WORCESTER, Mass. – The Niagara Purple Eagles hockey team went toe to toe with the Holy Cross Crusaders in a matchup of top Atlantic Hockey teams Friday night at the Hart Center. Niagara stayed close with Holy Cross and trailed 2-1 heading into the final minutes, but an empty-net goal by the Crusaders sealed a 3-1 loss for the Purple Eagles, who fell to 10-13-2 (9-8-2 Atlantic Hockey) on the season. Niagara and Holy Cross face off against Saturday night at 7:05 p.m., the final game in a stretch for the Purple Eagles with 12 games out of 16 on the road.
 
Game Summary

• Final Score: Holy Cross 3, Niagara 1
• Niagara Goal Scorers: Ben Sokay
• Niagara Assists: Noah Delmas, Derian Plouffe
• In Goal: Brian Wilson (8-12-2) – 2 GA, 25 SV
• Power Plays: Niagara – 1-for-5 (5 SOG); Holy Cross – 1-for-5 (5 SOG)
• Records: Niagara – 10-13-2 (9-8-2 AHC); Holy Cross – 10-8-7 (9-4-6 AHC)
• Location: Hart Center – Worcester, Massachusetts
• Attendance: 786

Game Recap

• Goaltender Brian Wilson held strong in the first period with 10 saves, while the Crusaders blocked nine shots and limited Niagara to just four shots on goal at the other end.
• Niagara had two point-blank chances turned away midway through the second period. Derek Brown set up from the high slot and ripped a shot glove-side on a power play that was turned down by Holy Cross' Paul Berrafato, minutes later, Kris Spriggs set up Stanislav Dzakhov for a shot that beat Berrafato, but rang off the post and wide.
• With 7:03 to play in the second period, Holy Cross was able to open the scoring. Spencer Trapp's point shot ricocheted to the side of the goal, and Danny Lopez beat Wilson to the near post and tapped in his 10th goal of the season.
• Niagara had two penalties to kill early in the third period. The Purple Eagles were able to kill off the first, but after two big saves from Wilson on the second, Spencer Trapp snuck in a power-play goal to make it 2-0 with 12:54 to play.
• With 6:35 left in the third, the Purple Eagles drew back within one on the power play. Noah Delmas carried the puck down low and fed Derian Plouffe, who drove to the net but lost the puck. Ben Sokay corralled the puck in the slot and fired a wrist shot through traffic and past Berrafato for his third tally of the season.
• Plouffe came close to tying the game on a 2-on-1 with 3:50 to go, taking the shot after driving a 2-on-1 rush for Niagara, but Berrafato made the stand-up save for Holy Cross.
• Niagara pulled Wilson for the extra attacker with 2:51 to play. A minute and a half later, the Crusaders' Dalton Skelly banked the puck off the glass, down the ice, and into the empty Niagara goal, sealing the 3-1 win for Holy Cross.

 
Coach's Corner

• Head coach Jason Lammers: "I was really impressed with the effort of our guys tonight and I thought we put good pressure on Holy Cross. We need to do a better job of getting pucks to the net and traffic in front, especially early in the game."

 
Inside the Numbers

• Ben Sokay scored his first career power-play goal Friday night at Holy Cross. The sophomore, who missed all but four games of his freshman year to injury, now has seven points (3+4) in 18 games.
• Derian Plouffe and Noah Delmas, both candidates for the Hobey Baker Award, picked up assists on Sokay's goal. Plouffe extended his team scoring lead to 27 points (13+14), and Delmas' 21 assists remains first among all Atlantic Hockey skaters and first among all NCAA blueliners.
• Niagara went 4-for-5 on the penalty kill; that unit has excelled for the Purple Eagles on the road this season and now sits at 47-for-54 (87.0 percent).
• The Purple Eagles allowed an empty-net goal for the first time since Dec. 8, 2017 against Canisius; Niagara went 13:57 with an empty net in three games last week and did not give up a goal.
• Holy Cross was credited with 29 blocked shots, the most by any Niagara opponent this season. The Purple Eagles blocked 11, with Delmas and Keegan Harper each tallying two.
• With 25 saves, Brian Wilson now sports a 2.48 goals-against average and .907 save percentage in Atlantic Hockey play, ranking fifth and sixth in those categories, respectively.

 
Up Next

• Niagara and Holy Cross return to the Hart Center for the weekend finale Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. Jeremy White has the play-by-play call on WLVL 1340 AM.

 
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.