NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – The Niagara men's hockey team returned to the win column in emphatic fashion on Friday night, trouncing Army West Point, 4-1, at Dwyer Arena. The Purple Eagles got three power play goals on four attempts, with
Ben Sokay (2 G, 2 A) getting a hand on each one.
Chad Veltri finished with 19 saves to earn his first collegiate win.
Game Recap
- Army brought a 1-0 lead into the second period, but the Purple Eagles leveled things up with 6:13 into the frame. On the second power play of the game, Sokay cycled the puck in low to Ryan Naumovski, who passed in front to Jack Billings. Billings got ahold of his own rebound to for the tying marker.
- With 2:49 left in the second, Eric Cooley pulled the puck on net after digging it free behind the cage. His wraparound attempt missed the mark, but Sokay was following up on the opposite side, and easily slotted the puck into a wide open net to make it a 2-1 game.
- A tripping call with 62 seconds remaining in the middle stanza put Niagara on the man-advantage once again. Noah Delmas held the puck up top for the Purple Eagles, then sent it across to the opposite point where Sokay was waiting. The senior made no mistake, taking the one-timer and rifling it through to open up a 3-1 lead.
- 4:13 into the third, Sokay won a faceoff to the right of the Black Knights' net. The puck squirted free for Jared Brandt, who heaved a backhand on net as he glided away from the crease. Trevin Kozlowski got a piece of it, but not enough, as it trickled to the far post and in.
Beyond The Boxscore
- Tonight was Chris Harpur's 100th game as a Purple Eagle.
- Sokay posted the first four-point game of his career. His previous record was three points, which he had done twice, most recently on February 15, 2018 against Bentley.
Up Next
- Tomorrow's series finale opens up at 4:05 p.m. at Dwyer Arena. Tickets can be purchased on Ticketmaster or by contacting the ticket office at 716-286-TIXX And as always, Coach Lammers encourages all fans to attend his public press conference following the conclusion of the game.
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