Friday, Feb. 17: Live Video & Audio | Live Stats | Game Notes

This Week in College Hockey (SiriusXM Ch. 84 - Sunday, Feb. 12) - Dave Burkholder and host Zig Fracassi
Purple Eagles Insider, Episode 10 - Dave Burkholder

The four-game Battle of the Bridge series concludes this week for the Niagara hockey team as the Purple Eagles prepare for two games against the Canisius Golden Griffins. Niagara and Canisius start the week in Buffalo with a 7:35 p.m. puck drop on Wednesday, Feb. 15 at the HARBORCENTER. From there, the series comes to Dwyer Arena for the fourth and final game in the season series, as Niagara and Canisius face off at 7:05 p.m.
 
Friday's game at Dwyer Arena will be preceded by a pregame tailgate in the lower level of the Gallagher Center at 5:30 p.m., with food and giveaways provided by the Niagara University Campus Programming Board.
 
Paul Hamilton has the radio play-by-play on 1340 AM WLVL both Wednesday night and Friday night, while Friday's home contest will be televised regionally on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel.
 
Last Time Out

• After a 6-1 loss to the Army Black Knights on Feb. 10, the Purple Eagles rallied on Saturday in a back-and-forth contest. The next night, Niagara turned in one of the season's best offensive performances and never trailed in the game until Army scored the winning goal with 40 seconds left in the overtime, falling 5-4 in the weekend finale.
• The Purple Eagles took a 2-0 lead in the first period Saturday night with goals from Keegan Harper and Tyler Tomberlin. Army came back to tie the game at 2-2 early in the second, and the team traded goals to the end of regulation, sending the game to overtime.
• In the final minute of overtime, Kris Spriggs had a point-blank chance denied by Army goaltender Parker Gahagen. The Black Knights came back 2-on-1 into the Niagara end, and Conor Andrle buried the game winner past Niagara's Joe O'Brien.
• 10 of the team's 12 points in Saturday night's loss came from freshmen.
• Tyler Tomberlin scored the first two goals of his collegiate career, while Joey Molinaro scored his first collegiate points with three assists, a season-high for any Niagara player in one game.
• Noah Delmas tallied two assists in the first period, giving him the team scoring lead with 14 points, all assists.
• In Friday night's 6-1 loss, Derek Brown scored the first goal of the contest before Army tallied six unanswered goals. Stanislav Dzakhov and Caleb Boman picked up the assists.

 
Battle of the Bridge

• The Battle of the Bridge is the annual all-sports matchup between Niagara University and Canisius College.
• Canisius currently holds a 17-7 edge, with Niagara picking up four points in a sweep of the two men's basketball games, two points in a sweep of the two volleyball games, and one point in for a scoreless draw men's soccer.
• The Purple Eagles fell 4-1 on Jan. 24 in the first hockey game of the season against Canisius.
• In the second game of the series at Dwyer Arena on Jan. 31, Niagara and Canisius were tied 2-2 until late in the second period, when a Canisius shot banked in off the skate of a Niagara defender for the eventual game-winning goal. The Golden Griffins went on to secure a 5-2 win.

 
Depth Scoring

• Niagara picked up two standout scoring performances from freshman forwards Tyler Tomberlin and Joey Molinaro Saturday at Army.
• Tomberlin scored his first two collegiate goals, including one with 9:45 to play in regulation to put Niagara ahead 4-3.
• Joey Molinaro scored his first career point on Niagara's first goal of the night and ended up with three assists, including the primary assist on Tomberlin's go-ahead goal in the third period.
• Molinaro's three assists were the most by a Purple Eagle in a game this season. He also tallied just the second three-point game for a Niagara player this season after TJ Sarcona scored two goals and one assist in a home win over Mercyhurst on Nov. 15, 2016.

 
Freshman Impact

• Niagara's 11 freshman players have scored 68 of the team's 161 points this season, accounting for 42.2 percent of the team's total offense.
• Three of Niagara's five leading scorers are freshmen. Noah Delmas (0+14) leads the team with 14 points. Kris Spriggs (7+6) is tied with junior Stanislav Dzakhov in second at 13 points, and Derek Brown (5+7) is tied with Johnny Curran for fourth at 12 points.
• Of Niagara's 15 points at Army last weekend, 12 came from freshmen. Joey Molinaro's three assists Saturday gave him the lead with three points, while Derek Brown, Caleb Boman, and Tyler Tomberlin all scored two points apiece against the Black Knights.

 
Scouting the Golden Griffins (16-10-7, 15-4-6 AHC)

• Canisius is currently ranked first in Atlantic Hockey, collecting 36 points in conference play with an Atlantic Hockey record of 15-4-6.
• The Golden Griffins took both of the first two games in this season's Battle of the Bridge, scoring wins of 4-1 and 5-2 on Jan. 24 and 31, respectively.
• Last weekend, Canisius went on the road and took three of four points at Sacred Heart, earning a 2-2 tie on Feb. 10 and holding on late for a 6-5 victory on Feb. 11.
• Dylan McLaughlin leads the Golden Griffins in scoring with 27 points (12+15) this season, followed by Ryan Schmelzer at 25 points (10+15).
• Charles Williams is 16-6-5 in goal for Canisius, posting a 1.92 goals-against average, .943 save percentage, and four shutouts.

 
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