Despite a 33-17 advantage in shots on the night, the Canisius College hockey team lost game one of a best 2-of-3 series to rival Niagara, 3-2, on Saturday night at HARBORCENTER. The Griffs face a must-win contest in an elimination game on Saturday as the team moves to 10-20-5 on the season, while the Purple Eagles improve to 6-23-6.
“The name of the game in the playoffs is win and advance and it doesn’t matter how you do it,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “Tomorrow, we need to find a way to do what Niagara did tonight and get the series to Sunday.”
Freshmen Cameron Heath (Troy, Mich.) and Dylan McLaughlin (Lancaster, N.Y.) each tallied goals for the Griffs on the night.
Freshman Simon Hofley (Ottawa, Ontario) stopped 14 shots in defeat for Canisius.
The Griffs got the upper hand early in the contest thanks to Heath’s sixth goal of his rookie campaign. On a 2-on-1 rush, junior Shane Conacher (Burlington, Ontario) had his shot saved but Heath was there to knock the rebound in for the 1-0 Canisius advantage. Senior Ralph Cuddemi (Concord, Ontario) also recorded an assist on the tally just 3:28 into the contest.
The momentum, however, would only last on Canisius’ side for seconds. Just 12 ticks following the Griffs tally, Derian Plouffe intercepted a pass by the Canisius goalie behind the net and found Sam Rennaker open in front. Rennaker then finished with an open net for the 1-1 game at the 3:40 mark.
Niagara then took its first lead of the night just over four minutes later when a shot from the point deflected off Albin Karlsson and into the net for the 2-1 advantage at the 7:56 mark of the opening frame.
The Purple Eagles doubled their lead midway through the second frame when Stanislav Dzakhov found a small opening high and near side for the 3-1 Niagara lead at the 8:49 mark.
McLaughlin pulled Canisius back within one less than four minutes later with his seventh tally of the campaign, connecting on a 5-on-3 power play. The rookie sent a high wrist shot through a number of screens from the high slot to bring the Griffs within a goal, 3-2. Conacher and sophomore Ryan Schmelzer (Buffalo, N.Y.) both posted assists on the power-play tally with 7:23 remaining in the second frame.
The one-goal lead would carry over into the third period, a frame where the Griffs would dominate possession. Niagara would only register three shots the entire period – all coming on a power play with less than four minutes remaining – but despite the possession in its favor plus a power play the final 90 seconds of the game, Canisius was unable to break through for the equalizing tally as the Purple Eagles held on the for the 3-2 victory.
The Griffs converted 1-of-5 power plays on the night, while killing both of Niagara’s extra-man chances.
Jackson Teichroeb stopped 31 shots between the pipes for Niagara to earn the victory.
The Griffs’ season is now on the line tomorrow night with game time slated for 7:35 p.m. at HARBORCENTER.
Game Notes: The start of the game was delayed 44 minutes due to the CHA Semifinal between Syracuse and Penn State lasting three overtimes … With his two assists, Conacher now has 42 points on the season, tied with his brother for the fourth most in program history … Cuddemi raised his career total to 120 points, breaking a tie with David Deeves for fifth in the program’s Division I history … Canisius lost a home playoff game for the first time since 2007, ending a streak of six-straight wins in Buffalo … It also marked the first time in three games as Atlantic Hockey foes that the Purple Eagles defeated the Griffs in a postseason contest … Niagara’s 17 shots are the fewest allowed by Canisius in the program’s Division I postseason history … The Griffs also dropped to 1-4-2 on the season when recording more shots than their opponent.
