SCORE	Niagara Purple Eagles 4, Mercyhurst Lakers 7
SCORERS	Mercyhurst – G. Kitt (1st, 1:24), M. Bevilacqua (1st, 11:27), A. Heidemann (1st, 14:44), G. Feduolov (1st, 15:33), D. Daniels (2nd, 1:29), C. Briere (3rd, 10:38), C. Briere (3rd, 17:05) Niagara – W. Sommer (1st, 1:28), J. Brandt (1st, 2:17), J. Billings (1st, 6:10), W. Sommer (1st, 9:58)
GOALIES	Mercyhurst – Hank Johnson (2-3-1) Niagara – Chad Veltri (0-3-2)
RECORDS	Niagara (1-2-2, 0-1-2 AHA), Mercyhurst (2-3-1, 1-0-1 AHA)
LOCATION	Dwyer Arena

 
NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – Despite an early 4-1 lead in the first period, the Purple Eagles fell to the Mercyhurst Lakers, 7-4, on Friday night.
 
GAME RECAP
First Period
• After going down by one goal early in the first, Niagara rattled off four-straight goals in an 8:30 span that saw three different Purple Eagles score, including Walker Sommer, who scored twice.
• Sommer scored on a breakaway, skating past the defense in a matter of seconds to tie the game at one.
• Jared Brandt would make it a 2-1 Niagara lead less than a minute later as he rifled one past the Mercyhurst goalie from the top of the left faceoff circle. The goal marked the St. Louis, Mo., native's first of the season and 13^th of his career.  
• It was a group effort on the Purple Eagles' third goal of the contest as Brandt, Matt Cameron, and Ludwig Stenlund worked to find Jack Billings open in front of the net to push Niagara's lead to 3-1 six minutes into the opening frame. 
• Sommer would score his second goal of the contest at the 9:58 mark, capping off a 4-0 run for the Purple and White. The goal came off a Laker turnover and a pass from Ryan Naumovski, his second assist of the game. 
• Mercyhurst would go on a run of its own to close the first period, scoring three unanswered goals to tie the game at 4-4 at the first intermission. 
 
Second Period
• The Lakers offensive hot streak continued where it left off in the first as they got the puck past goalie Chad Veltri just 1:29 into the second to take a 5-4 lead. The goal from Devon Daniels would be the eventual game-winner as Mercyhurst would not relinquish the lead. 
• Niagara had a pair of power-play opportunities in the second. However, the special teams unit failed to even the score at five-all.  
• The Purple Eagles outshot Mercyhurst 36-13 in the frame and won 14 of the period's 26 face-offs. 
 
Third Period
• The first-half of the final period saw little action from either side as both teams failed to convert on their power play opportunities early on.
• Mercyhurst would get its second power-play opportunity of the frame at the 8:45 mark. The Purple Eagles nearly killed the attempt to keep it a one-score game, however, with just 11 seconds remaining on the power play, the Lakers pushed one past Veltri to take a 6-4 lead.
• During a late power-play opportunity for Niagara, the Purple Eagles removed Veltri from between the pipes to get a sixth skater on the ice. The decision resulted in an empty-net goal for the Lakers, making the score 7-4. 
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
• Niagara's four goals in the first period were the the most in a single period of play this season for NU. It was the first time Niagara tallied four goals in a single period since its contest with Robert Morris in the regular-season finale last season.  
• Sommer became the first Purple Eagle to record a goal in back-to-back games this season. Sommer's three goals this season is the best on the team.
• Stenlund and Naumovski moved their season total assist numbers to three apiece, tying them for the team lead with redshirt-junior Croix Evingson. 
 
UP NEXT

• The Purple Eagles host crosstown rival Canisius on Tuesday, Dec. 22 at 2:00 p.m.

 
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