effort that saw the defenseman drive the net before lighting the lamp with a backhander.
The third goal of the game came off the stick of Zanette, for the righter winger’s second goal in two nights and sixth of the season. Divjak jump started the play as the junior outworked an RIT defenseman and threw a saucer pass to Zanette who lifted a backhander over the shoulder of Watson.
RIT (8-11-5; 6-7-4 AHA) was finally able to break through the solid goaltending of Chubak at the 3:22 mark of the stanza while on the man-advantage. A scrum in front of the net saw the NU goaltender pushed behind the goal line, before Mike Colavecchia pounded on the loose puck and stuffed it home to cut the Purple Eagle lead to two goals.
The scoring continued in the second period, as the teams combined for six goals, including four while on the man-advantage. Chris Saracino made it a one-goal game less than two minutes played in the period off a slap shot at the top of the blue line.
The Purple Eagles responded with a power play goal of their own, as C.J. Chartrain grabbed his second tally of the contest at the 14:40 mark. With 27 seconds remaining on the man-advantage, Murphy flew into the offensive zone before dishing a pass to Chartrain alongside the left boards. Chartrain rifled a shot up top for his second two-goal game of his career.
The final four goals of the game were scored in the remaining six minutes of the middle period, making it a 6-4 game heading into the second break. Divjak scored the eventual game-winner while on the power for his fifth goal of the season, before Adam Mitchell quickly found the back of the net 28 seconds later, making it 5-3.
The line combination of Kolenda, Lochner and Rashid, who combined for six points combined for Niagara’s sixth goal of the game with 16:35 on the clock. A caused turnover by Lochner jumped out to Rashid, who fed a wide open Kolenda for the one timer past Jordan Ruby, who took over goaltending duties for RIT.
The period would come to a close with RIT earning its fourth score of the game with 18:22 on the clock off the stick of Greg Noyes.
Niagara returns to action on Friday, Feb. 1 when the Purple Eagles host the Bentley Falcons in game one of a weekend series that wraps up the following day. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m. for both nights, with Time Warner SportsChannel broadcasting the action on Friday.
To reserve a seat for the games, please call the Niagara Ticket Office (located inside Dwyer Arena) at 716-286-TIXX, visit www.PurpleEagles.com/Tickets or emailing [email protected].
