The Canisius College hockey team earned a 3-1 victory over its Battle of the Bridge rival Niagara on Saturday night. The Griffs earned their third-straight win against their rival and improve to 7-14-2 on the season and 7-8-2 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Purple Eagles drop to 3-16-2 and 3-11-1 against league foes.
“In a hard and tough game, we found a way to make a couple of big plays and get the win,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “We have to find a way to be more committed to grinding out a game and play a little more simple but we received good goaltending and good penalty kill and that was the key to our victory tonight.”
Senior Ralph Cuddemi (Concord, Ontario) led the Griffs with three points in the win, scoring one goal and adding two assists, while junior Shane Conacher (Burlington, Ontario) and freshman Dylan McLaughlin (Lancaster, N.Y.) each added two points on a goal and an assist.
Freshman Simon Hofley (Ottawa, Ontario) earned the win between the pipes with 28 saves for the Griffs.
After a scoreless first 30 minutes to the game, Cuddemi struck first for the Griffs at the 13:47 mark of the second frame. After Niagara failed to clear the zone, Cuddemi gained control of a loose and took it to the net. His shot deflected in front and into the air before landing behind the goal line for the 1-0 Canisius lead. Freshman defender Jimmy Mazza (Kings Park, N.Y.) collected the lone assist on Cuddemi’s 14th goal of the season.
The 1-0 lead held until late in the third period when the Griffs added two tallies in less than three minutes to seal the victory. With 6:27 remaining in the contest, McLaughlin found Conacher open in the slot and the junior sent a one-timer off the crossbar and in for the 2-0 advantage. Cuddemi added an assist on Conacher’s team-leading 15th goal of the season.
It was then McLaughlin’s turn to find the netting, scoring his fifth goal with 3:59 remaining in regulation. On a rush, Cuddemi passed the puck to the rookie in the left face-off circle. McLaughlin then skated to the slot and beat the Niagara netminder stick side with a wrist shot. Conacher added an assist as Canisius claimed a 3-0 lead.
The Griffs defense and penalty kill, which excelled all night, was put to the challenge again in the closing minutes as Canisius was whistled for a five-minute major with 2:51 remaining. The Purple Eagles pulled one back when Derian Plouffe scored with 62 seconds left on the power play and with the goalie pulled for a two-man advantage but Niagara would not get any closer as Canisius secured the 3-1 victory.
Niagara finished the game with a 29-17 advantage in shots but had a difficult time solving Hofley in net. The Purple Eagles were 1-for-7 on the power play, while the Griffs did not convert in four extra-man chances.
The schools wrap up the two-game series on Saturday with game time at HARBORCENTER slated for 3:05 p.m.
Game Notes: Canisius has defeated Niagara in three-straight games for the first time in the 36-game series history … The Griffs won for the first time this season when failing to score on the power play (Canisius was 0-12-2 entering the game) … Conacher extended his career-best point streak to seven games, while McLaughlin registered a point in three-straight contests for the first time in his career … Cuddemi passed Jason Weeks for seventh on the program’s all-time scoring list. Cuddemi now has 109 points (55g, 54a) with Weeks posting 107 points (50g, 57a) from 2006 to 2010 … McLaughlin has six points in his last three games after posting seven in his first 20 career games … Canisius has scored the game’s first goal in seven-straight contests … The Griffs now lead the Battle of the Bridge series, an all-sports competition between the two rival schools, 7-4.
