Two first-period goals was all the offense the Canisius College hockey team needed on Friday night in a 2-0 victory against Sacred Heart in game one of the Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals. With the win, the Griffs move one victory from their third-straight trip to the conference semifinals and improve to 17-11-7 on the season, while the Pioneers drop to 13-18-6.
“In a game with low shot totals, both teams had quality scoring chances and we were able to take advantage,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “It was a typical passionate playoff game with high emotions and I’m proud our effort. We need to replicate this performance to come out with the sweep tomorrow.”
Junior Ralph Cuddemi (Concord, Ontario) and freshman Jack Stander (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) each tallied a goal for the Griffs in the winning effort.
Senior Keegan Asmundson (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) stopped all 19 shots he faced in his postseason debut to record his second shutout of the season and third of his career.
The Griffs defense was ready right from the start. Canisius was forced to kill three-straight minutes of early power-play time, including 64 seconds of a 5-on-3 opportunity for the Pioneers. The Griffs limited the Sacred Heart chances and allowed only one shot while a man down to keep the game scoreless.
Canisius then took advantage late in the frame with two tallies. Stander netted his second goal of his rookie campaign with 5:02 remaining in the first to give the Griffs the lead for good. The defender moved forward to the high slot and classmate Jeff Murray (Newmarket, Ontario) fed the puck to him. Stander then one-timed it into the back of the net for the 1-0 advantage. Freshman Nolan Sheeran (East Amherst, N.Y.) also added an assist on what proved to be the game-winning tally.
Cuddemi doubled the Griffs lead with just 45 seconds remaining in the opening stanza. In 4-on-4 action, Stander passed the puck up to Cuddemi in the neutral zone. The junior used his speed to get around a Sacred Heart defender and then finished from close range for his 22nd tally of the season. Senior Mitch McCrank (Haileybury, Ontario) added an assist on the goal that gave the Griffs a 2-0 advantage after one.
The two goals were more than enough for Asmundson and the Canisius defense on the day. After allowing just eight shots in the first two periods, the senior netminder proved why he led the league in goals against average during the conference’s regular season, stopping all 11 Pioneers shots to preserve the shutout.
Sacred Heart finished the game with a slight edge in shots, 19-18. Neither team was able to convert on the power play with the Griffs going 0-for-4 and killing all five of the Pioneers’ chances.
The schools continue the best 2-of-3 quarterfinal series tomorrow night at HARBORCENTER. Canisius looks to complete the sweep and advance to the semifinals with game time slated for 7:35 p.m.
Game Notes: In five home postseason games during the last three seasons, Canisius has allowed only one goal in 300 minutes of action … The Griffs have also not allowed Sacred Heart to score in three postseason games during the last two years … Stander doubled his season output after recording two points (1g, 1a) in his first 21 games of the season … Cuddemi’s 22 goals are now tied for the second most in the program’s single-season history and are just one shy of the school record, held by Cory Conacher (2010-11) … Since January 9, Asmundson owns a 10-2-1 record, 1.37 goals against average and .947 save percentage … Overall, the senior lowered his goals against average on the season to 2.00 (the current school record is 2.37).
