NIAGARA UN., N.Y. – The men’s hockey team (11-6-3) returned from its holiday break and picked up right where it left off, scoring six goals en route to a 6-2 victory over crosstown rival, Canisius (4-13-1), Saturday. The win, played in front of 1,541 fans, the largest December crowd in school history, improved the Purple Eagles’ record inside Dwyer Arena to 7-0-1.

Sophomore Les Reaney (Ceylon, Sask.) and junior Matt Caruana (Orono, Ont.) each scored a pair of goals; Reaney opening the contest with a power-play goal and Caruana adding the game winner in the first period. Reaney upped his team-high point total to 34.

Niagara took advantage while on the advantage, scoring three power-play goals, including two in the first 10 minutes of the game. Senior Sean Bentivoglio (Thorold, Ont.) followed Reaney’s goal with a power-play tally of his own, off assists from defenders Jim Burichin (Strongsville, Ohio) and Dan Sullivan (Scarborough, Ont.), making the score 2-0. The assist was the first career point for Burichin.

"We knew they were one of the most penalized teams in the country," Bentivoglio said. "We went over a couple things before the game, and knew what we were doing once we got out there."

Freshman Chris Moran (Buffalo, N.Y.) tallied three assists, improving his season total to 20 helpers, good for fourth all-time among Purple Eagle rookies. Classmate Egor Mironov (Thornhill, Ont.) added two assists in the win, one coming when he threaded the needle to Reaney for a 4-0 advantage.

Juliano Pagliero (Dalroy, Alb.) improved to 8-5-2, making 39 saves. He made 26 saves in the first two periods, including a sprawling save on a Canisius breakaway chance while lying flat on his back.

"(Juliano) played a great game," Niagara head coach Dave Burkholder said. "His stop on the breakaway in the second was a game saver. It gave us a chance to collect our breath and move on."

Sophomore Ted Cook (Hogansburg, N.Y.) added his NCAA-leading 18th goal and 11th power-play tally on a 5-on-3 advantage in the third. Canisius was gaining momentum after cutting the Niagara lead to 4-2, until Cook slammed the cylinder home off a pass from Bentivoglio. Caruana then added an empty-netter to round out the scoring, 6-2.

The Purple Eagles, who are 8-1-2 in their last 11 games, are on the road next week, but stay in the Empire State with away contests at Colgate, Jan. 5, and at RIT, Jan. 6.