Box Score
NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y.— The first-seeded Niagara Purple Eagles earned a 3-2 victory in Game 1 of their Atlantic Hockey Tournament Quarterfinal series against the eighth-seeded RIT Tigers at Dwyer Arena on Friday evening.
Behind a three-point night by
Giancarlo Iuorio, the Purple Eagles (22-8-5) battled back from a goal solidifying the game with a late third period tally which allows them to potentially close out the quarterfinal round with a win tomorrow night.
Iuorio’s two goals and assist was enough to earn him his 100
th career-point at Niagara, a feat only 13 Purple Eagles have accomplished with
Paul Zanette (’11) being the last member to join the illustrious group in 2011. The top line of Iuorio,
Marc Zanette and
Ryan Murphy combined for five points on the night.
Jason Beattie added to the score sheet to help the Purps remain undefeated on home ice in 21 games, dating back to the team's 3-3 draw against Air Force on Feb. 11, 2012, and is now one game shy of tying the program record of 22 game. Goaltender
Carsen Chubak pushed aside 25 RIT shots to improve to 22-5-5 on the season.
“When the game is on the line, your big guys have to be big and they were,” head coach head coach Dave Burkholder said. “From start to finish Marc Zanette was the guy on the line that was all over the ice. He was the first back on the back check, and relentless on the forecheck. Obviously our top line has to do that if we want to win a championship here. Chubak was solid as well. He played like a veteran which you need in playoff hockey.”
The opening ten minutes was all Niagara as it dictated the tempo from the start, not allowing the Tigers get a shot on net until the seventh minute of play. Neither team was able to get past the solid goaltender of Chubak and RIT netminder Jordan Ruby in the opening frame, and the squads headed into the first intermission tied at zero with NU holding a 13-7 advantage in shots.
RIT (15-17-5) opened the scoring six minutes into the second period when Matt Garbowsky scored on a 2-on-1 opportunity. Dan Schuler connected with Garbowsky who roofed the puck over Chubak’s right shoulder for his 11
th of the season.
Niagara would even the game with 4:58 remaining in the stanza off the stick of Beattie. The defenseman started the rush with a feed to Iuorio who wristed a low shot on Ruby. The Tiger goaltender could not hold onto the puck and it bounced out to Beattie who lifted a backhander top shelf to make it 1-1 heading into the final period of play.
The Purple Eagles grabbed their first lead of the game at the 16:33 mark of the final 20 minutes of play as
C.J. Chartrain ripped a shot into traffic from the top of the blueline that was tipped over the shoulder of Ruby by Iuorio for his second goal of the evening. The Tigers would battle back though to even the score at two apiece with 11 minutes remaining in the contest off the stick Adam Mitchell.
Iuorio came through for the Purple Eagles yet again less two minutes later, securing the Niagara victory with his 100
th career point and keeping the Tigers winless at Dwyer Arena in 11 tries (0-7-4).
Dan Weiss started the game-winning play, getting the puck through on net. Zanette battled for the rebound, steering the puck to the waiting Iuorio who had an open net to bury home his 19
th goal of the season.
“That’s a game we certainly expected,” added Burkholder. “That’s a great playoff hockey game where both teams played hard and it came down to the final horn. The game was up for grabs both ways. I am really happy with how our team kept coming back after RIT’s goals. We didn’t quit and we were resilient, and when it had to be done, our top line did it again. It takes four wins for an NCAA bid and we got one down.”
The Purple Eagles will look to close out the quarterfinal series tomorrow when it takes the ice for game two of the series against the Tigers. Game time is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Dwyer Arena.
Tickets are still available so contact the Niagara Ticket Office (located inside Dwyer Arena) at 716-286-TIXX, visit
www.PurpleEagles.com/Tickets or emailing
Ticket@PurpleEagles.com to reserve your seats today!
