Ryan Annesley broke a third-period tie just 33 seconds after it was forged, and Niagara defeated Colgate 4-2 in front of 985 fans on Tuesday at Dwyer Arena.
Paul Zanette scored the first and last goals for the Purple Eagles, including an empty-net goal in the final minute, giving him a national-best 14 goals for the season.
His first tied the game at 1-1 in the second period.
“Paul’s goal was huge for us,” Purple Eagles coach Dave Burkholder said. “He is the leader of this team because he leads by example.”
Colgate (2-8-1) scored twice on the power play. Robbie Bourdon found the net in the second period to put the Raiders up 1-0, and he then set up Brian Day for a tying goal 9:20 into the third period.
Just over a half-minute later, however, Annesley, a senior defenseman, scored his second goal of the year off a pass from Matt Williams.
“The seniors came through today and this weekend will be a true test for our team,” Burkholder said, foreshadowing a series at Army this weekend.
Marc Zanette scored early in the third period to give the Purple Eagles (7-4-2) a 2-1 lead.
“Marc has been working hard in practice,” Niagara assistant coach Jay McKee said. “He has great attitude, lots of skill and he got rewarded tonight.”
