GAME TO BE TELEVISED BY EMPIRE SPORTS NETWORK
Mark Jeanneret will be the play-by-play announcer with Ric Seiling providing color analysis. Jeanneret is the voice of the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League. Seiling is a former NHL player who has worked many games for Empire Sports in the past. The game will be produced by network veteran Chrisanne Bellas.
In its 12th year of providing the best national and regional coverage, Empire Sports Network is available to a total universe of over five million households via cable systems throughout Upstate New York and Northern Pennsylvania, and through Direct TV (ch. 626) and EchoStar (ch. 432) home satellite systems.
This marks the fifth meeting between the two teams with the series tied 2-2. All four meetings have taken place on neutral ice with three of the four occurring at the Syracuse Invitational Tournament. The last time these two teams met during the 1999-2000 season, 91Â鶹¾«Æ· won by a 3-2 margin to claim the SIT title for the first time since 1983.
The Raiders (5-7-1, 2-4 ECAC) are coming off a weekend split with Brown (W, 3-0) and Harvard (L, 7-1) on November 22-23. Senior Scooter Smith leads the team with 13 points on eight goals and five assists while classmate P.J. Yedon is the top assist man with eight helpers. Junior Kyle Doyle is close behind Smith with six goals and six assists.
91Â鶹¾«Æ·â€™s penalty killing unit which is 72-86 for 83.7 percent is ranked 18th in the country.
Niagara enters the game with a 4-10-1 record and is 1-2-1 in the CHA. The Purple Eagles are coming off a 3-3 tie and a 7-4 loss to Alabama-Huntsville. Junior forward Joe Tallari leads the team in scoring with 16 goals and 11 assists. He is fifth in the nation in points per game (1.93), leads the nation in goals per game (1.14), and is fourth in the nation in power play goals (6).
The Purple Eagles are ranked 10th in the country on the penalty kill as they are 64-73 for 87.7 percent.
91Â鶹¾«Æ· will be wearing its third jersey for the game and the jerseys will be raffled off for $200 with proceeds going to HOCKEY COACHES CARE which is a charitable foundation of the American Hockey Coaches Association, established to raise and distribute resources to member coaches and their families in times of illness, disease, or other hardship as well as the Silver Puck Club. For more information please contact Michelle Reese at (315) 228-7570.