NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. - The Niagara men's hockey team (7-3-0, 2-2-0) now officially has gone unbeaten at home for 21 games, a streak that spans over three seasons. With a 4-2 win over Sacred Heart, Niagara now has the longest home-unbeaten streak in the last 23 years.
Finding themselves down by a goal midway through the first period, the Purple Eagles fell into a 5-3 power play situation, using this opportunity, sophomore Chris Moran (Buffalo, N.Y.) drove his shot to the back of the net tieing the game for Niagara sending them into the first intermission.
Letting a goal slip behind them in the second period, Scott Langdon (Ancaster, Ont.) stepped up off a pass from Vince Rocco (Woodbridge, Ont.) tieing the game at two with about two minutes into the third period. For most of the final period the score remained tied until Les Reaney (Ceylon, Sask.) found a pass from Ted Cook (Hogansburg, N.Y.) and Langdon at the top of the circles, beating Sacred Heart goalie Stefan Drew high on his glove side, recording the game winner for the Purple Eagles.
Pulling their goalie late in the third period, Sacred Heart was able to put an extra attacker on the ice, although Kyle Roges (Erie, Pa.) used this to his advantage scoring an empty net goal as the icing on the cake.
By winning tonight, Niagara is tied for the sixth longest home-unbeaten streak in the history of NCAA Division I hockey. The Purple Eagles sit even with Lake Superior State going unbeaten for 21 games from Nov. 4, 1972 to Jan. 3, 1973. Also on the home-unbeaten list is Cornell, going unbeaten for 63 home games and RPI with 26 games. All three pervious teams went on to win the national championship of that year.
Between the pipes, Sacred Heart goalie Drew made 25 saves while Niagara goaltender Juliano Pagliero (Dalroy, Alb.) stopped 29 shots and the win, advancing his record to 6-2-0.
