MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – The Niagara Purple Eagles fell to the Robert Morris Colonials, 5-2, on Friday night in a game the Purple Eagles were able to build two separate leads through the opening two periods.
 
"It's a game of inches and when you're playing a team that is stocked at full strength like Robert Morris is, you can't make the mistakes that we made," head coach Dave Burkholder said. "We took a couple bad penalties that put a very dynamic power play a huge advantage. It was 2-2 for a long time, but it finally just caught up with us."
 
Niagara (0-3-0; 0-1-0 AHA) poured on the pressure throughout the early going and were first on the board as Derian Plouffe scored his second of the season at the 7:44 mark. The freshman found an open spot in the slot as Kevin Albers pinched in to keep the play alive and found Isaac Kohls open at the right point. The right winger sent a low shot towards the goal that Plouffe deflected over the RMU goaltender's shoulder into the top corner for the 1-0 lead.
 
RMU (3-0-0; 1-0-0 AHA) controlled the middle of the period and tied the game on a point shot from the left side that deflected off of a defender's skate and found the back of the net. Despite a 5-on-3 power play and several quality chances as time wound down, NU took a 1-1 tie into the break.
 
Hugo Turcotte got things going in the second with his first of the season. With his team shorthanded, Nick Cecere cleared the puck off the glass and found Turcotte in stride along the left wing. The Quebec native went in alone on a clean breakaway and beat the goalie five hole to give his team the 2-1 lead. The goal is NU's first shorthanded goal of the season.
 
The Colonials recorded 23 shots in the second period alone and Adrian Ignagni stood tall. The sophomore made 22 saves in the frame, but made one mistake that that found the back of the net. A strong RMU forecheck forced the keeper to come out of the cage to play a bouncing puck behind the net. Ignagni couldn't settle it down and RMU was able to send the puck out front and take advantage of the open net to tie the game at 2-2.
 
"We took three penalties in the second period that gave them a lot of momentum, but we scored that shorthanded goal and controlled the game up 2-1 for a long time," said Burkholder. "Iggy makes a mistake that ends up in the back of the net which is a tough break. It rolled on him and that's going to happen, but he fought back and gave us chance to win and that's all you can ask for."

Ignagni added nine saves in the third period to finish the night with 42.
 
It didn't get easier from there as a major penalty to Matt Dineen gave Robert Morris a five-minute man advantage for the last minute of the second and the beginning of the third. NU, now playing with a short bench after the accompanying game misconduct, killed off the major, but RMU took its first lead of the game four minutes later. As the play went around the NU net to the right wing, a Colonial was able to slip in behind the defense for an open tip-in back door.
 
The Colonials added two more in the third, the first coming on the power play as a shot from the point got deflected in traffic, and the final tally going in the books as an empty netter with 1:43 left on the clock.
 
"We know what we're up against," Burkholder said. "We'll evaluate things in the morning, put our lineup in, and get back at it. I'm excited to see us play tomorrow."
 
These two teams play the back half of the home-and-home tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. in Dwyer arena. For tickets call 716-286-TIXX or visit www.PurpleEagles.com/Tickets.