Junior Keegan Asmundson (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) stopped 31 shots to post his first collegiate shutout and lead the Canisius College hockey team to a 3-0 victory at Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Griffs complete the sweep and improve to 7-10-1 and 6-4-1 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Crusaders drop to 4-13-2 and 3-7-2 against league foes.

“It took us awhile to get going today and Holy Cross came out with electric legs,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “Keegan kept us in the first period and a big five-minute penalty kill really energized our bench. From that point on, we played very confident, very together and with effective effort.”

Senior Patrick Sullivan (Derby, N.Y.), junior Cody Freeman (Toronto, Ontario) and sophomore Stephen Miller (Boxborough, Mass.) all scored for the Griffs in the winning effort.

The Griffs struck first in the contest thanks to Freeman’s third tally of the season. From the corner, Sullivan centered the puck and Freeman swatted it out of the air and into the net from right in front for the early lead. Senior Kyle Gibbons (Westlake, Ohio) also registered an assist on the goal with 3:08 remaining in the first.

Despite the one-goal lead, it was Holy Cross that was controlling the play of the game in the first 20-plus minutes. A five-minute major called on the Griffs actually swung the momentum to Canisius’ favor. During the five-minute power play, Holy Cross could only get one shot on goal, compared to two plus one post hit for the Griffs. Canisius then slowly made its mark on the game for the remaining 26-plus minutes.

Canisius finally took advantage of its strong play when Sullivan netted his sixth goal of the season with 14:34 remaining in regulation. The senior finished a rush to stretch the Griffs lead to 2-0 with assists going to Freeman and junior Logan Roe (Fort Myers, Fla.).

The Griffs then sealed the victory when Miller scored an empty-net goal with 1:45 left in regulation – his second tally of the season.

Holy Cross finished the game with a 31-26 advantage in shots, while neither team converted on the power play – Canisius had five extra-man chances and killed all three Holy Cross power plays.

Canisius looks to continue their winning ways next weekend with a home series against Sacred Heart. The schools begin the two-game set on Saturday at 3:05 p.m.

The Canisius College hockey team topped host Holy Cross, 4-2, on Friday night. The Griffs improve to 6-10-1 on the season with the win and 5-4-1 against Atlantic Hockey foes, while the Crusaders drop to 4-11-2 and 3-5-2 in league play.

“It was a really big win and great team effort tonight,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “We played with the lead very well and responded with a gritty third period to win game one.”

Sophomore Ralph Cuddemi (Concord, Ontario) led the Griffs with a career-best three points, scoring two goals and adding an assist. Junior Doug Jessey (Langdon, Alberta) and sophomore Chris Rumble (Seattle, Wash.) also added goals for Canisius.

Senior Tony Capobianco (Mississauga, Ontario) recorded 33 saves to anchor the Canisius defense in victory.

After a scoreless opening period, the team traded power-play tallies to start the second frame. Jessey opened the scoring with his third goal of the season. The junior ripped a shot into the net from the point for the 1-0 lead with 14:16 remaining in the stanza with the assists going to Cuddemi and freshman Shane Conacher (Burlington, Ontario).

The Crusaders answered back with a power-play goal of their own when Brett Lubanski tipped a shot high into the net with6:52 left in the period.

The teams then traded even-strength goal to finish the period. Canisius reclaimed its lead with 2:13 remaining in the second when Cuddemi scored his fourth of the year. Rumble fired a shot on goal that was saved but the rebound went to Cuddemi and he buried his chance for the 2-1 lead. Sophomore Mathew Backhouse (Thompson, Manitoba) also registered an assist on the tally.

The Canisius lead, however, was short-lived as Holy Cross answered right back just 36 seconds later when Adam Schmidt scored as the teams headed into the final intermission knotted at two.

The Griffs finally claimed the lead for good when Rumble scored his third goal of the season. The sophomore sent a shot toward goal from the blue line that deflected off a Holy Cross defender and into the net for 3-2 advantage with 8:11remaining in regulation. Sophomore Stephen Miller (Boxborough, Mass.) posted the assist on the go-ahead goal.

Cuddemi then sealed the Canisius win with his second goal of the game with 2:40 remaining. Conacher forced a Holy Cross turnover and then found Cuddemi open in front from behind the net. The sophomore forward then finished his opportunity from the slot for the 4-2 final score.

Holy Cross finished the game with a 35-31 advantage in shots with both teams going 1-for-2 on the power play.

Matt Ginn recorded 27 saves in defeat for the Crusaders.

WALTHAM, Mass. – The Niagara and Bentley hockey teams battled to a 2-2 draw on Friday evening at the John Ryan Skating Arena in Atlantic Hockey action.

