Senior Dylan McLaughlin tallied three points, including the game-winning goal, to lead Canisius to a 4-2 victory over Army in Atlantic Hockey Association action Saturday at Tate Rink in West Point, N.Y.
McLaughlin recorded two goals and added an assist to pace the Golden Griffins (6-8-1, 5-7-1 AHA), who scored three unanswered goals to earn a split of its league series with the second-place Black Knights. Senior Ian Edmondson and sophomore Austin Alger also scored for Canisius.
Tucker DeYoung and Trevor Fidler accounted for the two goal for Army (8-8-1, 7-6-1 AHA).
DeYoung gave the Black Knights a 1-0 lead just 2:39 into the contest when he beat Canisius junior netminder Blake Weyrick with a wrist shot from the just inside the blueline.
Edmondson brought the Griffs level at the 8:29 mark of the first period as his shot from the point deflected off an Army player and into the cage for his second goal of the weekend.
Fidler restored the Black Knights lead at the 5:36 mark of the second period, finishing off a 3-on-1 rush by putting home a rebound to give the Black Knights a 2-1 advantage.
McLaughlin would take control of the contest moments later, scoring twice in a 2:31 span to stake Canisius to a 3-2 lead.
He began the sequence just 96 seconds afer Fidler’s goal, redirecting a point shot from senior Cameron Heath to tie the game at 2-2 before putting Canisius in front for good with a power-play tally at the 9:53 mark of the middle frame, finishing off an end-to-end rush to make it 3-2.
Alger closed out the scoring with 3:43 remaining in the contest, finishing off a 2-on-0 break after McLaughlin stole the puck from an Army defender at the top of the Black Knights zone.
Weyrick recorded 33 saves in goal for Canisius. Dempsey made 28 stops between the pipes for Army.
Head Coach Trevor Large’s Postgame Comments
“I loved the way we played. We talked before the game about controllable things and the two things we said over and over again was that we are able to control our attitude and our effort. To a man, we needed every player wearing a Griffs jersey tonight and I really loved how our guys responded to that message because that was about as hard as we can play and that was a big step for our team to understand how hard it is to win a hockey game.
“You take tonight’s result and absolutely, we are happy with the win. But the thing that excites our staff and our team is that, to a man, we are extremely proud of how we competed tonight. This is a special group. There’s something special about the men we have in that locker room and I know this was a big step for our team.
“Dylan was spectacular tonight. He does a lot for our team on most nights; he’s been the best player on the ice in a lot of games this year. His skating and skill level are unbelievable. Tonight, he showcased that. He also added will and compete; he was not going to be denied. He was going to have a big part in the outcome of this game. I loved him tonight.”
Game Notes
• Saturday’s contest served as the 61st meeting between Canisius and Army. With their win on Saturday, the Griffs regained their lead in the all-time series, 28-27-6, and extended their lead in the Division I era of the series to 26-22-6.
• Army out-shot Canisius by a 35-32 margin for the contest, highlighted by a 14-8 margin in the third period.
• Canisius was 1-for-2 on the power play while Army was 0-for-4 with the man advantage on Saturday.
• The Griffs improved to 5-5-1 this season when allowing the first goal of the contest.
• With his power-play tally at the 9:53 mark of the second period, McLaughlin became just the fifth player in the Division I era of the program to record 50 goals in his career. His 50 career tallies put him in a tie with Jason Weeks for fourth place on the program’s Division I era career goals chart.
• McLaughlin recorded multiple goals in a game for the third time this season and the ninth time in his career. He also tallied multiple points in a game for the sixth time this season and the 35th time in his career with his three-point effort on Saturday.
• Alger extended his point-scoring streak to six games with a goal and an assist on Saturday. The outing was also his second multi-point effort of the season.
Up Next
• Canisius will take its traditional end-of-semester break before returning to action Dec. 28-29 with a two-game series at No. 11 Union.
• Start time of both contests is set for 7 p.m. at Messa Rink in Schenectady, N.Y.
