Box Score | Tournament Central

NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - Two quick goals in the second period and solid goaltending from senior Chris Noonan helped the Niagara men’s hockey team (16-10-9; 14-6-7 AHA)   to a 3-0 victory over the Robert Morris Colonials (17-16-5; 13-9-5 AHA) in game one of the 2012 Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) Quarterfinals on Saturday evening. 

The win gives Niagara the 1-0 lead over the seventh-seeded Colonials in the best-of-three series. 

 
Just about midway through the game, the No. 2 seed Purple Eagles opened up scoring, notching two tallies within 33 seconds of each other from sophomore defender Matt Williams  and freshman Isaac Kohls to make it a 2-0 game. 

"I thought Williams was a warrior from start to finish," head coach David Burkholder said.  "He's really quick and knew he had a chance to jump in off the blue line and made a great play finishing off the rebound from Rashid.  "  
 
Noonan earned his 13th win this season after making 22 saves, helping the Purple Eagles extend their undefeated streak to six games, going 4-0-2.  The shutout is Noonan's third of his career and Niagara's first in postseason play.  
 
With 15:22 on the clock in the second twenty minutes, Williams was the first to get on the board off an assist by fellow sophomore Ryan Rashid.  Rashid had the initial shot on Colonial's goaltender Brooks Ostergard, but the puck trickled underneath his pads to the waiting Williams who banked it in for his first goal of the year. 

"Any way I can contribute offensively is a bonus," Williams said.  "We all played well as a team tonight and it was great to get the win.  The goal was just a bonus." 

Less than a minute later, Kohls tallied his seventh goal of the season digging RMU into a two-goal hole.  Junior Giancarlo found Kohls at the top of the circle who ripped a high slapshot over the shoulder of Ostergard. 

Giancarlo Iuorio added an empty netter with less than a second to go in the game off assists from Kohls and Williams to solidify the win. 

Williams, Kohls and Iuorio each finished the game with a goal and an assist. 

The Purple Eagles and Colonials meet again tomorrow, March 10 for game two of the series at Dwyer Arena.  Action is slated to begin at 7:05 p.m.

Tickets are still available for tomorrow's contest. For more information, contact the Niagara Ticket Office (located inside Dwyer Arena) at 716-286-TIXX or by emailing Tickets@PurpleEagles.com.