Men's Ice Hockey 2/19/2015 12:34:00 PM

Hockey Returns Home To Host Air Force

The Niagara Purple Eagles begin to wind down the regular season this weekend when they host the Air Force Falcons on both Friday and Saturday at Dwyer Arena.

History 101

Including the two games played in January, the Purple Eagles and Falcons have gone head-to-head 58 times.
These teams met in the AHA quarterfinals last season. Inclement weather kept NU in Western New York until Friday morning and Air Force was able to take a 1-0 lead in the series with a 2-1 win that night. Niagara responded with a 4-3 win in game two and won the series 4-3 in overtime of game three.
The Niagara hockey's first win over a Division I opponent came on January 23, 1998 against Air Force. NU won by a 4-1 final.
These two teams played a game that took place outside of the Lower 48. NU faced off against Air Force in the Johnson Nissan Classic in Anchorage, Alaska on October 10, 1999. NU won 3-0.
The last time the Purple Eagles scored nine goals in a game came against the Falcons on March 3, 2000 when NU took a 9-1 win.

Last Time Out

Three freshmen scored their first collegiate goals for the Niagara Purple Eagles in the 4-3 overtime loss to the Air Force Falcons on Jan. 10.
Luke Edwards, Stanislav Dzakhov, and Lawrence Smith all tallied the first goals of their collegiate careers. Edwards and Smith both scored even strength while Dzakhov's came with the man-advantage.
Due to weather-related travel issues, the Purple Eagles arrived in Colorado Springs in three separate groups between Friday early morning and the afternoon

Things That Happened

Seven Purple Eagles have had big moments come in games against the Falcons.
Isaac Kohls scored his first career goal against Air Force on Oct. 14, 2011.
Junior Dan Kolenda set a career-high for assists in a game with a pair of helpers.
Kevin Patterson, a native of Colorado Springs, earned the first two points of his career with two assists on Oct. 27, 2013.
Patrick Conte had six goals last season, and two of them came against the Falcons. He scored the first of his career on Oct. 27, 2013 and added another in the overtime win on March 16, 2014. He also had an assist in that game for a career-high two points
And, of course, Luke Edwards, Stanislav Dzakhov, and Lawrence Smith all tallied the first goals of their NCAA careers against the Falcons earlier this season.

On The Power Play

Niagara has scored a power-play goal in each of the last three games in which they've gone on the man-advantage.
The Purple Eagles went 1-for-4 against RIT on Feb. 7, 1-for-2 against Mercyhurst on Feb. 13 (the second PP came on a penalty called with under a minute to go in regulation, for the record), and 1-for-4 against Mercyhurst again on Feb. 14.
This is the first time this year NU has put together a PP goal scoring streak. The previous high was two-consecutive games - reached twice- and discussed later in these notes.

Playing Shorthanded

The injury bug has circled back around on the Purple Eagles. The team had to play with just five healthy defenseman which forced sophomore winger Patrick Conte to play both games on the blue line against Mercyhurst.
With four games to go in the regular season, Niagara has six players listed as out due to injury. Earlier, four games into the season, they had five players on the injury list.
The six players on the injury list last weekend is a season-high that has reached a streak of six-straight games.

Number 100

Senior Sam Alfieri played his 100th career game for Niagara on Friday, Feb. 13 against Mercyhurst.
He was held of the score sheet in the centennial game, but he had collected two points with a pair of assists in game number 99. He finished that game one shy of his career record of three, set in a 4-2 win over Canisius on Feb. 8, 2014.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#12 Sam Alfieri: F; 5' 10"; Senior; R

#14 Patrick Conte: C; 5' 11"; Sophomore; R

#27 Isaac Kohls: F; 5' 9"; Senior; R

#10 Dan Kolenda: F; 6' 4"; Junior; R

#9 Kevin Patterson: D; 6' 0"; Sophomore; R

#15 Stanislav Dzakhov: F; 6' 2"; Freshman; R

#22 Luke Edwards: C; 5' 11"; Freshman; L

#2 Larry Smith: D; 6' 3"; Freshman; L

Players Mentioned

#12 Sam Alfieri
: 5' 10"; Senior; R
: F

#14 Patrick Conte
: 5' 11"; Sophomore; R
: C

#27 Isaac Kohls
: 5' 9"; Senior; R
: F

#10 Dan Kolenda
: 6' 4"; Junior; R
: F

#9 Kevin Patterson
: 6' 0"; Sophomore; R
: D

#15 Stanislav Dzakhov
: 6' 2"; Freshman; R
: F

#22 Luke Edwards
: 5' 11"; Freshman; L
: C

#2 Larry Smith
: 6' 3"; Freshman; L
: D