Fast offensive start propels Niagara over Mount St. Mary’s

Niagara’s offense opened the game on a tear, as the Purple Eagles scored on three of their first five shots to take a 3-0 lead just five minutes in to the game. Caroline Crump set up Jillian Ford for the game’s first goal 1:26 in. Rachel MacCheyne doubled the lead 41 seconds later with the first of her five goals, and Ford set up Grace Hunt for the 3-0 score at the 25:19 mark. After a pair of Mountaineers goals cut the lead to two, Samantha Brill converted on a free-position chance to start a four-goal run for the Purple Eagles. MacCheyne scored a pair of goals just under a minute apart, and Hunt set up Crump to make it 7-2 just 13 minutes into the contest. Mount St. Mary’s outscored Niagara 3-1 the rest of the way through the first period, bringing the score to 8-5 Niagara at the half. Hunt picked up her second assist of the afternoon to set up Brill’s second goal at the 15:03 mark.

The Purple Eagles and Mountaineers traded two-goal runs throughout the vast majority of the second period. Alexis Morales opened the second period scoring before Crump’s second goal of the day made it 10-5 Niagara. After Sammie Knapp scored two goals separated by 1:13, Niagara held strong on defense over the next eight minutes, as MacCheyne scored twice in a row, bringing the score to 12-7 Niagara with 9:26 to play. Mount St. Mary’s outscored Niagara 4-3 down the stretch, but the Purple Eagles’ lead was large enough to hold up for the victory. Morales tallied a point on each of Niagara’s three goals in that span, assisting on goals by Ford and Hunt and scoring one of her own at the 6:20 mark.

The Purple Eagles head to Florida for a pair of road games next week, facing the Jacksonville Dolphins at 3 p.m. on March 8 and the Stetson Hatters at 4 p.m. on March 10.