ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Senior Paul Zanette netted two goals in front of a sold-out Ritter Ice Arena and a nationwide audience on CBS College Sports as the Niagara men's hockey team (18-12-3, 15-10-1 AHA) downed the host RIT Tigers (16-10-7, 15-5-6 AHA) 5-2 on Friday night.

Zanette became the latest Purple Eagle to join Niagara's 100-Point Club, while becoming only the 10th Niagara player to ever net 50 career goals and 50 career assists.

"We knew it was a must win game tonight," Zanette said. "It was nice to contribute tonight, but Haczyk [Bryan] and Iuorio [Giancarlo].

Freshman Cody Campbell was the story of the first period, making big save after big save. The rookie from Colorado Springs, Colo. made 18 stops in the opening 20 minutes to keep the game scoreless.

RIT would dent the scoreboard just 1:48 into the second period, when Michael Colavecchia tapped home a man-advantage rebound past Campbell. RIT's lead would be shortlived, as Zanette would beat Tigers netminder Shane Madolora five-hole just 32 seconds later, his 50th career goal and 100th career point of his career.

Niagara would take its first lead of the night exactly eight minutes later, when sophomore C.J. Chartrain ripped a point shot that was redirected into the net by freshman Scott Arnold, his 15th tally of the season.

The Tigers would tie the game at the 16:10 mark of the middle stanza, when Chris Saracino beat Campbell to the left post. The Purps would respond quickly again, when freshman Ryan Rashid beat Madolora just 28 seconds later to take a 3-2 lead.

Niagara doubled its lead to 4-2 nearly halfway through the third period, when freshman Ryan Murphy beat Madolora with a high, backhanded shot for his fourth goal of the season. Zanette would net his 27th goal of the season into an empty net to round out scoring.

"It was a great atmosphere tonight and the guys were fired up to play," Niagara Head Coach Dave Burkholder said. "The Tigers are a good team at home and the first period was tough, but we made it through the opening period with good minutes from Campbell [Cody]."

Campbell made 38 stops in earning the victory, the first for a visiting AHA team at Ritter Arena since Jan. 30, 2010. Niagara is now 8-0-2 against RIT in the last 10 meetings, dating back to 1997. Burkholder, a 1984 RIT alum is now 6-0-1 against his alma mater.

Niagara will continue to jockey for playoff position as it hosts the Tigers at Dwyer Arena on Saturday night for a 7:05 p.m. opening faceoff. Saturday night is "Go Green" night at Dwyer Arena, where fans can bring in five cans or a pair of used sneakers for a five dollar game ticket.

Tickets for Saturday's game and all remaining home games can be purchased online via TicketMaster or by calling the Niagara Box Office at (716) 286-TIXX (8499).