ROCHESTER, N.Y. – A host of penalties and a rash of late empty-net goals sank the Niagara men's hockey team, 8-4, in their road contest against RIT. The Purple Eagles (8-10-1, 7-5-1 AHA) gave up four goals in the third period, including two while skating 6-on-4 thanks to an RIT penalty and a pulled goalie.
 
Game Recap

• The Tigers opened the scoring just 1:29 into the game and held that lead for nearly 14 minutes. Nick Farmer put Niagara on the board after RIT's Christian Short committed a turnover from behind his net. The puck trickled free and in front, where both Farmer and Jon Hill were positioned. Farmer put the puck on his tape and roofed it for the equalizer. Unfortunately for the Purple Eagles, the Tigers responded 15 seconds later to go back on top.
• With less than two minutes left in the first period and Johnny Curran in the box, Alex Truscott tied the game up yet again. Truscott was between the circles in the RIT end when he let go a wrist shot that trickled through Short's right side and into the net.
• After two quick RIT goals to open the second, Ben Sokay came within a whisker of making it a one-goal game again, but his shot that got past Short rang off the right post and deflected across the crease and into the corner. Minutes later, Stenlund hit the same pipe on a separate rush.
• After a long sequence in the RIT zone that saw Niagara maintain possession and get off four shots, the Tigers committed two penalties at the whistle to give the Purple Eagles a 5-on-3 advantage. Delmas continued to help guide the offense by feeding Stenlund a one-timer at the point, which the freshman promptly buried to cut the deficit to 4-3.
• After a quick save by Wilson on an odd-angle shot, there were hits by players from both teams after the whistle. RIT's Chris McKay got tagged with a five-minute facemasking penalty while Dylan Mills got two facemasking majors. Both players also earned game misconducts and were disqualified from the contest. Tyler Hayes served Mills' minutes while the Tigers skated with five but failed to capitalize on the five-minute advantage.

• Between the 12:51 mark and the 16:33 mark of the third, the teams scored a combined five times. After RIT made it 6-3, Niko Kovachis drew Niagara closer with a brilliant tic-tac-toe feed just 18 seconds later. But the Tigers pulled away immediately after despite skating shorthanded for two minutes.

 
Up Next

• These two teams will meet again at Dwyer Arena coming out of the winter break. The Purple Eagles will host the Tigers at 7 p.m. on January 4, 2019 before the two clubs return to Rochester for a third consecutive matchup the following night.

 
 
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