CANTON, N.Y. - In their season opener, the Purple Eagles started fast before falling at the No.19 St. Lawrence Saints on Friday night at Appleton Arena. After earning a 2-2 tie following 20 minutes of play, the Saints pulled away with a 5-2 win.
 
"Overall, I thought we stood up for probably 40 minutes of the game, and then in the third period, I have to tip my hat to St. Lawrence, they looked like a nationally-ranked team," head coach Dave Burkholder said. "I thought at times we had problems with their transition game and their overall team speed."

The freshman class had a significant impact on the game. Freshmen Ryan Kuhn and Nick Farmer tallied goals in the first period to give Niagara leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the early action. Classmate Guillaume Therien saw a constant barrage of shots from a formidable Saints offense. The young netminder finished the night with 41 saves as the Purple Eagles were outshot 46-27.
 
Despite being held without a shot on goal for nearly half of the first period, Niagara's first shot registered found the back of the net. Nick Cecere created a turnover against a St. Lawrence breakout, and Kuhn turned around and fired a shot past the glove of Saints netminder Kyle Hayton 9:49 into the game. St. Lawrence tied the game moments after Kuhn's goal, but Farmer registered his first goal of his career off an offensive break with Albin Karlsson.
 
For the second straight year, only freshmen scored in Niagara's opening game of the season. In last year's season opener versus Clarkson, Robert Angiolella scored Niagara's only goal in his first collegiate game as a freshman. Against St. Lawrence the freshmen came to the forefront again, as Kuhn and Farmer joined the ranks of Purple Eagles to score in their first game with the team.
 
The second period was predominantly controlled by the Saints' attacking offense. St. Lawrence outshot Niagara 16-9 in the period, and the only goal came off a quick line change from the Saints' Ryan Lough. A quick burst from the bench to the high slot gave Lough enough space to beat Therien over the blocker.
 
"The difference in the game is that goal at the end of the second period," Burkholder said.
 
That goal from Lough set the tone for the final 20 minutes of play and proved to be the game-winner. Vinny Muto took a hitting from behind penalty thirteen minutes into the last period, and St. Lawrence's Tommy Thompson capitalized on the man advantage chance. With just under 11 minutes to go, Niagara failed to clear a loose rebound, and Christian Horn picked it up and beat Therien glove-side to stretch the Saints' lead to three.
 
Niagara continues its season-opening road trip tomorrow night when The Purple Eagles visit the Clarkson Golden Knights for 7:00 p.m. puck drop. The game will air on 1340 WLVL AM and on the Niagara Sports Network (www.PurpleEagles.com/Watch).

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