BUFFALO, N.Y. – Senior forward
Stephen Pietrobon netted a pair of goals on home ice for the Purple Eagles hockey team, but Niagara was defeated 5-2 by rival Canisius in the fourth and final Battle of the Bridge game Friday night at Dwyer Arena.
Game Summary
Game Recap
- Canisius drew first blood in Friday night's Battle of the Bridge matchup, taking a 2-0 lead midway through the first period on goals by Dylan McLaughlin and Nick Hutchison.
- Stephen Pietrobon got Niagara on the board during a five-minute Niagara power play with 4:30 before the first intermission, burying the rebound of a point shot from Niko Kovachis.
- Stanislav Dzakhov appeared to have tied the game with a late first-period goal after redirecting Johnny Curran's pass to the slot past Canisius netminder Charles Williams, but the goal was waved off and Niagara trailed 2-1 after 20 minutes.
- The Golden Griffins seized control early in the second period, scoring three times in less than five minutes to take a 5-1 lead. Guillaume Therien was pulled for Jackson Teichroeb at the 6:37 mark of the second period after allowing five goals on 17 shots.
- Teichroeb was perfect in his relief effort, making 16 stops in 33:20 between the pipes, but Niagara was unable to narrow the deficit until late in the game.
- Canisius backup goaltender Simon Hofley made a stop on the doorstep against Kevin Patterson in the final three minutes, but Pietrobon collected the rebound for his second goal of the night, the final goal in a 5-2 decision.
Coach's Corner
- Head coach David Burkholder: "We battled our butts off, I'm pretty proud. We dug ourselves a hole that we couldn't climb out of. Sam Rennaker, Stephen Pietrobon, they showed up and probably played their best games of the year, so that's all you can ask for as a coach. For the most part, most of those guys are exhausted with the short bench."
Inside the Numbers
- After not scoring since Nov. 19, 2016, Stephen Pietrobon finished the two games this week against Canisius with three goals. The senior forward now has 12 points (5+7) in 24 games this season.
- Pietrobon's two-goal game was the eighth by a Niagara player this season, with no Purple Eagle picking up a hat trick thus far in the 2016-17 campaign.
- Two of Pietrobon's fellow seniors, Kevin Patterson and TJ Sarcona, now have assists in consecutive games as well.
- Sam Rennaker has a two-game point streak after scoring in Wednesday's loss at Canisius, and he has three points (2+1) in the last five games.
- Pietrobon's power-play marker in the first period helped Niagara snap a five-game scoreless drought on the man advantage, their longest of the season. Prior to that drought, Niagara had scored a power-play goal in six straight contests.
- Niagara dressed 16 skaters in the loss with 10 skaters injured. Freshmen Noah Delmas and Kris Spriggs, two of the team's top three scorers, missed Friday's contest after playing Wednesday at Canisius.
- Sean King returned to the Niagara lineup and finished second on the team with five shots on goal.
Up Next
- Niagara turns its attention now to the final series of the regular season, a two-game swing against the Robert Morris Colonials.
- The series begins Saturday night, Feb. 25 with a 7:05 p.m. puck drop for Senior Night.
- After that, Niagara and Robert Morris will head outside to Heinz Field in Pittsburgh for the second outdoor game in Niagara history. The Purple Eagles and Colonials are slated to begin the outdoor game on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 7:05 p.m.
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