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Niagara University Athletics

Teichroeb
4
Winner Niagara NIAGARA 5-29-3
1
RIT RIT 14-21-1
Winner
Niagara NIAGARA
5-29-3
4
Final
1
RIT RIT
14-21-1
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
Niagara NIAGARA 2 0 2 4
RIT RIT 0 1 0 1

Game Recap: Men's Ice Hockey |

Hockey Clinches First-Round Victory Over Defending Champion RIT

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Purple Eagles hockey team got two quick goals from Kris Spriggs and Sam Rennaker to take a lead they would not relinquish in Game Three of an Atlantic Hockey First Round series against the two-time defending AHC champion RIT Tigers. Stanislav Dzakhov scored twice in the third period and Jackson Teichroeb made a season-high 42 saves in goal as Niagara defeated RIT 4-1 Sunday night at the Gene Polisseni Center, taking a 2-1 series victory.
 
Niagara (5-29-3) is now 3-1 in Game Three situations since moving to Atlantic Hockey in 2010. This is also the second time in three years that the Purple Eagles have now upset the 6-seed in the Atlantic Hockey First Round after entering as the 11-seed. Niagara started the 2015 postseason with a three-game series victory over the Holy Cross Crusaders, seizing a 5-3 win in Game Three on March 6, 2015.
 
Game Summary  
Game Recap
  • Jackson Teichroeb started off with a huge save just seconds into the game. RIT's Gabe Valenzuela intercepted Niagara's breakout pass and deked right, but Teichroeb stretched the pads to stuff the early chance.
  • Niagara responded immediately as Kris Spriggs scored at the 1:00 mark for the game's first goal. Vinny Muto sent a stretch pass up the left wing boards to Spriggs. Spriggs fed over to Stephen Pietrobon, who touched a pass back to Spriggs between two RIT defenders, and Spriggs sent the loose puck five-hole past RIT goaltender Mike Rotolo for the 1-0 lead.
  • Less than three minutes later, Sam Rennaker doubled the Niagara lead. Stanislav Dzakhov was turned away by Rotolo on a wraparound chance, but Johnny Curran corralled the loose puck and found Rennaker wide open in the slot for the one-time goal.
  • After making 12 saves in the first period, Teichroeb was even better in the second period, making 22 saves as RIT outshot Niagara 22-3 in the middle stanza. The lone goal allowed by Teichroeb was buried by the Tigers' Jordan Peacock.
  • Teichroeb was stellar again in the third period, making three saves in the first three minutes to preserve Niagara's one-goal lead.
  • The senior netminder then made a shorthanded stop on RIT's Myles Powell before Dzakhov reestablished the two-goal lead for the Purple Eagles. Working the puck around the top of the power-play set, Noah Delmas gave Dzakhov a one-time chance that Rotolo got most of, but not enough as the puck trickled in. That goal gave Niagara a 3-1 lead with 14:50 left in regulation.
  • Late in the game, the Tigers pulled Rotolo in favor of the extra attacker to try and cut the deficit, Dzakhov netted his second goal of the night with 2:57 remaining, sealing the 4-1 score in favor of the Purple Eagles.
 
 
Coach's Corner
  • Head coach David Burkholder: "It was one of those nights where everything we talked about, everything we forecasted, everything we thought needed to happen, happened. Jackson Teichroeb needed to be our first star, he was. We needed to score a power-play goal to win the series, we did. With the guys who are not playing, having to come to RIT, the defending champs, this ranks up there as one of the bigger wins in the history of the program in my opinion."
 
 
Inside the Numbers
  • Niagara is now 3-1 in Game Three situations since moving to Atlantic Hockey in 2010. In all four of those series, Niagara played on the road and won Game One before dropping Game Two.
  • Jackson Teichroeb's 42 saves were a season-high, topping his previous best total of 37 in a 4-0 shutout win at Sacred Heart on Nov. 19, 2016.
  • The 42 saves were the third-most in a playoff game for Teichroeb. The London, Ont. native made 58 saves in a triple-overtime, 2-1 loss at Holy Cross on March 5, 2015 and 49 saves the next night in a 5-3 Game Three win on March 6, 2016.
  • Stanislav Dzakhov led all scorers in the game with two goals and one assist. The junior from Vladikavkaz, Russia is now Niagara's leading scorer this season with 17 points (9+8) in 29 games.
  • Dzakhov (2+1), Johnny Curran (1+2), Sam Rennaker (2+1), and Kris Spriggs (2+1) tied for the Niagara scoring lead with three points each in the AHC First Round series.
  • Niagara is now 4-1-1 when leading after two periods in the 2016-17 season. In Game One, the Purple Eagles picked up their first win of the season when trailing after two periods.
 
Up Next
  • Niagara advances to the Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals for the fourth time in the last five years, and will face a familiar foe. The Canisius Golden Griffins finished as the first seed in Atlantic Hockey and they will play host to Niagara in a best-of-three series next weekend.
  • The quarterfinal series between Niagara and Canisius kicks off Friday, March 10 at 7:35 p.m. and will lead into a second game at 8:05 p.m. on Saturday, March 11. If Game Three is necessary, that game is slated for a 6:35 p.m. puck drop on Sunday, March 12. All games will be played at the KeyBank Rink at HARBORCENTER in Buffalo, N.Y.
  • The winner of that series will head to Blue Cross Arena in Rochester for the single-elimination Atlantic Hockey semifinals on Friday, March 17.
 
Stay connected with the Purple Eagles through social media. Follow Niagara Athletics on Twitter @NUPurpleEagles and for hockey updates, follow @NiagaraUHockey. Check in with the Purple Eagles on Facebook.com/PurpleEagles and on Instagram @NUPurpleEagles.
 
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