BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Purple Eagles (11-16-2, 10-9-2-2 AHA) defeated crosstown rival Canisius (13-12-3, 10-9-2-2), 4-1, at the HarborCenter on Friday night.

Game Recap
First Period

• Walker Sommer and Chris Harpur had early chances for the Purple Eagles, both taking shots in the first minute of play.
• Christian Gorscak and Carter Randklev followed that up with one shot each over the next minute and 15 seconds, but neither found its mark.
• Harpur and Jordan Wishman had two strong chances, but both shots were saved by the Canisius goaltender.
• Jon Hill, Harpur and Olivier Gauthier had chances, but none made it past the Griffs' goalie.
• A little under 17 and a half minutes into the period, the Griffs scored to take a 1-0 lead over the Purple Eagles.
• Ryan Naumovski, Ryan Cox and Jason Pineo created opportunities in the final minutes of the period, but NU trailed, 1-0, at the first intermission.

Second Period

• Jesse Pomeroy, Brandon Stanley and Harpur created opportunities for the Purple Eagles in the first seven minutes of the second period.
• Lars Rodne took back-to-back shots a little less than midway through the period, but one was blocked and one was saved.
• In the 18^th minute of the period, Sommer took three consecutive shots, but all three were saved.
• With a little under one minute to go, the Purple Eagles were on the power play for the first time. With just four seconds left on the clock, Cox put one in the net to tie the score, 1-1. He was assisted by Sommer and Mysak.

Third Period

• Cox struck again just 36 seconds into the third period, giving the Purple Eagles a 2-1 lead over the Griffs. Olivier Gauthier and Jordan Wishman earned the assists.
• Hill, Rodne, Randklev and Gauthier all had chances for NU, but none of their shots found its target.
• A little under 15 minutes into the period, NU was on the power play again. Harpur scored on the power play to extend the Purple Eagles' lead to two goals, 3-1.
• Harpur scored again in the final minute of the period, assisted by Niagara goaltender Chad Veltri, going coast-to-coast to score an empty-netter and ice Niagara's 4-1 Battle of the Bridge victory.

Eagle's Eye On

• The Purple Eagles held the advantage in shots on goal, 35-27, and in blocks, 11-7.
• Harpur led Niagara with a career-high seven shots on goal and recorded the third two-goal game of his career.
• Cox and Sommer each had four shots on goal.
• Pomeroy and Wishman led the team in blocks with two each.
• Veltri (10-7-1) made 26 saves and gave up just one goal.
• Niagara was 2-for-2 on the power play.
• The Purple Eagles won 32 of 56 face-offs.

Up Next

• The Purple Eagles host the Griffs at Dwyer Arena on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 7:00 p.m. The team will celebrate Senior Day prior to the start of the game.

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