Niagara hockey plays its second straight Atlantic Hockey game against Robert Morris University on Saturday, Oct. 19 at the RMU Island Sports Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
The Purple Eagles earned their first win of the 2013-14 season after a thrilling comeback victory against arch-rival Canisiuson Saturday, pushing the team to 1-2-0 on the young season. Robert Morris comes into the weekend 0-2-0 after falling to Lake Superior State in a pair of games to start off the year. Saturday’s game will be the Colonials’ first conference game.
BATTLE OF THE BRIDGE RECAP
• The AHA conference schedule kicked off with a battle between the defending conference champ Canisius and defending regular season champion Purple Eagles on Saturday.
• NU triumphed in a wild 6-4 contest that saw the Purps come back from 3-0 and 4-1 deficits to score the final five goals of the game.
• Adrian Ignagni relieved Jackson Teichroeb in goal at the start of the second period, pushing aside all 18 Griffin shots.
• Six different Purple Eagles found the back of the net en route to the comeback victory–Matt Dineen, TJ Sarcona, Kevin Ryan, Chris Lochner and Ryan Rashid, with an empty netter from Mike Conderman.
• It was a battle of special teams as Canisius scored a pair of power play goals and added a shorthanded tally, while Niagara notched its own power play score and two shorthanded goals.
CAREER FIRSTS
• Saturday’s game vs. Canisius saw six Niagara players pocket career firsts while wearing the Purple and White.
• Sophomore defenseman Matt Dineen not only scored his first career goal, but added his first career assist for a two-point night.
• Freshmen Brock Edwards registered two assists for his first two points, TJ Sarcona scored goal one of his career, while Stephen Pietrobon and Vince Muto aided in the victory with an assist each.
• Rookie goaltender Adrian Ignagni pocketed victory number one on 18 saves.
PACK YOUR BAGS
• In terms of traveling, NU has a difficult road to start the 2013-14 season.
• The Purps will now play 13 of the next 15 games away from Dwyer Arena, with their longest stretch being eight games in a row.
• Niagara’s last lengthy road trip came during the 2010-11 season when the team went on an 11-game road trip, the longest in program history, going 3-4-4.
USCHO.COM PLAYER OF WEEK HONORS
• Chris Lerch and Dan Rubin of USCHO.com selected senior defenseman Kevin Ryan as Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week.
• Ryan was a vital part of the 6-4 comeback over Canisius with a power play goal, and a plus-3 rating. He also registered an assist on the only goal scored during the Clarkson weekend while posting an even plus/minus.
SERIES HISTORY
• The Purple Eagles and Colonials have played 46 times since first meeting in the 2004-05 season, and Niagara holds an 28-12-8 advantage.
• NU was 2-1 against Robert Morris in its three meetings last season, with the last away contest coming on Feb. 16, 2013 when Niagara lost to RMU, 6-5 in OT.
SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
• Finished the 2012-13 season with a 20-14-4 overall mark, and a 13-11-3 AHA record which was good enough for a fifth place finish.
• The Colonials won a program-record 20 games last season, before bowing out of the league tournament in the quarterfinals.
• RMU is currently 0-2-0 on the season after falling to Lake Superior State in a pair of 3-1 games last weekend.
• The squad is led by senior captain Colin South, who was fourth on the team with 13 goals and 14 assists for 27 points last season. He will be joined by junior Cody Wydo (21-12-33) and Scott Jacklin (10-12-22). Wydo and Jacklin have tallied the team’s only two goals of the season thus far.
• RMU will look to goaltenders Dalton Izyk and Terry Shafer to replace Eric Levine this season. Each saw time between the pipes this weekend, but Shafer was credited with both losses. The sophomore currently holds a .894 save percentage and a 3.71 goals-against average.
• The team brought in six players (two forwards, two defensemen and two goaltenders) that will join a fairly young squad that includes nine sophomores.
