Niagara scored three third-period goals to rally for a 4-2 victory over the Canisius College hockey team on Saturday night. The loss drops the Griffs to 10-15-3 and 9-9-3 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Purple Eagles improve to 9-15-4 and 9-8-4 against league foes.

“It was a spirited affair where our guys battled hard to get the game in our favor but we couldn’t finish the game how we wanted to,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “I’m confident that our team will find a way to win this type of game in the future.”

Junior Braeden Rigney (Singhampton, Ontario) and sophomore Ralph Cuddemi (Concord, Ontario) both scored for the Griffs in the defeat.

Senior Tony Capobianco (Mississauga, Ontario) recorded 28 saves in net.

The Purple Eagles opened the scoring 6:33 into the contest when Sam Alfieri netted a goal on a power play for the early 1-0 advantage.

Canisius answered the Niagara tally when Rigney scored his seventh goal of the season. Entering the zone on a rush, junior Mitch McCrank (Haileybury, Ontario) fired a shot that hit the Niagara netminder. The puck trickled toward the net and Rigney knocked it in to pull Canisius even. Freshman defender Geoff Fortman (Crystal Lake, Ill.) also registered an assist on the goal with 4:41 remaining in the first.

The Griffs grabbed the lead thanks to Cuddemi’s ninth goal of the season. On the power play, the sophomore banked a shot off a Niagara defender and into the net for a 2-1 Canisius lead. Freshman Shane Conacher (Burlington, Ontario) and senior Kyle Gibbons (Westlake, Ohio) both posted assists on the extra-man goal 5:54 into the second frame.

Niagara, however, rallied for the win with a three-goal third period. The run was ignited when the linesman called a five-minute major penalty on Canisius and Alfieri took advantage to tie the game at two with 14:46 remaining in regulation. The Purple Eagles then scored the go-ahead goal with 7:11 left when Matt Chiarantano finished a rush and Niagara would then seal the contest with an empty-net goal with 11 ticks remaining for the 4-2 win.

The Purple Eagles finished the game with a 32-24 advantage in shots. Niagara was 2-for-6 on the power play, while the Griffs converted 1-of-4 extra-man chances.

Canisius continues Atlantic Hockey play next weekend with a series against Air Force. The schools are set to begin the two-game set at the Buffalo State Sports Arena on Friday at 7:05 p.m.

Game Notes: Derrick Bishop was honored before Saturday’s game as he is set to be inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame on Sunday. Bishop collected 144 points for the Griffs from 1991 to 1995 … Gibbons moved into sole possession of fourth place in the program’s Division I history with 120 career points, breaking a tie with David Deeves … Canisius lost for the first time when holding a lead after two periods (entered the game 5-0-2 when up through 40 minutes) … Canisius now leads the Battle of the Bridge series, an all-sports competition between the two schools, 10.5-8.5.

Raiders Rout #8/9 Cornell

Goulakos Nets Hat Trick; Halts Cornell’s Nine-Game Unbeaten Streak

HAMILTON – Junior captain Spiro Goulakos tallied his first career hat trick as the Raiders routed No. 8/9 Cornell, 6-1, on Saturday night in front of a sold out crowd of 2,116 at Starr Rink.

Colgate (14-11-3, 10-5-1 ECAC) saw Goulakos get all three goals in the third period with two of the three coming on the power play and finished with four points. Senior Mike McCann stepped up for the fourth line with a pair goals as well. Charlie Finn moved to 9-2-1 in league play with 23 saves in net.

Cornell (12-5-2, 8-4-4 ECAC) came into the game with the third-longest unbeaten streak in the nation at nine games. The Big Red hadn’t lost a game since Nov. 30. Patrick McCarron had the lone goal for Cornell, while Andy Iles made 17 saves and took the loss. He was relieved by Mitch Gillam in the third period and Gillam made eight stops.

Colgate got the first lead of the game with 8:19 left in the opening from with McCann scoring his sixth of the season after hard work along the boards from Derek Freeman. Cornell had the puck on the sideboards in its own zone and Freeman created the turnover. McCann swooped in to collect the puck and skate in from the right side and beat Iles high and to the glove side for the 1-0 lead.

Darcy Murphy gave the Raiders a two-goal lead with his team-leading 12th of the season with a power play goal coming with 4:16 left in the second. He made a great play skating in front of Iles. It was the first of two points for Murphy on the day.

After a scoreless second period, the Raiders ramped it up in the third with four goals after Cornell made it a one-goal game early in the period. McCarron cut the lead to one with 15:35left in the third.

From there it was all Raiders and Goulakos. The captain scored the first of his three on the night, just over a minute after McCarron’s tally. He was setup nicely by Tylor Spink and Kyle Baun to make it 3-1 on a power play goal with 14:22 left in the game.

McCann increased the lead to 4-1 as he was left all alone in front and Iles couldn’t make the stop. Goulakos won a battle in the corner and found McCann in the slot with a backhanded pass and Iles had no shot at making the save as the senior had all kinds of time in front.

