SCHENECTADY – Playing their third road game in five days, the Purple Eagles hockey team suffered a 5-2 setback against the Union Dutchmen Saturday afternoon at Messa Rink. Derek Brown (1+1), Kris Spriggs (1+1), and Stephen Pietrobon (0+2) paired up on a forward line and all three tallied two points. Guillaume Therien made his first start of the season between the pipes. After giving up three first-period goals, he stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced the rest of the way as Niagara mounted a late comeback attempt, finishing the night with a career-high 43 saves.
Guillaume Therien made his first start of the season between the pipes. After giving up three first-period goals, he stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced the rest of the way as Niagara mounted a late comeback attempt, finishing the night with a career-high 43 saves.
Niagara and Union held pace with each other for the early moments of the game. Both sides gained early power-play opportunities, with Niagara getting three shots on their first man advantage of the night. Just past the midway point of the first period, Union’s Mike Vecchione scored back-to-back goals 29 seconds apart to open up a 2-0 Union lead. Union’s Jake Kupsky robbed Sean King on a 2-on-1 chance with two minutes left in the period. The Dutchmen came back and extended their lead to three, as Guillaume Therien turned away Vecchione’s initial shot, but Sebastian Vidmar buried the rebound. Union held the 3-0 lead through to the second intermission. The Purple Eagles had four power-play chances in the middle stanza, but could not score on any of them.
Niagara found its first goal of the contest at the 4:50 mark of the third period. A pass from Derek Brown got bounced up high in the Union zone, and Kris Spriggs gloved it back down to the ice. Spriggs drove through two Union defenders and beat Kupsky to make it 3-1. Midway through the period, Therien made six saves on a Union power play to keep Niagara within two. He finished with 17 third-period saves. With five minutes to go, Niagara failed to cash in on a power play after a penalty to Union’s Vecchione. Out of the box, Vecchione took a breakout pass to go in all alone on Therien, and his deke move made it 4-1 Union late in the game. Not to be denied, Niagara brought the score back to 4-2. After Stephen Pietrobon and Spriggs took cracks at a loose puck in front of the net, Derek Brown buried the rebound, bringing the score to 4-2 with 2:51 to play. An empty-net goal in the final 10 seconds by Vecchione made it a 5-2 final for Union.
The Purple Eagles return to Dwyer Arena next weekend, hosting the No. 19 Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday and Oct. 29. Both games will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster, by phone at (716) 286-TIXX (8499), or in person at the Dwyer Arena box office.
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