NIAGARA UN., N.Y. – The No. 20 men’s hockey team (15-8-3) swept 16th-ranked Quinnipiac (11-8-4) with a 3-2 victory, Saturday at Dwyer Arena. Sophomore Juliano Pagliero (Dalroy, Alb.) stole the show again, making 40 saves and picking up his 11th win of the season in front of 1,637 fans, the third largest crowd in Niagara University hockey history.

"(Pagliero) single-handedly stole the victory against a very good team," Niagara head coach Dave Burkholder said. "They executed more than we did tonight, and they had us on our heels, but he saved the day for us."

After making just six saves in the opening frame, Pagliero stopped 19 and 15 shots in the second and third periods, respectively, for his third 40-plus save game of the season. The sophomore has allowed two goals each in his last six games, going 5-1-0 in that span.

Trailing 1-0 in the second period, senior Sean Bentivoglio (Thorold, Ont.) got Niagara on the board when he cut in front of the net. The senior caught the puck in his chest and fired an off-balance rocket from 25 feet out, beating the Bobcat netminder over his right shoulder.

For the second time in as many nights, the Purple Eagles struck again just 18 seconds later, this time when freshman Egor Mironov (Thornhill, Ont.) scored off a pass from sophomore Vince Rocco (Woodbridge, Ont.) for a 2-1 lead. Rocco skated down the left side of the net and sent the puck to a the streaking freshman on the right side for the goal on the doorstep.

After the Bobcats gained momentum, firing off 35 shots in the final two periods, Niagara scored a breakaway goal for a 3-1 lead. Freshman Chris Moran (Buffalo, N.Y.) stole the puck in the defensive zone and found sophomore Kyle Rogers (Erie, Pa.) on the right side. Rogers started the 2-2 break and tried to feed it back to Moran in front of the net. A Bobcat defender poked the puck free, but Les Reaney (Ceylon, Sask.) was following the play and ripped a slap shot top shelf for the lead.

Quinnipiac’s freshman Brandon Wong finished with a goal and an assist after his 17th tally of the season brought the Bobcats closer halfway through the third, but Pagliero shut the door on Quinnipiac for the victory.

The win finished up Niagara’s non-conference portion of the schedule and kept the team undefeated at Dwyer Arena (9-0-1). The Purple Eagles start a stretch of 10-straight conference games when Wayne State comes to town, Jan. 26-27, at 7 p.m.