NIAGARA UNIV. — The Purple Eagles hockey team is back at Dwyer Arena this weekend for a two-game series against the Bentley Falcons. Niagara opens a four-game home stand at 7:05 p.m. Friday as the Purple Eagles face off with the Falcons at 7:05 p.m. The weekend series concludes with a 3:05 p.m. matchup on Saturday.
Friday night’s contest will be regionally televised live on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (Ch. 52/323), the first of four home games this month to be aired on the channel. The game will also be replayed on Sunday, Jan. 15 at 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. Sal Capaccio will handle the play-by-play duties alongside Sean O’Connell. Saturday’s game will be televised locally by LCTV.
Both games can also be heard live on 1340 AM WLVL and streamed live on AtlanticHockey.tv. Jeremy White will have the radio play-by-play on Friday night, while Paul Hamilton has the call on Saturday.
Niagara battled hard against the Holy Cross Crusaders in two games at the Hart Center in Worcester, Mass. last weekend. The Crusaders came out on top in both contests as Niagara lost by scores of 3-1 and 2-1. Freshmen Caleb Boman and Christian Cakebread scored the first goals of their collegiate careers over the weekend. Guillaume Therien started Friday night and made 32 saves on 35 shots in the loss. Joe O’Brien took over in goal on Saturday and made 30 saves on 32 shots as Niagara gained an early lead on a goal by Cakebread but ended up falling 2-1. Johnny Curran provided the primary assist on both of Niagara’s goals in the weekend series.
Sophomore forward Johnny Curran leads Niagara in scoring over the team’s past 10 games, tallying six points (2+4) in that time. Curran registered an assist in both of Niagara’s games at Holy Cross last weekend, and he has four assists in his last six appearances. A native of nearby Niagara Falls, Ontario, Curran has a team-high two games with multiple goals this season. He scored twice, including the game-tying goal, in a 3-3 tie at RPI on Oct. 22, 2016, and he also tallied two goals in Niagara’s 4-0 win at Sacred Heart on Nov. 19, 2016. Curran also leads Niagara with three power-play goals in the 2016-17 campaign.
Sophomore goaltenders Guillaume Therien and Joe O’Brien have combined for four strong performances in goal over Niagara’s last four games. Therien, who played both games for Niagara at Air Force on Dec. 9 and 10, 2016 as well as last Friday’s game at Holy Cross, made 100 saves and accumulated a .917 save percentage in those three games. Last Saturday, O’Brien made his first start since Nov. 4, 2016, when he made a career-high 46 saves in a loss at nationally-ranked Penn State. He stopped 30 of 32 shots (.938 save percentage) in a 2-1 loss at Holy Cross last weekend.
Bentley comes to Monteagle Ridge for a matchup with the Purple Eagles after taking three of four points last weekend in a two-game series with the Army Black Knights. Army and Bentley faced off outside at Fenway Park in Boston to open up the annual Frozen Fenway outdoor series on Thursday, Jan. 5. The Falcons emerged victorious by a 3-1 score. The two teams then headed back to West Point to conclude the series, where an offensive shootout ended in a 5-5 tie on Jan. 6. Niagara leads the all-time series against Bentley with a record of 7-2-3 in 12 games. The two teams split a pair of games at Dwyer Arena last season. Niagara opened the weekend series with a 6-3 victory on Dec. 3, 2015, their most goals scored in a game last season. Bentley closed the weekend with a 3-1 victory the following night. Max French leads the Falcons and ranks fifth in Atlantic Hockey in scoring this season with 21 points (8+13). Bentley freshman defenseman Brent Orr was named the Travel Team USA Defensive Player of the Week by Atlantic Hockey on Tuesday.
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