Canisius erupted for five goals in the third period to post a 5-1 victory over Niagara in Atlantic Hockey Association action Friday at Dwyer Arena in Lewiston, N.Y.
Seniors Austin Alger and Logan Gestro, junior Mitchell Martan, sophomore David Melaragni and freshman Jami Virtanen all scored during the final period for the Golden Griffins (8-4-0, 8-4-0 AHA), who secured home ice for the quarterfinal round of the 2021 Atlantic Hockey Tournament with Friday’s victory.
Ryan Cox accounted for the lone goal for the Purple Eagles (3-10-3, 3-9-1 AHA).
Despite Canisius out-shooting Niagara by a 35-16 margin for the contest, the teams were in a scoreless tie early in the third period before Niagara finally opened the scoring when Cox stuffed home a rebound 1:10 into the final frame to give the Purple Eagles the lead.
Virtanen answered for Canisius a little more than five minutes after Cox’s opening tally, finishing off a 2-on-1 break with a wrist shot over the glove of Veltri for his fourth of the season to tie the game at 1-1.
Alger gave the Griffs a 2-1 lead just before the midway point of the 3rd, roofing a rebound from close range over Veltri after Melaragni’s initial attempt was stopped for his second of the season.
Martan expanded the Canisius cushion to 3-1 at the 10:47 mark, jamming home a loose from just off the right post during for his fourth of the campaign.
Gestro recorded his first of the campaign with 5:01 remaining in regulation to make it a 4-1 game, hitting an empty Niagara goal from below his own goal line while the Griffs were shorthanded.
Melaragni closed out the scoring in the final minute with a power-play goal, splitting the Niagara defense on the break before chipping the puck past Veltri for his first of the campaign.
Sophomore Jacob Barczewski made 14 saves between the pipes for Canisius. Veltri stopped 30 shots in goal for Niagara.
Head Coach Trevor Large’s Postgame Comments
“Tonight’s result is what we were going after. It was an exciting third period for those people that were watching and for us on the bench as well with six goals scored. It was a tough game; it was a difficult game. Niagara did a good job eliminating a lot of our entries and opportunities through the first two periods. We were trying to find our game and then Niagara scores early in the third. I was happy with our response. We stayed with our game plan. There wasn’t panic from us and then we were able to get a few goals as Niagara seem to get tired. But a good job by us tonight. We’re happy with the result and we need to recover, prepare and get ready to compete tomorrow.
“Good hockey teams never talk about bounces. That’s something that I’m proud of the effort tonight because our guys really stayed with the game plan. There is no panic in our team. Whether we’re up or down, we control our own energy and the energy was very high tonight. I did like our bench demeanor quite a bit. It was a major factor in how we were able to find our game in the third period. The dagger that I believe we put in Niagara tonight was our discipline. The game started to get a little heated in the third, but our guys stayed very calm. We were able to get some power plays and end the game with a 5-1 win, but it is it’s the calm composure. It’s the belief and confidence and those are all choices that our players made tonight.
“We need to come out and play together tomorrow night. We need to play hard; we need to be tough. We need to check. We have to find that energy. It is difficult in a season where fans aren’t there. I can only imagine what the LECOM Harborcenter would be like tomorrow if we’re playing Niagara on the last game of the season in front of fans. It’s a great rivalry for Western New York to have fans in both buildings for; hopefully that will come in due time. Now we have to create our own energy to generate that momentum. Maybe in the past we’d be able to have fans to help us with that. But to get momentum tomorrow, it’s going to have to start right from the beginning. It’s going have to be our energy, our focus, our clarity and how we want to play. Those are the things that we’re going to talk to our team about tomorrow as seven o’clock approaches.”
Game Notes
• Canisius increased its lead in the all-time series against its “Battle of the Bridge” rival to 28-26-6 with Friday’s victory. The Griffs also moved to 18-6-3 record in their last 27 contests against the Purple Eagles, dating back to the 2014-15 campaign.
• Canisius was 1-for-8 on the power play on Friday while Niagara was 0-for-2 with the man advantage.
• Canisius scored five goals in a period for the first time since tallying five goals in the first period of an 8-2 victory over Niagara on Dec. 9, 2017.
• The Griffs moved to 4-1-0 this season and 27-8-2 under Large when scoring four or more goals in a game.
• Alger tallied multiple points in a game for the first time this season and the 14th time his career as he finished with a goal and an assist. Alger also tallied the game-winning goal for the second time in his career with his third-period goal on Friday (Nov. 10, 2018 vs Clarkson).
• Gestro’s goal was his first since scoring in game three of the 2019 AHA quarterfinals at Niagara on March 9, 2019.
• Barczewski posted his second assist of the season with a helper on Melaragni’s third-period goal, becoming the first Canisius netminder to notch multiple assists in a season since Dan Morrison had two during the 2009-10 season.
• Melaragni recorded multiple points in a game for the first time in his career as he tallied a goal and an assist in Friday’s contest.
(Canisius College Hockey Photo)
