Worcester, Mass. – For the second year in a row, sophomore forward Ryan Schmelzer (Buffalo, N.Y.) scored an overtime winner in a 2-1 victory against Holy Cross. The win extends the Griffs unbeaten run to four games as the team is now 8-14-4 on the season and 8-8-4 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Crusaders drop to 13-9-2 and 11-5-2 versus league foes.
In the extra session, a turnover in the neutral zone led to the game-winning tally. From the edge of the right face-off circle, junior Shane Conacher (Burlington, Ontario) sent the puck toward the goal where Schmelzer was waiting to redirect the puck into the net for the winning score 2:44 into overtime.
“After the adversity we faced the last few weeks with a number of players missing time with the flu, to win this game against a really good Holy Cross team is outstanding,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “It took a maximum effort for 63 minutes from everybody and I’m excited how our team continues to progress throughout this season.”
Sophomore Jack Stander (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) recorded two points in the victory, scoring his first goal of the season, while also adding an assist on the overtime winner.
Freshman Simon Hofley (Ottawa, Ontario) turned in his second-straight outstanding performance with 42 saves between the pipes, stopping a combined 91 shots in the two games versus the Crusaders.
The Griffs opened the scoring in the contest thanks to Stander’s first tally of his sophomore campaign. On an odd-man rush, freshman Dylan McLaughlin (Lancaster, N.Y.) left the puck for Stander and the defender sent the puck into the netting off a wrist shot. Sophomore David Parrottino (Rochester Hills, Mich.) also registered an assist on the tally 5:29 into the game.
The Crusaders would knot the game with a power-play tally in the second frame when Scott Pooley slipped a shot past Hofley for the 1-1 contest 2:23 into the period.
Holy Cross, however, would not be able to solve Hofley in net the remaining 40 minutes of the game. Twice in the third period, the Crusaders had a breakaway attempt denied by the freshman netminder, including a great glove save with Hofley on the ice to prevent Karl Beckman from putting Holy Cross ahead with 4:55 remaining in regulation.
Hofley’s strong third-period saves led to Schmelzer’s heroics in overtime.
Holy Cross finished the game with a 43-26 advantage in shots on the night. The Crusaders were also 1-for-2 on the power play, while killing all three Canisius extra-man chances.
Canisius looks to continue its winning ways next weekend with a pair of home games against Air Force. The schools open the two-game set on Friday at HARBORCENTER with a 7:35 p.m. start.
Game Notes: Hofley’s 42 saves followed a career-best 49 stops in Friday’s 2-2 draw … He is the first Griff to record 40 saves in back-to-back regular season games since Tony Capobianco recorded 42 stops in back-to-back games versus Niagara and Air Force during the 2012-13 season … With his assist on the overtime goal, Conacher extended his career-best point streak to 10 games, the longest by a Griff in a single season since Kyle Gibbons also had a 10-game streak to finish the 2012-13 campaign … The Griffs are unbeaten in their last four games (3-0-1) at Holy Cross – Canisius was 4-14-5 all-time at the Hart Center before the run … The Griffs won on Saturday for just the second time this season, moving to 2-9-2 this season on Saturday.
