Cross-Town Rivals
Just three days after hosting Air Force, Niagara hits the ice in a home-and-home series against cross-town rival Canisius. The Purple Eagles are currently tied with the Bentley Falcons for fourth place with 28 points, holding the tie-breaker for the last first round bye after going 1-0-1 against the Falcons earlier this season.
How To Catch The Game
Niagara's game against Canisius will be broadcast on WJJL 1440 AM. Every game, including Niagara's game against Canisius can also be heard via Niagara All-Access for free, under the Multimedia tab of PurpleEagles.com.
Links for the live audio (WJJL), live video (America One), live stats and game notes are found at the top of the page.
Get To Know Your Foe: Canisius
The Canisius Golden Griffins enter this week with a 9-11-3 record, going 9-17-4 in AHA play. The Golden Griffins currently are in ninth place with 21 points.
The Golden Griffins are led by sophomores Kyle Gibbons (11-15-26) and Taylor Law (11-12-23), while getting strong play from sophomore Ben Danford (1-12-13).
Sophomore Tony Capobianco will likely earn the nod to play between the pipes, earning a 5-9-2 record with a 2.91 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage.
Battle of the Bridge
Since the 2006-07 season, Niagara and Canisius have upped their rivalry by introducing the Battle of the Bridge series. Each contest between the rival schools would count for points, with the winner taking home the Canal Cup for a year. In the 2011-12 standings, Niagara leads Canisius by a 10.5-6.5 margin.
Home Away From Home
Niagara is 2-0-0 in its last two games against Canisius at the Buffalo State Sports Arena. The Purple Eagles defeated the Golden Griffins in overtime by a 6-5 margin on Nov. 2, 2010 and then earned a 3-0 shutout win on Feb. 17, 2011.
National Noonan
Senior goalie Chris Noonan is currently in the nation’s top-20 in three statistical categories. Noonan’s season goals-against average of 1.76 is second in the nation, his .939 save percentage this season is second in the nation and he is in 20th place in goalie winning percentage (.611).
