Four Purple Eagles Tally Two Points In Win Over Miami (OH)
Niagara University, N.Y.—The Niagara hockey team opened the second half of the season with a 4-1 win over NCHC foe Miami (OH) at Dwyer Arena on Friday night.
First Period
Niagara controlled play in the opening 20 minutes as they had 15 shots while limiting Miami (OH) to just eight in the opening stanza.
At the 15:34 mark of the period, Niagara struck first as Jack Richard picked up his third goal of the season. Noah Carlin played the puck down low from his point position and Olivier Gauthier battled behind the net for the puck. Gauthier passed the puck to the slot, after the puck was deflected, Richard skated into the puck and wristed home the opening goal. For Gauthier it was his fifth assist of the season while Carlin picked up his sixth assist.
Less than a minute later at the 16:18 mark of the period, Niagara struck again, the trio of Jay Ahearn, Shane Ott, and Tyler Wallace went to work deep in the RedHawk zone. Wallace won a puck battle and tried to feed the puck in front of the net, the puck was deflected and Ott took it to the other post to find Ahearn in front. Ahearn’s first shot was stopped but he followed up on the rebound and netted his sixth goal of the season. For both Ott and Wallace it was their fifth assists of the season.
Niagara went to the locker room leading 2-0, Niagara entered the game with a 2-0-0 record when leading after 20 minutes.
Second Period
Miami (OH) came out of the locker room in the second period firing as they had 15 shots on goal and 21 total shot attempts. Niagara netminder Jarrett Fiske turned away all 15 shots that made it to the net.
At the 13:17 mark of the second period, Niagara increased their lead to three as Lars Rodne scored his third of the year. Richard broke up a Miami (OH) play in the Niagara zone and send Rodne and Gauthier on a 2-0 breakaway. The two passed to each other once as Rodne finished off the 2-0 with a one timer over a sprawling Miami (OH) goaltender. Gauthier picked up his sixth assist of the season and second of the game while Richard had his second assist of the year.
The Purple Eagles went to the locker room leading 3-0 despite being outshot 23-22 in the opening two periods.
Third Period
The RedHawks did not go down without a fight as they scored their first goal of the game at the 6:11 mark of the third period.
The two teams played a back-and-forth period with Niagara edging out Miami (OH) 9-8 in the shot column.
While on the power play with less than a minute left and the Miami (OH) goalie on the bench, Rodne netted his second of the game. Jonathan Ziskie made a breakout pass to Ahearn who fired a pass the width of the rink to Rodne who took a couple strides and fired the puck into the empty net to make it 4-1.
Niagara Notes
· Niagara is now 2-1-0 all-time against Miami (OH) after splitting last season with the RedHawks.
· Fiske made 30 saves in net for Niagara, it is third 30+ save game of the season.
· Niagara went 1-3 on the power play with six shots.
· The Purple Eagles allowed seven shots on four Miami (OH) power plays as the RedHawks were held off the scoreboard on special teams.
· Niagara blocked 17 shots with Lane Brockhoff and Connor Mylymok each having a team high three.
· The Purple Eagles went 40-24 in the faceoff circle for a 62.5 winning percentage. All four centers were over 50% in the dot with Glebs Prohorenkovs winning a team high 16 draws. Wallace went 13-5 for a team best 72.2 winning percentage.
· Four Purple Eagles had two points.
· Niagara is 5-1-1 this season when leading after two periods.
· It is the first time this season that Niagara has tied their opponent in shots.
· With a goal and an assist, Ahearn leads the team in goals and points.
· For Rodne it was his first two goal game since Oct. 21, 2022 when he scored twice against Sacred Heart.
· Niagara is now 2-3-0 in non-conference play in 2023-24.
Up Next
The Purple Eagles and RedHawks close out the 2023 calendar year on Saturday at Dwyer Arena with puck drop scheduled for 5 PM.
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