The Canisius College hockey team lost game one of a best 2-of-3 Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal series to Air Force on Friday night, 4-1. The Griffs are now 12-21-5 on the season, while the Falcons improve to 19-11-5.
“We are down 1-0 in the series but we showed last week that we aren’t finished,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “Air Force was the better team tonight and we need to respond with our A game tomorrow to get it to a decisive contest.”
Senior Ralph Cuddemi (Concord, Ontario) scored the lone goal for the Griffs on the night.
Freshman Simon Hofley (Ottawa, Ontario) took the loss between the pipes with 33 saves.
It didn’t take long for Air Force to grab the lead, scoring just over five minutes into the contest when Ben Carey slipped the puck past Hofley on a rush for the 1-0 advantage at the 5:32 mark of the first.
The Falcons then took control of the game with three goals in the second stanza for a 4-0 lead. Evan Giesler doubled the Air Force edge to two, redirecting a puck into the net with 12:39 left in the period. Kyle Haak then scored following a Canisius turnover for the 3-0 lead with 9:22 remaining before Giesler added his second of the period with 4:06 left, knocking in a rebound off a blocked shot for the commanding lead through two.
The Griffs put together a better frame in the third period and responded with a power-play tally by Cuddemi – assists to junior Shane Conacher (Burlington, Ontario) and freshman Jimmy Mazza (Kings Park, N.Y.) – with 18:19remaining. However, it was too little, too late as Air Force secured the game one victory, 4-1.
The Falcons owned a 37-23 advantage in shots on the night. Canisius converted 1-of-4 power-play chances, while killing all four Air Force extra-man opportunities.
Canisius now faces an elimination game tomorrow night with game two scheduled for 9:05 p.m. ET at the Cadet Ice Arena.
Game Notes: Cuddemi is now just one goal shy of the program’s Division I record for career goals with his 61 career tallies just short of Cory Conacher’s mark of 62 from 2007 to 2011 … Canisius has lost three of its last four game ones in postseason series but responded with a game two victory all four times … Air Force defeated the Griffs for the first time in the postseason in three all-time meetings … Mazza has 11 points (3g, 8a) in his 10 games after recording two points in his first 26 collegiate contest
