Canisius (6-6-5, 5-4-4 AHC) at Maine (4-13-1, 2-6-0 HE)
Dates: Friday, January 2 / Saturday, January 3
Times: 7 p.m.
Location: Orono, Maine | Alfond Arena
Live Audio: GoGriffs.com
DI Series History: Maine leads, 1-0-0
The Canisius College hockey team wraps up non-conference play with a pair of games at Hockey East foe Maine. The Griffs look to begin the new year strong when the teams meeton Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m.
SCOUTING THE GRIFFS
• The Griffs start the second half of the season with a 6-6-5 record, including a 5-4-4 mark in Atlantic Hockey play.
• Sophomore Shane Conacher leads the Griffs with 19 points on five goals and a team-best 14 assists, while junior Ralph Cuddemi has netted a team-leading nine goals.
• Keegan Asmundson (2-4-3 / 2.78 gaa / .905 sv pct) and Reilly Turner (4-2-2 / 2.59 gaa / .908 sv pct) have split time in net this season.
FIRST-HALF RECAP
• Canisius is back in action for the first time in four weeks – the 27-day layoff is the longest for the Griffs since the 2003-04 campaign.
• With their 6-6-5 record, the Griffs are .500 or better for the first time at the winter break since the 2009-10 campaign.
• Sophomore Shane Conacher leads the Griffs with 19 points – the most by a Griff at the winter break since his brother, Cory, had 27 points en route to a school-record 53 points during the 2009-10 year.
• Junior Ralph Cuddemi also has the most goals at the break (nine) since Cory Conacher also had nine during the 2010-11 season before finishing with a school-record 23 tallies.
TWICE AS NICE
• Ralph Cuddemi is the team’s leader in goals thanks to two hat tricks this season. He is the only player in the country with two this year.
• Cuddemi netted hat tricks in a win at Army (Oct. 17) and in Canisius’ most recent game versus AIC (Dec. 6).
• He is the third Griff in the DI era to net two hat tricks in the same season, joining Chris Duggan (1998-99) and Cory Conacher (2010-11).
CALLING IT EVEN
• Canisius fans should be used to extra hockey as the Griffs have played to five ties this season – the most in the country.
• Close games are also common as only one goal has separated teams during the third period at some point in 16-of-17 games this season.
CANISIUS – MAINE SERIES HISTORY
• The Griffs and Black Bears have met on one previous occasion. Second-ranked Maine posted a 6-3 home victory against Canisius on Oct. 23, 1999 at the JCPenney Classic.
GRIFFS VERSUS HOCKEY EAST
• Canisius is in search of its first win against a Hockey East school this weekend.
• The Griffs are 0-7-2 all-time against schools while in Hockey East teams. Canisius does own 27 all-time wins against first-year member Connecticut prior to its arrival in the conference.
• Last season, Canisius played two games against Hockey East foes at the Catamount Cup where both UMass Lowell and Vermont posted victories over the Griffs. It was the first meetings with a Hockey East school for the Griffs in five years.
ABOUT THE BLACK BEARS
• Maine finished the first half of the season with a 4-13-1 record, with a 2-6-0 mark in Hockey East.
• After a 3-4-1 start to the season, the Black Bears suffered an eight-game losing streak (three in overtime) before splitting a pair of games against New Hampshire before the winter break.
• Blaine Byron leads the Black Bears with 14 points and eight goals, while Cam Brown is right behind with 13 points, including a team-best eight assists.
• Sean Romeo is 2-9-0 on the season between the pipes with a 3.33 goals against average and .899 save percentage, while Matt Morris is 2-4-1 with a 3.43 goals against average and .886 save percentage.
