WALTHAM, Mass. – The Niagara and Bentley hockey teams battled to a 2-2 draw on Friday evening at the John Ryan Skating Arena in Atlantic Hockey action.
Both teams battled back from a goal down in regulation to send the contest into the extra time where Bentley seized control, outshooting NU 6-3 in overtime. Neither team could notch the go-ahead goal though, and for the third time this season the Purple Eagles had to settle for a stalemate.
Niagara saw freshman goaltender Adrian Ignagni step up with 34 saves in net, including six in overtime, while Brock Edwards was credited with the game-tying goal and Ryan Rashid added his team-leading sixth of the year.
“How the team would respond after the lengthy break was a concern of ours, but I thought our commitment to detail, our execution and effort was there from start to finish,” head coach Dave Burkholder said. “Bentley is a first-place team playing at home so we need to come back tomorrow with the same effort. If we play hard and with passion we’re going to be a really good team second semester.”
Niagara (3-11-3; 3-4-3 AHA) started the scoring as Rashid netted the Purple Eagles’ first goal 9:16 into the game. Rashid picked up the puck in the neutral zone after blocking a Matt Maher shot and raced in one-on-one toward Bentley goaltender Branden Komm, cutting across the crease before tucking a backhand underneath the goaltender for his team-leading sixth goal of the season.
Ignagni kept Bentley off the board in the opening frame with 10 saves as the Purple Eagles peppered Komm with 11 looks on net.
The Purple Eagles came out firing in the second 20 minutes of play, outshooting Bentley, 14-8, but Komm denied each attempt. Bentley (9-7-2; 7-2-2 AHA) would tally the game’s next pair of goals, first pulling level at one with a goal from Brett Gensler 16:17into the middle frame as the senior picked up a loose puck just outside the blue paint and deposited it into the net for his tenth goal of the season.
The Falcons grabbed their first lead of the contest with 16:44 remaining in regulation as Alex Grieve snapped a shot from the point that snuck its way through traffic and past Ignagni to make it 2-1. Edwards would respond, however at 9:22 with his second goal of the season to knot the game, 2-2. The freshman took a feed from Matt Chiarantano and let fly a shot that beat Komm over the shoulder.
The draw kept Niagara undefeated against Bentley in the all-time series (5-0-2).
