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Men's Ice Hockey

Men’s Hockey Closes Out Regular Season Against RIT

 
PURPLE EAGLES MEN'S HOCKEY
WEEK 19 RIT Tigers (15-13-4, 13-9-4 AHA) at Niagara Purple Eagles (11-17-5, 10-12-5 AHA)
GAME 34 Wednesday, Feb. 27 – 7 PM
LOCATION Dwyer Arena – Niagara Univ., NY
TICKETS Ticketmaster.com
RADIO 1340 AM / 105.3 FM WLVL
LIVE VIDEO StretchInternet.com
LIVE AUDIO PurpleEagles.com
LIVE STATS Sidearm



The Niagara men's hockey team returns to the ice on a short week, taking on the RIT Tigers in the team's regular season finale.
 
Playoff Picture
  • With 25 points, Niagara enters this contest holding the seventh position in the conference standings. The team can finish anywhere between sixth and ninth for conference tournament seeding.
  • Mercyhurst currently sits one spot above the Purple Eagles with 26 points. Holy Cross and Army each have 22 points and are tied for eighth in the conference.
  • The Lakers, Crusaders and Black Knights will close out the regular season with two game sets against Robert Morris, Air Force and Bentley, respectively, on Friday and Saturday.
  • There are six tie-breaking criteria that will be used to determine the table's final order. Respectively, they are: Head-to-head winning percentage, conference wins, goal differential in head-to-head competitions, goals allowed in head-to-head competitions, winning percentage head-to-head against teams starting with the No. 1 seed down to the No. 11 seed, and finally, goal differential in games against teams starting with the No. 1 seed down to the No. 11 seed.
  • A win by the Purple Eagles on Wednesday would ensure neither Holy Cross nor Army would tie them in terms of conference points, meaning Niagara would be awarded a seed no lower than seven for the tournament.
  • A win or tie by the Purple Eagles plus Mercyhurst earning three points or less in their two games against Robert Morris would bump Niagara up to the sixth seed in the tournament. If the teams end the season tied in conference points, the Purple Eagles would earn the higher seed by virtue of Niagara's sweep of the Lakers on January 18-19 earlier this season.
  • Seeding will officially be determined following the conclusion of Saturday's league games.

Matchup Preview
  • The Purple Eagles will be facing RIT for the fourth and final time of the season. In the first three games of the season series the Tigers opener by beating Niagara 8-4 on December 15, then tied 4-4 on January 4 at Dwyer before the Tigers won a close one on January 5 by a score of 2-1.
  • In 44 all-time meetings, Niagara holds an 18-12-14 record against RIT. The 14 ties are the most between the Purple Eagles and any one opponent.
 
Niagara Notes
  • The Purple Eagles earned two points in Atlantic Hockey play by tying Canisius in two games by scores of 2-2 on Friday night at HarborCenter and 3-3 on Saturday night at Dwyer Arena.
  • Ludwing Stenlund continued his red-hot freshman season by registering two power play goals against the Griffs. Stenlund leads the team with 18 goals and is second on the team in points (31). He currently ranks second in the conference and sixth in all of Division l hockey in goals.  The next-closest freshman sits tied for 31 in the country.
  • Junior defenseman Noah Delmas notched the primary assists on both of Stenlund's power play goals to add to his team-leading points count (32). The junior sits tied for sixth among all Atlantic Hockey skaters in terms of points.
  • On senior night at Dwyer Arena on Saturday evening, Johnny Curran netted two goals in a game for just the fourth time in his career.
  • Goaltender Brian Wilson currently sits in seventh in the AHA in goals-against average with a 2.92.
  • The Purple Eagles scored three goals on the power play this weekend, upping their success rate to 20.3 percent, the third-best mark in Atlantic Hockey.

Scouting The Tigers
  • RIT took three points from Robert Morris this weekend by winning, 5-3, on Friday night and tying, 2-2, on Saturday night.
  • Leading the offense is Erik Brown, who has 16 goals on the season. Abbott Girduckis has 33 points, which leads the team and is tied for fourth in Atlantic Hockey.
  • In the crease this season, Logan Drackett holds a 12-12-4 record, a .911 save percentage and a 2.58 goals against average.
  • RIT currently sits tied for third in Atlantic Hockey with two games remaining in their regular season. They will close out their regular season with another game on Saturday night against Canisius.
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Johnny Curran

#14 Johnny Curran

F
5' 10"
Senior
R
Noah Delmas

#20 Noah Delmas

D
6' 0"
Junior
R
Brian Wilson

#33 Brian Wilson

G
6' 4"
Sophomore
L

Players Mentioned

Johnny Curran

#14 Johnny Curran

5' 10"
Senior
R
F
Noah Delmas

#20 Noah Delmas

6' 0"
Junior
R
D
Brian Wilson

#33 Brian Wilson

6' 4"
Sophomore
L
G