For the second-straight afternoon, the Canisius College hockey team played to a draw against Clarkson, with the teams skating to a 2-2 tie at the Buffalo State Sports Arena on Sunday. The Griffs are now 1-4-3 on the season, while the Golden Knights are 0-4-3.
“There were a lot of positives to take from this weekend and we had some players really step up their game,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “The power play was the catalyst for our offensive confidence. We had chances to win both games and we will now look to build on that going into conference play.”
Sophomores Doug Beck (Plymouth, Mich.) and Tyler Wiseman (Burlington, Ontario) each netted goals for the Griffs with junior Tony Capobianco (Mississauga, Ontario) recording 29 saves in net.
The teams traded power-play tallies to start the scoring on the afternoon. Wiseman netted his second extra-man goal in as many games to give Canisius the early advantage with 3:34 remaining in the first. Sophomore defender Doug Jessey (Langdon, Alberta) had a pair of shots blocked and senior captainPreston Shupe (Weyburn, Saskatchewan) knocked the second rebound to Wiseman, who finished from close range for the 1-0 lead.
The Golden Knights answered back 4:50 into the second frame with a power-play tally of their own. After a series of quick passes, Jarrett Burton fired a shot in to knot the contest at one.
Burton added his second tally shortly later to give Clarkson its first lead of the weekend, 2-1. Will Frederick caused a Canisius turnover in its zone and from behind the net, found Burton open in front. Burton then finished his chance for his fourth goal of the season.
Canisius responded with a goal less than three minutes later to square the game at two. The Golden Knights attempted to clear the puck from their zone but junior defender Ben Danford (Stillwater, Minn.) was there to keep it in. He then sent a pass wide of the net and Beck scored on the open net for his first tally of the season with 8:55 remaining in the second frame.
Both teams had opportunities to win the game in the third period and overtime with Canisius having a majority of the chances – outshooting Clarkson, 17-9, in the final 25 minutes. The best chance for either team was during a Canisius power play. Freshman Mitch McCrank (Haileybury, Ontario) fired a shot on net and after a save, the rebound went right to junior Patrick Sullivan (Derby, N.Y.). However, Sullivan’s shot rang off the post to preserve the 2-2 draw.
Canisius finished the game with a 37-31 advantage in shots on the afternoon with both teams converting 1-of-2 power-play chances. Greg Lewis recorded 35 saves for the Golden Knights in the draw.
The Griffs now turn their focus to Atlantic Hockey play, squaring off with conference rival Robert Morris on Friday. Game time at the Buffalo State Sports Arena is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Game Notes: All four meetings between the two schools have gone into overtime (1-0-3 in Canisius’ favor) … The Griffs have three draws in their three home games this season … Canisius last scored power-play goals in back-to-back games on Nov. 20 and Nov. 26, 2011 … The last Griff to score power-play goals in consecutive contests was Shupe on Jan. 24 and Jan. 28, 2011 … Canisius is now 2-9-4 all-time against ECAC schools.
