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Games 35-37
No. 9 Niagara Purple Eagles (11-20-3, 10-15-3 AHC) vs. No. 8 American International College Yellow Jackets (12-18-4, 11-13-4 AHC)
Friday, March 2 - 1:05 PM / Saturday, March 3 - 1:05 PM/ Sunday, March 4 – 1:05 PM (If Necessary)
Location: MassMutal Center - Springfield, Massachusetts
Broadcast: AtlanticHockey.tv
Radio: WLVL 1340 AM - Jeremy White
Internet: Niagara Sports Network
 
The ninth-seeded Niagara Purple Eagles hockey team opens the Atlantic Hockey postseason this weekend against the eighth-seeded AIC Yellow Jackets. Niagara and AIC will play a best-of-three series to determine a winner of this first round playoff matchup.

The first two games are slated for 1:05 p.m. on Friday, March 2 and Saturday, March 3. Should the two teams split those two matchups, a deciding third game will be played on Sunday, March 4 at 1:05 p.m. All three games will be at AIC's home rink, the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass. The winner of this series moves on to a best-of-three series on March 9-11 in the Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals. Niagara will look to advance to the quarterfinals for the second straight season.

How To Tune In
• Jeremy White will have the radio play-by-play on the Niagara Sports Network via 1340 AM WLVL and www.PurpleEagles.com/Watch for the weekend contests in Springfield.
• Fans outside of the Buffalo market can watch a live stream of all games through Stretch Internet here. A single game costs $12 to view, while full tournament packages are available at $35.

Purple Eagles In The Playoffs
• Keegan Harper leads current Niagara skaters in career playoff scoring, accumulating two goals and four assists in nine career postseason games. His best playoffs came in 2013-14, when he racked up four assists in six games as Niagara advanced to the AHC semifinals.
• In his first career playoff game against RIT on March 3, 2017, Kris Spriggs had a goal and an assist to help Niagara down RIT, 5-4.
• Stanislav Dzakhov recorded two goals and an assist against RIT in the first round last season, while Sam Rennaker finished with two goals and two assists between the two playoff series in 2016-17. 

Last Time Facing AIC In Playoffs
• Back in 2014, Niagara hosted AIC at Dwyer Arena in the first round of the tournament, winning the series, 2-0.
• The Purple Eagles walked away with a double overtime victory in the first game, 1-0, on March 7 of that season before closing out the series with a 4-2 victory the following night.

Scouting the Yellow Jackets (13-20-1, 11-13-4 AHC)
• AIC comes into the Atlantic Hockey postseason as the eighth overall seed after finishing the season with 26 points, one shy of posting a three-way tie with Robert Morris and RIT..
• The Yellow Jackets, who have not made the conference championship since joining Atlantic Hockey in 1998, were picked to finish ninth in the AHC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Niagara holds a 12-8-1 record all-time against AIC in 21 matchups. The teams split their two matchups in Springfield earlier this season, their lone two games against each other this season. Niagara won the first game on Nov. 24 by a final score of 3-1 before AIC followed with a win of their own on Nov. 25, 4-1.
• Freshman Brennan Kapcheck leads the team in points this season with 22 for the Yellow Jackets, with six goals and a team-leading 16 assists. Sophomore Blake Christensen leads AIC with 11 goals this season, third overall on the team in points with 18 points.
• Freshman goaltender Stefano Durante, who has started 20 of the 34 games this season, has a 2.21 GAA, .913 SV% and two shutouts.

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.