MEN'S HOCKEY: Eagles hope to stay on roll

Niagara U.

November 24, 2009

By Tim Schmitt The Niagara Gazette Tue Nov 24, 2009, 10:54 PM EST

If last Wednesday’s win over RPI was redemption for some of the Niagara University men’s hockey team, tonight’s College Hockey America matchup against Robert Morris can be the beginning of a legitimate streak.

Case in point — goalie Adam Avramenko helped Niagara (1-8-2) close out the victory, his first win in seven games.

“We’ve been tough on him,” Niagara coach Dave Burkholder said of his treatment of the junior goalie. “I let him have it in the paper after one game. I let him have it in front of the team (after Robert Morris), and for him to respond like this was big. He’s shown it in spurts this year. But that was a big win for Adam.”

Then there’s freshman Brent Vandenberg, who scored in his first game, but was a healthy scratch twice this season. He got one crack with the team’s top line against RPI after a long shift by Egor Mironov. Filling in, Vandenberg drove the net and scored the game’s first goal. He later added another.

So have the Purple Eagles, who were getting votes for the USCHO.com poll before failing to get a win in their first 10 starts, ready to get on a roll?

It’s possible. Niagara has played Robert Morris tough in recent years, and has a win and three ties in their last four starts in Pittsburgh.

And most important, the Purple Eagles finally figured out how to finish a contest, something that plagued the squad during early games against Colgate, Clarkson, St. Lawrence and Cornell.

“We put a pretty good exclamation on it,” Burkholder said of the win over RPI. “We’ve been a little tentative in the third and playing with the lead hasn’t been our strength, but the third was probably our best.”

As for the Colonials, tonight’s matchup can keep them cemented in the conference’s second place, trailing only No. 6-ranked Bemidji State.

Contact sports editor Tim Schmitt at 282-2311, ext. 2266.

GAME NIGHT

Niagara at Robert Morris

• WHAT: Men’s College Hockey

• WHEN: 7 p.m.

• WHERE: Island Sports Center

• RADIO: 1440-AM

• NOTES: Niagara is unbeaten in its last two starts, a tie against Robert Morris and a win over RPI. ... The Purple Eagles haven’t lost in their four trips to Robert Morris, but have managed just one win and three ties. ... Freshman Brent Vandenberg has five points in his last three games, including two goals in win over RPI.

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