NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – After a loss to open the weekend series against the RIT Tigers, the Purple Eagles kicked off the second game Saturday night with an early power-play goal. RIT took hold of the lead in the second period, pulling away late as Niagara fell 6-2 at Dwyer Arena.
Stanislav Dzakhov factored into both the Niagara goals, assisting on Derek Brown’s opening tally before scoring in the third period. Jackson Teichroeb made 34 saves in the loss.
Game Summary
* Final Score: RIT 6, Niagara 2
* Niagara Goal Scorers: Derek Brown, Stanislav Dzakhov
* Niagara Assists: Noah Delmas, Stanislav Dzakhov, TJ Sarcona
* In Goal: Jackson Teichroeb (1-6-2): 6 GA, 34 SV
* Power Plays: Niagara – 1-for-6 (2 SOG); RIT – 2-for-5 (10 SOG)
* Records: Niagara – 2-11-3 (2-6-2 AHC); RIT – 8-7-1 (8-5-0 AHC)
* Location: Dwyer Arena – Niagara University, N.Y.
* Attendance: 807
Game Recap
* After a slow start to the contest, Niagara opened the scoring with a power-play goal at the 8:42 mark of the first period. Noah Delmas set up Derek Brown for a long shot from the blue line, and Brown’s shot found its way through traffic and past RIT goaltender Mike Rotolo to make it 1-0 Niagara.
* RIT would take a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes. After Myles Powell evened the score with a quick shot from low in the slot at the 15:23 mark, Erik Brown capitalized on a turnover deep in the Niagara zone three minutes later to put the Tigers ahead.
* The Tigers used four power-plays in the second period to control momentum, scoring one of their three goals of the period on the man advantage.
* Danny Smith scored 1:54 into the period before adding his second of the night five minutes later, tipping home a point shot from Brady Norrish. Gabe Valenzuela scored for the Tigers with 54 seconds left in the second period to make it 5-1 after 40 minutes of play.
* RIT would push the lead to 6-1 3:28 into the third period, as it was Valenzuela who set up Liam Kerins for his seventh goal of the season.
* With 14:41 to play, Dzakhov added his second point of the night with a goal that made it 6-2. TJ Sarcona fed a pass across the slot to Dzakhov off the rush, and the Russian junior fired a one-timer home.
* Niagara had three power plays in the third period, but was held scoreless on those chances as RIT maintained their 6-2 lead.
Coach’s Corner
* Head coach David Burkholder: “It was a great start to the game, but then we give up a bad goal and go into the break down 2-1. We had a little momentum going on the bench. In the second period…it was self-inflicted. We have to stop these ten- to twelve-minute lulls that are killing us.”
Inside the Numbers
* With one goal and one assist, Stanislav Dzakhov pushed his point streak to three games, with four points in that stretch (3+1). Dzakhov is on the longest goal-scoring streak by a Purple Eagle this season at three games.
* Dzakhov moved into second on Niagara in points this season, totaling 9 points (5+4) in 12 games played. Derek Brown leads the Purple Eagles with 10 points (4+6).
* The Purple Eagles have now scored a power-play goal in seven of the last 10 games, as the unit sits at 14.1 percent (13-for-92) this season. Niagara scored 12 power-play goals in 37 games in the 2015-16 campaign.
* Niagara blocked 20 shots in a game for the third time this season, leading RIT 20-16 in the category. Kevin Patterson tied for a game-high with four blocked shots, followed by Larry Smith and Vinny Muto with three apiece.
Up Next
* The Purple Eagles play their last two games of the 2016 calendar year next weekend, as the team flies to Colorado to take on the Air Force Falcons. Niagara and Air Force will face off at 9:05 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 9 and 7:05 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10. Jeremy White has the play-by-play call on 1340 AM WLVL.
* The next home games at Dwyer Arena will be on Jan. 13 and 14, 2017 against the Bentley Falcons.
