NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - A tough second period put the Niagara men's hockey team (18-13-4, 15-10-2 AHA) in too deep of a hole to climb out of, falling to cross-town rival Canisius (12-17-6, 10-12-5 AHA) by a 6-3 score in the first round of the 2011 Atlantic Hockey Association Tournament.

"We didn't spend enough time in the crease," Niagara Head Coach Dave Burkholder said. "Tonight was another game where we outshot our foes by a sizable margin, but we didn't get enough quality chances. In a one-game showdown, a hot goalie can steal a victory and tonight that happened for Canisius."

Canisius struck first just 1:38 into the game, when an odd bounce landed in the slot, which Eric Rex slipped past a diving Cody Campbell. Niagara would respond in the waning seconds of a man-advantage late in the first period, when a drop pass from sophomore Giancarlo Iuorio hit Derek Foam in the slot, which Foam put in the back of the net to tie the game.

The Golden Griffins would take control of the game in the second period, scoring three goals to take a 4-1 lead halfway through the middle stanza. Canisius would net its fifth goal on newly-inserted Niagara netminder Chris Noonan four minutes later, giving the visitors a four-goal lead after 40 minutes.  

Niagara started a rally in the third period, when Iuorio scored to make it a 5-2 game 5:58 into the final frame. A little less than two minutes later, senior Bryan Haczyk tapped in a rebound to cut the Canisius lead to 5-3. Niagara was buzzing, but couldn't get anymore past Canisius netminder Dan Morrison, who made 48 stops.

With two assists on the night, senior Paul Zanette finished the 2010-11 campaign with 55 points, tied for most points in a single season by a Niagara player with Joe Tallari, who had a strong 2002-03 season. Haczyk played in all 144 games that Niagara has competed in during the last four years, tying him for the 15th longest consecutive games played streak in NCAA history.

The Purple Eagles finished the season at 18-13-4, including a 15-10-2 mark in Atlantic Hockey.