The Canisius College hockey team suffered its first defeat at HARBORCENTER on Saturdaynight, falling to Ohio State, 4-1. The Griffs drop to 4-3-1 on the season, while the Buckeyes improve to 2-3-1.
“I really like our effort tonight but we weren’t able to establish offensive momentum and credit Ohio State as they played really well,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “There were definitely things we can build on from this weekend once we get back into league play, including the excitement of being able to play in a world-class facility we know we can take advantage of in the future.”
Senior Braeden Rigney (Singhampton, Ontario) scored the lone Griffs goal on the night.
Freshman Reilly Turner (Temiscaming, Quebec) recorded 33 saves in the start, while junior Adam Harris (Penticton, British Columbia) stopped all four shots he saw in relief.
The Buckeyes started the contest strong, jumping out to a 10-3 advantage in shots in just under 11 minutes of play. Ohio State finally took advantage of the early pressure when Nick Oddo scored with 5:25 remaining in the frame, knocking a rebound into the net.
Ohio State doubled its lead in the second frame when Darik Angeli scored his first of the season. A shot from the point rang off the post and when the Canisius netminder went to fall back on it in the crease, Angeli poked it into the net for the 2-0 lead 6:14 into the second.
The Buckeyes then gained firm control of the contest with two goals in a 29-second span early in the third. Oddo netted his second of the day with 17:12remaining in regulation before Kevin Miller scored with 16:43 left for the 4-0 lead.
Canisius avoided the shutout with 4:26 left in the contest when Rigney tallied his first goal of the season, scoring with the Griffs a man down. The senior gained possession of the puck in his own zone, skated down the ice and fired a shot from the right face-off circle that was saved. Rigney, however, was there to clean up his own rebound and sent it into the net for the 4-1 final score.
Ohio State finished the game with a 41-21 advantage in shots on the night. Other than the Griffs’ short-handed tally, both teams were held scoreless on special teams for the second-straight night with Canisius going 0-for-4 on the power play and killing all three Ohio State extra-man chances.
The Griffs return to Atlantic Hockey play next weekend with a pair of games at Sacred Heart. The schools are set to meet in Milford, Conn. on Friday andSaturday at 7:05 p.m.
Game Notes: In addition to its short-handed goal, Canisius killed all nine Ohio State power plays during the weekend after the Buckeyes entered the weekend ranked second nationally with a 33.3 percent conversion rate … Turner suffered his first defeat in net after becoming the first Griff goalie to win his first two decisions since the 1998-99 season … The short-handed goal was the first for Rigney during his career … Canisius now has three short-handed goals on the season, tied for third most in the country.
