Senior goaltender Charles Williams tied his career-high in saves with 43, while freshman Casey Jerry scored his first career goal, as the Canisius College hockey program defeated RIT 2-1 from the Gene Polessini Center in Rochester, N.Y. Saturday night. With the win, Canisius owns a 4-5-1 overall record, moving them to 3-0-1 in Atlantic Hockey action, while the Tigers fall to 3-5-1 overall and 3-3-0 in league play.
The Griffs jumped out to a 1-0 lead with Jerry scoring at 9:29 of the first period, after a pass off the boards from sophomore Jimmy Mazza. Canisius was outshot 16-5 in the period, but Williams held the Tigers scoreless for a 1-0 advantage after one.
RIT would tie the score at 11:33 of the second period, with a goal from senior Caleb Cameron and the score remained at 1-1 heading into the third.
The Blue and Gold would take the lead early in third period of play on a goal by sophomore Josh Gabriel on a rebound off of a shot by fellow sophomore Matt McLeod. Holding the 2-1 advantage, the Griffs defense stepped up down the stretch, killing off three penalties including a game misconduct on sophomore Alex Jaeckle that came with 1:38 remaining.
Williams, who ranked fifth in the nation in goals against average heading into the contest, made 15 saves during the third period to earn his fourth win of the season. The senior netminder is now 4-2-1 on the year, while RIT goaltender Mike Rotolo fell to 3-5-1. Neither team scored on the power play on Saturday, as the Griffs went 0-for-4, while the Tigers also were 0-for-4 on the man-advantage.
Head Coach Dave Smith’s Postgame Comments
“There was one special moment in the game when we were on the penalty kill and the guys sacrificed their body, diving, everything they had to save the game. We battled really hard, we got our bodies on pucks, I really loved our scrappy mentality and Charles played extremely well. A lot of adversity and our guys came together to get the win.”
Game Notes
• This was the 71st all-time meeting between the two schools, with RIT leading the series 51-18-2.
• The Griffs swept the home-and-home series for the first time since the 2012-13 season against the Tigers.
• Williams, who tied his career-high in saves set a week ago at Penn State, had a total of 84 saves over the weekend, allowing only one goal.
• Gabriel’s goal was his first on the year and third of his career.
Up Next
Canisius will travel to Army West Point next weekend for a two game series against the Black Knights, with 7:05 puck drops set for Friday and Saturday night.
