Niagara (18-12-6, 9-5-6 CHA) jumped out to a 2-0 lead and held on for a road tie at Alabama-Huntsville (10-19-3, 7-11-2 CHA), Saturday, in the regular-season finale. The tie gives the Purple Eagles 24 conference points and clinches the Peters Trophy in back-to-back seasons.
Sophomore Vince Rocco gave Niagara a 1-0 lead with a rebound tally in the first period. The score continued his recent hot streak, as the forward has totaled 11 points in his last nine games after scoring 12 points in his first 27.
Freshman forward Chris Moran tied teammates Ted Cook and Les Reaney for first place on the school’s all-time rookie scoring list. His first-period assist gave him 40 points on the season.
Cook continued his power-play prowess with his 21st tally with the advantage in the second period. He becomes the first CHA member to lead the nation in regular-season goals and power-play markers.
UAH forwards Grant Selinger and Mike Salekin scored third-period goals to knot the score at 2-2 and send the game into overtime. Salekin’s game-tying goal came with six minutes remaining.
Sophomore Juliano Pagliero made 38 stops to improve his record to 14-10-3.
Niagara will face the winner of Alabama-Huntsville and Wayne State on March 10, in Des Moines, Iowa. Bemidji State earned the second seed and faces No. 3 Robert Morris in the other semifinal matchup.
