NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - Sophomore Giancarlo Iuorio scored a dramatic goal off of an odd-man rush in overtime to secure a 4-3 victory for the Niagara men's hockey team (9-5-2, 7-3-0 AHA) in its first meeting ever against the UConn Huskies (3-7-3, 3-4-1 AHA) in front of 1,215 fans at Dwyer Arena on Friday night.

Heading into the waning moments of the overtime period, senior Bryan Haczyk chipped the puck loose along his own blue line to fellow senior Paul Zanette, who skated into the offensive zone. Zanette slowed down and hit a pass to a trailing Iuorio in the slot, who walked in on goal and deked past Huskies netminder Garrett Bartus for the game-clinching goal.

"The play started because of Haczyk," Iuorio said. "Haczyk chipped it out of the zone and once I saw Paul skating in, I yelled my brains out for the pass. I got the puck and scored one of the biggest goals I have ever scored." 

Niagara men's hockey head coach Dave Burkholder is proud as to how Iuorio has handled playing with Haczyk and Zanette.

"I think G [Giancarlo] is a good fit to play with [Bryan] Haczyk and [Paul] Zanette," Burkholder said. "He plays well down low and has good vision."

After a scoreless first period, the second period saw four goals within the opening 12 minutes. UConn took a 1-0 lead just 2:34 into the middle frame when Rui Encarnaco slammed home a rebound past Niagara goalie Chris Noonan. The Purps would respond quickly when Iuorio's second effort tied the game 51 seconds later. Niagara's first goal extended the consecutive games point streak of Iuorio to 12 games.

Niagara would take its first lead of the night on the man-advantage, when freshman blueliner Matt Williams launched a rocket from the point that was tipped past Bartus by freshman Scott Arnold. Acting quickly, the Purple Eagles would take a 3-1 lead just 40 seconds later, when freshman Ryan Rashid netted his sixth goal of the season.

The Purple Eagles quickly saw its two-goal lead evaporate, when Jordan Sims and Matt Miller both beat Noonan in a span of 1:07 to tie the game at three in the third period.

Noonan made 24 saves in the game for the Purple Eagles. With his assist on the game-winning goal, Haczyk has also pushed his consecutive games point streak to 12 games.

Niagara, a team that is currently tied for first place in the Atlantic Hockey Association,  takes on UConn again on Saturday night, with puck drop slated for 7:05 p.m.

Iuorio's Game-Winning Goal In OT