BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – The Niagara men's hockey team bounced back in a big way on Sunday afternoon, controlling play from start to finish in a 6-1 win at 20th-ranked Sacred Heart. The victory put the Purple Eagles in a tie for seventh place in the conference standings, and just three points back of a first round bye.
 
Game Recap

• Dylan Mills opened the scoring 13 minutes into the game. A long shot by Zac Herrman bounced off the Pioneers' goalie and found itself on Mills' stick, allowing the sophomore to lay in an easy wrist shot for his second goal of the season.

• Less than two minutes later, Eric Cooley added to the lead when he and Jack Billings successfully converted a 2-on-1 counterattack. Billings carried the puck in down the right wing and made a timely pass to Cooley in the slot, who beat the goalie glove side to make it 2-0.

• Mills made it 3-0 with 5:38 to play in the second. Cam Cook took a long shot from the point and Mills lifted his stick just a shade to redirect the puck on net.

• With 17 seconds left in the second period, Ben Sokay slid the puck over to Jared Brandt at the right faceoff dot. Brandt dragged the puck on his stick for a moment to get his defender out of position before threading his shot around his man, over the goalie's right shoulder and into the far upper corner of the net for the 4-0 lead.

• With 3:21 on the clock in the third period, the Pioneers emptied their net for a faceoff to the right of the Niagara net. Ryan Cox won the draw back to Jack Zielinski for the Purple Eagles. As soon as the faceoff was won, Jon Hill sprung up the middle of the ice to start a breakout play. From the back wall, Zielinski bounced the puck off the deep Sacred Heart defender and it fell to Hill, who raced passed the back line and cruised towards the open net to make it 5-0.

• Niagara's sixth goal of the day came on the power play with 1:12 left in regulation. Niagara won the ensuing faceoff and controlled the puck at the top of the zone. Scott Persson sent it to the wing for Cam Cook, who let go a long shot from the top of the circle. Cook's shot was blocked towards Nic Mucci, who took an off balance swipe at the puck and found the back of the net for his first goal of the season.

 
Beyond The Boxscore

• The victory was Niagara's first over a ranked opponent since February 27, 2015 when they defeated No. 20 Robert Morris at home, 2-1.
• The Purple Eagles beat a nationally ranked team on the road for the first time since a 2-1 win on October 29, 2011 at No. 16 Colgate.
• This was the second win for an NU team over a ranked opponent this weekend. Niagara baseball defeated No. 12 Florida State, 3-1, in their season opener on Friday night.
• Coming into today's game, Sacred Heart was second in the nation in goals per game (4.00).
• Niagara erupted for its first six-goal performance on over a year, when the Purple Eagles beat Mercyhurst by a 7-3 margin on January 18, 2019.
• With a goal and an assist, Brandt registered his first career multi-point game. He also blocked four shots on the back end.
• Cam Cook also recorded his first career multi-point game by collecting two assists.
• Sokay had two assists to earn his third multi-point game in his last four appearances. Since January 24, the senior has 11 points (5 G, 6 A) in the team's last eight games, and is tied for eighth in the country for points over that span.
• For Jack Billings, points come in pairs. The redshirt junior has recorded seven two-point outings since January 10 for a total of 14 points (5 G, 9 A). On the year, Billings has notched points in 11 games, garnering multiple points on nine of those occasions.
• Mills posted his first multi-goal game since November 15, 2018 at Canisius.
• Brandon Stanley provided the hit of the day with this truck stick in the second period:

 
Playoff Picture

• With 33 points on the year, Niagara is now tied with Air Force for seventh place in the Atlantic Hockey standings. With a 2-1-1-1 head-to-head record over the Purple Eagles this season, the Falcons hold the tiebreaker for the higher seed should these two teams finish in a tie at the end of the season.
• Niagara is three points back of Robert Morris, who currently holds the fifth position in the conference table. The Colonials will pay a visit to Dwyer Arena to close out the regular season on February 28-29.

 
Up Next

• The Purple Eagles will open up a home-and-home against RIT with a 7:05 p.m. puck drop on Friday, February 21. 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.

 

Stay connected with Niagara Hockey on Twitter and Instagram. Follow Niagara Athletics all year long on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and purpleeagles.com.