NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – Nicolas Carrier led the Purple Eagles hockey team with the first two-goal game of his career in the first of two games this weekend against the Bentley Falcons. Despite a 37-21 advantage in shots on goal for Niagara, Bentley used a four-goal third period to secure a 6-3 victory Friday night at Dwyer Arena.
 
Game Summary

• Final Score: Bentley 6, Niagara 3
• Niagara Goal Scorers: Nicolas Carrier (2), Kevin Patterson
• Niagara Assists: Christian Cakebread, Noah Delmas, Nick Farmer, Stephen Pietrobon, Ben Sokay
• In Goal: Guillaume Therien (1-7-0): 5 GA, 15 SV
• Power Plays: Niagara – 1-for-3 (3 SOG); Bentley – 1-for-2 (1 SOG)
• Records: Niagara – 2-16-3 (2-11-2 AHC); Bentley – 6-10-5 (5-6-4 AHC)
• Location: Dwyer Arena – Niagara University, N.Y.
• Attendance: 550

 
Game Recap

• Nicolas Carrier opened the scoring on the first shift of the game, setting the tone for the game 28 seconds in. A point shot from Noah Delmas was loose in the crease and Carrier corralled the rebound, firing a low shot over the right pad of Bentley goaltender Jayson Argue.
• Just over two minutes later, Bentley came back and tied the game. Brett Orr carried the puck up the left wing on the rush and found Ryan McMurphy in the slot for the quick goal.
• Niagara outshot Bentley 11-6 in the first period, controlling the majority of the momentum. The Falcons came out early in the second and took the lead as a shot from Connor Brassard found its way through traffic and past Therien.
• After a scrum at the end of the second period put Niagara on the penalty kill to start the third, Max French converted on the ensuing power play for Bentley. His ninth goal of the season made it 3-1 Bentley 33 seconds into the final period of play.
• With French in the box for cross-checking, Carrier scored his second goal of the evening on the man advantage. Nick Farmer's shot from low on the right wing went off the pads of Argue, but Carrier was in front of the net to bury the rebound and bring Niagara back within one.
• Right after Niagara killed a penalty in the final seven minutes of play, Kyle Schmidt beat Guillaume Therien from a short angle, pushing the Falcons' lead to 4-2.
• Kevin Patterson picked up his first goal of the 2016-17 campaign just 1:07 after Schmidt's goal, converting on the rush with Ben Sokay. Bentley was quick to retaliate, however, as Matt Riggleman broke loose on a breakaway and beat Therien just 13 seconds later to reestablish the two-goal lead once again.
• Niagara pulled Therien with just over two and a half minutes to play and got some strong pressure in the Bentley zone, but Schmidt buried his second goal of the night into the empty net, sealing the 6-3 decision.

 
Coach's Corner

• Head coach David Burkholder: "I thought we played hard, I thought we played physical. We accomplished a lot of our pregame goals that we set, but unfortunately we didn't get a stop. From start to finish, everyone left it out there."

 
Inside the Numbers

• Nicolas Carrier registered the first two-goal game of his career on Friday night. The Delson, Quebec native scored his first career goal on Nov. 19, 2016 in a 4-0 Niagara win at Sacred Heart.
• Carrier's two-goal game was the fifth by a Niagara player this season and the first since the aforementioned 4-0 win at Sacred Heart. Niagara is now 2-2-1 when a player scores multiple goals in a game.
• Ben Sokay's assist on the third-period goal by Kevin Patterson was the first point of his Niagara career in his third game. Sokay made his Niagara debut last Friday after missing the first 18 games of the season due to injury.
• Niagara's 37 shots on goal were the team's second-highest total in a game this season. The Purple Eagles fired 39 shots on Holy Cross in a 4-4 tie on Oct. 8, 2016. The team's 14 shots in the third period were its second-most in a period as well, after taking 15 in the first period of a 5-4 win versus Mercyhurst on Nov. 15, 2016.
• Carrier's power-play goal snapped a three-game streak where Niagara was held scoreless on the man advantage. Niagara's power play is now 15-for-111 (13.5 percent) this season.
• Forward Christian Cakebread picked up an assist on Carrier's second goal of the night. Cakebread, who joined the Purple Eagles a week ago, has two points (1+1) in three games played.
• Defenseman Andrew Pizzo made his Niagara debut, accumulating two shots on goal and a plus-1 rating.

 
Up Next

• Niagara and Bentley conclude the weekend series at Dwyer Arena Saturday afternoon at 3:05 p.m. Paul Hamilton has the play-by-play call on 1340 AM WLVL, and the game can be viewed locally on LCTV.

 
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