By Abelson, Jarrett L <[email protected]> —
Sophomore goaltender Jacob Barczewski stopped all 35 shots he faced and Canisius used goals from three different players to post a 3-0 victory over RIT In Atlantic Hockey Association action Saturday at LECOM Harborcenter in downtown Buffalo.
Juniors Lee Lapid, Kevin Obssuth and J.D. Pogue accounted for the three goals scored by the Golden Griffins (5-2-0, 5-2-0 AHA), who completed the weekend sweep of their longtime rival and picked up their third straight victory with Saturday’s shutout triumph.
Following a scoreless first, Canisius capitalized on a pair of power-play opportunities less than three minutes apart in the second to take a 2-0 lead.
Lapid started the sequence at the 4:41 mark of the middle frame, one-timing a feed from sophomore Keaton Mastrodonato past the blocker of RIT goaltender Ian Andriano for his third of the campaign.
Obssuth doubled the Griffs advantage to 2-0 just past the seven-minute mark of the period, jamming home a loose puck from in front of the RIT cage for his second of the series.
Pogue closed out the scoring less than three minutes into the third, beating Andriano with a wrist shot to the blocker side after senior Matt Long won a faceoff in the Tigers’ zone for his third goal of the wekeend.
That would be all the support Barczewski would need, as the second-year goaltender recorded first shutout of the season while matching his season high for saves with his 35-save effort.
Andriano recorded 30 saves in goal for the visiting Tigers (7-7-2, 5-5-1 AHA).
Head Coach Trevor Large’s Postgame Comments
“Tonight was obviously another great win for us. I want to keep saying this, every time we get three points in an Atlantic Hockey game, it’s great for our team. Jake Barczewski was unbelievable tonight. From the beginning to the end of the game, we felt discipline was going be a big reason why we were going to win. That showed up tonight. I’m very happy with our game. It was a complete game by us tonight.
“The breaks in the season have made it tough for sure. I don’t feel that momentum exists game-to-game, but I believe it does exist inside the game.
” That’s maybe been the hardest part of dealing with the breaks this season is trying to build that momentum when you’re playing. Our staff and players have worked really hard on our structure. We spent a lot of time this summer in terms of preparation for the season.
“Now, we did not think we’d have a couple games and a bunch of breaks and then another game or two and another break, but all that hard work is definitely paying off because our players understand how we want to play. They’re playing fast, they’re playing together.
“So, system is a part of the reason why we have found success winning hockey games, but our players are the reason why we’re winning. They are they’re doing everything by committee, they’re doing everything together. They’re a very committed group. They’re playing for each other and sometimes structure gets a benefit of the doubt when the players are playing together. “So, all the credit goes to our players. A very minimal amount goes to our structure, but it is helping.
“Penalty kill is one of the biggest reasons why teams win and anytime I talk about our penalty kill, like I did last night with Matt Ladd, I’m going to do it tonight with Jacob Barczewski. It starts in net with the penalty kill.
“You can visually see when we play, our guys have a commitment to blocking shots at a high level. They understand what we want to do on the penalty kill, they’re doing it very well.
“I give lots of credit to (assistant coach) Taylor Nelson, who runs our penalty kill. The guys know what to do.
“They play together and if things get a little chaotic at times, they’re going to come up with a huge block. And when those things don’t happen, we have two rockstar goalies in net, with Ladd and Barczewski. That combo has been really good so far, so that helps on the penalty kill.
“The powerplay is chipping in offense, which is really important. We’re running somewhere around 20 percent, which is solid there. There’s some youth on the powerplay and we’re getting our feet wet. We’re starting to understand what type of focus we want on the net. We’re trying to get set up and we are able to do that a little bit better. So, the power play is coming, but the penalty kill is a huge part of why we’re winning hockey games.”
Game Notes
• RIT out-shot Canisius by a 35-33 margin for the contest, highlighted by an 11-5 advantage in the third period.
• Canisius was 2-for-6 on the power play as it scored multiple power-play goals in a game for the first time this season. RIT was 0-for-6 with the man advantage as the Griffs have now killed off each of their last 16 shorthanded situations.
• Canisius has allowed two goals or less in five of its eight games played this season. The Griffs are a perfect 5-0-0 in those games.
• Junior Mitchell Martan extended his point-scoring streak to seven games as he recorded an assist on Obssuth’s second-period goal.
• Senior defenseman Logan Gestro recorded multiple assists in a game for the first time this season and third in his career as he finished with two assists on Saturday.
• Obssuth notched a goal in consecutive games for the third time in his career with his two-goal effort during the series.
• Pogue tallied goals in back-to-back games for the first time in his career with his three tallies during the two-game series versus the Tigers.
• Barczewski finished with 30 or more saves for the fourth time this season and the 10th time in his career with his 35-save effort on Saturday. The shutout was the second of his career (Feb. 28, 2020 at Mercyhurst).
Up Next
• Canisius completes its three-game homestand Tuesday when it closes out its regular-season series versus Mercyhurst at LECOM Harborcenter.
• Puck drop for the Atlantic Hockey Association matchup is set for 7 p.m.
(Canisius Hockey Photo)
