MILFORD, Conn. - The Niagara men's hockey team (8-6-1; 3-1-0 CHA) used a strong overall effort in order to defeat Atlantic Hockey foe Sacred Heart (4-11-3; 4-7-2 AHA) 2-0 at the Milford Ice Arena on Friday night. The Purps set a season-high in shots, peppering Pioneer netminder Stefan Drew with 49 shots, en route to Niagara's sixth win in seven tries.

It was an effort that made head coach Dave Burkholder happy, playing the Pioneers on the road.

"It was a very good road effort from our club tonight," Burkholder said. "Pagliero [Juliano] made several quality saves to keep us in the lead."

Just eight minutes into the game, junior Chris Moran (Buffalo, N.Y.) took a shot from  the right face-off circle, where the rebound found senior Vince Rocco (Woodbridge, Ont.) on the doorstep for the 1-0 lead and his 99th career point. Niagara continued to control the rest of the first period, outshooting the Pioneers 19-6 through one.

The second period saw more of the same, with the Purps forcing the tempo of the game, outshooting Sacred Heart 21-14. The Purple Eagles nearly missed making it 2-0 late in the second period, when the puck took an errant bounce off the end boards behind Pioneer netminder Drew, which senior Ted Cook (Hogansburg, N.Y.) deflected on net, only to take an unkind bounce off the post.

The Purps continued to roll early in the third period, when junior Ryan Annesley (Ajax, Ont.) took a shot from the point, which Moran deflected over the shoulder of Drew for the 2-0 advantage and his team-leading seventh tally. The Pioneers pulled Drew late in the game to try to get back into it, but Niagara shutdown the home team offensive.

Senior netminder Juliano Pagliero (Dalroy, Alb.) has not allowed a goal in 152:04, stopping 29 shots,  good enough for his second consecutive shutout and his third on the season.

"I was pleased with my effort tonight," Pagliero said. "Our play has been special as of late and it says a lot about our team."

The Purple Eagles finish their two-game series against the Pioneers on Saturday at 7:05 p.m.