Men's Ice Hockey 1/21/2015 12:50:00 PM

Hockey Faces-Off At Home Against Canisius

These Battle of the Bridge rivals have met 33 times. Niagara holds the series leads 20-10-3 all-time.
Several Purple Eagles notched career milestones during the 6-4 win on Oct. 12, 2013:
- Matt Dineen and TJ Sarcona both scored their first career goals.
- Brock Edwards and Vincent Muto both earned their first career assists. Edwards' assist was his first collegiate point. He finished with a pair of helpers to set a personal record for most points in a game.
- Adrian Ignagni won his first NCAA game.
Jackson Teichroeb set a career-high with 40 saves in the 4-4 tie on Feb. 6, 2014.
Sam Alfieri scored a goal and added two assists to set a personal record with three points in a 4-2 win on Feb. 8, 2014.
The Griffs find themselves in the Niagara Hockey record book for what might go down as one of the worst power-plays in NCAA history on Nov., 11, 2008. The Purple Eagle scored three goals during the same two-minute minor to become just one of two teams to score three goals on the same penalty kill. Sam Goodwin, Egor Mironov, and Dan Sullivan all scored within the 69-second span and got the Purple Eagles on that night's SportsCenter.

Last Time Out

Trailing cross-town rival Canisius heading into the final period of play, Niagara pocketed a three-goal third period to drop the Golden Griffins by a score of 4-2 at the Buffalo State Sports Arena on Saturday night.
After Sam Alfieri evened the game at two apiece in the first five minutes of the final frame, Niagara's Matt Chiarantano scored the go-ahead goal to give the Purple Eagles a 3-2 lead with 7:11 remaining in regulation. The Purple Eagles were able to hold off a late Canisius push, and Patrick Divjak added the empty net tally to secure the victory, taking the season series 2-0-1.

Coming Home

After playing six-straight games on the road to start the new year, Niagara comes home for the first time in 2015 this week and will play three of the next five at The Dwyer.

Burkholder Reaches 500 Games

Head coach Dave Burkholder served his 500th game as head coach for Niagara Hockey on Friday, Jan. 16 against North Dakota.
He coached his first game as head coach on Oct. 12, 2001. Back on that day 14 years ago:
- "Fallin'" by Alicia Keys was no. 1 on the Billboard Top-100 list.
- "Corky Romano" starring Chris Kattan was released in theatres.
- The team's current SID was 12 years old.
- The average price of gas was $1.30/gallon.

Battle Of The Bridge

The Battle of the Bridge, the all-sports competition between cross-town rivals Niagara University and Canisius College, enters its ninth season in 2014-15. After Niagara claimed the inaugural competition, Canisius won the series the next two years, before Niagara claimed the Canal Cup at the end of the 2009-10 season. With the series tied 2-2, Canisius has won the lst four titles.
Points are awarded to the winner of regular-season contests, except for cross country, golf and swimming and diving, which will be determined by MAAC Championship standings. The Canal Cup is awarded to the victor each year.
The name of the series is in reference to the Grand Island Bridge, which each team crosses when traveling to the other's campus. The name of the trophy is in reference to the Erie Canal, which intersects Niagara County, where Niagara is located, and Erie County, where Canisius is located.
Canisius leads 7-5 this season.

Players Mentioned