SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – On Black Friday, the Niagara Purple Eagles hockey team nearly blanked the American International Yellow Jackets thanks to a strong 27-save effort from goaltender Brian Wilson. Ben Sokay scored his first career goal in the first period, and Derian Plouffe tallied the eventual game-winning goal with 11:03 to play, with the goal marking his 50th career point. Eric Cooley added an empty-net tally to seal the 3-1 win for Niagara Friday afternoon at MassMutual Center.
Game Summary
· Final Score: Niagara 3, American International 1
· Niagara Goal Scorers: Eric Cooley, Derian Plouffe, Ben Sokay
· Niagara Assists: Eric Cooley, Noah Delmas, Justin Kendall, James Roll, Jack Zielinski
· In Goal: Brian Wilson (5-3-1) – 1 GA, 27 SV
· Power Plays: Niagara – 0-for-5 (4 SOG); American International – 0-for-5 (8 SOG)
· Records: Niagara – 7-4-1 (6-1-1 AHC); American International – 4-9-2 (3-6-2 AHC)
· Location: MassMutual Center – Springfield, MA
· Attendance: 219
Game Recap
· Both teams started the game slow, as the first period ended with just a 5-4 shots on goal lead for Niagara and few strong scoring chances between either side.
· Ben Sokay was able to break open the scoring midway through the first period with his first goal as a Purple Eagle, burying a rebound of a shot from Justin Kendall that bounced wide off the pads of American International goaltender Stefano Durante.
· The second period provided the widest-open play of the entire game, with odd-man rushes flying both ways throughout the middle stanza. Both goaltenders stayed perfect, as Durante stopped 14 Niagara shots and the Purple Eagles’ Brian Wilson was perfect on 13 AIC chances.
· Derian Plouffe scored his seventh goal of the season to reach the 50-point milestone in his Niagara career, giving Niagara a two-goal cushion with 11:03 to play.
· Just 1:08 later, however, American International halved the lead to make it 2-1. Wilson made a phenomenal glove save on AIC’s Blake Christensen after a feed from Martin Mellberg, but the rebound was pushed home by Joel Kocur.
· The Yellow Jackets pushed to tie the game as they headed to the power play less than two minutes later. After Niagara held AIC to four shots on its first four power plays, AIC peppered four big shots on Wilson, but the freshman netminder stood tall to maintain the 2-1 lead.
· Niagara held the Yellow Jackets off the board after Durante headed off for the extra attacker, and Noah Delmas cleared the zone to Eric Cooley up the right wing boards, with Cooley finishing the play for the empty-net goal and the 3-1 win.
Coach’s Corner
· Head coach Jason Lammers: “Holding on in the third period was something that we’ve definitely talked about and addressed, and I was really impressed with how our leaders stepped up and held our team to a standard as we pushed through for the win. Wilson was awesome in goal, I thought he was a difference-maker for us, he’s been working really hard to get better. He did a real good job to calm our group down.”
Inside the Numbers
· Niagara held an opponent to one goal for the first time this season in the win. The Purple Eagles also moved to 7-1-1 when scoring three or more goals in a game.
· Brian Wilson set a new season- and career-high with 27 saves.
· Eric Cooley tallied his second two-point game of the season, his first since getting one goal and one assist in a 6-2 win at Sacred Heart on Oct. 28.
· Noah Delmas now has five assists in a three-game point streak. The sophomore has been held off the score sheet in just one of 12 games this season. He entered Friday as the second-leading scoring defenseman in the NCAA and now has a Niagara-best 16 points (1+15) in 12 games.
· Derian Plouffe’s game-winning goal was his 50th career point. He has a career-high 14 points (7+7) in just 12 games this season to lead all Niagara forwards and rank second on the team overall.
· Niagara was held to just five shots in the first and third period, tied for the least in any period this season.
· Niagara held a 32-22 advantage in the faceoff circle. Nick Farmer went a perfect 8-for-8 on faceoffs, while Derian Plouffe led the team with 11 faceoff wins on 20 attempts.
· The Purple Eagles were held scoreless on the power play for just the second time this season, but they have won both games, the other coming Oct. 28 at Sacred Heart. Niagara had a perfect penalty kill for the sixth time in 12 games.
Up Next
· Niagara returns to the MassMutual Center to go for the weekend sweep of American International on Saturday night, Nov. 25 with opening faceoff at 7:05 p.m.
