USAF Academy, Colo. – A late power-play goal gave Air Force a 3-2 victory over the Canisius College hockey team on Friday night. The loss drops the Griffs to 3-10-1 on the season and 3-5-1 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Falcons improve to 6-7-2 and 4-3-2 against league foes.
“We found a way to stay close tonight,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “With such a large disparity in penalties, they found one to get through late and that proved to be the difference.”
Junior Shane Conacher (Burlington, Ontario) and freshman Cameron Heath (Troy, Mich.) both scored goals for the Griffs.
Sophomore Reilly Turner (Temiscaming, Quebec) played excellent between the pipes, matching a career-best 39 saves.
The Falcons opened the scoring in the contest thanks to a Canisius turnover in its zone. Ben Kucera took advantage of the Griffs miscue and finished from close range for the 1-0 lead 9:09 into the contest.
Air Force then doubled its advantage early in the second frame. From the corner, Johnny Hrabovsky skated toward the net untouched and after his first shot was turned aside, his second attempt found the netting for the 2-0 lead 2:03 into the second frame.
Canisius, however, gained momentum and got back in the contest. Heath started the rally with his second tally of the season with 15:19 remaining in the second. The rookie defender sent a shot toward net from the side boards and the puck would deflect off an Air Force defender’s skate in front and into the net for the 2-1 score. Senior Ralph Cuddemi (Concord, Ontario) and Conacher both registered assists on Canisius’ first goal of the night.
Cuddemi nearly tied the game shortly later only to see his shot hit the crossbar but the line eventually found the netting with 22.0 seconds remaining in the period to tie the game. On a rush, Cuddemi found Conacher open in front and after having his original shot blocked by a defender, Conacher collected the loose puck and sent it past the Falcons netminder for the 2-2 score. Freshman Ryan Schmelzer (Buffalo, N.Y.) also added an assist on Conacher’s team-leading seventh goal of the season.
In the third period, Air Force was rewarded with four power plays and the Falcons were finally able to take advantage with an extra-man goal with 4:53 remaining when Tyler Ledford tipped a shot into the net off a rush for the 3-2 advantage.
After killing off another power play in the closing minutes, Canisius pulled its goalie in favor of the extra attacker. However, despite some good pressure late, the Griffs were unable to find the equalizer as Air Force held on for a 3-2 victory.
The Falcons finished the game with a 42-13 advantage in shots on the night. Air Force went 1-for-6 on the power play, while Canisius was 0-for-2 – both Griffs extra-man chances came on too many men of the ice calls.
The schools wrap up the two game series tomorrow night with game time slated for 9:05 p.m. ET.
Game Notes: The Griffs’ top line of Conacher, Cuddemi and Schmelzer have now accounted for 75.0 percent of the team’s goals this season, scoring or assisting on 21 of the team’s 28 tallies … With his two assists, Cuddemi now has 97 career points and is two points shy of becoming the ninth Griff to reach the 100-point plateau … Turner also recorded 39 saves in the season opener against Penn State … The Griffs are now 0-9-1 on the season when failing to score a power-play goal.
