BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Purple Eagles hockey team continued its recent flurry of shots at the offensive end, putting 36 shots on goal against the Canisius Golden Griffins in the first of four Battle of the Bridge games this season. Nicolas Carrier was the only Purple Eagle to find the back of the net, picking up his fourth goal of the season in a 4-1 loss Tuesday night at HARBORCENTER.
 
Game Summary

• Final Score: Canisius 4, Niagara 1
• Niagara Goal Scorers: Nicolas Carrier
• Niagara Assists: Caleb Boman, Nick Farmer
• In Goal: Jackson Teichroeb (1-7-2) – 4 GA, 31 SV
• Power Plays: Niagara – 1-for-6 (8 SOG); Canisius – 2-for-7 (7 SOG)
• Records: Niagara – 3-19-3 (3-14-2 AHC); Canisius – 11-10-5 (10-4-4 AHC)
• Location: HARBORCENTER – Buffalo, N.Y.
• Attendance: 1,047

 
Game Recap

• Canisius picked up the first goal of the game 2:30 into Tuesday night's contest. Matt McLeod came up the middle on the rush and had his shot stopped initially by Teichroeb, but the puck trickled through and into the goal, giving Canisius the early 1-0 advantage.
• With eight minutes left in the first, Canisius doubled its lead. Sam Rennaker and Noah Delmas were stopped on a pair of shorthanded chances by Canisius' Charles Williams. The Golden Griffins came back on the next rush and Ryan Schmelzer buried a loose puck past Teichroeb for a power-play goal.
• Niagara outshot Canisius 13-10 through the first period, but was held scoreless early. Caleb Boman had the team's best chance of the period, with a point-blank wrist shot getting gloved down by Williams midway through the stanza.
• The Purple Eagles killed off an extended 5-on-3 to start the second period. Keegan Harper and Kevin Patterson were called for penalties 12 seconds apart, but Teichroeb stopped both shots he saw to hold Canisius off the board.
• With less than two minutes to go in the second period, Matt McLeod picked up his second goal of the season to push the lead to 3-0. Dylan McLaughlin scored a power-play tally early in the third, extending the Canisius lead to four goals.
• 1:10 after McLaughlin's goal, Niagara countered with a power-play goal of its own. Boman and Nick Farmer worked the puck into the Canisius zone, where Nicolas Carrier corralled a loose puck in front of the Canisius goal and roofed a shot over Williams.
• Niagara put seven more shots on goal in the final 14:33, but could not narrow the deficit from 4-1, dropping the first game in this year's four-game Battle of the Bridge series.

 
Coach's Corner

• Head coach David Burkholder: "I'm pretty proud of the effort. They get two power-play goals, we take two penalties on our power plays, and that's the difference in the game…We lost the penalty game, and that's a big factor."

 
Inside the Numbers

• With the goal Tuesday night, Nicolas Carrier now has five points (3+2) in his last five games. The freshman from Delson, Quebec started the season with just one point in his first 18 games.
• Caleb Boman picked up his first career assist on Carrier's goal, while Nick Farmer picked up the primary assist, his fourth of the season.
• The Purple Eagles have now scored a power-play goal in five straight games, the team's longest streak of the season. Niagara had two previous four-game streaks of scoring a power-play goal.
• Niagara's power play has found the back of the net in 18 of 25 games this season.
• The Purple Eagles outshot Canisius 36-35, marking the fifth straight game they have outshot their opponent. Niagara is averaging 38 shots per game in those five contests.

 
Up Next

• Niagara takes on the Mercyhurst Lakers in a home-and-home series this coming weekend. The Purple Eagles start the weekend Friday night in Erie, a 7:05 p.m. faceoff from the Mercyhurst Ice Center.
• The series shifts back to Dwyer Arena on Saturday, Jan. 28 for a 7:05 p.m. game that will be regionally televised on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (Ch. 52/323).
• Paul Hamilton has the play-by-play call for both Mercyhurst games this weekend on 1340 AM WLVL.
• Niagara hosts the second game of the Battle of the Bridge series as Canisius comes to Dwyer Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 7:05 p.m.

 
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