Niagara men’s hockey prepares for Battle of the Bridge against Canisius

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

• The Purple Eagles and Golden Griffins will reignite their rivalry at HarborCenter on Thursday evening. Niagara is seeking its first regular season win at the facility since Canisius moved there in 2014.
• Niagara’s all-time record at HarborCenter is 1-9-1, and the Purple Eagles have been outscored 36-15 in those 11 games. The team’s lone win was a 3-2 victory in the first round of the 2016 Atlantic Hockey playoffs.
• The team’s last regular season win over Canisius came on February 8, 2014 at the Buffalo State Sports Arena. Niagara won that game, 4-2, to clinch the season series with a 2-0-1 record against the Griffs.
• In 50 total matchups dating back to 1996, the Griffs hold a 25-21-4 edge in head-to-head meetings. Entering the 2017-18 season, the record was split, 21-21-4, but Canisius swept all four games to take the series lead for the first time ever. Niagara went 20-10-3 against the Golden Griffins between 1996-2014 – including wins in each of the first three meetings – but has gone 1-15-1 against its crosstown rivals over the past four seasons.

• The Purple Eagles took three points from the Holy Cross Crusaders in their most recent series. Niagara’s offense had its best showing of the season in the 6-3 win on November 9 before coming back to earn a 3-3 draw the following night.
• Noah Delmas put up five points (1 G, 4 A) against the Crusaders for the most productive two-game series in his career. The blueliner had two assists and scored his second of the season in the team’s victory, then added a pair of helpers on both of Niagara’s third period goals to help the Purple Eagles tie the game late.
• Brian Wilson continues to pace Atlantic Hockey with some of its best goaltending numbers so far this season. His 2.12 goals-against average leads the conference and ranks 17th in the country. His .926 save percentage is tied for 15th nationally, and is level with RIT’s Logan Drackett for the best mark in the AHA.
• As a team, Niagara now ranks third in Division I with a .902 success rate on the penalty kill. Only #2 St. Cloud State and #18 Arizona State have better percentages than the Purple Eagles. Additionally, Niagara has been called for the second-fewest penalty minutes in the AHA (96). Only Air Force (94) has been whistled for less.

• The Griffs are in the midst of a stretch where they play four times in eight days. On November 10 they hosted Clarkson and won, 6-3. They are coming off a 2-0 loss to RIT yesterday, continuing a season-long trend of alternating wins and losses.
• Senior Dylan McLaughlin enters the series holding the team-highs in goals (7) and points (13). His six assists are tied for the most on the team with Jimmy Mazza, Grant Meyer and Matt Stief.
• McLaughlin and Cameron Heath were both recognized by Atlantic Hockey in the November 13 edition of its weekly awards. McLaughlin earned his second straight Player of the Week nod while Heath was named the Defensive Player of the Week for the first time this season.