NU hockey downs Mercyhurst

Niagara Gazette, Niagara Falls, N.Y.
·3 min read

Mar. 9—Walker Sommer came through in the clutch for No. 3 Niagara University hockey, as he netted the game-winning goal in the Purple Eagles' 3-2 comeback win over No. 2 Mercyhurst Monday. NU (5-10-3, 3-9-3-1 Atlantic Hockey Association) now advances to the AHA quarterfinals, where the Purple Eagles and No. 1 Robert Morris will faceoff in a best-of-three series.

The Lakers (8-12-1, 7-8-1-2 AHA) started out on the right note, taking advantage of a bounce of the puck in the first period, as Josh McDougall scored off of assists from Brendan Schneider and Geoff Kitt. Despite taking 22 shots in the period, the Purple Eagles were unable to score.

Mercyhurst would then go up 2-0 in the second once Carson Briere guided his shot after it was redirected, and got the feed from Dante Sheriff and Marko Reifenberger.

But NU would kick off its comeback run from there, as Ludwig Stenlund's power play goal and Ryan Cox's score at the 12:12 mark knotted the game at 2-2 heading into the third.

That set up Sommer to make the game-winning play in the final frame, scoring his first goal since Jan. 4, with Stenlund and Zac Herrmann helping out on the dish.

NU is playing its best hockey of the season, winning three of the last four games overall. But the Purple Eagles will be tasked with taking on the Colonials, who swept NU 3-0 during the regular season.

The Purple Eagles will take on the Colonials for game one of their best-of-three set at 7:05 p.m. Friday in Pittsburgh.

MAAC announces all-conference teams

Three Purple Eagles were named second team All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference on Monday.

Marcus Hammond and Kobi Nwandu earned the honor on the men's side, while Cardinal O'Hara product Angel Parker did the same for the women.

Hammond, a junior guard, was a first-team selection as a sophomore and was unanimously picked to make first team by the conference's coaches this preseason. He leads the Purple Eagles in assists (2.9), rebounds (5.7), 3-pointers (1.9), steals (1.1) and minutes (34.1) per game and sits ninth in the league in scoring (13.2).

Nwandu, who followed former coach Patrick Beilein from Division II Le Moyne to Niagara, sat last season as a redshirt. The senior wing leads Niagara at 14.5 points per game, which ranks fifth in the MAAC. His 45.1 field goal percentage ranks third in the conference.

Parker, a sophomore guard, is in the midst of a breakout season on the women's side, leading Niagara in points (14.5), rebounds (6.9) and assists (5.9) per game. She ranks second in the MAAC in assists, third in scoring, eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1) and 10th in both rebounding and field goal percentage (37.1).

Women open tourney today

Niagara plays the opening game of the MAAC women's basketball tournament at noon today in Atlantic City.

The eighth-seeded Purple Eagles (4-6, 4-6 MAAC) will take on No. 9 Siena (3-8, 3-8) less than a week after the two programs cancelled their season-ending series "out of an abundance of caution" due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Both teams became very familiar with the phrase "COVID pause" this season, finishing well short of their planned 20-game conference schedules.

In Niagara's last game, Feb. 27 at the Gallagher Center, it upset second-place Quinnipiac — the Purple Eagles' first win over the Bobcats in 16 all-time tries. That same day, Siena fell to Saint Peter's, dropping the second game of a series to take the sweep.

Much like Niagara, Siena is led by a second-team All-MAAC performer. Grad student Isis Young led the MAAC in scoring (18.9) points and finished fourth in free-throw percentage (76.2) during the regular season.

The winner will advance to take on top-seeded Marist at noon Wednesday.