Niagara Drops Final Regular Season Game, 4-1 Against Air Force
NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – Niagara hockey team lost to Air Force Saturday evening, falling to the Falcons 4-1 at Dwyer Arena in the season’s final game of the regular season.
Chris Lochner was the only Purple Eagle to find the back of the net for Niagara, who honored the four graduating seniors in Patrick Divjak, Kevin Ryan, Ryan Rashid and Matt Williams. The loss dropped Niagara to 11-18-5 on the season and 11-11-5 in Atlantic Hockey play. The win pushes Air Force to 20-12-4 overall and 15-9-3 in league play.
Starting Niagara goaltender Jackson Teichroeb made his fifth straight start in between the pipes, pushing aside 19 Air Force shots, while at the other end Jason Torf made 34 stops on the evening.
“The only thing I can say is that I couldn’t be more proud of how hard the guys who finished this game worked with the short bench we had,” head coach Dave Burkholder said. “The guys that stuck with it made a pretty gutsy effort. To outshoot and outplay Air Force the way we did and have nothing to show for it is unfortunate.”
The teams traded goals in the opening four minutes of the contest with Air Force’s Ben Carey striking first just two minutes into the frame, handcuffing Teichroeb with a wraparound attempt for his fifth of the season.
It didn’t take long for Niagara to answer as Lochner found the back of the net for the sixth time this season via assists from Patrick Conte and Hugo Turcotte at 4:20. Conte had the initial shot from the point that was saved by Torf, but the rebound was picked up by Lochner just outside the blue paint.
Air Force would score the period’s final goal as Carey found the back of the net for the second time to give the Falcons’ their second lead of the game. Just six seconds into a man-advantage opportunity, Carey’s slap shot from the top of the circle beat Teichroeb over the shoulder.
Niagara came out firing in the second period with three quick shots in the opening minute that were snuffed by Torf. Turcotte came close to evening the game three minutes in when he attempted to stuff the puck five-hole while on the partial breakaway, but Torf waffled it away.
Despite NU having the 15-7 advantage in shots in the second frame it was AFA who found the back of the net. Adam McKenzie raced down the near boards and ripped a laser that sailed over the shoulder, stick-side of Teichroeb to make it a 3-1 game heading into the final period of regulation.
Jason Fabian would score the game’s final tally and put the game out of reach for the Purple and White with a power play goal in the final minutes of the contest.
Niagara went 0-6 on the man-advantage, while Air Force went 2-for-6 while on the power play.
The sixth-seeded Purple Eagles begin their quest for their first Atlantic Hockey Tournament title when Niagara hosts AIC in a best-of-three first round series on Friday, March 7, Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9 (if necessary) at Dwyer Arena. Each game will begin at 7:05 p.m.
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