Rochester, N.Y. – Behind a strong start, the Canisius College hockey skated past host RIT on Friday night, 6-3. The Griffs improve to 6-13-2 on the season and 6-7-2 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Tigers drop to 7-10-2 and 7-5-1 against league foes.”
“Our effort was very high tonight,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “We played with great discipline and purpose. It was a very physical game and we need to be prepared to play with that same effort and get after it again tomorrow night.”
Freshman Dylan McLaughlin (Lancaster, N.Y.) led the Griffs with a career-best three points in the victory, scoring one goal and adding two assists. Junior Shane Conacher (Burlington, Ontario) netted a game-best two goals, while senior Ralph Cuddemi (Concord, Ontario) and freshmen Felix Chamberland (Quebec City, Quebec) and Joshua Gabriel (Lancaster, N.Y.) each added a tally.
Freshman Simon Hofley (Ottawa, Ontario) earned the win between the pipes, recording 29 saves.
The Griffs didn’t waste much time taking control of the contest, netting three first-period goals. Chamberland opened the scoring for the Griffs with his second of the season just 5:37 into the game on the power play. On a rush, McLaughlin found his classmate open in the left face-off circle and Chamberland quickly sent the puck into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead. Sophomore Jeff Murray (Newmarket, Ontario) also registered an assist on the game’s opening goal.
McLaughlin then doubled the Canisius advantage with a great individual effort for his fourth goal of the season. The rookie gathered a loose puck along the boards, skated around the zone to the blue line and behind the net before finishing on a wrap around for the 2-0 lead. Freshman Cameron Heath (Troy, Mich.) and sophomore Nolan Sheeran (East Amhest, N.Y.) both registered assists on the tally with 10:58 remaining in the first frame.
Gabriel then completed the scoring for the Griffs in the first period with his first collegiate tally with 5:24 remaining. With Canisius a man down, Gabriel stole the puck from the RIT netminder behind the goal and beat him back to the crease to finish on the open net and 3-0 lead.
RIT pulled one back on the ensuing power play when Brady Norrish scored but Canisius entered the first intermission with a 3-1 advantage.
Cuddemi helped the Griffs reclaim its three-goal lead when the senior captain netted his 11th goal of the season on the power play. On an odd-man rush, McLaughlin left the puck for Cuddemi in the slot and after his initial shot was saved, Cuddemi knocked in the loose puck from the crease for the 4-1 advantage. Sophomore Jack Stander (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) also added an assist on the tally 4:16 into the second frame.
RIT, however, answered and more, responding quickly with two tallies in 36 seconds. Gabe Valenzuela scored at the 4:59 mark before Alex Perron-Fontaine added a tally. Overall, the three goals in a 79-second span left the Griffs with a slight 4-3 lead.
Canisius reclaimed its two-goal lead thanks to a key tally from Conacher in the closing minute of the second. After a faceoff victory for the Tigers, a forward lost possession of the puck to Conacher in the right face-off circle. The junior quickly fired it into the net with 28 ticks remaining for the 5-3 lead after two.
The Conacher goal proved to be more than enough cushion in the third as the Canisius defense held the Tigers without a tally for the final 35 minutes of the contest. Conacher sealed the victory with an empty-net goal – his team-leading 13th tally of the season – with 1:36 remaining in regulation with assists going to Cuddemi and sophomore Ryan Schmelzer (Buffalo, N.Y.).
RIT finished the game with a 32-26 advantage in shots on the night. The Griffs were 2-for-4 on the power play, while the Tigers converted in their only chance but also allowed the short-handed goal.
Christian Short stopped 20 shots in defeat for RIT.
The schools wrap up the season series tomorrow night in Rochester with game time slated for 7:05 p.m.
Game Notes: The Griffs are now 6-1-0 this season when scoring on the power play (0-12-1 when they don’t) … Canisius has outscored its opponent, 8-2, in the first period during the last five games after being outscored by a 22-5 margin in the season’s first 16 contests … The Canisius freshman class combined for a season-best six points on three goals and three assists. The rookies had a combined 20 points (11g, 9a) in the first 20 games of the season … Schmelzer extended his career-best point streak to five games … The win ended a five-game winless streak for the Griffs against RIT.
