NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Purple Eagles hockey team picked up its first win of the new year on Saturday night, dropping the Bentley Falcons by a score of 3-1 at Dwyer Arena. Joe O'Brien made 37 saves on 38 shots, including 19 stops in a frenzied third period, for his first win of the season. Johnny Curran opened the scoring 13:10 into the second period, and Vinny Muto and Kris Spriggs found the back of the net 2:08 apart in the third period to extend the lead.
 
Game Summary

• Final Score: Niagara 3, Bentley 1
• Niagara Goal Scorers: Johnny Curran, Vinny Muto, Kris Spriggs
• Niagara Assists: Christian Cakebread, Vinny Muto, Larry Smith, Kris Spriggs
• In Goal: Joe O'Brien (1-3-1): 1 GA, 37 SV
• Power Plays: Niagara – 1-for-3 (3 SOG); Bentley – 0-for-3 (4 SOG)
• Records: Niagara – 3-16-3 (3-11-2 AHC); Bentley – 6-11-5 (5-7-4 AHC)
• Location: Dwyer Arena – Niagara University, N.Y.
• Attendance: 605

 
Game Recap

• Niagara and Bentley battled throughout a gritty first period, one that ended scoreless with the Purple Eagles holding a 6-4 lead in shots on goal. The two teams combined for 15 blocked shots in the opening stanza, compared to the 10 shots on goal. 
• The Purple Eagles killed an extended Bentley power play early in the second period following a major penalty to Nick Farmer, with Joe O'Brien making two stops on the Bentley power play.
• Just past the midway point of the second period, Niagara scored the game's first goal. Kris Spriggs launched a stretch pass from the left wing over to Johnny Curran on the right. With a 2-on-1 chance against Bentley netminder Jayson Argue, Curran took the shot and roofed his seventh goal of the season for the 1-0 lead.
• Niagara scored twice in the first six minutes of the third period to establish a commanding three-goal lead.
• At the 3:31 mark of the third, Vinny Muto scored the eventual game-winning goal with an assist from Christian Cakebread. Muto snuck in past the Bentley defense on the right wing, and he launched a wrist shot short-side that found its way past Argue inside the right pipe.
• Bentley's Alexey Solovyev took a roughing penalty at the 5:16 mark of the third, and the Purple Eagles cashed in 33 seconds later. Kris Spriggs set up in the right faceoff circle, and after a feed from Muto, Spriggs ripped a wrister past Argue for his fourth tally of the year.
• The Falcons would not be denied late in the game, racking up 20 shots on goal in the third period. Their lone goal came on a 2-on-1 break with 9:09 to play. Kyle Schmidt fed Jake Ahlgren who beat O'Brien glove-side to spoil the shutout bid.
• The goal energized the Bentley lineup, which peppered O'Brien with 11 shots on goal after Ahlgren's tally. O'Brien was up to the task on each of those, closing the door and securing the 3-1 victory for his team.

 
Coach's Corner

• Head coach David Burkholder: "I feel really proud of those guys for what they did today…Joe O'Brien was great. He's a gamer. Everything was solid, his rebound control was outstanding, and he got us whistles when we needed whistles. We were under a lot of pressure, and they're a really good offensive team. They took it to us in the third period, but we weathered the storm."

 
Inside the Numbers

• With 37 saves, Joe O'Brien posted his fourth game with 30 or more saves in his first win of the season. O'Brien set a career-high with 46 stops at nationally-ranked Penn State on Nov. 4, 2016.
• Kris Spriggs scored a goal and an assist, and now leads Niagara with three multiple-point games this season. Spriggs also tallied a goal and an assist in a 4-4 tie versus Holy Cross on Oct. 8, 2016 and at Union on Oct. 22, 2016.
• Muto's two-point night was his first of the season and sixth of his career. His last game with multiple points also came at home against Bentley, as the senior blueliner tallied two assists back on Dec. 4, 2015.
• Christian Cakebread is now on a three-game point streak after picking up an assist on Muto's goal. Added to the Niagara roster on Jan. 5, Cakebread now has three points (1+2) in four games as a Purple Eagle.
• Niagara now has a power-play goal in 15 of 22 games this season after Spriggs' third-period tally with the man advantage.
• The Purple Eagles blocked 16 shots in the win. Noah Delmas led the Purple Eagles with a career-best four blocked shots.

 
Up Next

• Niagara returns to Dwyer Arena for a pair of games against the American International Yellow Jackets next weekend.
• Niagara and AIC square off in the weekend opener on Friday, Jan. 20 at 7:05 p.m. That game will be televised regionally on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel.
• The Purple Eagles will then host Scout Night on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 7:05 p.m. against the Yellow Jackets. Following the game, fans can join the Purple Eagles on the ice for a postgame skate and autograph session.

 
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