LEWISTON — As a courtesy to the media, college hockey teams provide line sheets that give pertinent stats and body dimensions of each of their program’s pairings.
No. 14 Clarkson was no different when it came to Dwyer Arena on Saturday, only there was a subtle difference in the Golden Knights’ chart — NHL logos next to the seven players the program has had selected in the NHL Draft.
“We noticed that,” Niagara coach Dave Burkholder said after Saturday’s meeting with Clarkson. “Someday, we’ll have NHL stickers on our ledger too.”
For now, the Purple Eagles will have to be content with a huge non-league over those seven NHL draftees — Niagara’s first of the season. Brian Haczyk was rewarded for a gritty performance with a rebound goal that proved the difference as the Purple Eagles dropped Clarkson, 4-3, in front of 1,573 fans on Friday.
Maybe it took a ranked opponent with NHL talent to finally get the Eagles’ attention because Burkholder’s team played like the one that was getting votes on the USCHO.com preseason poll early on, outshooting the visitors 17-8 in the first period.
“We needed an effort like that,” Burkholder said. “We had a meeting and everyone was disappointed with Friday’s effort (a 5-1 loss to St. Lawrence). There’s no magic to it. If you outwork a team, you’re usually rewarded.”
Haczyk certainly was proof. Although he’d yet to score, the sophomore was the team’s best player through 40 minutes, pairing with center Brian Dowd and Paul Zanette on a line that has wreaked havoc since being formed last weekend.
“I feel like there’s just excellent chemistry between us,” said Haczyk, who had five goals in 40 games last season.
And the second line wasn’t the only one buzzing. The fourth line of Armando Scarlato, Ryan Olidis and Sam Goodwin drew some important penalties, and the third line got the Purple Eagles first goal as Dan Baco lit the lamp to get the hosts even after Lauri Tuohimaa scored for Clarkson just 81 seconds in to the contest.
Dowd and Vince Rocco also scored for Niagara, which improved to 1-2-1 on the season.
As for Haczyk, his game winner came with less than nine minutes remaining as he followed Dowd in the offensive zone. Dowd got a weak shot on Paul Karpowich, but the freshman goalie kicked it to Haczyk’s side. The New Jersey native scooped up the puck and backhanded it into an empty net for the game-winner.
“His speed is overwhelming at times,” Burkholder said of Haczyk. “He makes us a faster team.”
NOTES: Juliano Pagliero made 26 saves in the win, although he seemed to be fighting the puck for the majority of the contest. ... David Ross, who played in 32 games as a freshman last year, was a healthy scratch. ... The contest got chippy at times with Clarkson taking a total of 47 penalty minutes and Niagara getting 23. Clarkson scored once in six power-play attempts while Niagara coach scored twice in eight tries. ... Niagara’s next game is Thursday at No. 2 Michigan.
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