NIAGARA UNIVERSITY MEN'S HOCKEY
Niagara Purple Eagles (6-14-4, 6-8-4-2 Atlantic Hockey) at Bentley Falcons (10-13-3, 8-11-2-0 Atlantic Hockey)
GAME 25	Friday, January 31 | 7:05 PM
GAME 26	Saturday, February 1| 7:05 PM
LOCATION	Bentley Arena – Waltham, MA
LIVE VIDEO	flohockey.tv
LIVE AUDIO	PurpleEagles.com
RADIO	1340 AM / 105.3 FM WLVL
GAME NOTES	Niagara
LIVE STATS	Sidearm Stats

The Niagara men's hockey team looks to continue its winning ways when it travels to Bentley Arena for the first time ever. The Falcons will host the Purple Eagles in a two-game set on Friday and Saturday nights.

Matchup Preview

• This will be the first and only meeting of the regular season between Niagara and Bentley this year.
• The two teams have never played more than two games against each other in a single season. Last year saw the Falcons split the set in Dwyer Arena on February 14-15. Bentley took game one, 3-1, but Niagara bounced back to take a 4-3 win in game two.
• Bentley University opened the new Bentley Arena prior to the start of the 2018-19 season after breaking ground in 2016. Niagara was 3-1-2-0 all-time in the former facility, John A. Ryan Arena.
• The Purple Eagles' last trip to Bentley came on November 7-8, 2014. That series ended in a split decision, with Niagara closing the trip in a 3-2 overtime victory. No current players were on the roster the last time the team played Bentley on the road.

 
Playoff Picture

• Niagara enters the weekend in ninth place in the conference (24 points).
• The Falcons (26 points) are tied with Holy Cross for the seventh position in the Atlantic Hockey table.
• At season's end, seeds six, seven, and eight host first round games against the bottom three teams in the standings, Each of the top five seeds receives a bye into the quarterfinal round of the AHA tournament.
• Eight of Niagara's final 10 regular season games will be played against teams that are currently above them in the standings. The Purple Eagles have a great chance to close the gap for a first round bye, as they sit just seven points back of both RIT and Robert Morris, who are in a three-way tie for fourth overall in the conference. Niagara is scheduled to play a total of four games against those schools in February.

 
Niagara Notes

• The Purple Eagles swept Army West Point in their most recent outings on January 24-25. Niagara took all six points in 4-1 and 3-2 victories, the second of which came in overtime.
• Ben Sokay posted his first career four-point game on Friday night (2 G, 2 A). The senior had a hand in each of Niagara's four goals, three of which came on power plays.
• The Purple Eagles went a combined 4-for-6 on the man advantage against Army. Entering the weekend, the team had been 8-of-79 on the year.
• Jack Billings had a four-point weekend of this own. The redshirt junior posted one goal and one assist in both games against Army West Point. Billings' highlight of the weekend came on Saturday, when he netted the overtime winner with 44 seconds to play.
• Chad Veltri notched the first two victories of his collegiate career and swept his first opponent by backstopping both victories. The freshman made a total of 58 saves on 61 shots, including five stops in the overtime period of Saturday's contest.

Scouting The Falcons

• Like the Purple Eagles, Bentley swept its opponent last weekend to snap a winless streak of five games. The Falcons traveled to Mercyhurst and left with 4-3 and 7-4 wins. The team had been 0-3-2-0 in their last five outings, and 2-5-3-0 since the start of December.
• Bentley's leading goal scorer and point getter is sophomore Jakov Novak, a 2018, seventh-round selection of the Ottawa Senators. Novak enters this weekend with 14 goals and 12 assists in 28 games.
• Luke Santerno's 15 assists are a team high.
• Aidan Pelino has seen the most minutes (843:44) of Bentley's three netminders. The senior has appeared in 15 games and has a goals-against average of 3.08 and a save percentage of .879.
• Fraser Kirk has played 551:51 in net this season for the Falcons, logging a record of 5-3-1 (team-best .611 win pct.), a 2.39 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage. Each goalie has five wins and one shutout to their name this season.

 
Milestone Watch
Player............. Needs........ To Reach............... Note (if applicable)                                          
Eric Cooley....... 1 games..... 100 career games
Justin Kendall... 1 games..... 100 career games
 
Noah Delmas.... 1 goal......... 20 career goals....... Would tie Chris Mackenzie for most-ever by Niagara defenseman
Noah Delmas.... 4 assists...... 77 career assists..... Would tie Chris Mackenzie for most ever by Niagara defenseman
Noah Delmas.... 5 points..... 97 career points..... Would tie Chris Mackenzie for most-ever by Niagara defenseman
 
Brian Wilson..... 1 win......... 29 career wins....... Would tie Chris Noonan for fifth-most in Niagara history
Brian Wilson..... 1 shutout... 6 career shutouts... Would put him in sole possession of fourth-most in Niagara history
 
 
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