ERIE, Pa. — The Purple Eagles hockey team starts the second half of a stretch of six games in 12 days Friday with when it takes to the ice against the Mercyhurst Lakers in the first part of a home-and-home series with the Lakers.
The Purple Eagles and Lakers face off agan at Dwyer Arena on Saturday night, as Niagara and Mercyhurst play the fourth and final game of the season series starting at 7:05 p.m.
Saturday’s game at Dwyer Arena is set to be broadcast regionally on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel (Ch. 52/323) with Kevin Sylvester and Randy Schultz on the call. Paul Hamilton has the radio play-by-play on 1340 AM WLVL both Friday night in Erie and Saturday night at Niagara. Live streams of both games are available for purchase through AtlanticHockey.tv.
The Purple Eagles have adjusted their offense to generate a higher number of shots on goal per game. Before Jan. 1, Niagara ranked 58th in the NCAA with 24.2 shots on goal per game. Since the turn of the new year, however, the Purple Eagles are fourth in Atlantic Hockey and 17th in the NCAA with 33.3 shots per game. Niagara is averaging 38 shots per game in its last five outings. The Purple Eagles tallied their two highest single-game shot totals at home against AIC last weekend, setting a season-high with 45 on Jan. 20 before adding 42 on Jan. 21. The team’s 38 shots per game since Jan. 13 is tops in Atlantic Hockey and FIFTH in the NCAA in that time. Niagara has been generating many of these shots on the power play, as the Purple Eagles are fourth in the NCAA with five power plays per game in that time.
Six of Niagara’s last 10 games against Mercyhurst have either ended in a tie or been decided by one goal. That includes all four games from last season and five of the last six, counting Niagara’s 5-4 win back in November. In the 2015-16 season, Mercyhurst picked up a pair of 3-2 wins on Jan. 8 and 9, 2016 before the two teams settled for consecutive 2-2 ties on Feb. 12 and 13, 2016.
The Niagara power play is 19-for-133 (14.3 percent) on the season, including a mark of 11-for-57 (19.3 percent) on home ice. The Purple Eagles have scored a power-play goal in five straight games, the longest such streak this season. Nicolas Carrier has a point on three of Niagara’s five power-play goals in the last five games, scoring twice and adding an assist. Johnny Curran (3+2), Noah Delmas (0+5), Nick Farmer (1+4), and Kris Spriggs (2+3) are tied for the team lead with five power-play points in the 2016-17 campaign. No Niagara player had more than four power-play points in the 2015-16 season. After scoring 12 power-play goals in 37 games last season, Niagara scored 14 in 18 games during the first half of the 2016-17 campaign.
Niagara and Mercyhurst return to Dwyer Arena on Saturday night after opening the weekend in Erie on Friday. The Lakers won the first game in the season series 4-2 at the Mercyhurst Ice Center on Oct. 18, 2016. The Purple Eagles came back and leveled the season series with a 5-4 home win on Nov. 15, 2016. Niagara holds a 12-11-4 lead in 27 all-time games against Mercyhurst. The Purple Eagles’ November win over Mercyhurst was the team’s first since Feb. 23, 2013. Last weekend, Mercyhurst wrapped up a four-game road trip with a pair of 3-3 ties against the Holy Cross Crusaders. Before that, the Lakers earned a split at Army the previous weekend. Sophomore Derek Barach leads the Lakers in assists (17) and points (21), while junior Jonathan Charbonneau has a team-high 12 goals. Sophomore Les Lancaster ranks second among all Atlantic Hockey defensemen with 17 points (4+13). Freshman Colin DeAugustine leads the way in goal for Mercyhurst. He is 5-5-2 with a 2.80 goals-against average and .918 save percentage. Junior Brandon Wildung is 4-8-1 with a 3.34 goals-against average and .905 save percentage.
from PurpleEagles.com via IFTTT