Both teams battled back from a goal down in regulation to send the contest into the extra time where Bentley seized control, outshooting NU 6-3 in overtime.  Neither team could notch the go-ahead goal though, and for the third time this season the Purple Eagles had to settle for a stalemate.

Niagara saw freshman goaltender Adrian Ignagni step up with 34 saves in net, including six in overtime, while Brock Edwards was credited with the game-tying goal and Ryan Rashid added his team-leading sixth of the year.

“How the team would respond after the lengthy break was a concern of ours, but I thought our commitment to detail, our execution and effort was there from start to finish,” head coach Dave Burkholder said.  “Bentley is a first-place team playing at home so we need to come back tomorrow with the same effort.  If we play hard and with passion we’re going to be a really good team second semester.”

Niagara (3-11-3; 3-4-3 AHA) started the scoring as Rashid netted the Purple Eagles’ first goal 9:16 into the game.  Rashid picked up the puck in the neutral zone after blocking a Matt Maher shot and raced in one-on-one toward Bentley goaltender Branden Komm, cutting across the crease before tucking a backhand underneath the goaltender for his team-leading sixth goal of the season.

Ignagni kept Bentley off the board in the opening frame with 10 saves as the Purple Eagles peppered Komm with 11 looks on net.

The Purple Eagles came out firing in the second 20 minutes of play, outshooting Bentley, 14-8, but Komm denied each attempt.  Bentley (9-7-2; 7-2-2 AHA) would tally the game’s next pair of goals, first pulling level at one with a goal from Brett Gensler 16:17into the middle frame as the senior picked up a loose puck just outside the blue paint and deposited it into the net for his tenth goal of the season.

The Falcons grabbed their first lead of the contest with 16:44 remaining in regulation as Alex Grieve snapped a shot from the point that snuck its way through traffic and past Ignagni to make it 2-1.  Edwards would respond, however at 9:22 with his second goal of the season to knot the game, 2-2.  The freshman took a feed from Matt Chiarantano and let fly a shot that beat Komm over the shoulder.

The draw kept Niagara undefeated against Bentley in the all-time series (5-0-2).

Olson scores game winner 9 seconds into OT, Hobart tops #5/7 Williams 3-2

Box Score

Hobart College sophomore Mac Olson (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) scored just nine seconds into overtime to secure a 3-2 victory for the Statesmen hockey team over No. 5/7 Williams College in the first game of the 2014 Buck Supply Winter Classic hosted by Plattsburgh State this afternoon.

Hobart improves to 3-4-4 overall with the victory in the first game of the 2014 portion of its schedule. The Statesmen served the Ephs (5-1-2) their first loss this season. It was the seventh overtime game Hobart has played this year and its first OT victory. The Statesmen advance to the Buck Supply Winter Classic championship game tomorrow, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. Hobart will take on the winner of tonight’s 7 p.m. game between No. 1 Plattsburgh and Hamilton.

The Statesmen took a 1-0 lead just 19 seconds into the game. Junior Robert Sovik (Prague/Czech Republic) tallied his team-high fifth goal this season. His shot from right in front deflected off the post and into the goal. Senior Tommy Fiorentino (New Hartford, N.Y.) earned the assist.

Williams tied up the game at 10:25 in the second period. Nick Anderson sent home a shot after a pass from George Hunkele.

Just 6:10 into the third period, junior Tommaso Traversa (Torino, Italy) put the Statesmen back on top 2-1 with a power-play goal. It was his second goal this season. Traversa tipped in a shot by first-year Carl Belizario (Dorval, Quebec)from the right points. Junior Ryan Michel (Camillus, N.Y.) also earned an assist on the play. A little over five minutes later, Williams tied the game for a second time. Sam Gray made it 2-2 off assists from Greg Johnson and Hunkele to send the game into the extra period.

Only nine seconds after the overtime began, Olson clinched the win for Hobart. With a lot of traffic in front of the net, Olson was able to sneak one past Williams’ goaltender Sean Dougherty for his fourth of the season. He leads the Statesmen with eight points this year.

Dougherty finished with 33 saves in 60:06 in goal for the Ephs. Sophomore Lino Chimienti (Montreal, Quebec) made 24 saves in all 60:09 in goal for the Statesmen. Hobart held a 36-26 advantage in shots. The Statesmen went 1-for-3 on the power play, and Williams finished 0-for-5.

Canisius (5-10-1, 4-4-1 AHA) at Holy Cross (4-11-2, 3-7-0 AHA)
Dates: Friday, January 3 / Saturday, January 4
Times: 7:05 p.m. / 3:05 p.m.
Location: Worcester, Mass.  |  Hart Center
TV/Webcast: America One Network
Live Audio: GoGriffs.com
DI Series History: Holy Cross leads, 28-11-9

The Canisius College hockey team returns to Atlantic Hockey play for the first time in four weeks with a weekend series at Holy Cross. The schools are set to meet on Friday at 7:05 p.m. and on Saturday at 3:05 p.m.

