USAF Academy, Colo. – The Canisius College hockey team earned a 4-2 victory at Air Force on Saturday night. With the win, the Griffs improve to 4-10-1 on the season and 4-5-1 against Atlantic Hockey foes, while the Cadets drop to 6-8-2 and 4-4-2 in league play.
“From goaltending on out, we battled hard from start to finish,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “All four lines contributed with quality minutes and we had a great answer for anything Air Force threw at us tonight. Reilly Turner played excellent and our top line was the best line on the ice.”
Senior Ralph Cuddemi (Concord, Ontario) netted two goals on the night with junior Shane Conacher (Burlington, Ontario) and freshman Daniel LaFontaine (Lloyd Harbor, N.Y.) each adding a tally.
Sophomore Ryan Schmelzer (Buffalo, N.Y.) paced the Canisius attack with a career-best three assists.
Sophomore Reilly Turner (Temiscaming, Quebec) stopped a career-best 42 shots to earn the win between the pipes.
After a scoreless first frame, it was Air Force who struck first in the game when Ben Carey tallied a goal just 40 seconds into the second period. Turner made the initial save on a deflected shot but Carey found the upper 90 of the goal on the rebound for the 1-0 lead.
Canisius fought back and scored two goals in the final six minutes of the stanza to take the lead into the intermission. LaFontaine opened the scoring for the Griffs with 5:41 remaining in the period. Sophomore Jack Stander (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) took a shot from the boards that deflected off the leg of LaFontaine and trickled past the goal line. Freshmen Dylan McLaughlin (Lancaster, N.Y.) also added an assist on LaFontaine’s third goal of the season.
Cuddemi then gave the Griffs the lead for the first time during the weekend series with a power-play goal with 25.7 seconds remaining in the second. Conacher found his linemate open in the slot and Cuddemi calmly settled the puck and buried his chance for the 2-1 advantage. Schmelzer added an assist on Cuddemi’s seventh goal of the season.
The Falcons tied the game at two with just under 11 minutes left when Air Force took advantage of a Canisius turnover in the neutral zone. Frank Serratore finished the chance with 10:57 remaining in regulation, squaring the game.
Canisius, however, answered right back and scored just 39 seconds later. Schmelzer won a faceoff back to Conacher at the point. The junior then took the puck and skated around the net before finishing near side from the left face-off circle for his eighth goal of the season and the 3-2 lead.
The Griffs took a two-goal lead with 6:28 left in the game with Cuddemi’s second of the night. Conacher had his initial shot saved but the rebound went to Schmelzer, who quickly fed the puck to Cuddemi on the back door, finishing with the open net for his eighth goal and 4-2 lead.
Canisius held on from there behind the strength of Turner. Air Force pulled its goalie with over four minutes remaining but the Falcons could not beat the Canisius sophomore in net as the Griffs earned their fourth conference victory of the season.
The Falcons finished the game with a 44-24 advantage in shots but Canisius won the special teams battle, going 1-for-3 on the power play and killing all four Air Force extra-man chances.
The Griffs continue Atlantic Hockey play next weekend with a home-and-home series against Robert Morris. The schools open the two-game set on Saturday in Pittsburgh with a 7:05 p.m. start.
Game Notes: Canisius is 4-1-0 when scoring on the power play (0-9-1 when the team fails to score) … The Griffs won on Saturday for the first time this season, going 0-6-1 prior to today’s victory … Cuddemi now has 99 career points and 49 career goals … Turner’s previous career best was 39 saves against Penn State in the season opener and last night versus Air Force … Turner combined to make 81 saves in the two-game series … The schools have split the last 12 meetings.
