BUFFALO – Junior Ryan Schmelzer tallied a goal and an assist and freshman Daniel Urbani made 35 saves to pace Canisius in a 3-3 tie with Bentley in Atlantic Hockey Conference action Saturday at KeyBank Rink in HARBORCENTER.
Junior Nolan Sheeran and sophomore Felix Chamberland also scored for the Griffs (6-8-2, 5-3-3 AHC). Max French notched two goals, Kyle Schmidt also found the back of the net and keeper Aidan Pelino made 36 saves for the Falcons (3-7-4, 2-5-3 AHC).
In a wild first period that saw the two teams combine for six goals in a 15:17 span, Bentley took a 1-0 lead just 2:08 into the contest on a power play strike from French before building a 2-0 advantage six minutes later with a four-on-four tally by Schmidt.
Canisius battled back to tie the game at 2-2 with two goals 4:05 apart. Schmelzer got the Griffs on the board with an unassisted effort at the 9:57 mark and Chamberland knotted the score at 2-2 thanks to a man advantage tally with 14:02 gone in the frame.
French restored the Falcons lead with 3:27 remaining in the first, finding the back of the net for the second time in the period to make it a 3-2 game.
Nolan Sheeran brought Canisius level only 52 seconds later, banging home his first goal of the season to tie the contest at 3-3.
Despite the high-scoring tempo set in the opening 20 minutes, neither team was able to find the back of the net thought the remainder of regulation and overtime. Urbani stopped all 23 shots he faced over the final 45 minutes while Pelino recorded 31 saves.
Head Coach Dave Smith’s Postgame Quote
“I liked the way we played. Bentley brought a lot of energy tonight. Their top line got all three goals, their power play was clicking. That was the push back we were expecting, but I really liked our will to get back into the game. We had to work hard for that. In the final two periods, we put 30 shots on goals and it feels like we could have won, but you take the point, move on, and look to keep getting better.”
Game Notes
– Canisius improved to 6-0-2 in its last eight contests against Bentley dating back to the end of the 2013-14 season.
– The Griffs moved to 1-0-3 in overtime contests this season. The three ties for Canisius in 2016-17 have all come at HARBORCENTER.
– Sophomore Dylan McLaughlin picked up his 10th career point against Bentley (2g, 8a) with an assist on Chamberland’s tally.
– Schmelzer dished out his team-leading seventh assist of the season, recording the lone assist on Sheeran’s tally.
– Sophomore Ian Edmondson recorded his sixth assist of the season with a secondary helper on Chamberland’s goal. He is tied with fellow sophomore Cameron Heath for the team lead in assists amongst defensemen.
– Urbani recorded 30 or more saves in a game for the second time this season (Oct . 29 at Penn State).
Up Next
Canisius returns to action Dec. 30, when it begins a two-game series at Atlantic Hockey rival Holy Cross. Opening faceoff is set for 4:05 p.m. at the Hart Center.