Goulakos closed out the scoring with the final two goals. The first came 14 seconds after McCann’s goal and after Patrick McCarron took a five-minute major. He blasted a shot from the point and it got by Iles to make it 5-1 Raiders. He got the hat trick midway through the period with help from Murphy for the final score of the night, which pushed the lead to 6-1.

Colgate had nine different players tally a point tonight. Colgate was on fire with the extra man with three goals on seven chances, while holding the Big Red scoreless on the power play. Colgate has not allowed power play goal in the last three goals and opponents have not scored with the extra man on the last 14 tries.

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Trailing cross-town rival Canisius heading into the final period of play, Niagara hockey pocketed a three-goal third period to drop Canisius by a score of 4-2 at the Buffalo State Sports Arena on Saturday night.

After Sam Alfieri evened the game at two apiece in the first five minutes of the final frame, Niagara’s Matt Chiarantano scored the go-ahead goal to give the Purple Eagles a 3-2 lead with7:11 remaining in regulation.  Patrick Divjak raced into the Canisius zone and spotted Chiarantano streaking toward the net. Divjak connected with Chiarantano at the top of the slot, who beat Canisius goalie Tony Capobianco with the one timer for his second goal of the season.

The Purple Eagles were able to hold off a late Canisius push, and Divjak added the empty net tally to secure the victory, taking the season series, 2-0-1.

“We talked after the second period that we played a perfect first 20 minutes with 25 attempts and 12 shots on goal,” said head coach Dave Burkholder.  “The second period we didn’t play very well though.  There were penalties on both sides, but Canisius took it to us.  We said if we could duplicate the first period and just work them it would end well for us which is what happened.  To win the season series against the returning champions is huge for us.”

Alfieri accounted for the first pair of the Purple Eagles’ goals, his first career two-goal game, and added an assist for a career-high three-point evening.  Freshman goaltender Adrian Ignagni turned away 22-of-24 shots. Niagara went 2-for-6 on the power play, while holding the Golden Griffins scoreless in 4-of-5 man-up opportunities.

The win pushes Niagara’s overall record to 9-15-4, with a record of 9-8-4 in AHA action. The loss drops Canisius to 10-15-3 overall, with a record of 9-9-3 in conference play.

“After spending a couple games on the sidelines we put Divjak and Lochner back in the lineup,” added Burkholder.  “We need them in our lineup because they make us a better team.  I thought Alfieri with Divjak and Lochner were the difference in the game.”
The first goal of the evening was scored by Alfieri via assists from Chiarantano and Vincent Muto.  With four seconds remaining on Niagara’s first power play of the evening, the junior banked in the puck off Capobianco for his second of the season.

Ignagni made his best save of the period during a Canisius power play opportunity.  Shane Conacher connected with Kyle Gibbons for the one-timer on the doorstep, but Ignagni went post-to-post to rob the senior and keep the Purple Eagles ahead.

Canisius evened the game with 4:41 remaining in the frame as Braeden Rigney jumped on a rebound on a shot by Mitch McCrank, whose shot trickled through the pads of Ignagni where Rigney cashed in on the loose puck.

The only score of the second period came off a Canisius stick as the Golden Griffins capitalized on their own power play opportunity to grab their first lead of the contest.  With 50 seconds remaining on the man-advantage, Gibbons sent in a shot on the Niagara cage where Ignagni made the initial save, but let up a rebound that was eventually pounced on by Ralph Cuddemi for his ninth goal of the season, giving Canisius the 2-1 lead.

With 16:19 left in regulation, Chris Rumbling was whistled for boarding, resulting in a five-minute major where the Niagara power play capitalized with the extra man.  Chris Lochner laced a pass across the slot to Alfieri who in turn found the back of the net at 5:14 for his second tally of the game to deadlock the game at two apiece.

Niagara begins the final three weeks of regular season play with a home-and-home series against former College Hockey America foe Robert Morris on Thursday, Feb. 13 and Saturday, Feb. 15 at 7:05 p.m.  Thursday’s game will take place at Dwyer Arena, while Saturday’s contest is set for the 84 Lumber Arena.

Lewiston, N.Y. – The Canisius College rallied from a two-goal third-period deficit to earn a 4-4 draw at rival Niagara on Thursday night. The Griffs are now 10-14-3 on the season and 9-8-3 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Purple Eagles are 8-15-4 and 8-8-4 versus league foes.

“In a real physical game, we worked really hard for a tie and to earn a point tonight,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “We played well after Niagara came out with high energy in the beginning of the game and the beginning of each period. Our effort put us in position to keep the game where we wanted it to be and we did a good job of overcoming some adversity down two goals to earn a crucial Atlantic Hockey point,”

Seniors Ben Danford (Stillwater, Minn.) and Kyle Gibbons (Westlake, OhIo)and juniors Matthew Grazen (East Amherst, N.Y.) and Doug Jessey (Langdon, Alberta) all scored for the Griffs in the tie.

Junior Keegan Asmundson (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) finished with 25 saves to anchor the Canisius defense.

Canisius grabbed the early thanks to Gibbons’ team-leading 13th tally of the season and his eighth on the power play. Freshman Shane Conacher (Burlington, Ontario) found junior Cody Freeman (Toronto, Ontario) open ahead in the neutral zone. Freeman then fed Gibbons to his left and the senior got a step on his defender and beat the goalie, high glove-side, for the 1-0 lead with 5:40 remaining in the opening period.

