The Niagara men's hockey team will close out the first half of its season with a road game at the Rochester Institute of Technology on Saturday. It is the first of four meetings between the Tigers and Purple Eagles this season. Both teams will meet again in a home-and-home on January 4-5, the first games back from the winter break.
Game Preview
- This is the first meeting between Niagara and RIT since the Tigers visited Dwyer Arena on January 5-6, 2018. The Purple Eagles took three conference points that weekend, after a 4-3 win and a 2-2 draw.
- The last time Niagara made the trek to Rochester came during the first round of the 2017 Atlantic Hockey playoffs. The 11th-seeded Purple Eagles upset the sixth-seeded Tigers, two games to one, clinching the series with a 4-1 win on March 5.
- In 41 all-time meetings, Niagara holds an 18-10-13 record over RIT. The 13 ties are the most between the Purple Eagles and any one opponent.
Niagara Notes (8-9-1, 7-4-1 AHA)
- The Purple Eagles are returning to conference play after back-to-back weekends against non-conference opponents. Niagara was swept in Western Michigan on November 30 and December 1, then split with Colgate, 4-2 and 2-0, on December 7-8.
- After registering an assist in his season debut on December 7, Tyler Hayes became the 24th Purple Eagle to notch a point this season. Niagara remains one of the most balanced scoring teams in the country. They are one of only two teams where every skater that has appeared in a game has recorded at least one point, the other being No. 9 Penn State. The team remains tied with Army for the most individual point-getters in DI hockey.
- Of Niagara's 24 skaters, all but three have tallied at least one goal. Their 20 goal scorers continues to be a national best. Their four non-scorers is tied for the best rate among Division I teams, with Wisconsin and No. 15 Arizona State level with the Purple Eagles.
- In the shutout loss to the Raiders, Brian Wilson made 39 saves to tie his season benchmark. It was just one off his career high of 40, set back on December 1, 2017 at Air Force. Wilson enters this weekend leading Atlantic Hockey with eight wins on the year.
- With 17 points (7 G, 10 A) on the year, Noah Delmas is tied for sixth in the country among defensemen in scoring. He is also tied for second in the conference in scoring among all skaters.
- Dylan Mills' 14 points (5 G, 9 A) are the most from a freshman in Atlantic Hockey. His nine assists are also a conference high among rookies. Nationally, Mills ranks tied for eighth among freshman scorers.
- With 11 points (5 G, 6 A) Ludwig Stenlund is tied for second in the same category in the conference.
Scouting The Tigers (6-8-1, 4-6-1 AHA)
- RIT was swept by Sacred Heart last weekend to slip below .500 against Atlantic Hockey teams. The Pioneers eked out a 4-3 overtime win on December 7, then took the back end with a 6-4 victory the following night.
- Abbott Girduckis leads the Tigers with 13 points (5 G, 8 A) in 15 games.
- Following a four-point weekend (3 G, 1 A) against Sacred Heart, Adam Brubacher was named the AHA Player of the Week.
- Logan Drackett has played every game between the pipes for the Tigers. The netminder has a 2.52 goals against average and a .915 save percentage and is fourth in the conference in both categories.
