Friday: Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video | Game Notes

Non-conference play concludes with this weekend's road trip for the Purple Eagles ice hockey team. On Friday, Niagara will take on the 12th-ranked University of Michigan Wolverines at the fabled Yost Ice Arena. It will be the tenth meeting all-time between Niagara and Michigan. Saturday features an exhibition with the Under-18 team from the USA National Team Development Program.
 
Last Time Out

• For the third consecutive Friday, Niagara went into overtime to decide the game. The Purple Eagles ended up with a 1-1 tie against the Penn State Nittany Lions on Nov. 6.
• Freshman goaltender Joe O'Brien had a phenomenal game in his first collegiate start, finishing with 39 saves on the night.
• Niagara's defense also chipped in to help O'Brien out with 24 blocked shots.
• Derian Plouffe gave Niagara the first goal of the game on a power play with 57 seconds left in the second period.
• Dan Kolenda's shot hit the side of the net, but Luke Edwards was able to corral the loose puck, and he found Plouffe open on the back door.
• Penn State spoiled O'Brien's shutout bid with 3:01 to play in regulation, as Dylan Richard added a power-play tally for the Nittany Lions.

 
First Time's the Charm

• After his stellar performance against Penn State on Nov. 6, Joe O'Brien was named the Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Week.
• O'Brien stopped 39 of 40 shots and recorded a 0.92 goals-against average and .975 save percentage for the game.
• It was the first weekly award won by a Niagara player this season.
• O'Brien made two appearances totaling 63:07 prior to the Penn State game, stopping 24 of 27 shots in that time.
• O'Brien played his junior hockey with the Nipawin Hawks in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League for two seasons prior to Niagara.
• In 75 games with Nipawin, O'Brien went 37-27-6 with a 2.53 goals-against average, a .920 save percentage, and three shutouts.

 
Scouting the Wolverines

• This will be the tenth meeting all-time between Niagara and Michigan. Eight of the previous nine games have been won by Michigan, with Niagara's lone win coming back on Oct. 17, 1998.
• Michigan had last weekend off, and the weekend before that it split a two-game series with Atlantic Hockey's Robert Morris.
• Through six games, Kyle Connor and Cooper Marody lead the Wolverines in scoring with three goals and four assists apiece.
• Michigan senior goaltender Steve Racine (Williamsville) and freshman defenseman Joseph Cecconi (Youngstown) are both Western New York natives.

 
Scouting the National Team

• The USA National Development Team is made up of the top under-18 hockey players from around the United States playing at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich.
• The National Development Team has 20 players currently committed to play college hockey next season.
• Clayton Keller (11 goals, 21 assists in 16 games) and Kieffer Bellows (15 goals, 7 assists in 16 games) are the team's leading scorers this season.
• Defenseman Griffin Luce is a native of Williamsville, N.Y.

 
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