The Canisius College hockey team started play at HARBORCENTER strong and then held off a late Ohio State rally to earn a 3-3 draw with the Big Ten school in front of 2,000 fans in the opening of the new downtown facility. The Griffs move to 4-2-1 on the season, while the Buckeyes are 1-3-1.
“Tonight was awesome,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “The electricity and energy from the crowd and especially the Canisius students lifted our players to another level right from the start. After the game, we talked about what this meant to the Canisius community to fill the rink and support our team. This is what our students and fans do – they come to the rink to cheer and help lift our players. The weekend will be decided tomorrowbut what a great game tonight.”
Senior Doug Beck (Plymouth, Mich.), sophomore Shane Conacher (Burlington, Ontario) and freshman Jack Stander (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) all scored in the contest, which included two Canisius goals in the opening 109 seconds.
Senior Keegan Asmundson (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) recorded 31 saves in net to anchor the Griffs defense.
Canisius got the 2,000 fans rocking in the opening two minutes of the game, wasting no time in getting on the scoreboard. Conacher netted the first goal at HARBORCENTER, scoring just 22 seconds into the contest. Off a rush, the sophomore slipped a puck past the Ohio State netminder from the left face-off circle for his third goal of the season. Freshman Nolan Sheeran (East Amherst, N.Y.) and junior Ralph Cuddemi (Concord, Ontario) each registered an assist on HARBORCENTER’s opening tally.
The Griffs added to their advantage almost as quickly as they took the lead when Beck scored just 87 seconds later. The senior brought the puck into the zone, skated around the net and finished on a wrap-around for the 2-0 lead1:49 into the game. Freshman Ryan Schmelzer (Buffalo, N.Y.) and sophomoreJosh Kielich (Orchard Park, N.Y.) each posted an assist on the goal, forcing an Ohio State timeout and goalie change.
Ohio State settled down after the timeout and started to tilt the ice to its advantage with some power plays. The Buckeyes finally broke through with12:24 remaining in the second period when Matt Johnson took advantage of a Canisius defender falling at the blue line. Johnson gained possession of the puck in the Griffs zone, skated and fired a shot that rang off the post and after a review, it was ruled it went past the goal line.
The Buckeyes then knotted the game with 6:42 left in the second frame when Luke Stork found the netting off a rush, squaring the game at two after 40 minutes of play.
Canisius reclaimed its lead thanks to Stander’s first collegiate tally. With the teams skating 4-on-4, Conacher brought the puck into the zone and past the goal line. The sophomore then centered the puck, which deflected off Sheeran’s stick and to Stander on the back door. The rookie defender buried his opportunity for the 3-2 lead with 6:37 remaining in regulation.
Ohio State, however, would answer just 2:36 later. David Gust knocked in a loose puck sitting in the crease to once again draw the Buckeyes even at 3.
Both schools had great chances in the extra frame but neither team was able to take advantage as the HARBORCENTER opener finished in a draw.
Ohio State held a 34-29 advantage in shots on the night. Neither team was able to convert on the power play with Canisius going 0-for-4 and killing all six Ohio State extra-man chances.
Matt Tomkins relieved Christian Frey in net for the Buckeyes and stopped 26-of-27 shots on goal to earn the tie.
The same two schools wrap up the series tomorrow night at HARBORCENTER with game time slated for 7:35 p.m.
Game Notes: The assist for Schmelzer was the first point of his collegiate career … The Griffs earned their first-ever point against a Big Ten school. They entered the contest 0-5-0 versus the six teams in the conference … Sheeran, who entered the night ranked third nationally in points per game by a rookie, now leads the team with eight points (1g, 7a) in six games … Canisius killed all six Ohio State power plays after the Buckeyes entered the series ranked second nationally with a 33.3 percent conversion rate … The Griffs put the puck in the net during the first period for the first time this season. The team’s only other first-period goal entering the game was an own goal against Western Michigan in the opener … Beck now has four points this season (2g, 2a) in seven games, surpassing his regular-season total from a year ago and one point shy of his entire junior campaign mark.
