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Niagara University Athletics

Plouffe
2
Niagara NIA 9-7-1, 8-4-1 AHC
8
Winner Canisius CAN 10-5-1, 10-4-0 AHC
Niagara NIA
9-7-1, 8-4-1 AHC
2
Final
8
Canisius CAN
10-5-1, 10-4-0 AHC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
Niagara NIA 0 2 0 2
Canisius CAN 5 3 0 8

Game Recap: Men's Ice Hockey |

No. 20 Hockey Closes First Half Of Season With Loss At Canisius

BUFFALO, N.Y. – After a late third-period rally by their opponent led to a Battle of the Bridge loss on home ice Friday night, the Niagara Purple Eagles hockey team fell behind 5-0 after 20 minutes in Saturday's rematch at Canisius. Sam Rennaker and Derian Plouffe scored in the second period for the Purple Eagles, who went on to close the first half of the season with an 8-2 loss at KeyBank Rink at HARBORCENTER.

The Purple Eagles (9-7-1, 8-4-1 AHC) lost consecutive games for the first time all season, but remain in second place in Atlantic Hockey at the season's midway point. Niagara returns to game action Dec. 29 and 30 at Ohio State before returning to Dwyer Arena for a three-game home stand starting Jan. 5, 2018 against the RIT Tigers.
 
Game Summary
  • Final Score: Canisius 8, No. 20 Niagara 2
  • Niagara Goal Scorers: Derian Plouffe, Sam Rennaker
  • Niagara Assists: Christian Cakebread, Noah Delmas, Sean King, Ryan Kuhn
  • In Goal: Brian Wilson (7-6-1) – 3 GA, 6 SV; David Krejcik – 4 GA, 10 SV; Guillaume Therien – 1 GA, 11 SV
  • Power Plays: Niagara – 0-for-5 (8 SOG); Canisius – 1-for-4 (4 SOG)
  • Records: Niagara – 9-7-1 (8-4-1 AHC); Canisius – 10-5-1 (10-4-0 AHC)
  • Location: Dwyer Arena – Niagara University, New York
  • Attendance: 1,814

Game Recap
  • Canisius opened up a 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game against Niagara After Grant Meyer opened the scoring 1:09 into the contest, Niagara's Brian Wilson made a stop against Casey Jerry on a 2-on-1, but Jerry retained possession and was able to double the Canisius lead.
  • Dylan McLaughlin added a power-play goal at the 14:23 mark, and Wilson was relieved by David Krejcik in the Niagara goal. Two late goals by Mike Sabatini and McLaughlin gave Canisius a 5-0 lead at the first intermission.
  • Niagara got on the board 7:08 into the second period. Ryan Kuhn dug a puck from the wall behind the net to Christian Cakebread, who found Sam Rennaker low in the Canisius slot for the one-time goal, Rennaker's first of the season. Off the ensuing draw, Ryan Schmelzer broke in to the Niagara end, and nine seconds later he pushed the lead back to 6-1 Canisius.
  • At the 10:37 mark, Sean King and Noah Delmas worked the puck along to the right wing boards for Derian Plouffe. Plouffe's shot richocheted off a body and over the arm of Canisius goaltender Daniel Urbani to bring Niagara back within four. Just 28 seconds later, however, Nick Hutchison pushed the Canisius lead back to five.
  • Guillaume Therien relieved Krejcik late in the second period, allowing a lone goal to Jesse Pereira and making 11 saves the rest of the way. Niagara could not narrow the deficit despite a 12-9 lead in shots on goal in the third period, falling by a final score of 8-2.
 
Coach's Corner
  • Head coach Jason Lammers: "It's not the way we wanted it to go, but the nice part is hockey's got a long memory, and we get to play these guys again. We're going to work really hard to get better and give them a better game next time we play them. I'm really impressed with the way the guys didn't quit, and we've done a lot this first half of the year, so the guys have a lot to be proud of. This game hurts, but overall we have a lot to be proud of and we're going to keep moving forward."
 
Inside the Numbers
  • Derian Plouffe scored his 11th goal of the season and extended his current scoring streak to seven games, totaling five goals and four assists in that time. Plouffe started the 2017-18 season on an eight-game point streak, tied with Noah Delmas for the longest by a Purple Eagle this season.
  • Delmas added his 18th assist of the season, which leads Atlantic Hockey and leads all NCAA defenders this season. With 19 points through 17 games, Delmas is on pace to break Chris Mackenzie's program record for single-season scoring by a defenseman; Mackenzie had 32 points in 38 games during the 1999-2000 season.
  • Niagara lost consecutive games for the first time this season, having previously gone 5-0 in games following a loss.
 
 
Stay connected with the Purple Eagles through social media. Follow Niagara Athletics on Twitter @NUPurpleEagles and for hockey updates, follow Niagara hockey on Twitter and Instagram. Check in with the Purple Eagles on Facebook.com/PurpleEagles and on Instagram @NUPurpleEagles.
 
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