SCOUTING THE GRIFFS
• Canisius (5-10-1, 4-4-1 AHA) lost a pair of games at the Catamount Cup last weekend, falling to No. 10 UMass Lowell and Vermont.
• Senior Kyle Gibbons leads the Griffs with 15 points and eight goals.
• Senior Tony Capobianco has started 10-of-16 games in net, posting a 3.29 goals against average and .904 save percentage.

LAW AND CONACHER PROVIDE OFFENSIVE BOOST
• Forwards Taylor Law and Shane Conacher have both returned from injuries in the first half of the year and sparked the Canisius offense.
• Law missed 11 games from Nov. 1 to Dec. 7 but returned last weekend and scored a goal. He has two goals in five games this season.
• Conacher missed nine games from Oct. 25 to Nov. 19. The rookie now has four points (2g, 2a) in his first seven collegiate games.
• Canisius is averaging 3.00 goals per game when at least one of the duo plays this year (compared to 1.86 goals when both are out).

GIBBONS REACHES SECOND MILESTONE OF THE YEAR
• Senior Kyle Gibbons continues to make headlines at Canisius, reaching a pair of milestones during his senior campaign.
• On Nov. 19, Gibbons became the eighth player in the school’s Division I history to reach 100 points for his career. He then became just the third Griff in the program’s history to score 50 career goals on Dec. 6.
• Gibbons is one of only six active players in the NCAA with 100 career points and 50 career goals.

ROAD WOES
• To be their most successful, Canisius needs to carry its play at home to the road.
• The Griffs, at 3-0-1, are one of only two unbeatens nationally at home (Wisconsin).
• Canisius, however, has struggled away from Buffalo with a 2-10-0 mark. Its scoring difference has also gone from +1.5 to -1.6.

CANISIUS – HOLY CROSS SERIES HISTORY
• The Crusaders hold a 32-13-9 advantage in a series that dates back to 1986, including a 28-11-9 edge in Division I meetings.
• The schools split two games in Buffalo last season, with the Griffs blanking Holy Cross in the opener, 3-0, before falling in the finale, 5-1.
• Holy Cross has controlled the series in Worcester, owning a 14-4-5 edge against the Griffs since the 1998-99 campaign. Canisius is just 1-5-1 in its last seven games at Holy Cross and has not won a regular-season meeting at the Hart Center since 2007.

ABOUT THE CRUSADERS
• Holy Cross enters the weekend with a 4-11-2 record and a 3-5-2 mark in Atlantic Hockey play.
• The Crusaders were swept last weekend, falling to Atlantic Hockey foe Bentleyon Saturday and Yale on Sunday.
• Adam Schmidt leads the team with 11 points (4g, 7a), while Matt Vidal is right behind with 10 points (4g, 6a).
• Matt Ginn has started every game in goal for Holy Cross, posting a 2.93 goals against average and .912 save percentage.

The Colgate men’s hockey team is ready to kick off 2014 in the Mariucci Classic at Minnesota as the Raiders start with the top-ranked Golden Gophers tomorrow night.

The Raiders take on the top team in the country at 8:07 p.m. and can be seen live on Fox College Sports Central. There will be live audio and live stats for the game, but no live video.On Saturday, Colgate takes on either Rensselaer or #2 Ferris State and that game will be at 5 p.m. from Mariucci Arena.

COLGATE HOCKEY ON TWITTER
Colgate men’s hockey is on Twitter. Fans can follow along for behind the scenes photos and facts, while also getting game day updates and alumni stories. Search for the Twitter handle @Colgate_Hockey and follow the Raiders today.

THIS WEEK: MARIUCCI CLASSIC
Colgate takes its longest road trip of the season with a visit to Minnesota for the Mariucci Classic on Jan. 3 and 4. The Raiders take on top-ranked Minnesota on Friday night and then face either Rensselaer or No. 2 Ferris State on Saturday. Colgate has already played RPI and the Bulldogs this season and has a 1-2-0 mark, which included a win over Ferris State in the second game of the year.

NEXT UP: OLD RIVAL VISIT STARR RINK
The Raiders are back home next weekend with Vermont coming to Starr Rink for a single game on Jan. 11. The Catamounts were an old member of ECAC Hockey before moving onto Hockey East. Vermont jumped into the national polls this week at No. 20.

FAMILIAR FOES AT CLASSIC
Colgate has already faced two of the three other teams at the Mariucci Classic as the Raiders split with now No. 2 Ferris State at home on the first weekend of the season. After a 7-4 defeat in the season opener, Colgate responded with one its best games with a 1-0 win as Eric Mihalik pushed aside 25 shots for his fourth career shutout. The Raiders took on the Engineers on its first road conference weekend of the year and were beaten by RPI at Houston Fieldhouse.

