Leading the nation with five shutouts this season, the Falcons are led by the goaltending of sophomore Peter Foster.

Foster stands second in the conference with a 2.37 goals-against average, credited with a conference-leading 10 wins this season.

Offensively, sophomore forward Brandon Merkosky leads the team with a balanced 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists).

Scoring points in the last five games, Merkosky contributed to both of the Falcons game-winning goals in last weekend’s sweep of Army, scoring the game-winner Jan. 14 and assisting on the game-winning goals the following evening.

After falling 4-3 in overtime to Wayne State Jan. 14, Niagara regrouped to earn a 4-2 victory Saturday against the Warriors.

Scoring the Purple Eagles’ first two goals of the contest was senior captain Barret Ehgoetz, who added an assist on Niagara’s game-winning goal, scored by fellow-senior Ryan Gale.

Playing solid throughout the contest, freshman goaltender Scott Mollison made 23 saves to pick up his third win of the season.

The Purple Eagles swept the season series against the Falcons last season, outscoring Air Force, 17-6, in the four games.

Playing in all four of the contests and making a combined 150 saves was junior goaltender Jeff Van Nynatten, who has a career record of 7-1-0 in eight starts against the Falcons.

The Purple Eagles have an all-time record of 21-9-3 against Air Force.

At Dwyer Arena, Niagara has a record of 9-6-2, winning the last three meetings with the Falcons.

Niagara head coach Dave Burkholder has a record of 8-3-1 in his four seasons against the Falcons.

Against Air Force at Dwyer Arena, Burkholder holds a 3-3-1 record, including going 2-0-0 last season.

Niagara senior forward Kris Wiebe looks to continue where he left off against the Falcons.

Playing for the University of Findlay, Wiebe tallied five points (2 goals, 3 assists) against Air Force, helping the Oilers advance to the 2004 College Hockey America Tournament semifinals.

For his outstanding play, Wiebe was named to the 2004 CHA All-Tournament team.

In his 11 games against the Falcons, senior captain Barret Ehgoetz has 19 points, leading all Niagara players.

Scoring five goals and adding 14 assists, Ehgoetz is averaging 1.73 points per game against the Falcons.

Ehgoetz is followed by senior Kris Wiebe (9 points) and junior Justin Cross (8 points). Wiebe is tied for the team-lead in goals with five.

In goal, neither Niagara goaltender, sophomore Allen Barton and freshman Scott Mollison, have seen action against Air Force.

Junior goaltender Jeff Van Nynatten, who has started eight games against the Falcons, is 7-1-0 in his collegiate career, with a 1.99 goals-against average.

Former Niagara forward Joe Tallari was loaned to the Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League (AHL) on Jan. 15.

Tallari, who signed a professional tryout offer with the Barons, previously played this season with the Johnstown Chiefs of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). In 33 games this season, he had 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists).

The first Hobey Baker Award finalist from the College Hockey America conference, Tallari finished his collegiate career with 125 career points, holding the school record and conference record for points in a season (55).

The six teams in College Hockey America meet in conference games this weekend, highlighted by a two-game series between the top two teams in the conference standings.

Bemidji State, leading the conference with eight wins this season, travels to the Von Braun Center to play second place Alabama-Huntsville Friday and Saturday.

Wayne State, standing third in the CHA, hosts first-year program Robert Morris at the Compuware Arena, Saturday and Sunday.

Both tied for fourth in the conference, Air Force visits Niagara at Dwyer Arena Friday and Saturday.

Niagara senior captain Barret Ehgoetz, along with Alabama-Huntsville senior Jared Ross, continue their battle in the conference record books.

With Ehgoetz leading in the all-time points lead with 151 career points to Ross’ 148, the Chargers senior forward leads in career goals with 67.

Entering this season, Ehgoetz stood fourth in CHA history in career points, with Ross right behind in fifth place.

Niagara continues to have problems when entering the overtime period.

Playing in three overtime games this season, Niagara fell to 0-3-0 in the extra period with its 4-3 loss to Wayne State last weekend.

The Purple Eagles other two losses in overtime came to UMass Lowell Oct. 9 and Bemidji State Nov. 20.

Dating back to his freshman season, senior captain Barret Ehgoetz has played in 100 consecutive games.

Starting the streak March 1, 2002 against Wayne State, the Kincardine, Ontario native, has shown incredible durability in his four seasons with the Purple Eagles, routinely playing with injuries.

Sophomore forward Sean Bentivoglio carries a three-game goal streak into this weekend’s series against Air Force.

Standing third on the team in points with 19, Bentivoglio has four points in his last three games, capped off by an empty-net goal in the Purple Eagles’ 4-2 win over Wayne State Jan. 15.

Exploding onto the national scene in his final season, senior Ryan Gale is one-point short of tying his career total from his previous three seasons.

