Lewiston, N.Y. – The Canisius College hockey team used three third-period goals to extended its season-long unbeaten streak to six games following a 4-1 victory against Battle of the Bridge rival Niagara on Thursday night. The Griffs improve to 11-8-6 on the season and 10-4-5 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Purple Eagles drop to 3-18-2 and 3-12-2 versus league foes.
“It was a hard-fought victory for us tonight,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “It was 1-1 going into the third and it was a very physical contest. We had to battle to get our game to where we needed to and it started with Keegan Asmundson in net, who made a bunch of big saves early. We battled and eventually, we were able to fight through to earn another two key points.”
Junior Ralph Cuddemi (Concord, Ontario) led the Griffs with two goals on the night, while freshman Jeff Murray (Newmarket, Ontario) and senior Mitch McCrank (Haileybury, Ontario) each chipped in a tally.
Senior Keegan Asmundson (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) continued his strong play as of late, stopping 30-of-31 shots in the winning effort between the pipes.
Niagara had the better of the play in the first 10 minutes of the contest but it was the Griffs who struck first thanks to Cuddemi’s team-leading 13th goal of the season. On a rush, sophomore Shane Conacher (Burlington, Ontario) passed the puck back to his linemate in the slot and Cuddemi knocked it in with an open look for the early 1-0 lead 8:38 into the contest.
The Purple Eagles, however, answered right back, scoring just 45 seconds after the Griffs took the advantage. Hugo Turcotte skated past a pair of Canisius defenders and then beat the Canisius netminder 1-on-1, knotting the contest with 10:37 remaining in the first.
Overall, Niagara outshot the Griffs, 15-3, to start the game but Canisius turn the tide a little more than halfway through the period. In the final 48-plus minutes of the game, the Griffs held a 36-16 advantage in shots the remainder of the contest.
Canisius finally took advantage of the constant pressure early in the third period. Shortly after killing off a Niagara power play to begin the stanza, Cuddemi netted his second goal of the night to give the Griffs the lead for good. From the center of the blue line, Conacher fired a shot toward net and Cuddemi tipped the puck into the netting for his team-leading 14th goal of the season. Senior defender Logan Roe (Fort Myers, Fla.) also registered an assist on the tally 77 seconds into the third period.
The Griffs, who have dominated the third period all season long, added to their lead when Murray buried his second goal of his freshman campaign with 7:45 remaining in regulation. After the puck squirted to center ice, sophomore defender Geoff Fortman (Crystal Lake, Ill.) found Murray waiting at the blue line. The rookie then skated into the zone and wristed a shot past the Niagara netminder for the 3-1 Canisius advantage.
Canisius sealed its first road victory over its rival since 2011 when McCrank added an empty-net tally – assist to senior captain Doug Jessey (Langdon, Alberta) – with 1:17 remaining for the 4-1 final score.
The Griffs finished the game with a 39-31 advantage in shots. Neither team was able to convert on the power play in four chances for Canisius and three for Niagara.
The schools wrap up the series on Saturday night with a return trip to Lewiston. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m.
Game Notes: The six-game unbeaten run is the longest for Canisius in the regular season since also posting a six-game streak from Nov. 6 to Nov. 21, 2009 … The Griffs have allowed only seven goals during the six-game run (1.17 per game) … In his last five games, Asmundson is 4-0-1 with a 0.98 goals against average and .963 save percentage … Canisius is now 10-0-2 this season when leading or tied after two periods of play (6-0-2 when tied) … The Griffs have outscored its opponent in the third period in Atlantic Hockey games by a margin of 27-9 … Canisius, who was 0-3-2 in its last five trips to Niagara, posted its first win at Dwyer Arena since a 6-3 victory during the 2011 Atlantic Hockey First Round … Cuddemi has four multi-goal games this season … The Griffs now lead the Battle of the Bridge series with Niagara – an all-sports competition between the two rival schools – by a 9-5 margin, earning one point with tonight’s victory.
