Three goals in the final 10 minutes of the third period led to a victory for the Canisius College hockey team against AIC on Friday night, 3-1. With the win, the Griffs improve to 3-2-0 on the season and 2-1-0 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Yellow Jackets drop to 0-3-1 and 0-2-1 against league foes.
“It was well-played hockey game both ways,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “We were able to get a timely power-play goal, some big saves and a huge 5-on-3 penalty kill with the game on the line. We showed excellent demeanor with intensity from start to finish in a hard-fought victory.”
Seniors Cody Freeman (Toronto, Ontario) and Matthew Grazen (Clarence, N.Y.) and sophomore Shane Conacher (Burlington, Ontario) all scored in the victory.
Senior Keegan Asmundson (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) stopped 24 shots to earn the win in net.
Neither team scored during the first two periods of play but it wasn’t without chances. The Yellow Jackets seemingly grabbed the lead less than three minutes into the contest but after a review, the officials disallowed the goal due to goalie interference in the crease. Canisius then carried the better of the play of the second period and had a great chance to score with the goalie on the ice but the AIC netminder kicked his leg in the air to keep the puck out of the net.
Canisius finally tallied a goal when Conacher netted his second of the season, scoring on the power play with 9:34 remaining in regulation. Junior Ralph Cuddemi (Concord, Ontario)sent a pass through the slot and found his linemate open on the other side. Conacher then buried his chance for the 1-0 lead. Freshman Nolan Sheeran (East Amherst, N.Y.) also registered an assist on the extra-man tally.
The Griffs then wasted no time adding to their lead, scoring just 92 seconds later. On a rush, Freeman scored off a rebound from a Mike Sabatini (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) shot for the 2-0 advantage. Freshman Jack Stander (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) added an assist on the goal for his first collegiate point with 8:02 left in the third.
AIC cut the Canisius lead in half when Nathan Sliwinski scored right after the Yellow Jackets had a full two minutes of 5-on-3 power-play time, making the score 2-1 with 5:04 left in the contest.
Canisius, however, sealed the victory with 3:00 remaining. From the corner, senior Tyler Wiseman (Burlington, Ontario) found Grazen wide open in front of the net and the senior finished for his second goal of the season. Senior Braeden Rigney (Singhampton, Ontario)also posted an assist for the 3-1 final score.
The Griffs finished the game with a 35-26 advantage in shots on the night, including 16-8 edge in the third period. Canisius was 1-for-3 on the power play, while killing all three AIC extra-man chances.
The same two schools wrap up the series tomorrow night with game time set for 7:05 p.m.
Game Notes: Canisius has scored 14 goals this season with eight coming in the third period … The Griffs did not allow a power-play goal for the first time this season … The 35 shots are the most for Canisius this season.
