Denver, CO—The Niagara hockey team played their first road game of 2024 as they traveled to Colorado to face the sixth ranked Denver Pioneers, Niagara fell 5-2 in the first game of the weekend.
First Period
The opening period saw a combined three goals along with 23 total shots on goal. Niagara held Denver out of the shot column for the first 4:53 of the game as Jarrett Fiske made his first save at the 15:07 mark.
At the 12:41 mark of the period, Niagara looked to play the puck to below the goal line but the puck hit two Niagara players and found the back of the net to give Denver a 1-0 lead.
The Purple Eagles responded with 3:23 remaining in the period as Carter Randklev led a rush out of the Niagara zone. Randklev found Luke Mylymok entering the Denver zone, L. Mylymok drove to the net and shoveled a one handed pass across the crease to Jonathan Ziskie who joined the rush. Ziskie fired it home for his first goal of the season to tie the game at one.
With 2:15 left in the opening stanza, Denver took the lead back on a two on one.
Shots after the first were 13-12 in favor of Denver.
Second Period
The Purple Eagles tied the game at two at the 8:59 mark of the second period. The trio of Connor Mylymok, Aron Jessli, and Johnny Wescoe forced a turnover on a Denver breakout. C. Mylymok sticked lifted a Pioneer and fired the puck towards the net. The shot was turned aside but Wescoe was on the doorstep and scored his second goal of the season.
Denver took the lead back at the 12:39 mark of the period as they scored on the power play.
Niagara went to the locker room trailing by just one despite being outshot 24-20 through two periods.
Third Period
The Purple Eagles looked to tie the game in the third period but could not complete a comeback as Denver scored a pair of goals at the 11:24 and 16:43 marks of the third.
Niagara had 11 shot attempts in the third period while they won eight faceoffs.
Niagara Notes
· Fiske made 28 saves in his 12th start of the season. He now has a .909 save percentage along with a 2.59 goals-against average in his first season with Niagara.
· The Purple Eagles had eight blocked shots with eight different Purple Eagles recording a block.
· Niagara won 26 faceoffs with Glebs Prohorenkovs winning a team high 10 faceoffs. Prohorenkovs won 55.6% of his faceoffs while Aron Jessli went 7-6 in the faceoff circle in his first collegiate game as a center.
· Christian Gorscak suited up as a defensemen for the first time in his collegiate career.
· Wescoe and Ziskie each scored their second career goals.
· Ziskie, Cole Mickel, Wescoe, and Jessli each had a team high three shots.
· Mickel and Shane Ott returned to their home state of Colorado. For Mickel it was his first collegiate game in Colorado. It was Ott's fifth game in his home state.
· 14 of Niagara's 24 shots on goal came in a high scoring area in front of the net.
· Both Mylymok brothers tallied a point, it is the third time this season that both brothers had at least one point in the same game.
Up Next
The Purple Eagles close out non-conference play tomorrow at 8 PM ET as they take on Denver to close out the weekend series.
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