The Canisius College hockey team finished off a sweep of second-place Holy Cross on Saturday night, earning a 2-1 victory at HARBORCENTER. The Griffs improve to 8-8-5 overall on the season and 7-4-4 in league play, moving to one point of the Crusaders, who are now 8-8-5 and 7-3-5 against Atlantic Hockey foes.
“It was four great points against a very good Holy Cross team this weekend,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “We showed a commitment in all three zones. That gave us an opportunity to get these wins and it’s what we need to continue to do to be successful this season.”
Junior Ralph Cuddemi (Concord, Ontario) led the team to victory, scoring both of Canisius’ tallies. The junior had a hand in all four goals during the weekend, helping the Griffs to the sweep and all four points.
Senior Keegan Asmundson (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) earned his second-straight win in net, stopping 24-of-25 shots for the Griffs.
Canisius opened the scoring in the contest when Cuddemi netted his team-leading fifth power-play goal of the season just 4:08 into the contest. Senior Cody Freeman (Toronto, Ontario) tipped a shot in front of the net from junior Chris Rumble (Seattle, Wash.) and Cuddemi was there to knock the rebound in for the early 1-0 lead.
Both teams then came up with big penalty kills to keep the game 1-0. Canisius started by killing off four-straight minutes of Holy Cross power-play action midway through the first with Asmundson stopping six shots during the stretch. The Crusaders answered by keeping the Griffs without a goal during a five-minute major power play that bridged the first and second periods.
Holy Cross was then able to knot the game at one with 2:31 remaining in the second frame. The Crusaders won a battle for the puck in the neutral zone and Scott Pooley then slipped it past the Canisius netminder for the 1-1 contest through 40 minutes of action.
For the second-straight night, however, Canisius answered with a strong third period. The Griffs had a number of chances in the final frame, including a Matthew Grazen (Clarence, N.Y.) shot that hit the pipe, before Cuddemi pulled the team ahead with 2:31 remaining. Sophomore Shane Conacher (Burlington, Ontario) fired a shot from the point and Cuddemi was again there to clean up the rebound and put the team in front, 2-1. Senior Logan Roe (Fort Myers, Fla.) also registered an assist on Cuddemi’s team-leading 12th goal of the season.
The Crusaders responded by pulling the goalie but the Canisius defense, anchored by Asmundson, held on for the 2-1 victory and weekend sweep.
Canisius finished the game with a 29-25 advantage in shots. The Griffs were 1-for-3 on the power play, while the Crusaders could not convert in two extra-man chances.
Matt Ginn earned the start for Holy Cross, stopping 4-of-5 shots before leaving with an injury. Buffalo native Paul Berrafato then made 23 saves on 24 shots in relief.
Canisius looks to continue its winning ways with a midweek game against rival Mercyhurst. The schools are set to meet on Tuesday in Erie, Pa. at 7:05 p.m.
Game Notes: Canisius has now defeated Holy Cross in four-straight games – a first for the Griffs in the 58-game series … Asmundson, who won consecutive games in net for the second time in his career, owns a 3-0-0 record, 0.66 goals against average and .975 save percentage in three career games against the Crusaders … The two wins this weekend marked the first two one-goal victories for the Griffs this season … Canisius is now 7-0-2 on the season when entering the third period ahead or tied (compared to 1-8-3 when trailing) … The Griffs won for the just the second time this season on Saturday, moving to 2-6-2 … Canisius has outshot its opponent in its last five Atlantic Hockey games.
