NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - The Niagara University men's hockey team (9-18-4, 4-9-2 CHA) netted three unanswered goals en route to a 3-1 victory over visiting CHA rival Alabama-Huntsville (9-16-2, 5-9-1 CHA) at Dwyer Arena on Saturday night.

The Purple Eagles, whom entered the weekend five points behind the Chargers for third place, have dwindled that deficit to a point, in a game that panned out similarly to Friday's encounter.

"I feel the positive momentum in our locker room and that we are going in the right direction," head coach Dave Burkholder said.

Like Friday night, the Chargers took an early 1-0 lead in the first period, when Davide Nicoletti slammed home a one-timer in the slot past Purple Eagles netminder Adam Avramenko. Niagara would enter the first intermission trailing 1-0, despite outshooting the Chargers by a 9-4 margin.

"Plain and simple, I couldn't let the early goal get to me," Avramenko said. "I did my best to shake it off and help the team."

The Purple Eagles evened things up in the second period, when seniors Ryan Olidis and Chris Moran converted a two-on-one break with Moran beating Charger netminder Cameron Talbot on his glove side. Niagara would take the lead with 1.9 seconds left in the second period, off of the stick of Bryan Haczyk. Junior Paul Zanette sent a pass down the blueline to a surging Haczyk, who floated a wrist shot just inside the offensive zone, which beat Talbot over his right shoulder.

"I think we put a stamp on the game in the second period," Burkholder said. "The second period is what won us tonight's game."

Niagara added to its lead in the third period, when freshman Jeff Hannan slammed home a rebound on the doorstep.

Moran's goal gives him 135 points, tying him with Peter DeSantis (1996-00) for fifth on Niagara's all-time points list. Haczyk's game-winning tally is his fourth on the season, a team-high.

Niagara completes its three-game series against Alabama-Huntsville on Sunday at 4 p.m.