Senior Kris Wiebe leads the team with five goals in six games against Canisius.

Senior Ryan Gale is fifth nationally in goals, scoring four goals in the past two games.

The Niagara University men’s hockey team (7-11-0) looks to end a two-game losing streak, hosting crosstown rival Canisius College (8-9-3) Saturday at Dwyer Arena.

Game time is set for 7:05 p.m.

Saturday’s game can be heard live on Teamline, provided free of charge by friends of the Niagara men’s hockey program, with Frank Gallo handling play-by-play duties.

Teamline can be accessed through Niagara’s official athletics website, www.PurpleEagles.com.

In addition, Saturday’s contest will be broadcasted by Adelphia Cable Channel 13 on tape delay.

With his two assists in the loss to UMass Lowell Dec. 30, senior captain Barret Ehgoetz became the all-time leading scorer in the nine-year history of the Niagara men’s hockey program.

Now with 147 points (62 goals, 85 assists), Ehgoetz moved past former Purple Eagles Mike Isherwood and Mikko Sivonnen into the top spot on the career scoring list. He currently leads the team with 27 points (7 goals, 20 assists) in 18 games this season.

Ending a five-game road trip, the Purple Eagles return to Dwyer Arena for the start of five consecutive home games, starting with tonight’s contest against Canisius.

Playing a rough schedule, with 13 of its 18 games thus far on the road, Niagara enters Saturday’s contest with a 7-11-0 record.

Fifth nationally in scoring this season, senior captain Barret Ehgoetz leads the team with 27 points (7 goals, 20 assists), registering points in the Purple Eagles’ last five games.

Teamed with Ehgoetz on the forward line, senior Ryan Gale continues to be among the nation’s elite goal scorers, scoring goals in the last three games, including multiple goals in the last two. Gale leads the team with 15 goals this season, standing fifth in the nation.

In goal, sophomore Allen Barton has started the past four games, credited with a 2-1-0 record. Barton has made 25 or more saves in three of the four starts.

Standing atop of the Atlantic Hockey conference standings, Canisius heads into Saturday’s contest having played to a 4-4 draw with Quinnipiac College Tuesday at the Buffalo State Sports Arena.

Helping the Griffs in the draw was senior goaltender Bryan Worosz, who has started all 11 conference games for Canisius this season. Worosz (8-6-3) is among the Atlantic Hockey leaders in both goals-against average (2.40) and save percentage (.925) in his 17 games this season.

Leading Canisius in scoring and standing tied for second in the conference in points is junior forward Andrew Dawe. Dawe has points in four of the last five games for the Golden Griffins, leading the team with 16 points on eight goals and eight assists.

Freshman forward Joel Kitchen is tied for the team lead in goals (8), adding six assists for 14 points.

Canisius is second in the conference with a 2.65 goals per game scoring average.

IN THEIR LAST OUTING

Playing in its first game after an 18-day layoff, Niagara fell to the University of Massachusetts Lowell, 5-2, Dec. 30 at Tsongas Arena, in Lowell, Mass.

The Purple Eagles fell behind 2-0 just 1:56 into the contest, conceding goals to juniors Bobby Robins and Mark Pandolfo early in the first period.

Niagara senior Ryan Gale scored his first of two goals in the contest 37 seconds into the second period, however the River Hawks answered when Robins scored his second goal of the game at the 3:49 mark of the second period, making the score 3-1 in favor of Lowell.

Niagara goaltender Allen Barton, making his fourth consecutive start in net, made 28 saves in the loss, including 15 in the first period.

In the loss, senior captain Barret Ehgoetz became the all-time leading scorer in Niagara history, moving past Mike Isherwood and Mikko Sivonnen atop the all-time scoring list.

The Purple Eagles went 1-0-1 against Canisius last season, defeating the Griffs, 6-3, Jan. 22, 2004 at the Buffalo State Sports Arena, and playing to a 3-3 draw Jan. 24, 2004 at Dwyer Arena.

Leading Niagara in the two games was the forward duo of Barret Ehgoetz and Joe Tallari, who had five points a piece in the two games.

Junior goaltender Jeff Van Nynatten made a combined 40 saves in the two games, extending his unbeaten streak to six games.

The Purple Eagles hold a 9-4-1 advantage over Canisius in the nine-year history of the men’s hockey program.

Last season, Niagara was 1-0-1 against the Golden Griffins, playing to a 3-3 draw at Dwyer Arena Jan. 24, 2004.

Playing in 32 games against current and past teams from the Atlantic Hockey conference, Niagara is 25-5-2 against AHA teams.

The Purple Eagles have a seven-game unbeaten streak against the Atlantic Hockey conference, dating back to the 2002-03 season.

Niagara head coach Dave Burkholder, now in his fourth season at the helm of the men’s hockey program, is 4-1-1 in his career against Canisius.

Against the Atlantic Hockey conference, head coach Dave Burkholder holds a commanding 10-1-1 (.875) record in his four seasons.

This season, the Purple Eagles have a 2-0-0 record against Atlantic Hockey conference teams, sweeping Quinnipiac University Nov. 12-13 at Dwyer Arena.

In their six games against Canisius in their collegiate careers, senior forwards Barret Ehgoetz and Kris Wiebe hold the scoring lead for the current Niagara team.

Ehgoetz leads the team with 13 points on three goals and 10 assists. In two games last season, Ehgoetz was tied for the team lead with five points on five assists.

Wiebe, while playing for the University of Findlay, has the most career goals against Canisius of any current member on the Purple Eagles. While with the Oilers, Wiebe scored five goals, adding six assists for 11 points.

