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Mission 4W Continues
No. 2 seed Niagara continues its quest for its first-ever Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) title and fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament when it takes on No. 3 seed RIT in the semifinals on Friday, March 16 at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, N.Y.
Niagara defeated RIT in its only postseason meeting, a 5-2 win on March 8, 1998 for the ECAC West Championship.
Tickets Still Available!
Seats are still available for Niagara's semifinal game against RIT. 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 semifinal game against RIT will be broadcast on WJJL 1440 AM. Every game, including Niagara's game against RIT can also be heard via Niagara All-Access for free, under the Multimedia tab of PurpleEagles.com.
Fans can also follow the game via a special live chat with men's hockey co-SID Chris Smith, beginning at 6:45 p.m. on Friday night.
Links for the live audio (WJJL), live video (America One), live stats, live chat and game notes are found at the top of the page.
Caging The Tigers
Since Jan. 16, 1997, Niagara is 9-0-5 against RIT. Niagara has outscored RIT 52-30 in its last 14 meetings, while outscoring the Tigers 38-17 in the nine wins. Coach Dave Burkholder is now 7-0-4 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 March 16, it has been 5,882 days since RIT defeated Niagara.
Get To Know Your Foe: RIT Tigers
The RIT Tigers enter this game with a 19-12-6 record, going 14-7-6 in AHA play. The Tigers are the third seed in the tournament.
The Tigers are led by sophomore Michael Colavecchia (14-18-32) and senior Cameron Burt (8-23-31), while getting strong play from sophomore Greg Noyes (6-14-20).
Junior Shane Madolora will likely earn the nod to play between the pipes, earning a 17-8-5 record with a 1.92 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage.
Defense Wins Championships
Niagara has allowed 21 goals in its last 16 games, the second fewest amount of goals given up over that span in the nation. The Purple Eagles enter this weekend with the 12th ranked defense (2.29 goals) nationally.
“Two” Good To Be True
Being the No. 2 seed could work out for Niagara as it eners the semifinals of the 2012 AHA Tournament.
The No. 2 seed team in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament has advanced to at least the semifinals of the tournament in eight of the last nine years. The No. 2 seed also has made the AHA Championship Game the last two seasons (Sacred Heart & Air Force), with the Falcons claiming last season’s crown.
Earning Votes
Niagara earned eight votes in the most recent USCHO.com poll. Niagara earned seven votes on the Feb. 27 United States College Hockey Online.com (USCHO.com) poll.
The last time prior to these two instances that Niagara was in the USCHO.com poll was on Jan. 31, 2011, when it received one vote. Niagara’s seven votes is also the first time it has received multiple votes since it earned 16 votes in the Jan. 24 poll.
Niagara’s inclusion on the USCHO.com poll is also the first time since the 2007-08 season that the team was on the poll entering the postseason, as the Purple Eagles were receiving 45 votes.
National Noonan
Senior goalie
Chris Noonan is currently in the nation’s top-20 in three statistical categories. Noonan’s season GAA of 1.60 is second-best, his .944 save percentage is good for 1st place and he is in 7th place in goalie winning percentage (.688).
High “Noon”
Senior netminder Chris Noonan has a 14-4-5 record since earning the loss in the 7-6 defeat to then-nationally ranked Colgate on Oct. 28. Noonan has a 1.53 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage in his last 23 games.
In home games this season, Noonan has been equally as impressive, with a 9-3-1 mark to go with a 1.43 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage.
In games against AHA teams, Noonan has earned a 14-4-4 record, with a 1.46 goals-against average and a .949 save percentage.
