Niagara will finish off its regular season schedule with Western New York rival RIT this weekend. Niagara is tied for third place with Bentley & Mercyhurst, a point behind the Tigers for second place and two points behind AHA-leading Air Force.
Tickets Still Available!
Seats are still available for Niagara's home game against RIT this Friday night. Contact the Niagara Ticket Office (located inside Dwyer Arena) at 716-286-TIXX or by emailing Tickets@PurpleEagles.com.
How To Catch The Game
Niagara's games against RIT will be broadcast on Time Warner Cable Sports Net (Channel 13 Standard / Channel 713 HD). The game will also be broadcast on WJJL 1440 AM. Every game, including Niagara's series against RIT 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: RIT
The RIT Tigers enter this weekend with a 17-10-5 record, going 14-6-5 in AHA play. The Tigers are currently in second place with 33 points.
The Tigers are led by sophomore Michael Colavecchia (12-16-28) and senior Cameron Burt (7-17-24), while getting strong play from sophomore Greg Noyes (6-12-18).
Junior Shane Madolora will likely earn the nod to play between the pipes, earning a 15-6-4 record with a 1.90 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage.
AHA Regular Season Title
Niagara could win the AHA Regular Season Championship, if it sweeps RIT and Air Force gets one point this weekend. The Purple Eagles could clinch a share of the regular season title with a sweep and an Air Force loss.
Caging The Tigers
Since Jan. 16, 1997, Niagara is 8-0-4 against RIT. Niagara has outscored RIT 46-27 in its last 12 meetings, while outscoring the Tigers 34-16 in the eight wins. Coach Dave Burkholder is now 6-0-3 against his alma mater. Niagara hasn’t dropped a contest to RIT since Feb. 8, 1996, a 4-3 decision at Ritter Arena. As of Feb. 24, 2012, it has been 5,860 days since RIT defeated Niagara.
Defense Wins Championships
Niagara has allowed 17 goals in its last 12 games, tied with Air Force for the second fewest amount of goals given up over that span in the nation. The Purple Eagles enter this weekend with the 10th ranked defense (2.34) nationally.
