WORCESTER, Mass. – Sophomore Cameron Heath scored two goals and senior goaltender Charles Williams stopped all 30 shots he faced to lead Canisius to a 3-0 victory over Holy Cross in Atlantic Hockey Conference action Friday at the Hart Center.
Freshman Casey Jerry also scored for the Griffs (7-8-3, 6-3-3 AHC) while fellow newcomer Nick Hutchison dished out two assists.
Williams was once again solid between the pipes for the Blue and Gold, picking up his third shutout of the season with the 30-save performance. Paul Berrafato got the start in goal for the Crusaders (6-8-3, 3-5-3 AHC). He finished the contest with 15 saves.
Following a scoreless first, the Griffs took control of the game with three goals in the second period, highlighted by a pair of tallies in the opening 2:30 of the frame.
Heath started the barrage at the 1:43 mark of the second, beating Berrafato with a wrist shot inside the left post while on the rush for his first goal of the season.
Jerry doubled the Canisius margin just 47 seconds later, netting his second goal of the campaign to make it a 2-0 game.
Heath struck for a second time with 13:55 elapsed in the period, converting a backdoor feed from freshman Matt Hoover while the Griffs were on the power play to expand the Canisius margin to 3-0.
Holy Cross looked to get back into the contest in the third, firing a game-high 11 shots on goal during the final frame. Williams was up to the task, however, keeping the Crusaders off the scoreboard to preserve the shutout.
Head Coach Dave Smith’s Postgame Comments
“I thought Holy Cross had a lot more jump in the first period than we did. It looked like we had not played in a month, which is the case. The crispness to which they started the game meant we needed Charles (Williams) to be big in the net for us and he was.
“After the first period, our placement of pucks was the difference for us. We took the puck out of danger, got it down in deep, and were fortunate to score a couple of goals early in the second to take control of the contest.”
Game Notes
– The Griffs improved to 8-2-1 in its last 11 games against the Crusaders. Canisius also moved to 4-0-1 in its last five contests against Holy Cross at the Hart Center
– The two-goal performance was the first multi-goal effort of Heath’s career and his third multiple-point effort.
– Hutchison tallied two or more points in a game for the third time this season. He has tallied eight points (4g, 4a) in the Griffs last eight contests.
– Williams made 30 or more saves for the eight time this season with his 30-save effort. He improved his record to 3-3-2 in those contests.
– Canisius successfully killed off all three Holy Cross power play opportunities in the contest, improving to 39-of-41 (.951) on the penalty kill in their last 10 games.
Up Next
The teams complete their weekend series Saturday with a New Year’s Eve matinee. Opening faceoff between the Griffs and Crusaders is set for 4:05 p.m. at the Hart Center.
