Game Notes
Saturday: Live Stats / Live Audio / Live Video
 
NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara hockey team travels to Frontier Field in Rochester, N.Y. to take on the RIT Tigers as part of the first-ever Greater Rochester Area Honda Dealers Frozen Frontier on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m.   This will mark Atlantic Hockey's third outdoor game in the history of the league.
 
Niagara will enter game six of its current eight-game road trip still in search of its first win on the road (0-9-1); they do not play again at Dwyer Arena until Jan. 10-11.  The previous stop for the Purple Eagles was at UConn where NU was swept with 3-2 and 2-1 defeats.  Niagara sits in eighth place in Atlantic Hockey with seven points and a 3-4-1 mark, while going 3-11-1 in its first 15 games.
 
DON'T MISS OUT!
•   If you can't make it to the game, keep up with all the action on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel 25/713 (HD).  In addition, the game will be aired live on 1340 WLVL with Jeremy White and Paul Hamilton on the call.  Live stats are also available by clicking on the appropriate link above.
 
BRRRR…IT'S COLD OUT HERE
•  The 10-day festival at Frontier Field, home to Triple-A baseball's Rochester Red Wings of the International League, will celebrate hockey as it plays host to a contest featuring the Rochester Americans of the AHL on Dec. 13, several Section V High School hockey games, an alumni game featuring former players from the Amerks and Buffalo Sabres and community events.
 
NCAA OUTDOOR GAMES
•  The Niagara vs. RIT game is the eighteenth outdoor contest in NCAA Division I men's hockey, and the first outdoor contest for both the Purple Eagles and Tigers.
•  The contest will mark Atlantic Hockey's third outdoor game in the history of the league.  A pair of AHA contests were played at the Whaler's Hockey Fest in 2011 as UConn played Sacred Heart (Feb. 13) and AIC faced off against Army (Feb. 19).  Holy Cross and Bentley will take part in the Frozen Fenway on Dec. 28 for the conference's fourth outdoor contest. 
 
THE LEADERS
•   Mike Conderman and Isaac Kohls lead the Purple Eagles in scoring with nine points each.  Conderman, Ryan Rashid and Hugo Turcotte have a team-leading four goals apiece, while Kohls has netted six helpers.
•   Kevin Ryan is first with a +7 plus/minus rating.
•   Turcotte leads the squad with 55 shots on goal. Patrick Divjak is close behind with 54 looks on net.
 
LAST TIME OUT
•  The Purple Eagles fell to UConn on Friday, 3-2 at Freitas Ice Forum and could not prevent the sweep after dropping a 2-1 decision the following day.
•  In the opening game NU battled back in the final minute of the contest to make it 3-2 off a Kevin Ryan short-handed goal, but the Purps couldn't find the equalizer.  Phil Nasca scored the team's other tally, while Adrian Ignagni snuffed 26 UConn looks on net.
•  Mike Conderman scored the game's first goal during game two, but UConn routed the Purps with the contest's final pair of goals.  Jackson Teichroeb pushed aside 30 Husky shots.
•  Niagara continued to struggle on special teams, going 0-for-13 on the weekend, while killing off 10-of-12 UConn power play opportunities with both tallies allowed serving as game-winning goals.
 
THE NU-RIT SERIES
•  The Purple Eagles are 12-3-8 all-time against the Tigers and 10-1-6 in the Division I era, with the one NU loss coming in the 2012 AHA Semifinal, a 2-1 overtime decision at Blue Cross Arena.
•  Last season, Niagara went 3-0-2 against RIT with two of the victories coming in the AHA quarterfinal sweep at Dwyer Arena.
•  Tigers and Purple Eagles have found themselves in extra time seven times in the previous 10 meetings.
 
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
•  RIT currently owns a 6-7-2 overall mark, while owning a 5-3-0 AHA record.  The Tigers sit in fifth place in the AHA standings with 10 points.
•  The Tigers have won five consecutive games, tying them with Minnesota (5-0-0), Northeastern (3-0-2) and Michigan Tech (2-0-3) for fourth best unbeaten streak in the nation.
•  The Tigers are averaging 3.07 goals a game and are allowing 3.20, placing them 21st and 46th in the nation, respectively. 
•  The power play has gone 18-for-68 while the penalty kill is 48-for-63, ranking them third and 50th in the NCAA, respectively.
•  Mike Colavecchia leads the team in scoring with 16 points on a team-leading seven goals and nine helpers.  Dan Schuler (6-6-12), Todd Skirving (5-7-12) and Greg Noyes (4-8-12) have also contributed offensively for the Tigers.
•  Jordan Ruby has seen the majority of time between the pipes for the Tigers, making 143 saves for a 2.00 goals against average and a .935 save percentage. 
 
NEW YEAR BEGINS WITH A ROADIE ENDING
•   Niagara will wrap up its eight-game road trip after the New Year when the Purple Eagles bus to Waltham, Mass. for a weekend series against the Bentley Falcons (Jan. 3 & 4). 
•   The Purps return home on Jan. 10 when they welcome AIC to Dwyer for the first weekend home series since Nov. 15-16 when NU swept Army.