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NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - The Purple Eagles host the Mercyhurst Lakers at Dwyer Arena in the season’s first AHA battle on Saturday, Oct. 13 at 7:05 p.m., before embarking on a four-game road trip for double-dips with Michigan State and Clarkson. 
 
How To Catch The Game
Niagara’s game versus Mercyhurst will be broadcasted live on WJJL 1440 AM, with Jeremy White on the call. The game on Saturday is also available via the America One Network.   

Tickets Still Available!
Seats are still available for Saturday's contest.  Contact the Niagara Ticket Office (located inside Dwyer Arena) at 716-286-TIXX or by emailing Tickets@PurpleEagles.com.
 
Last Time Out
Niagara is headed into conference play with a 0-1-1 record, after opening its season with a hard fought 2-2 draw to the Bowling Green Falcons and dropping a 10-2 decision to the Colgate Raiders on the team’s only Tuesday game of the season. 

Giancarlo Iuorio and Mike Benedict were the lone scorers for the Purps against the Raiders, as each nabbed their first tallies of the season. 

Rocky Gruttadauria and Kevin Ryan are on a two-game point streak after assisting the Benedict goal, while C.J. Chartrain and Ryan Rashid also contributed a helper.  
 
Purps In The Preseason Polls
NU was picked to finish second in the AHA preseason poll.  Niagara racked up 101 points, including three votes to finish as the conference champions.  The Purple Eagles were slated for fourth in the previous two seasons. 

Niagara also appeared in this week’s USCHO.com poll, receiving seven votes. 
 
Scouting The Lakers
Mercyhurst have yet to start its 2012-13 season, playing Wilfrid Laurier to 3-1 win in exhibition play last weekend.  The Lakers finished last season with a 20-16-4 overall record, and a 15-8-4 AHA record. 

They return their top three scorers in Daniel Bahntge (10-21-31), Nardo Nagtzaam (11-19-30) and Paul Chiasson (14-11-25). 

Max Strang will likely earn the nod in net after compiling a 2.68 goal-against average and a .927 save percentage.
 
Last Time vs. Mercyhurst
The Purple Eagles went 2-1 last season against the Lakers, ending the three-game series with a 3-2 loss at Dwyer Arena.

Mercyhurst snapped NU’s seven-game undefeated streak after netting two quick second period tallies to pull ahead 3-1.

Chris Lochner scored the initial goal for the Purps while Ryan Murphy earned a two-point night (1-1-2).
 
Mighty Murphy
Murphy was a pest for the Laker defense last season, totaling five points in two games against the AHA opponent. 

The junior had a three-point night during the 6-1 victory on Feb. 3, 2012 with two tallies and a helper.  In the 3-2 dropped decision the following day, Murphy scored a goal and added an assist. 

He was a plus-three after two contests. 
 
Offensive Frenzy
The Purple Eagles outscored the Lakers 12-7 in three games last season, including a 6-1 beating on Feb. 3, 2012.  NU also outshot its opponent by a 127-98 margin. 
 
AHA Success
As Niagara’s bench boss, Dave Burkholder has had great success against AHA teams. Burkholder is 51-21-10 (.614)  all-time against AHA teams.
 
Rockin’ Rocky
Gruttadauria has started his collegiate career on a strong note, earning a point in his first two contests.  He tallied a goal in the season opener against Bowling Green and contributed a helper in the loss to Colgate on Tuesday.  

On The Road Again