SARCONA’S THREE POINTS PROPEL NIAGARA OVER MERCYHURST 5-4
NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – In the first outing for the Purple Eagles hockey team following a six-game stretch of non-conference play, Niagara was able to secure its first victory of the season on home ice. TJ Sarcona scored two goals and one assist, including the game-winning goal, to help Niagara to a 5-4 victory over Mercyhurst Tuesday night at Dwyer Arena.
Tyler Hayes, Vinny Muto, and Derian Plouffe also scored for the Purple Eagles (1-7-2, 1-2-1 AHC). Guillaume Therien made the start in goal and finished the night with 34 saves, including 15 in the third period as Mercyhurst went on the attack looking to tie the game. The win was the first for Therien in his Niagara career.
Game Summary
* Final Score: Niagara 5, Mercyhurst 4
* Niagara Goal Scorers: Vinny Muto, Derian Plouffe, Tyler Hayes, TJ Sarcona (2)
* Niagara Assists: Derek Brown, Noah Delmas, Stanislav Dzakhov, Stephen Pietrobon, TJ Sarcona, Larry Smith, Guillaume Therien
* In Goal: Guillaume Therien (1-2-0) – 4 GA, 34 SV
* Power Plays: Niagara – 1-for-5 (6 SH); Mercyhurst – 2-for-6 (13 SH)
* Location: Dwyer Arena – Niagara Univ., N.Y.
* Attendance: 683
Game Recap
* Niagara opened the scoring just 3:34 into the game with Vinny Muto’s first goal of the season. Off a faceoff to the left of the Mercyhurst goal, Derek Brown drove the net and put a shot on target that was deflected behind the goal. Brown threw the loose puck back out to the blue line, and Muto’s slap shot beat Mercyhurst’s Colin DeAugustine low on the glove side.
* Derian Plouffe made it 2-0 Niagara with a 4-on-4 goal. TJ Sarcona worked the puck along the side boards looking for a defenseman to pass to. Sarcona worked the puck back down low and found Plouffe wide open in the slot, and he hammered home his second of the year at the 8:19 mark.
* Tyler Hayes scored his first career goal shorthanded with 2:02 left in the first period. After Therien stopped a Mercyhurst 4-on-1 chance, he deflected the puck up ice to Hayes. Hayes went 1-on-1 against a Mercyhurst defender on the right wing, beat the last man back with a slick deke, and scored low against DeAugustine to make it 3-0 Niagara.
* Therien made seven big saves, including four on Niagara penalty kills, to keep Mercyhurst off the board in the first period.
* Mercyhurst changed to Brandon Wildung in goal for the second period, and the Lakers were able to tilt the momentum for the first half of the middle stanza.
* Jack Riley scored a power-play goal to get Mercyhurst on the board 2:38 into the second, beating Therien short-side from the right wing.
* Michael Verboom and Stephen Hrehoriak scored 59 seconds apart to make it a 3-3 game 9:08 into the second period.
* Just 45 seconds after Hrehoriak’s tying goal, Sarcona returned the lead to Niagara for good. From the left point, Larry Smith found Sarcona in the high slot, and his shot found the twine to make it 4-3.
* Sarcona would give Niagara the 5-3 lead at the 15:57 mark of the second period. On the power play, Noah Delmas kept a puck in at the blue line, worked the puck low into the right corner, and his stray shot glanced in to the Mercyhurst goal off of Sarcona.
* Therien made 15 saves in the third period, keeping Niagara at a two-goal lead until the final two minutes of play. With the Mercyhurst net empty, Riley slammed home Derek Barach’s rebound to make it 5-4 with 1:24 to play.
* At 5-4, Niagara held Mercyhurst without a shot on goal until the very last second of the game. Sarcona had the biggest blocked shot of the game, stopping a straight-on point shot from the Lakers’ Les Lancaster.
* Riley won a faceoff on the Niagara goal with 3 seconds to play, but his shot did not beat Therien as Niagara held on for the victory.
Coach’s Corner
* Head coach David Burkholder: “That feels good. We needed this obviously, the guys have been working their tails off. We didn’t fare too well in the Big Ten for two weeks, and the RPI and Union weekend I thought we showed some positive signs, but the guys hung with it. That’s a really good Mercyhurst team with a lot of offense, which we knew going in. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy.”
Inside the Numbers
* TJ Sarcona netted three points in one game for the second time in his career, and he scored twice in a game for the first time since February 20, 2015 at Air Force.
* Sarcona leads Niagara with eight career multiple-point games, and the Purple Eagles are 6-2-0 in those eight contests.
* Guillaume Therien earned his first win at Niagara on Tuesday evening. His 34 saves were the sixth-highest total for a game in his 21 career appearances.
* Derek Brown tallied an assist in Tuesday’s win, giving him points in five of Niagara’s last six games. He is now tied with Kris Spriggs for the team scoring lead at seven points (3+4).
* Tyler Hayes’ shorthanded goal was the second by a Purple Eagle this season, after Stephen Pietrobon scored one in the season opener Oct. 7 versus Holy Cross.
* Niagara blocked a season-high 28 shots in the win. Devin Campbell led the way with five blocks, while four players blocked three shots apiece.
Up Next
* Niagara hits the road for a pair of Atlantic Hockey contests this weekend. The Purple Eagles will face off against the Sacred Heart Pioneers at 7:05 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 18 before concluding the weekend with a 2:05 p.m. contest on Saturday, Nov. 19
