Guelph junior Andres Kopstals recorded a hat trick and fellow junior Scott Simmonds was credited with three assists as the visiting Gryphons defeated Canisius 6-2 in exhibition play Sunday evening at KeyBank Rink at HARBORCENTER.
Guelph jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a goal in the first period, and then tacked on five second-period goals to take a 6-0 lead after 40 minutes of play. Kopstals scored the final two goals of the second period, with the first coming at the 9:43 mark and the second coming with just 2:44 left to play before the second intermission.
Canisius got on the board 3:34 into the third period on a goal by junior Ryan Schmelzer, and then added another tally at the 7:25 mark of the final period when junior Mike Sabatini beat Guelph netminder Scott Stajcer off an assist from freshman Jesse Pereira.
Head Coach Dave Smith’s Postgame Comments
“This was our first chance to play against another opponent and we saw two different Canisius teams out there. We saw a good team that really created some good scoring chances, and then we saw a team that couldn’t snap out of a second-period funk.”
“This game was like taking an exam. We really looked good in some areas where we knew coming in we’d be strong, and we were exposed a bit on some things that we still need to work on. I liked our response to adversity. We came out in the third and played our best period. We just need to respond to adversity quicker.”
Game Notes
• Canisius outshot Guelph by a 39-21 count for the game.
• Senior goaltender Charles Williams started the game in net for Canisius and made three stops. The Griffs played three goals on Sunday night.
• Schmelzer led all players with six shots, five of which came in the third period.
• Sunday’s game was the first time Canisius has played Guelph in an exhibition game since the 2009-10 season.
Up Next
Canisius will officially open the 2016-17 season with a two-game series at defending national champion North Dakota Oct. 7-8. Faceoff on Oct. 7, is set for 8:37 p.m. The two-game series with the Fighting Hawks marks the first time the Griffs square off with the defending national champion since meeting Maine during the 1999-00 campaign.
