• The Purple Eagles will return to the ice for the first time since Jan. 10 when the team travels to Erie, Pa., for the first leg of a home-and-home series with Mercyhurst.
• Niagara enters the weekend 2-8-3 overall and 1-7-3 in Atlantic Hockey action. The Purple Eagles are 0-3-2 away from Dwyer Arena this season.
• The two programs have squared-off twice this season, resulting in a 0-1-1 record for the Purple Eagles.
• Niagara has scored seven goals against the Lakers this season, while allowing 10 goals against.
• In the last meeting on Dec. 18, the Lakers defeated the Purple Eagles by a final of 7-4.
Walker Sommer (2),
Jared Brandt, and
Jack Billings recorded the goals for Niagara.
• Through 18 games, Mercyhurst is 7-10-1 overall and 6-7-1 in conference play.
• The Lakers are led by Carson Briere and his 17 points on three goals and 14 assists. Five other Lakers have 10 or more points.
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Walker Sommer leads Niagara in goals and points with five and 12, respectively. Sommer has recorded a point in nine of 13 games played, including an eight-game point streak from Dec. 16 to Jan. 7.
• As a team, Niagara has the fifth-most assists in Atlantic Hockey this season with 64.
Ryan Naumovski has a team-high eight helpers, including two that he recorded the last time the Purple Eagles and Lakers played.
• St. Louis, Mo., native
Jared Brandt has five power-play points this season, tied for fourth-most in Atlantic Hockey this season.
• Brandt is also one of the league's best scoring defensemen as his nine total points ranks ninth among conference blueliners. Fellow defenseman
Croix Evingson sits 14th in the category with seven points.
• Between the pipes, Niagara is led by transfer
Michael Corson. The junior has a .907 save percentage and a goals-against average of 3.28.
• A total of 17 Purple Eagles have found the back of the net this season, with six recording three or more goals through the team's 13 games played.
•
Ryan Cox has won 113 faceoffs this season, ranking him 68th in all NCAA Division I men's ice hockey and 10th in Atlantic Hockey.
• Niagara comes into the weekend as one of the most penalized teams in the nation with a penalty minute per game average of 12.31.
