NIAGARA UNIVERSITY MEN'S HOCKEY
Niagara Purple Eagles (8-16-4, 8-10-4-2 Atlantic Hockey) at Sacred Heart Pioneers (18-9-2, 15-7-1-0 Atlantic Hockey)
GAME 29	Saturday, February 15 | 1:05 PM
GAME 30	Sunday, February 16 | 1:05 PM
LIVE VIDEO	flohockey.tv
LIVE AUDIO	PurpleEagles.com
RADIO	1340 AM / 105.3 FM WLVL
GAME NOTES	Niagara | Sacred Heart
LIVE STATS	Sidearm Stats

After taking a big step towards earning a home playoff series, the Niagara men's hockey team travels to Sacred Heart for a pair of games against the conference's second-place squad.

Matchup Preview

• This is the second series of the season between the Pioneers and Purple Eagles. Sacred Heart won each of the previous two meetings on October 25-26 in Dwyer Arena.
• This road trip marks the first time Niagara will play a road game at Sacred Heart since October 27-28, 2017. Niagara swept that weekend by 3-2 and 6-3 scores, respectively.
• Between 2014 and 2017, the Purple Eagles played 10 games against the Pioneers, all on the road. Niagara went 4-5-1-0 in those 10 meetings.
• The Purple Eagles are 13-11-2-0 all-time against the Pioneers, and 7-5-2-0 all-time when Sacred Heart is the host school.

 
Playoff Picture

• Niagara enters the weekend in eighth place in the conference (30 points).
• The Pioneers (46 points) are second 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.
• All six of Niagara's remaining 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 five points back of fifth-place Bentley with two games in hand.

 
Niagara Notes

• In their last time out, the Purple Eagles swept Mercyhurst in a home-and-home on February 7-8. The wins over the Lakers gave Niagara the first-ever four-game season sweep of their I-90 rivals.
• Aiding the Purple Eagles to the sweep were three players who earned Atlantic Hockey weekly awards: Chris Harpur, Ben Sokay, and Chad Veltri.
• Harpur was named the Defensive Player of the Week after proving to be a two-way threat for the Purple Eagles. On Friday, Harpur registered two blocked shots in a 3-0 home win. The next night, the junior blocked three shots, and added two goals (one shorthanded, 3-on-6) in a 4-2 road victory. On the weekend, Harpur was plus-3 with six shots on goal, and earned the first multi-goal game of his career.
• Sokay – the conference's Player of the Week – posted four points (2 G, 2 A) on the weekend. Friday saw Sokay net his seventh goal of the year midway through the third period to pad Niagara's lead to 2-0. The next night, the senior scored a nifty goal early in the second to put the Purple Eagles up by two again. This weekend marked the first time Sokay has ever posted back-to-back multi-point games.
• Veltri continued his impressive run as of late to be earn AHA Goalie of the Week honours. On home ice, Veltri stopped all 16 shots faced to earn his first career shutout in a 3-0 win. On Saturday, the freshman made 34 saves in a 4-2 road win to give Niagara its fourth victory of the season against the Lakers. It was Veltri's second series sweep in three weeks.

Scouting The Pioneers

• Sacred Heart was defeated by AIC on Tuesday night by a 6-2 score. Both teams came into the contest tied for the league lead with 46 points. The Pioneers are 2-2-1-0 in their last five conference games, but won the inaugural Connecticut Ice Tournament with victories over Yale and No. 17 Quinnipiac on January 25-26.
• Sacred Heart boasts five of the top seven scorers in Atlantic Hockey this season. Mike Lee's 31 points (4 G, 27 A) are tops in the league, while Jason Cotton (2nd - 29 P), Matt Tugnutt (t-4th – 27 P), Austin McIlmurray (t-6th – 26 P), and Braeden Tuck (t-6th – 26 P) round out the list.
• Lee also ranks first in the AHA in several other categories, including plus-minus (plus-22), points per game (1.11), assists, and power play points (20).
• As a team, the Pioneers have the second-highest scoring team in the country (3.93 goals per game). They also rank 10th nationally in shots on goal per game (32.24).
• In net, Josh Benson leads the league in minutes (1704:30) and wins (18). On the year, he has a 2.46 goals-against average and a save percentage of .904.

 
Milestone Watch
Player............. Needs........ To Reach............... Note (if applicable)                                          
Noah Delmas.... 1 goal......... 21 career goals....... Would pass Chris Mackenzie for most-ever by Niagara defenseman
Noah Delmas.... 1 assist....... 77 career assists..... Would tie Chris Mackenzie for most ever by Niagara defenseman
Noah Delmas.... 1 point....... 97 career points..... Would tie Chris Mackenzie for most-ever by Niagara defenseman
Noah Delmas.... 8 games..... 148 career games... Would become Niagara's all-time leader in appearances
 
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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