Worcester, Mass. – The Canisius College hockey team earned a 2-2 tie at Holy Cross on Friday night to extend its unbeaten run to three games. The Griffs are now 7-14-4 on the season and 7-8-4 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Crusaders are 13-8-2 and 11-4-2 against league foes.
“After the first period, our pace and commitment to playing in their zone was much better and a key factor in tonight’s game,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “Nothing has been decided for the weekend and tomorrow night is another big game for us against a tough Holy Cross team.”
Senior Ralph Cuddemi (Concord, Ontario) and sophomore Jeff Murray (Newmarket, Ontario) each netted goals for the Griffs.
Freshman Simon Hofley (Ottawa, Ontario) put forth a strong effort between the pipes, recording a career-best 49 saves on the night.
The teams skated to a scoreless first period but the Griffs escaped the opening frame unscathed thanks to Hofley in net. The rookie stopped 25 first-period shots as the schools headed into the intermission with the game still in search of its first goal.
The Crusaders finally struck in second frame on their 28th shot of the game when Scott Pooley found an opening for the 1-0 lead 8:53 into the period.
Canisius, however, would answer back with two quick tallies to take its first lead of the game. Just 73 seconds following the opening goal, Cuddemi found the back of the net for his 15th tally of the season. Freshman Cameron Heath (Troy, Mich.) fired a shot toward goal from the blue line and junior Shane Conacher (Burlington, Ontario) redirected the puck on net. Holy Cross made the initial save but Cuddemi was there to knock the rebound in with 9:54 remaining in the second.
The Griffs then grabbed the lead 93 seconds later when Murray tallied his third goal of the season. Freshman Felix Chamberland (Quebec City, Quebec) forced a turnover in the Holy Cross zone and gave the puck to sophomore Mike Sabatini (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.). The sophomore skated the puck just past the goal line and found Murray in the low slot, who hammered it in for the 2-1 lead with 8:27 left in the period.
Canisius maintained lengthy puck possession in the Holy Cross zone after taking the lead but was unable to convert its chances and the Crusaders took advantage on the other end. Castan Sommer got the puck past the Canisius netminder with 3:17 remaining in the second to send the teams into the intermission knotted at two.
Sommer’s goal would finish the scoring for the night as neither team was able to score in the third period or the extra session. Both teams had a number of near misses with the puck trickling just wide or missing a back-door attempt but each school was able to escape with a point.
Holy Cross posted a 51-30 advantage in shots on the night but Canisius was within two shots after the first frame, 26-24. Paul Berrafato recorded 28 stops for the Crusaders to earn the draw.
The schools wrap up the two-game series tomorrow night at the Hart Center with the first faceoff scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Game Notes: Conacher extended his career-best point streak to nine games – the longest run by a Griff since Kyle Gibbons recorded a point in the final 10 games of the 2012-13 season … Both sophomore Ryan Schmelzer (seven games) and freshman Dylan McLaughlin (four games) had their career-best scoring streaks snapped … Hofley’s 49 saves are the most by a Griff in a regulation game since Andrew Loewen recorded 50 stops against Ferris State on Oct. 10, 2008 … The 25 shots allowed by Canisius in the first period are the most since the team allowed 25 in the second period against Air Force on Oct. 29, 2011 … Cuddemi moved within one goal of second place in program history with his 56 career tallies one shy of Gibbons’ mark.
