Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Niagara
Short-Handed Goal Lifts Niagara Past Army
January 14, 2012 | Hockey
Jan. 14, 2012
NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, N.Y. - Niagara scored a second-period short-handed goal and went on to beat Army, 3-0, Saturday night in an Atlantic Hockey Association match up at Dwyer Arena.
The Purples Eagles won their second straight game and improved to 7-8-7 overall and continued its climb up the conference standings at 6-4-5.
Army’s Rob Tadazak made 33 saves but the Black Knights fell to 2-13-6 overall and 1-11-4 in league contests.
Chris Noonan made 29 saves to record the shutout.
Army relied on its penalty kill unit early in the game when the Black Knights were whistled for boarding and roughing the goalie.
The Black Knights had their first power play chance of the game later in the period and Marcel Alvarez hit the post during one of the scoring chances.
Army out-shot Niagara 13-12 but both goalie were solid in the first 20 minutes
Niagara had a few opportunities early in the second period, including when Tadazak came out of the net but Bill Day, playing forward Saturday night, made two saves with his body to keep it scoreless.
The Purple Eagles scored the games’ first goal, short-handed with less than five minutes remaining in the second period. With a Niagara player in the penalty box for slashing, Marc Zanette forced a turnover and then scored his eighth goal of the season, unassisted.
Tadazak made a sprawling save during a 2-on-1 Niagara opportunity during the same power play to keep it a 1-0 game after two periods.
Niagara extended its lead to 2-0 four minutes into the second period as Scott Arnold blasted in his eighth goal of the season past what appeared to be a screened Tadazak.
The Purples Eagles used their timeout and then scored their third goal with 4:24 left to play as Clark MacLean notched his first goal of the season.
Army had a short power play and continued to fire shots on net but was shut-out for the third time this season.
Army will return to Tate Rink and host service academy rival Air Force Jan. 20 and 21 at Tate Rink. Friday’s game will be broadcast live by CBS Sports Network and will face-off at 7:30 p.m. with Saturday’s contest set for 7:05 p.m. Both games are sold out.
GAME NOTES: Army’s starting lineup consisted of Danny Colvin, Mike Hull and Andy Starczewski with Marcel and Maurice Alvarez on defense … Rob Tadazak made his eighth career start in net … Head coach Brian Riley opted to use 13 forwards and five defensemen … The fourth line included Alex McRae, Jack Barnes, Pat Ryan and Bill Day … A host of players took advantage of the close proximity of Niagara Falls and braved the cold and snow for a look at the Falls.
NIAGARA 3, ARMY 0
ARMY 0-0-0—0
NIAGARA 0-1-2—3
First Period:
None.
Second Period:
NIAGARA – Zanette (unassisted), SH, 15:26
Third Period:
NIAGARA – Arnold (Iuorio), 3:08
NIAGARA – MacLean (Benedict, Martini), 15:36
Shots: Army 29 (13-9-7); Niagara 36 (12-15-9)
Saves: Army 33 (Tadazak, 60:00, 12-14-7); Niagara 29 (Noonan, 60:00, 13-9-7)
Power Plays: Army, 0-4; Niagara, 0-4
Penalties: Army, 4-8; Niagara, 4-8
Attendance: 931
