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| PURPLE EAGLES MEN'S HOCKEY |
| WEEK 12 |
Niagara Purple Eagles (8-11-2, 7-6-2 AHA) at Holy Cross Crusaders (3-12-2, 3-8-1 AHA) |
| GAME 22 |
Friday, Jan. 11 | 7 PM |
| GAME 23 |
Saturday, Jan. 12 | 7 PM |
| LOCATION |
Hart Center at the Luth Athletic Complex – Worcester, MA |
| RADIO |
1340 AM / 105.3 FM WLVL |
| LIVE VIDEO |
StretchInternet.com |
| LIVE AUDIO |
PurpleEagles.com |
| LIVE STATS |
Stats |
Despite not having beaten an AHA squad since November 23, the Niagara men's hockey team still resides in the third position on the conference table. With four points separating the league's top six teams, coming out of Worcester with at least another three points against the Crusaders would help bolster Niagara's spot in the standings.
Matchup Preview
- This will be the second and final regular season series between Niagara and Holy Cross. The two teams last met on November 9-10, with the Purple Eagles taking three of four potential points.
- On November 9, the Purple Eagles torched the Crusaders for six goals after slipping into a quick 2-0 deficit. Four players registered multi-point games – with Kris Spriggs tying a career high with two goals – en route to a 6-3 victory.
- The following night, both sides skated to a 3-3 tie. Trailing by a pair for the second straight night, the Purple Eagles scored twice in 70 seconds to pull even with Holy Cross late in the third period. In overtime, Johnny Curran rang a shot of the post that proved to be the best chance for either team to steal the game.
- Historically, the Crusaders have gotten the better of Niagara, posting a 16-11-2 mark against the Purple Eagles since their first meeting on January 3, 1999.
- The Crusaders went 13-2-1 against the Purple Eagles between January 17, 2014 and January 19, 2018. However, both losses came in the first round of the Atlantic Hockey playoffs and eliminated Holy Cross from the postseason.
- Niagara's current three game unbeaten streak (2-0-1) against Holy Cross is its longest since the team won the first five all-time showdowns.
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Niagara Notes
- The Purple Eagles are coming off a deferred three-game series against RIT. Niagara lost the first meeting at the Gene Polisseni Center, 8-4, on December 15 before both teams went on holiday breaks. When they returned on January 4, the Tigers scored with 75 seconds remaining to earn a 4-4 draw at Dwyer Arena. In Rochester the following evening, Niagara gave up a go-ahead goal with 1.3 seconds to play, giving RIT five of six possible points.
- Defenseman Noah Delmas leads the team with 18 points (7 G, 11 A). Since a breakout three-point game (1 G, 2 A) against Holy Cross on November 9, the junior has registered 16 points (6 G, 10 A) in his last 13 games.
- Niagara's 64 team goals lead Atlantic Hockey and are tied with No. 3 Denver for 11th-most in the country.
Scouting The Crusaders
- Holy Cross enters the weekend on a high note, earning a 5-4 win over Mercyhurst on January 5 to split their series.
- Between October 13 and December 7, the Crusaders went 0-11-2, snapping their winless streak with a 2-0 shutout at Robert Morris on December 8.
- Among the 11 Atlantic Hockey teams, Holy Cross ranks 10th in save percentage (.886), 10th in saves (436) and 11th in goals-against average (3.26).
- Erik Gordon (2-10-2) holds a 3.34 goals-against average and an .879 save percentage. Gordon has been Holy Cross' go-to netminder since the second game of the season, when Tommy Nixon (1-0-0) went down with an injury. Gordon has appeared in all but one game during that span and has now won two of his last three NCAA starts (not accounting for a 6-3 loss against the United States U18 squad on January 1).
- Freshman Matt Barry – son of former Niagara University soccer player John Barry ('81) – is second on the team in points (4 G, 11 A) and tied for the most goals scored. His six points (2 G, 4 A) on the power play are also a team high.
