NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - The Niagara men's hockey team (12-20-4, 6-10-2 CHA) was able to force Saturday night's CHA Championship game against the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers (12-17-3, 6-10-2 CHA) into overtime on a goal by Marc Zanette, but an overtime goal by Keenan Desmet ended Niagara's chances of an NCAA bid at Dwyer Arena.

After Jim Burichin gets sent to the penalty box 68 seconds into overtime, Desmet only needed about 30 more seconds to score the game-winning goal, a rebound past Purple Eagle netminder Chris Noonan.

"This was not the way I wanted our senior class to go out," head coach Dave Burkholder said. "For everything our senior class did for our program, we deserved better."

After a scoreless first period, the Chargers got on the board off of the stick of Brennan Barker. Twenty seconds later, senior Chris Moran responded by firing a laser over the glove of Chargers netminder Cameron Talbot to tie the game. Cody Campbell would score late in the second to give Alabama-Huntsville a one-goal lead heading into the third period.

Niagara went on the attack in the third period, peppering Talbot with shots from all angles. Zanette was finally able to lift a shot over Talbot four minutes into the final stanza to tie the game. The Purple Eagles had a few good chances to take the lead down the stretch, but just couldn't convert.

Noonan made 21 saves in the loss. Seniors Tyler Gotto and Moran were named to the CHA All-Tournament Team.

Niagara finishes the season at 12-20-4, with a 6-10-2 mark in the CHA.