St. Lawrence scored three times in the second period to break open a scoreless contest and record a 4-1 victory over Canisius in collegiate men’s ice hockey action Saturday at Appleton Arena in Canton, N.Y.
Ben Finkelstein, Carson Gicewicz and Mike Marnell all found the back of the net during the middle frame for the Saints (3-14-2), who recorded their first victory on home ice this season with the win.
Senior Ryan Schmelzer accounted for the lone Golden Griffins (10-8-2) goal while sophomore goaltender Daniel Urbani recorded 29 saves.
Finkelstein opened the scoring at the 3:55 mark of the second with a power-play tally when his wrist shot from the top of the point found its way through traffic and into the Canisius net.
Gicewicz doubled the Saints advantage to 2-0 a little less than four minutes later, jamming the puck past Urbani during a St. Lawrence power play.
Marnell capped the second-period barrage for the Saints with 11:37 gone in the frame, firing a wrist shot between the legs of Urbani from the middle of the slot for his fifth of the campaign.
Schmelzer attempted to spark a Canisius comeback in the third, cutting the Griffs deficit to 3-1 just 33 seconds into the period as he put home a centering feed from junior Dylan McLaughlin for his 10th of the campaign.
Jake Stevens restored the Saints three-goal advantage with his second of the campaign, capping off a St. Lawrence rush with a wrist shot over the glove of Urbani at the 7:36 mark of the third to close out the scoring.
Head Coach Trevor Large Postgame Comments
“We need to get better. It’s not because of the result tonight. It’s how we need to play. We need to get back to focusing on our effort. When our effort is great, it lets our speed and skill shine. If our opponent is playing with more effort than we do, our speed and skill tend to go away. It’s a focus on effort for us moving forward.
“We have to turn our attention back to league play quickly. League games are vital to accomplish the goals that we have for our season. This road trip featured four games against good non-league opponents. We wanted to win them all. We were unable to do that. We’re going back home with some things to work on. We know that it’s not going to get any easier, starting with AIC at home next weekend. I know our guys are excited to get back to Buffalo and get back to work to get better.”
Game Notes
• St. Lawrence increased its lead 2-0-2 in the all-time series against Canisius with Saturday’s victory.
• Canisius was held to one goal or fewer for just the fourth time this season.
• The Griffs were held without a power play for just the fifth time this season as it was 0-for-4 witht the man advantage on Saturday.
• Senior Ryan Schmelzer recorded his 98th career point with his third-period tally, moving him two points away from becoming the 11th player in the Division I history of the program to reach the 100-point plateau for his career.
• Junior Dylan McLaughlin recorded his team-leading 29th point of the season with an assist on Schmelzer’s third-period tally.
Up Next
• Canisius returns to Atlantic Hockey Conference play Jan. 12-13 when it hosts American International in a two-game series at KeyBank Rink at HARBORCENTER. Start time for both contests is set for 7:35 p.m.
• Tickets are available for both games and can be purchased by calling 716-888-TIXX or by visiting ticketmaster.com.