Junior goaltender Jeff Van Nynatten, who is out of Saturday’s contest due to injury, in the only current Niagara player who has faced the Griffs in net.

COLLEGE HOCKEY AMERICA

Five of the six College Hockey America teams are in action this weekend, headed by conference games pitting the top four teams in the CHA against each other.

The University of Alabama in Huntsville, leading the CHA with a 5-1-0 conference record, hosts Wayne State University Friday and Saturday at the Von Braun Center, in Huntsville, Ala. The Beavers of Bemidji State University, idle last weekend, hosts Air Force Friday and Saturday at the Glas Fieldhouse, in Bemidji, Minn.

Niagara and Robert Morris host non-conference games against Canisius and Mercyhurst, respectively.

Breaking the College Hockey America all-time scoring mark Dec. 11 against Bemidji State University, senior captain Barret Ehgoetz continues to rank among the CHA leaders in goals and assists, aiding on both Niagara goals in its last game Dec. 30.

Now with 147 career points, Ehgoetz has 62 goals in his collegiate career to rank second in CHA history, two goals behind Andy Berg of the U.S. Air Force Academy.

He is also the all-time leader in CHA history with 85 career assists.

Ten out of the 11 freshmen on the Purple Eagles have contributed through the first half of the 2004-05 season.

With nine out of the 11 rookies having played in at least a third of the games (6), the freshman class is headed by forward Matt Caruana, who leads all first-year players with seven points (2 goals, 5 assists).

Freshman goaltender Scott Mollison has played in six games with a 2-3-0 record.

Niagara looks to extend its unbeaten streak against Canisius to four games, dating back to a 6-2 win at Dwyer Arena Jan. 25, 2003.

Additionally, the Purple Eagles are unbeaten in their last five games against teams from the Atlantic Hockey conference, earning a two-game sweep of Quinnipiac University earlier this season.

Leading the College Hockey America conference with 15 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 18 games.

Playing in his seventh game of the season in the loss to UMass Lowell Dec. 30, sophomore goaltender Allen Barton tied his career high for games played in a season.

In his freshman season, Barton finished with a 2-3-0 record, playing in seven games.

This season, the Spencerport, N.Y., native has a 2-3-0 record with a 4.26 goals-against average in his seven appearances.

Leading all Niagara defensemen in goals the past two seasons, junior Brian Hartman has tied his career high for goals scored in a season.

With four goals in 14 games, Hartman is tied for fourth among Purple Eagle defensemen in scoring this season.

In the nine-year history of the Niagara men’s hockey program, players wearing jersey number 11 have something in common.

Both senior captain Barret Ehgoetz, now the all-time leading scorer in Niagara history, and former Purple Eagle forward Mikko Sivonnen wore the number 11 and both are among the top scorers in Niagara history.

Sivonnen, who played four seasons at Niagara from 1996-00, was the former all-time leading scorer with 145 career points.

Ehgoetz, with 147 points in his collegiate career, broke both Sivonnen’s and former Niagara forward Mike Isherwood’s all-time mark Dec. 30 against UMass Lowell.

Senior linemates Barret Ehgoetz and Ryan Gale carry point streaks into tonight’s contest against Canisius.

Ehgoetz, leading the team in scoring with 27 points (7 goals, 20 assists), has points in the last five games, averaging an astounding 2.40 points per game.

Gale has a point streak of three games, scoring goals in all three games, including multiple goals in the past two.

In goal, sophomore goaltender Allen Barton has started the past four games, with a 2-1-0 record.

In addition to leading the team in scoring this season, senior captain Barret Ehgoetz leads the College Hockey America conference in points after 18 games.

Ehgoetz leads the CHA with 27 points on seven goals and a conference-leading 20 assists.

Fellow-senior Ryan Gale leads the CHA in goals scored this season with 15 goals, setting a new career high for goals in a season. Gale also stands tied for third in the CHA in points with 22.

With 11 assists this season, sophomore forward Sean Bentivoglio stands tied for fifth in the CHA in assists.

The Niagara offense, averaging 3.17 goals per game, stands 18th nationally in scoring offense.

Breaking both school and conference records in the first half of the season, senior captain Barret Ehgoetz stands tied for second nationally in assists with 20, standing fifth in the nation in points with 27 this season.

Having a breakout year, senior forward Ryan Gale is fifth in the nation in goals scored, with 15 goals this season. Gale also stands tied for 21st nationally with a career high 22 points, shattering his former high of 13.

With seniors scoring all seven of the game-winning goals this season for the Purple Eagles, Gale and Ehgoetz, along with senior forward Kris Wiebe rank among the top 26 nationally in game-winning goals.

Registering 65 of Niagara’s 148 points this season -- including 27 of 54 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 seven of Niagara’s game-winning goals, Gale leads the team with 15 goals this season.

The seven-member junior class -- headed by junior Justin Cross’ 13 points -- is second on the team in scoring with 32 points, followed by the freshmen (28) and sophomores (23).

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 25 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.

With 16 out of 28 players hailing from Canada, Niagara leads the College Hockey America conference in players from the province of Ontario.

Eleven players -- including four out of five seniors -- on the Purple Eagles’ roster are natives of Ontario.

CHA TOURNAMENT

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 its homestand next weekend, hosting Wayne State University for a pair of College Hockey America conference games Friday and Saturday.

Last season, the Purple Eagles swept the Warriors in the five-game season series, earning the final win in the CHA Tournament semifinals March 13, 2004.