NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – For the second straight night, the Niagara men's hockey team put up a four-spot in the second period to defeat Robert Morris. The Purple Eagles took the game by a 5-2 score after a special Senior Night ceremony that honored the program's six outgoing players.
The win – combined with an Air Force loss at RIT – vaulted Niagara past both the Colonials and Falcons to give them the fifth seed in the Atlantic Hockey playoffs. The Purple Eagles will travel to Army West Point on March 13-15 for the AHA quarterfinals following their first round bye.
Game Recap
- The Colonials came into the second period up 1-0 despite 15 first period saves by Chad Veltri.
- 8:14 into the second, Niagara tied the game on the power play. The Purple Eagles worked the puck around the zone and over to Jared Brandt on the right circle. Brandt took the wrister and muscled it home to make it 1-1.
- 15 seconds later, Niagara made another dent in the scoresheet. Eric Cooley whacked at the puck in front, and the rebound jumped right to Ben Sokay, who did a 180 and guided the puck into the cage to give the Purple Eagles the lead.
- On another power play, Ryan Naumovski capitalized to put Niagara up by two. Jack Billings worked the puck free from the boards and got it to Brandt as he skated into the Robert Morris zone. With daylight ahead of him, Brandt saw Naumovski at the side of the net and dished the puck over. Naumovski made no mistake, lofting it up and in for his fourth of the year.
- With Robert Morris on their fourth penalty kill of the stanza, Jack Billings continued to pile on, this time producing a goal of his own. From the top of the offensive zone, Delmas laced a long shot towards the net. Sokay, who was parked in front in an attempt to screen the Colonials' goalie, was able to redirect the puck perfectly through the netminder's five-hole to make it 4-1.
- An early goal in the third by Robert Morris tightened the margin to 4-2 and remained that way for nearly 15 minutes. With 3:16 left in regulation, Jack Zielinski recovered the puck behind Niagara's net, and heaved it the length of the ice and into the open net to ice the game.
Stat Spotlight
- With the primary assist on Billings' goal, Delmas notched his 100th career point. The senior captain is the first Niagara defenseman to reach the plateau.
- Billings' four-point night (1 G, 3 A) ties his career high, and sets a new best in a Niagara uniform. The last time Billings posted four points in a game came when he was at Salve Regina and put up four on Johnson & Wales.
- Billings also matched a career best with his three assists. The third assist was the 100th point of his career.
- Zielinski's empty-netter was his first goal of the year.
Up Next
- A best-of-three series in West Point awaits the Purple Eagles. They will take on the Black Knights on March 13-15. Game one will be at 7 p.m., game two will be at 4 p.m., and if necessary, game three will also be at 4 p.m.
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