The Canisius College hockey team fought rival Niagara to a 3-3 draw on Saturday afternoon in front of 1,471 fans at HARBORCENTER. The Griffs move to 7-14-3 on the season and 7-8-3 in Atlantic Hockey, while the Purple Eagles now stand at 3-16-3 and 3-11-2 versus conference foes.
“We weren’t able to finish off the victory and get four points, but we won the weekend,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “It is another step toward moving up the standings and getting where we want to be at the end of the year. Our play as of late has continued to improve and the final two months should be an exciting time for Canisius hockey.”
Junior Shane Conacher plus freshmen Daniel LaFontaine and Dylan McLaughlin each tallied a goal for the Griffs in the draw.
Freshman Simon Hofley stopped 33 shots for Canisius in net.
After posting a win over its rival in game one on Thursday, Canisius picked up right where it left off, scoring just 72 seconds after the first face off. On a rush, sophomore David Parrottino had his shot deflect off his linemate, McLaughlin, before the rookie gathered the loose puck. McLaughlin then skated around the net and finished with an open look on a wrap around for the 1-0 lead. Freshman defender Jimmy Mazza also registered an assist on McLaughlin’s sixth goal of the season.
Niagara, however, answered back this time and pulled even with just 68 seconds remaining in the opening frame. Derian Plouffe skated past a Canisius defender in the neutral zone, forcing a 2-on-1 break. Plouffe then kept it himself and finished high and glove side for the 1-1 contest after 20 minutes of play.
Canisius reclaimed its one-goal advantage early in the second frame when LaFontaine netted his fourth goal of his rookie campaign. Sophomore Mike Sabatini gloved down a Niagara clearing attempt and fed the puck to freshman Matt McLeod. The rookie had his shot saved but LaFontaine was there to knock the rebound in for the 2-1 Canisius lead with 15:45 remaining in the period.
Niagara would again respond and this time, scored two goals to take its first lead of the weekend. Sean King squared the game at two with 5:04 left in the second, scoring on the power play after a pass through the slot. Tanner Lomsnes then put the Purple Eagles in front with 1:26 remaining in the period. After a Niagara shot from close range went wide, Lomsnes was there to knock the loose puck in on the open net for the 3-2 lead.
However, it was Canisius’ turn to strike at the end of the period this time as Conacher netted his team-leading 16th goal of the season with just 22 seconds remaining in the second period. Sophomore Ryan Schmelzer forced a Niagara turnover in the neutral zone and found Conacher streaking down the middle on a 2-on-0 break. The junior found an opening five-hole and quickly finished the chance for the 3-3 game after two periods.
The Griffs would carry the momentum over to the third period but just missed a number of opportunities to claim the full two points. On an early power play, sophomore defender Jack Stander crept up from the point but he had his back-door chances saved. Rookie Felix Chamberland then nearly secured the victory in the final seconds of regulation but his deflected shot rang off the pipe – Canisius’ third of the game – as the game headed into overtime.
Canisius was then unable to convert on a power play in the extra session as the schools completed the 3-3 draw.
Niagara held a slight edge in shots in the game, 36-34, but the Griffs had the better of play in the final 25 minutes with a 13-7 advantage. The Purple Eagles also converted 1-of-3 power-play attempts, while Canisius was held scoreless in five attempts.
Jackson Teichroeb recorded 31 saves for Niagara between the pipes.
The Griffs are back in action next weekend with a pair of road games at Holy Cross. The schools open the two-game series on Friday night at 7:05 p.m.
Game Notes: The Griffs won the season series against their rival for the second-straight season … Conacher extended his career-best point streak to eight games and his personal-best goal streak to four contests … Schmelzer (seven games) and McLaughlin (four games) are also on career-high scoring streaks … McLaughlin has seven points in his last four games (3g, 4a) after recording seven points in the first 20 games of his collegiate career (3g, 4a) … The points for Parrottino and McLeod were the first of their collegiate careers, while Mazza recorded an assist in a second-straight game after posting his first collegiate point on Thursday … Overall, the Canisius rookie class has 16 points in the last four games after recording 20 total points in the season’s first 20 games … The Griffs netted the game’s first goal in each of the last eight games … Canisius now leads the Battle of the Bridge series – an all-sports competition between the two rivals – by a score of 7.5 to 4.5.
