NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y.  — Despite a 64-save effort from Pierce Charleson, Niagara was edged by Army in a double overtime thriller game one of the AHA Quarterfinals Friday at Dwyer.
 
How it Happened
Niagara (17-15-3) opened the scoring when Tyler Wallace converted a power-play goal at 11:12 of the first period, assisted by Jay Ahearn and Shane Ott.
 
After Army's Ben Ivey tied the game midway through the second period, Ahearn put the Purple Eagles back in front at 8:26 with his 17th goal of the season, assisted by Glebs Prohorenkovs and Trevor Hoskin.
 
Adam Marshall tied it for Army at 3:58 of the third period, setting up the marathon finish that extended through one scoreless overtime and deep into a second extra session.
 
Gadowsky's power-play winner, his 13th goal of the year, came with assists from Barron Woodring and Nils Forselius after Niagara's Tyler Wallace was penalized for tripping with less than 30 seconds left in the period.
 
JJ Cataldo made 48 saves for the Black Knights, while Pierce Charleson stopped 64 shots in a losing effort for Niagara.
 
Niagara Notes
• The Purple and White are 21-14-3 all-time against Army, including a 1-1 record in the AHA postseason.
• Niagara's last double OT game came against Robert Morris on March 13, 2021.
• Charleson's 64 saves are the most in a single game by a Purple Eagle, and second-most by a Atlantic Hockey America netminder in a postseason game.
• Charleson's 1,048 saves this season leads all NCAA goalies and is nine shy of the Niagara single-season program record held by Jeff Van Nynatten.
• Ott's assist gives the senior 99 points for his career.
 
Up Next
Niagara and Army will return to Dwyer Arena at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 8 for game two of it's best-of-three series.