NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - On the strength of a goal by senior Egor Mironov, the Niagara men's hockey team (12-19-4, 6-10-2 CHA) will play for the last College Hockey America championship, after defeating top-seeded and nationally-ranked Bemidji State (23-9-3, 14-3-1 CHA) at Dwyer Arena on Friday night.

The game-winning goal came halfway through the third period, when a shot from senior Ryan Olidis came off the endboards behind the Bemidji net and was tipped by Mironov off of a Beaver skate and in. Down 5-3 at that point, the Beavers pressed for the remainder of the game, only able to come within one by the time the final buzzer went.

"We have had a lot of big wins here at Dwyer Arena in 14 years and this is definitely one of them," head coach Dave Burkholder said. "We kept bouncing back and answering everything they threw at us."

Niagara drew first blood just four and a half minutes into the game, when senior Tyler Gotto ripped a shot on net that beat Beavers netminder Dan Bakala. Not even a minute later, the Beavers responded, when Chris Peluso tied the game at one. The Purple Eagles would take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission, after Olidis picked the high, glove corner over Bakala.

Halfway through the middle stanza, Bemidji tied the game, off the stick of Ryan Cramer. The Purps would respond with two goals within three minutes of each other. Gotto notched his second of the night on a strong wrist shot from the left point that snuck past Bakala, while speedy junior Bryan Haczyk scored a short-handed goal to give Niagara a 4-2 lead after 40 minutes.

Bemidji came within one, when Shea Walters beat sophomore netminder Chris Noonan low, glove side halfway through the third period.

Gotto finished the game with two goals, while senior Chris Moran finished the game with two assists. Noonan made 32 saves for the Purple Eagles.

Niagara will take on Alabama-Huntsville on Saturday at 8 p.m. for the 2010 College Hockey America Championship, the same two teams who met during the first CHA championship. Tickets are available for purchase, by calling the Niagara Ticket Office at 716-286-8499 or by clicking here. The game will be broadcasted on CBS College Sports.