Game Recap
Freshman Nick Hutchison scored his first career goal, giving Canisius a 1-0 first period lead over No. 1 North Dakota Saturday evening, but it was not enough however, as the Fighting Hawks would respond with four unanswered goals, defeating Canisius 4-1.
The goal scored by Hutchison came with 4:46 remaining in the first period and was assisted by freshman Matt Stieff and sophomore Felix Chamberland.
The Griffs would hold the 1-0 lead until 3:07 of the second period, when North Dakota freshman Ludvig Hoff added his first career goal on the power play. North Dakota would add a second power play goal in the second, at 41.9, on one of its four power play chances of the period.
North Dakota would add two more goals in the third period to extend their lead to 4-1.
Canisius senior goaltender Charles Williams played well in his first appearance for the Blue and Gold, making 41 saves, that included 18 in the second period alone.
Head Coach Dave Smith’s Postgame Comments
“We battled hard, played well, and grew up a lot tonight. We did a lot of really good things against a really good team. Good goaltending, and the defense moved the puck. We got into a little penalty trouble that got them the lead and it was tough to get back from that.
We need to carry the lessons learned from this weekend moving forward and play with pace, passion, and team play moving forward.”
Game Notes
• The Griffs lost the shot battle for the evening 45-11, while winning 27 of 63 faceoffs.
• Hutchison led all Griffs with four shots.
• Junior Jack Stander was tied for the game high in blocks, with four, while junior Mike Sabatini and sophomore Cameron Heath were credited with three blocks.
• Canisius is now 0-0-7 all-time against North Dakota.
• The Griffs were called for a total of eight penalties, spanning 16 minutes, while North Dakota committed six penalties, lasting 12 total minutes.
• The attendance for the contest was 11,119.
Up Next
The Griffs will travel to Fairbanks, Alaska next weekend to take on Alaska and Alaska Anchorage in the Brice Alaska Gold Rush Tournament.
