COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. - An overtime goal by freshman Ryan Rashid gave the Niagara men's hockey team (16-11-3, 13-9-1 AHA) a 5-4 victory over the host Air Force Falcons (12-11-6, 10-7-6 AHA) at a sold out Cadet Ice Arena on Saturday night.

Rashid was in the right place at the right time for the Purple Eagles, firing a one-timer from the slot that beat sliding Falcons netminder Jason Torf five-hole at the 2:54 mark to seal the victory.

"Divjak [Patrick] rolled high and found me in the slot," Rashid said. "I let go of a one-timer that beat the goalie five-hole. It was a great goal to score, especially in the playoff like atmosphere tonight."

In a game that went back and forth, Niagara hung in there and earned two points, something that has Niagara Head Coach Dave Burkholder rather happy.

"Perserverance paid off for us in a real gutsy win," Burkholder said. "Cadet Ice Arena is a tough place to play, but a total team effort got it done."

Air Force took a 1-0 lead on the man-advantage just 52 seconds into the contest, when Jacques Lamoureux beat freshman netminder Cody Campbell glove side from the slot. Niagara would tie it about six minutes later, when senior Bryan Haczyk netted his 24th goal of the season, ripping home a nice feed from fellow senior Paul Zanette into the open net.

The momentum swings were wild in the second period, which saw five goals and three lead changes. After the Falcons broke the 1-1 tie just six minutes in, Niagara would tie the game on a five-on-three advantage at the 9:50 mark, off the stick of Haczyk. Haczyk hammered home a one-timer from Zanette that beat Torf to tie the game.

Barely back to full strength from the five-on-three scenario, Zanette scores his 24th goal of the season, when a wrist shot from the boards hit a Falcon skate in front and deflected into the net. Air Force would tie the game just 12 seconds later on a booming slapshot by Kyle DeLaurell, before taking the lead at the 16:59 mark off the stick of Tim Kirby.  

Niagara would tie the game five minutes into the third period, when Haczyk streaked down the ice to the right of Torf, deked past the defenseman and cashed in over the shoulder of the Falcon netminder for his second hat-trick of the season.

"The best part of my hat-trick tonight was that we got the win," Haczyk said. "Three goals in a losing effort doesn't mean much. I went cold for a few games, but I'm happy to be back helping the team on the scoreboard."

Junior netminder Chris Noonan stopped all 20 pucks that came his way in relief of freshman Cody Campbell, earning the win in the process. Niagara currently sits in third place in Atlantic Hockey, two points behind Robert Morris with a game in hand on the Colonials, the team holding the second bye in the Western Pod.

Niagara returns home to begin a home-and-home set with cross-town rival Canisius, beginning on Thursday, Feb. 17 at the Buffalo State Ice Rink. The Purple Eagles host the Golden Griffins on Saturday night at Dwyer Arena with a game time of 7:05 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online via TicketMaster or by calling the Niagara Box Office at (716) 286-TIXX (8499).

                                                                   Senior Bryan Haczyk scores a hat-trick