Canisius (2-5-0, 1-3-0 AHA) at Ohio State (6-4-0, 0-0-0 Big Ten)
Date: Friday, November 15 / Saturday, November 16
Time: 7:05 p.m. / 7:05 p.m.
Location: Columbus, Ohio | Value City Arena
TV/Webcast: OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Live Audio: GoGriffs.com
DI Series History: First Meeting
The Canisius College hockey team takes a break from Atlantic Hockey action for a pair of games at Big Ten foe Ohio State. The schools are set to meet on Friday and Saturday at 7:05 p.m.
SCOUTING THE GRIFFS
• Canisius is 2-5-0 during the 2013-14 campaign after splitting a pair of Atlantic Hockey games last weekend.
• Senior defender Ben Danford continues to lead the Griffs in scoring, totaling seven points on a goal and six assists.
• Seniors Kyle Gibbons and Patrick Sullivan lead the team with three goals. Sullivan matched career highs with three points and two goals in the Griffs’ 4-3 win against Mercyhurst on Saturday.
• Senior Tony Capobianco (4.79 gaa, .879 save pct.) and junior Keegan Asmundson (2.33, .937) have split time in goal this year.
SMITH RETURNS TO OHIO STATE
• Canisius head coach Dave Smith is making a return trip to his alma mater this weekend.
• Smith, who played for the Buckeyes from 1988 to 1992, was named Team MVP as a senior. He currently ranks 22nd in the school’s record book with 140 career points.
• In his ninth season at Canisius, Smith owns a 106-162-37 record.
GIBBONS CHASES 100
• Senior Kyle Gibbons enters the weekend on the cusp of a milestone.
• The Ohio native has totaled 97 points during his career (45g, 52a) and is just three points shy of reaching the century mark.
• Gibbons will become the eighth player in the program’s Division I history and the 28th Griff overall to reach the 100-point plateau.
NEWLY-FORMED LINE LEADS GRIFFS TO WIN
• In a need of a win in its home opener on Saturday, Canisius received a dominant effort from a newly-formed line.
• In their first game together, Matthew Grazen, Braeden Rigney and Patrick Sullivan contributed to all four goals in the Griffs 4-3 victory.
• Sullivan matched career highs with three points and two goals, while Grazen also recorded a personal-best three points (3a). Rigney also matched a career high with two points (1g, 1a).
CANISIUS – OHIO STATE SERIES HISTORY
• The two schools are meeting for the first time.
GRIFFS VERSUS THE BIG TEN
• In its first year of a hockey conference, Canisius has played two of the six teams in the Big Ten.
• Canisius is 0-3-0 all-time against the conference.
• The Griffs last played a Big Ten school last season, falling at No. 2 Minnesota, 1-0. Canisius also lost a pair of games at Wisconsin during the 2010-11 campaign.
ABOUT THE BUCKEYES
• Ohio State enters the weekend with a 6-4-0 record.
• After a slow start to the season, the Buckeyes have won their last three games and six of the last seven contests. Ohio State swept Canisius rival Niagara last weekend, 4-1 and 6-1.
• Max McCormick leads the team with 12 points on five goals and seven assists. Ryan Dzingel (5g, 6a) and Alex Szczechura (3g, 8a) rank second on the team with 11 points.
• Matt Tomkins has started 8-of-10 games in goal, posting a 2.76 goals against average and .910 save percentage.
