Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Canisius College hockey team lost its regular-season finale to Robert Morris, 6-2, on Saturday night. The Griffs enter the postseason as the seven seed for the Atlantic Hockey Tournament and will host No. 10 Niagara next weekend at HARBORCENTER. Canisius finished the regular season with a 10-19-15 record and 10-13-5 mark in Atlantic Hockey, while the Colonials are 21-9-4 and 18-6-4 in league play.
“The score is not reflective of the chances tonight,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “Robert Morris capitalized on its chances better than we did. Our effort and determination was there tonight but we just came out on the wrong end against a good Robert Morris team.”
Senior Ralph Cuddemi (Concord, Ontario) and freshman Cameron Heath (Troy, Mich.) both scored for the Griffs.
Freshman Simon Hofley (Ottawa, Ontario) recorded 32 saves in net for Canisius.
The teams traded power-play goals late in the first period to head into the intermission knotted at one. Robert Morris struck first when Greg Gibson had his attempt find a small opening and trickle past the goal line for the 1-0 advantage with 2:10 remaining in the first.
Canisius answered back with a power-play goal of its own when Cuddemi netted his 19th tally of the season … Freshman Jimmy Mazza (Kings Park, N.Y.) fired a shot toward frame that was initially saved but sophomore Ryan Schmelzer (Buffalo, N.Y.) knocked the rebound to Cuddemi and the senior captain finished from close range for the 1-1 score with 38.9 seconds remaining in the frame.
The Colonials continued to convert on the power play in the second frame with two extra-man tallies sandwiched around a Canisius goal. David Friedmann gave Robert Morris a 2-1 lead with 13:29 remaining in frame, scoring on a five-minute major power play.
The Griffs limited the damage on the major power play to just one tally and then Heath squared the contest at two with his fifth tally of the season. From the Griffs’ zone, Cuddemi lofted a pass over a Robert Morris defender, leading to a Canisius odd-man rush. Freshman Josh Supryka (Belleville, Ontario) had his pass deflected but Heath scooped up the loose puck and finished 1-on-1 for the 2-2 score with 11:44 remaining in the period.
Freiedmann, however, scored his second power-play goal of the frame with 6:35 left for a 3-2 Robert Morris advantage after 40 minutes of play.
The Colonials carried their momentum into the final frame, adding three tallies for the 6-2 victory. Brandon Denham scored on an offensive zone faceoff with 6:43 remaining before Greg Gibson scored twice, finishing a breakaway with 4:29 remaining and adding an empty-net tally with 2:09 left.
Robert Morris posted a 38-33 advantage in shots on the night. Robert Morris was 3-for-5 on the power play, while the Griffs went 1-for-4 with the extra-man advantage.
Canisius now turns its attention toward the postseason, where it will host Battle of the Bridge rival Niagara in a best 2-of-3 series at HARBORCENTER. The schools begin the first-round Atlantic Hockey series on Friday at 7:35 p.m.
Game Notes: Mazza has now recorded a point in six-straight games, registering eight points (3g, 5a) during the run after posting only two points in his first 26 collegiate contests … The assist for Supryka was his first collegiate point … Canisius finished tied for sixth in the standings with Army with the Black Knights claiming the tiebreaker via head-to-head results.