Totaling 27 points (16 goals, 11 assists) in his first three seasons, Gale leads the CHA with 16 goals this season, adding 10 assists for 26 points.

The St. Catharines, Ontario, native, continues to excel playing alongside fellow-senior Barret Ehgoetz.

Freshman forward Matt Caruana leads all Niagara rookies with nine points this season.

In a class of 11 players, Caruana has played in all 21 games this season, scoring four goals and adding five assists.

Additionally, defensemen Travis Anderson and Trevor Mallon have contributed with six points apiece this season.

In goal, freshman goaltender Scott Mollison is second on the team in minutes played (425:11), tied for the team lead with three wins this season.

Already the all-time leading scorer in Niagara history, senior captain Barret Ehgoetz moves closer to breaking the school records for goals and assists.

Ehgoetz trails Peter DeSantis, the all-time leader in goals, by two goals, notching 65 goals in his collegiate career.

With 86 career assists, Ehgoetz trails all-time assist leader Mikko Sivonnen by three assists.

Leading the College Hockey America conference with 16 goals this season, senior forward Ryan Gale continues his breakout season for the Purple Eagles.

With his two goals against UMass Lowell Dec. 30, Gale notched his fifth multiple-goal game of the season, tops among all Niagara players.

In his final season, Gale has set career highs in points, goals and assists through 21 games.

Senior forward Ryan Gale has points in his last six games, averaging 1.83 points per game in the six-game span.

Also continuing a point streak, sophomore Sean Bentivoglio has goals in the last three games, joined by seniors Barret Ehgoetz and Shayne Baylis, along with freshman Trevor Mallon, all with two-game point streaks.

Seniors Barret Ehgoetz and Ryan Gale continue to rank among the conference leaders in points and goals.

Ehgoetz leads the conference with 31 points this season, tallying a conference-high 21 assists.

Gale, setting career highs in every statistical category, leads the conference with 16 goals, standing sixth in the CHA in points.

Sophomore defenseman Pat Oliveto stands tied for third in the conference in goals by a defenseman.

The Niagara offense stands 18th in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 3.14 goals per game.

Standing in the top 10 nationally are senior forwards Barret Ehgoetz and Ryan Gale.

Ehgoetz stands tied for fifth in the nation in assists (21), ranking tied for sixth nationally with 31 points.

Gale stands tied for sixth in the nation with 16 goals this season.

Registering 75 of Niagara’s 172 points this season -- including 31 of 63 goals -- the senior class of Shayne Baylis, Ryan Carrigan, Barret Ehgoetz, Ryan Gale and Kris Wiebe continue to lead the Purple Eagles in scoring this season.

With Ehgoetz, Gale and Wiebe also scoring all eight of Niagara’s game-winning goals, Gale leads the team with 16 goals this season.

The seven-member junior class -- headed by junior Justin Cross’ 13 points -- is second on the team in scoring with 37 points, followed by the freshmen (32) and sophomores (28).

Continuing to earn recognition for his superior play, senior captain Barret Ehgoetz was named to InsideCollegeHockey.com’s All-College Hockey America team for the first half of the 2004-05 season.

Leading the CHA with 31 points this season, Ehgoetz was the 2004 CHA Co-Player of the Year, helping Niagara earn its second NCAA Tournament appearance in the past five seasons.

Goaltender Scott Mollison became the first freshman in Niagara history to earn a win in their first collegiate start, helping the Purple Eagles defeat Quinnipiac University, 3-1, Nov 12 at Dwyer Arena.

Mollison made 21 saves against the Bobcats, including stopping a Michael Bordieri penalty shot in the second period.

Playing in six games this season, Mollison has a 2-3-0 record with a 3.14 goals-against average.

This season’s men’s hockey team posted its highest team grade-point average in its nine-year history.

With a team cumulative GPA of 3.25 in the Fall 2004 semester, the men’s hockey team had 22 of its 28 players with a 3.00-or-better GPA, including 10 players with a 3.50-or-better GPA.

Freshmen Cliff Ketchen and Scott Mollison finished with a GPA of 4.0.

The 2005 Wells Fargo College Hockey America Championships will move Minnesota, played at the IRA Civic Center in Grand Rapids March 11-13.

With all six CHA teams qualifying for the tournament, with the top two seeds receiving byes in the

quarterfinals, the 2005 tournament is the first ever held in the state of Minnesota for the conference.

The two quarterfinal games are scheduled for 3:05 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. CST March 11. The semifinals are scheduled for the same times March 12, with the finals played at 7:05 p.m. March 13.

The 2005 CHA Championship Game can be seen live on College Sports Television.

Niagara continues College Hockey America conference play next weekend, traveling to Robert Morris University for two conference games at the Island Sports Complex.

In their first season in Division I hockey, the Colonials are 0-7-1 in CHA conference play this season.