The Canisius College hockey team couldn’t overcome two early third-period goals in a 4-3 setback to Sacred Heart on Friday night. The loss drops the Griffs to 10-16-5 on the season and 10-10-5 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Pioneers improve to 11-16-4 and 9-13-3 against league foes.
“Sacred Heart came into our building and outplayed us, played with more discipline and deserved the win,” said Canisius head Dave Smith. “Our willingness to get the game going our way was not as high as it needed to be.”
Junior Shane Conacher (Burlington, Ontario) netted a goal in the loss to become the 10th player in the program’s Division I history with 100 career points.
Senior Ralph Cuddemi (Concord, Ontario) and sophomore Ryan Schmelzer (Buffalo, N.Y.) both recorded two points on a goal and an assist for the Griffs.
Freshman Simon Hofley (Ottawa, Ontario) stopped 32 shots between the pipes for Canisius.
The Griffs grabbed the early lead in the contest thanks to Cuddemi’s 18th goal of the season. On a 2-on-1 rush, the senior captain sniped a shot high and glove side past the Sacred Heart goalie for the early 1-0 lead. Schmelzer tallied an assist on the game’s opening goal at the 9:33 mark.
Sacred Heart, however, answered back with two goals in the first period to take the lead into the intermission. Zach De Concilys redirected a pass into the top corner of the net with the Pioneers on the power play to square the game at one with 5:01 remaining in the period. Zach Luczyk then gave Sacred Heart the lead, sneaking the puck past the Canisius goalie with just 39 ticks remaining in the frame.
The Griffs didn’t waste any time tying the game in the second stanza when Schmelzer scored just nine seconds into the period. Canisius won the opening draw of the period and Cuddemi skated the puck into the zone. From the right face-off circle, he passed it into the low slot and Schmelzer knocked it in from close range for his seventh goal of the season and the 2-2 score.
The 2-2 scoreline stood until early in the third period when the Pioneers netted two goals in the first five minutes of the frame. On a power play, Evan Jasper tipped a shot into the net for a 3-2 lead 2:45 into the period before Jordan Minello scored an unassisted back-handed goal for a 4-2 advantage at the 4:14 mark of the third.
Canisius pulled one back when Conacher netted his team-leading 19th goal of the season with 12:08 remaining in the game. Freshman Joshua Gabriel (Lancaster, N.Y.) lofted the puck in the air from the Griffs zone. The puck fell to the feet at Conacher in the neutral zone and after skating with possession along the blue line, he turned and sent a wrist shot through a couple of screens and into the back of the net. Sophomore Jack Stander (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) also registered an assist on Conacher’s 100th point of his collegiate career.
The Griffs, however, would not be able to find the equalizing tally in the final 12-plus minutes of the game. The Canisius power play, which did not convert in six chances on the night, had two chances with the extra man to score the tying goal only to come away empty in the 4-3 setback.
Sacred Heart posted a 36-33 advantage in shots in the winning effort, while claiming the special-teams battle by going 2-for-7 on the power play. Brett Magnus stopped 30 shots to earn the win between the pipes.
The schools wrap up the season series tomorrow night with game time slated for 7:35 p.m. at HARBORCENTER.
Game Notes: Conacher is just the second junior to reach 100 points during the program’s Division I history, joining his brother, Cory, as the only Griffs to accomplish the feat … Conacher also raised his season total to 40 points (19g, 21a), marking the sixth time in the program’s history that a Griff reached the 40-point mark in a season … Cuddemi now has 116 points (59g, 57a) during his collegiate career, moving past Chris Duggan – who had 115 points from 1998 to 2002 – for sixth in school history … Cuddemi also moved within three of the program’s all-time goals record of 62, held by Cory Conacher … Gabriel and Mazza have both posted a point in three-straight games, combining for eight points (2g, 6a) in the three games after posting just three points (1g, 2a) in the season’s first 28 contests.
