Air Force Academy
Niagara
Niagara Defeats Air Force, 4-1
2/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Hockey
Feb. 20, 2004
Niagara defeated Air Force, 4-1, Saturday night in a College Hockey American game at Dwyer Arena in Niagara, N.Y. The victory is the sixth consecutive for the Purple Eagles over Air Force and the seventh in the last eight games.
The first line of senior left wing Joe Tallari, junior center Barret Ehgoetz and sophomore right wing Justin Cross did the damage for the Purple Eagles. Cross scored a pair of goals and had an assist while Tallari scored a goal and had two assists. Ehgoetz chipped in with two assists.
"There a great line and we're having a difficult time handling them. They show up all over the statistics sheet," Air Force head coach Frank Serratore said. "Niagara has very good team speed and depth. They are very good defensively and never let us get to the net."
The Purple Eagles got their offense on track in the second period when senior winger Chris Welch scored a goal at the 2:01 mark on a pass from Sean Bentivoglio. Cross added his first goal just three minutes and 17 seconds later to give Niagara a 2-0 lead. The goal was assisted by Tallari and Ehgoetz.
After being out-shot 12-5 in the first period, the Air Force offense picked up the pace in the second stanza. The Falcons recorded 15 shots compared to 14 to Nigara, but never seriously challenged for a goal. Freshman Billy Devoney led the way with three shots while senior Spanky Leonard added two.
Air Force got on the board early in the third period and cut the lead to 2-1 when center Tom Starkey scored a power play goal at the 2:10 mark. The goal is the fifth of the year for Starkey and was assisted by Seth Pelletier and Brooks Turnquist.
Air Force's momentum was short-lived, however, as Niagara answered with a power play goal from Tallari just four minutes and 17 seconds later. Ehgoetz and Cross added assists on the goal to kick the Purple Eagles' lead back to a pair of goals, 3-1. Cross added his second goal of the game at the 9:33 mark to make up the final margin. Tallari and Ehgoetz assisted on the score.
The Falcons' power play, which has struggled all year, continued to have its problems. The Falcons were just one of eight in the game and have now scored just twice in their last 24 chances over the last four games. Air Force was unable to take advantage of five power play chances in the first two periods before finally breaking through in the third period.
Air Force falls to 12-17-2 overall and 4-10-1 in the CHA with the loss. Niagara improves to 17-11-3 overall and remains in second place in CHA play with a 12-3-0 mark. The teams play again Saturday night at 5:05 MST. The game will be broadcast on KBZC AM 1300 in Colorado Springs.
