Niagara Sends AHA Quarterfinals to a Third Game after 4-3 Win Over Air Force
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Behind a pair of goals from Hugo Turcotte, the sixth-seed Niagara Purple Eagles downed third-seeded Air Force, 4-3, on Saturday evening at the Cadet Ice Arena to send the Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinal series to a decisive game three.
The Purple Eagles (14-19-5) also received goals from Vince Muto and Patrick Conte, while starting Niagara goaltender Jackson Teichroeb was a brick wall in between the pipes, making 23 stops.
The Falcons were able to battle back from a two-goal deficit midway through the contest, but Turcotte and Conte scored the next pair of Niagara goals to regain the advantage 1:44 into the third period. Air Force cut the Purple Eagles’ lead in half with just under 10 minutes remaining in regulation and had three power play opportunities, but Teichroeb and the NU defense locked down for the remainder of the contest to prevent a second Falcon comeback and make it a three-game series.
“It was a perfect time for a complete game from our team from start to finish,” head coach Dave Burkholder said. “I thought we played with composure and kept up the intensity the full 60 minutes. As the game wore on we definitely out chanced Air Force with some quality grade As. But their goalie kept it close. Obviously they’re a very good team and threw everything they had at us in the third, but we preserved and we live another night.”
From the opening faceoff both teams looked sharp as they traded opportunities in the opening minutes of the contest. The scoring chances began to tilt towards the Purple Eagles as the period wore on, with the team’s best ones coming inside 10 minutes of the first period.
NU came inches from grabbing the lead as Turcotte swung a pass across the slot to Matt Williams whose wrist shot from the point clanged off the outside of the right post. Minutes later, Stephen Pietrobon had a golden chance robbed by Air Force goalie Jason Torf as the freshman whacked at a loose puck right outside the blue paint, but the AF goaltender foiled his attempt.
The Purple Eagles’ pressure finally paid off at 13:43 of the frame as Turcotte pocketed his 10th of the season via assists from Ryan and Conderman. Ryan faked a shot at the point to put down an AF defenseman before firing the puck through traffic that was redirected into the back of the net by Turcotte.
The Falcons ran into solid goaltending for the remainder of the frame as Teichroeb made several quality stops including a point blank save on Cole Gunner to send the Purple Eagles into the first intermission with the lead.
The Purple Eagles’ strong play continued into the second, extending their lead to two goal at 2:43 off the stick of Muto. The freshman took a pass from Williams at the top of the right faceoff circle and fired a shot that went untouched through a mass of bodies.
Less than two minutes after NU’s second goal, Chad Demers was able to cut the Purple Eagles’ lead in half with his 15th of the season at 4:14. A Scott Holm backhand pass towards the front of the cage bounced off the stick of Demers and floated over the shoulder of Teichroeb.
Despite giving up the goal Niagara did not falter, continuing to pepper Torf with looks on net, but the senior pushed aside all attempts, giving the Falcons to eventually score the game-tying goal. With 7:35 remaining in the frame Air Force pulled level at two with a goal from Ben Carey. George Michalke raced into the offensive zone with Tony Thomas and Carey on a 3-on-1. Michalke pushed the puck towards the top of the slot that Thomas backhanded towards Teichroeb. The NU netminder made the initial stop, but the rebound went straight to Carey who banged it home for his seventh of the year.
Turcotte scored his second of the evening with just over five minutes remaining in the frame to regain the lead and give NU a 3-2 advantage heading into the second break. Kolenda made a highlight reel pass off a spinning toe drag and dealt the puck across the crease to the waiting Turcotte who banged it home.
After going a majority of the game without a power play, Air Force was rewarded with two consecutive man-advantage opportunities with a little over 10 minutes remaining in the contest. The NU penalty killing unit did not allow the Falcons to get on the scoreboard, however seconds after killing off the second penalty, Air Force’s Ryan Timer cashed in on a Michalke feed to make it a 4-3 game with 8:20 remaining in regulation.
The game wrapped up with the Purple Eagles holding a 33-26 advantage in shots. Niagara went 0-for-2 on the man-advantage, while Air Force was scoreless on 0-for-3 opportunities.
The two teams will play in a decisive game three tomorrow at 9:05 p.m. ET with the winner advancing to the AHA semifinals The game on March 21 at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y.