Niagara, however, answered right back and scored just 57 seconds later. The Purple Eagles were able to take advantage of a Canisius turnover in its own zone and Brock Edwards finished from right in front to knot the game at one with 4:43 remaining in the first.

The Purple Eagles then grabbed their first lead of the night just 14 seconds into the second frame. Hugo Turcotte skated past a Canisius defender on a rush and finished from right outside the goal crease for the 2-1 advantage.

Canisius knotted the game at two when Grazen tallied his first goal of the season. The junior scored after missing the last 12 games with an injury off a nice pass from sophomore Ralph Cuddemi (Concord, Ontario) from behind the net. Grazen was open in front and finished high to pull Canisius even, 2-2. Conacher also registered his second assist of the night on the goal with 7:11 remaining in the second.

The Purple Eagles once again took advantage of a Canisius turnover in its own zone to reclaim the lead when TJ Sarcona scored with 2:18 remaining in the second for a 3-2 advantage. Niagara then extended its lead to two when Matt Williams blasted a shot into the back of the net just 43 seconds into the third frame for a 4-2 advantage.

Jessey started the Canisius rally with his sixth goal of the season. The junior defender fought for thepuck along the boards, skated toward net and then slipped the puck past the Niagara goalie to pull the Griffs within one, 4-3. Freeman and Gibbons both registered assists on the goal with 13:55 remaining in regulation.

Danford then squared the contest at four with 6:42 remaining in the third period. Off a face-off victory, the senior defender’s shot fluttered into the back of the net for his fourth tally of the season. Cuddemi and junior Mitch McCrank (Haileybury, Ontario) both recorded assists on the game-tying goal.

The schools then played even for the final 11-plus minutes as each team earned a crucial point in the final stretch of the season.

Canisius finished with a 44-29 advantage in shots in the draw. The Griffs also went 1-for-4 on the power play, while killing the only two extra-man chances for Niagara.

Jackson Teichroeb recorded 40 saves for the Purple Eagles.

Niagara Plays to 4-4 Tie Against Canisius

NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – Niagara hockey could not hold onto a two-goal lead against cross-town rival Canisius and had to settle for a 4-4 stalemate on Thursday evening at Dwyer Arena.

Matt Williams scored just 43 seconds into the third frame to give the Purple Eagles a two-goal cushion as the senior took a blistering shot from the point through a screen that made it just under the bar to give NU a 4-2 lead.  The Purple Eagles saw their lead diminish as the game wore on as Doug Jessey and Ben Danford scored the contest’s final two goals to even the game at four apiece and send the contest into extra time.

“When it’s 4-2 you need to lock it down, but Canisius just didn’t quit tonight.  They kept coming at us so I have to give them credit,” head coach Dave Burkholder said.  “We had a lot of rebounds that we didn’t care of at the top of the crease and we’ve got to find a way to shut it down in the third period.  This result feels like a loss.  There’s no consolation in a tie from our end.”

Jackson Teichroeb finished the game with 40 saves, while his counterpart, Asmundson made 25 stops.  Niagara (8-15-4; 8-8-4 AHA) went 0-for-2 while a man-up, and held Canisius scoreless in three of four power play attempts.

“This was playoff hockey.  This series against Canisius comes at a great time for us with only seven games remaining,” Burkholder added.  “I was really happy with our top line tonight.  We need them to keep producing.  This was the best game Conderman has played and TJ Sarcona scored a huge goal for us.  There was a lot of good, but it was unfortunate that we couldn’t finish off what I thought was a good effort.  We did enough to win and just couldn’t get it done.”

With Canisius on a five-on-four power play, Golden Griffin forward Kyle Gibbons opened the scoring 14:20 into the game via assists by Cody Freeman and Chris Conacher.   With a little over a minute remaining on the Griff’s power play, Gibbons fought off NU defenseman Kevin Ryan and went backhand to forehand before beating Teichroeb high glove to make it 1-0.

Niagara answered 57 seconds later to bring the game back even off textbook play across the top of the slot by Mike Conderman and Brock Edwards.  Conderman picked up the puck at the far boards and

connected with Edwards right in front of the blue paint.  The freshman deked the goaltender for the easy tap in to pot his fourth of the year, knotting the game at one piece.

Hugo Turcotte gave Niagara its first lead of the game just 14 seconds into the second frame.  The sophomore walked in on Asmundson, driving across the crease and sneaking the puck down low for his ninth tally of the season.  Vince Muto was credited with the assist.

Matthew Grazen came up with the equalizer at 12:49 of the second, corralling a pass from Ralph Cuddemi at the top of the slot and beating Teichroeb over the right shoulder, but Niagara would regain its lead with a little over two minutes remaining in the period off the stick of TJ Sarcona.   The goal began off a crunching hit by Michael Benedict on Cuddemi in the Griffin defensive zone that forced a turnover.  Conderman picked up the loose puck and dished it to Sarcona who cashed in on a one-timer to make it 3-2 heading into the final period.