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ERIE, Pa. – Sophomore forward Ryan Murphy completed a career-high three point night to propel the Niagara men's hockey team (12-8-7; 11-4-5 AHA) to a 6-1 victory over the Mercyhurst Lakers (14-11-4; 11-5-4 AHA) Friday evening at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.

Murphy earned his first two-goal game and added a helper, while freshman Chris Lochner, sophomore Patrick Divjak, and juniors Giancarlo Iuorio and Dan Weiss each added a goal.  Junior Marc Zanette and sophomore Ryan Rashid contributed two assists in the victory. 

"It was another thorough team effort from start to finish," head coach David Burkholder said.  "I am extremely happy for Ryan Murphy who came back in the lineup and was a force.  Our powerplay chipped in and got us back the momentum when Mercyhurst was pressing." 

The win extends the Purple Eagles' undefeated streak to seven games, the second-longest such streak in the nation, two behind Ferris State (9; 6-0-3). 

The Purple Eagles began their scoring in the middle frame, grabbing the 1-0 lead 5:17 into the period.  Murphy snuck the puck past Mercyhurst goalie Max Strang for his third goal of the year off a feed from Sam Alfieri.  With less than three minutes to play in the period, Lochner made it a 2-0 game on the powerplay, netting his sixth goal in four games, extending his goal scoring and point scoring streak to four games.  

Niagara began the final period with two quick tallies.  With a little over two minutes played, Murphy lit the lamp for his second goal of the game while Divjak ripped one into the back of the net a minute later after receiving a pass from Zanette for his fourth tally of the season.

Mercyhurst would find a way past the solid goaltending of senior Chris Noonan 7:50 into the stanza while on the powerplay as Chris Bodo scored his ninth goal of the season off feeds from Nick Jones and Derek Elliot.  However, the Purple Eagles would answer with a powerplay goal of their own midway through the period off the stick of Iuorio.   

Weiss rounded out scoring with his third goal of of the season.

Noonan earned his seventh straight win after pushing aside 27 Laker attempts on net, improving his record to 9-3-3. 

The Purple Eagles take to the ice tomorrow evening at Dwyer Arena to wrap up their home-and-home series against the Lakers. The action is set to begin at 7:05 p.m.
  
Seats are still available for tomorrow's contest so contact the Niagara Ticket Office (located inside Dwyer Arena) at 716-286-TIXX or by emailing Tickets@PurpleEagles.com. 

The contest can be seen live in the Buffalo area courtesy of Time Warner Cable Sports Net. Fans wishing to tune in can catch the game on channel 13 (Standard Definition) or channel 713 (HD).