NIAGARA UNIV. — In the second game of a home-and-home series, the Purple Eagles hockey team was defeated 4-0 by the Mercyhurst Lakers at Dwyer Arena. Jackson Teichroeb made 36 saves in goal, and Niagara was held scoreless on four power-play chances while Mercyhurst went 2-for-9 with the man advantage.
After a wide-open contest Friday night in Erie, both teams came right out on the attack again Saturday at Dwyer Arena. The Purple Eagles launched five shots against Mercyhurst goaltender Brandon Wildung in the first two and a half minutes, but did not find the back of the net. The Lakers gained some ground after the first few minutes, and they found the first goal of the game 6:48 into the contest. Jackson Teichroeb made the initial stop against Mercyhurst’s Derek Barach, but the rebound was available in the slot for Jonathan Charbonneau, who beat Teichroeb to make it 1-0 Mercyhurst. Niagara was caught in a 5-on-3 penalty kill late in the first period, and Mercyhurst capitalized, as Taylor Best found the back of the net 12 seconds before the first intermission.
The Purple Eagles had a four-minute power play early in the second period with a chance to draw back within one goal, but Mercyhurst was able to kill the long penalty. The majority of the possession in the middle stanza went to Mercyhurst, which outshot Niagara 18-9. Stephen Hrehoriak put the Lakers up 3-0 with 4:51 left in the second period as Teichroeb turned away the other 17 shots. Early in the third period, Mercyhurst’s Jack Riley was called for charging after running into Teichroeb, who came out nearly to the Niagara blue line to break up a potential Mercyhurst breakaway. The Purple Eagles failed to convert on that power play, and fell into penalty trouble in the following minutes. Mercyhurst scored another 5-on-3 goal at the 10:08 mark from Les Lancaster to wrap up the scoring at 4-0. Niagara was unable to find the back of the net against Wildung, who made 26 saves for the shutout.
Niagara now prepares for the second of four games in this season’s Battle of the Bridge. The Purple Eagles and Golden Griffins square off at Dwyer Arena on Tuesday night, Jan. 31 at 7:05 p.m.
from PurpleEagles.com via IFTTT
