Worcester, Mass.—The Niagara hockey team fell 4-1 in the second game of a weekend series against Holy Cross on Saturday evening.

First Period

The first period was filled with shots as the two teams combined for 25 shots with Niagara having 10 shots.

At the 12:41 mark of the opening period, Holy Cross got on the board to take a 1-0 lead.

After the opening period, Niagara trailed 1-0 despite being 2-2 on the penalty kill and allowing just three shots on the penalty kill.

Second Period

Niagara got on the board at the 5:20 mark of the second period. Niagara broke out of their zone with Jay Ahearn getting the puck to Noah Hackett as they entered the Holy Cross zone. Hackett took a wrist shot that produced a rebound in front of the net. The puck was chipped back into the slot to find Tyler Wallace streaking in for a one timer with the Holy Cross goalie of out position. Wallace scored his fifth goal of the season and his fifth in the last six games. Ahearn picked up his seventh assist while Hackett tallied his fourth assist.

Holy Cross took the lead back at the 7:29 mark and then made it a two-goal game while on the power play at the 16:02 mark.

The Purple Eagles could not respond in the late stages of the period and headed to the locker room down 3-1.

Third Period

Despite having sustained pressure as points in the third period along with multiple scoring chances Niagara could not make a dent in the Holy Cross lead in the third period.

Holy Cross made it a 4-1 lead at the 16:02 mark of the third as they scored an empty net goal.

Niagara went 14-6 in the faceoff circle in the third period.

Niagara Notes

·       Jarrett Fiske made 33 saves in the loss; it is his second 30+ save game of the season. Fiske had a .917 save percentage and a 2.48 goals-against average against Holy Cross.

·       Ahearn now has a three-game point streak while having a goal and two assists.

·       Ahearn, Wallace, and Noah Carlin all had two-point weekends for the Purple Eagles.

·       The Purple Eagles blocked 15 shots with Luke Mylymok blocking game high four shots. In total nine Purple Eagles blocked a shot.

·       Niagara won 34 faceoffs for 54% in the game. Glebs Prohorenkovs went 13-6 for a 68.4 winning percentage. He finished the weekend with 24 wins and just 11 losses.

·       Niagara killed off five of six Holy Cross power plays.

·       The Purple Eagles are 5-5-1 in conference play this season and have 15 points.

Up Next

The Purple Eagles close out a six-game road trip on Thursday as they face Robert Morris at 7 PM before closing out the season series with the Colonials on Saturday at Dwyer Arena. On Saturday, Niagara will honor its 2003-04 CHA Championship team and have a teddy bear toss in collaboration with Oishei Children's Hospital and Make-A-Wish.

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