Thursday: Live Audio | Live Video | Live Stats | Game Notes
Saturday: Live Audio | Live Video | Live Stats | Game Notes 
 
As the Purple Eagles hockey team looks for its first win of 2016, the team is set for a showdown with its closest rival, the Canisius Golden Griffins. Niagara and Canisius play two games this week, each of which counts for one point in the annual Battle of the Bridge contest. Both games will be played at the HARBORCENTER in Buffalo, N.Y. The series begins Thursday Jan. 14 at 7:35 p.m. and concludes with a Saturday matinee on Jan. 16 at 3:05 p.m.
 
Jeremy White will have the play-by-play call on 1340 AM WLVL and PurpleEagles.com/Watch for both games. Additionally, the two games will air live on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel, which can be found on channels 52 and 323 for Time Warner Cable subscribers.
 
Last Time Out

• In their first two of four games this season against the Mercyhurst Lakers, the Purple Eagles outshot the Lakers handily each night, bust lost both games by 3-2 scores in regulation.
• Niagara outshot Mercyhurst 35-18 on Jan. 8 at the Mercyhurst Ice Center and 43-26 at home on Jan. 9.
• After falling behind 1-0 in the opening minute of Friday's game, Niagara tied it with 25 seconds left in the first. Johnny Curran fed a cross-ice pass to Keegan Harper off a 3-on-2 chance for the sophomore defenseman's second score of the season.
• The assist was the first point of Curran's career at Niagara. Ryan Kuhn also picked up an assist to snap a seven-game scoreless streak.
• Niagara took the lead 5:32 into the second period. Sam Rennaker won a faceoff forward to Stephen Pietrobon. Pietrobon's inital shot was stopped by Mercyhurst's Adam Carlson, but he sent the rebound home for the goal.
• The Purple Eagles started Saturday's game with their first power-play goal in 24 attempts, as Sean King picked up his first goal at Niagara 6:01 into the game. Derian Plouffe scored Niagara's other goal in the Jan. 9 loss.
• Stanislav Dzakhov assisted on both goals Saturday, picking up his second two-assist game of the season. Dzakhov now has one goal and five assists in 17 games.

 
Battle of the Bridge

• Each year, the Battle of the Bridge between Niagara and Canisius serves as an all-sport contest to judge the Western New York rivalry.
• The series is currently tied at 4-4, with each hockey game counting for one point in the standings.
• Niagara earned two points from a win in women's soccer and two points from winning both volleyball matches.
• Canisius took two points at the MAAC Cross Country Championship while also winning in men's soccer.

 
Jack's Back

• Junior goaltender Jackson Teichroeb has now made five appearances in Niagara's last six games after missing the first 14 games of the season due to injury.
• Through five appearances, Teichroeb has compiled a 1.95 goals-against average, a .923 save percentage, and one shutout - a 24 save blanking of RIT in his first game back on Dec. 11, 2015.
• Teichroeb missed six games to start the 2014-15 season, but returned to play all but two of the team's 33 remaining contests.
• The London, Ontario native saved his best play for the postseason last year. He posted a 2.40 goals-against average and .938 save percentage in five playoff games, including a 58-save performance in a triple-overtime game that Niagara lost to Holy Cross, 2-1.

 
License to Kill

• From Jan. 3 to Jan. 9, the Purple Eagles allowed just one power-play goal over 16 penalty kills.
• Niagara's 93.8 success rate in that time was the top penalty kill rate in the nation behind 17 teams with a 100-percent penalty kill, only two of which played as many games as Niagara (three).
• Niagara killed off 11 consecutive penalties from Jan. 3 to Jan. 9, the team's second-longest streak of the season after killing off 15 in a row from Nov. 27 to Dec. 12, 2015.

 
Shots!

• Since the calendar turned to 2016, Niagara has averaged 38.5 shots for per game and 25.5 shots against per game (four games).
• The Purple Eagles' shots on goal margin per game of plus-13.0 is tied for the eighth-best average in the NCAA, and that mark is second in Atlantic Hockey behind only Holy Cross (plus-13.67).
• Since Dec. 1, 2015, Niagara has a plus-7.62 shots on goal margin per game, which is 12th in the NCAA and third in the AHC behind Holy Cross and RIT.

 
Scouting the Golden Griffins

• The Canisius Golden Griffins, currently 6-14-2 overall and 6-8-2 against Atlantic Hockey opponents, are eighth in the conference.
• Niagara is 20-11-3 all-time against Canisius.
• Canisius played two games against local rival RIT in Rochester last weekend, winning 6-3 on Jan. 8 and losing 4-3 on Jan. 9.
• The Golden Griffins are 3-5-2 in their last 10 games.
• Niagara and Canisius both have large freshmen classes on their rosters. Niagara's 10 freshmen have accounted for 39 of the team's 109 points (35.8 percent), while Canisius' 12 freshmen have scored 29 of the team's 132 points (22 percent).
• Junior Shane Conacher ranks fifth in the NCAA and second in Atlantic Hockey with 30 points on 14 goals and 16 assists. He leads the Golden Griffins in all three of those scoring categories.
• Canisius' forward line of Conacher (14+16), Ryan Schmelzer (4+15), and Ralph Cuddemi (13+12) has accounted for 74 of the team's 132 total points, or 56.1 percent of the team's total offense.

 
Stay connected with the Purple Eagles through social media. Follow Niagara Athletics on Twitter @NUPurpleEagles and follow Purple Eagles hockey on Twitter @NiagaraUHockey. Check in with the Purple Eagles on Facebook.com/PurpleEagles and on Instagram @NUPurpleEagles.