LAST MINUTE WIN
In their last game of 2013, the Raiders hosted the Russian Red Stars and needed three goals in the third period to come away with a 3-2 win on New Year’s Eve. Colgate scored all three goals in a seven-minute span and the comeback was complete with Tylor Spink scoring the gamewinner with 19 seconds left.

POWERING UP THE POWER PLAY
Colgate has had its struggles on the power play recently, but got its offense going with the extra skater against the Red Stars. The Raiders scored twice on the man advantage and both goals came at critical times in the game. Kyle Baun and Tylor Spink scored the two power play goals and it was a good showing as the Raiders look to improve in the area during the second half of the season.

BORKOWSKI BRIGHT SPOT
Mike Borkowski finished off the UMass series with his first career multi-goal game in the 3-2 loss on Dec. 15. The sophomore second liner has already equaled his point total from his rookie year with 17 and he has posted a career-high five multi-point games. Two of his multi-point games have been three point outings against St. Cloud State and Union.

DOMINATING CLASS
After leading the team in total points last season, the sophomore class has been putting the goals and assists on the board once again. The Class of 2016 has recorded 79 points out of the 121 scored this season, which is 65 percent of the scoring output. They have scored 32 of the 45 goals this year and all top five scorers for Colgate are sophomores. All seven sophomore skaters have tallied points this season.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GOPHERS
Top-ranked Minnesota enters its home tournament with a 12-2-2 mark and a 3-0-1 record in the inaugural year of the Big Ten Conference. The Gophers have gone unbeaten in their last four games and in eight of their last nine. They are coming off a three-point weekend at Michigan State with a 3-2 win on Dec. 7 after a 2-2 tie the night before. Minnesota has done it with a struggling power play at 15.6 efficiency. The defense is the strong point as the Gophers have outscored their opponents 63-34 in 16 games. They are in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense and defense.

Sam Warning leads the way with 20 points on the year with five goals and 15 assists. Seth Ambroz is tops in goals with eight on the year. Justin Kloos is second on the team in points with 17. The top two scorers are not NHL draft picks, while the Gophers have 15 on the roster.

One of those picks is goalie Adam Wilcox, while has started 15 of the 16 games played for Minnesota. He has an 11-2-2 mark with a 2.17 goals against average. He has also posted a .923 save percentage and has one shutout.

SERIES HISTORY
The Raiders and Gophers have faced off six times previously with Minnesota winning all six matchups. The most interesting game of the series came in the early 70s with the teams going to overtime and the Gophers winning a wild 7-6 game.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Ferris State has been on a roll since the Raiders last saw the Bulldogs on the first weekend of the season. They have the longest unbeaten streak in the country at 15 with a 12-0-3 mark. The run has put them as the No. 2 team in the nation. Special teams have been great for Ferris State with a 21.7 percent success rate on the power play and have killed off 85 percent of opponents extra man chances. The Bulldogs are fourth in the nation in combined special teams.

A dominating opening 10 minutes led host Vermont to a 6-2 victory against the Canisius College hockey team on Sunday night at the Catamount Cup. The loss drops the Griffs to 5-10-1 on the season, while the Catamounts improve to 10-6-1

“It was a tough weekend on the scoreboard but there are quite a few positives to take out of it,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “We knew going into a difficult non-conference schedule that we had to be patient and positive and then apply those characteristics to league play. Now, we need to ramp up our play in conference and build confidence for Holy Cross next weekend.”

Senior Duncan McKellar (Phoenix, Ariz.) and freshman Shane Conacher (Burlington, Ontario) both scored for the Griffs in the loss.

Junior Keegan Asmundson (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) recorded a career-best 40 saves in defeat, while sophomore Adam Harris (Penticton, British Columbia) stopped 15 shots in his first collegiate appearance.

The Catamounts came out strong and didn’t look back after three goals in the first 9:14 of action. Chris McCarthy opened the scoring, netting a rebound just 54 seconds into the contest. Pete Massar then scored seconds after a full two minutes of 5-on-3 action for the Catamounts, tallying a goal at the 7:13 mark before Mario Puskarich finished the run 9:14 into the period.

Overall, Vermont outshot the Griffs, 19-1, in the first 13 minutes of action before Canisius was able to get in the game.

McKellar got the Griffs on the scoreboard with his first tally of the season with 6:14 remaining in the first. Junior Carl Larsson (Anderstorp, Sweden) sent the puck back to McKellar on the blue line and the defender fired a shot in for the 3-1 score. Junior Braeden Rigney (Singhampton, Ontario) also recorded an assist on the Griffs’ first goal of the contest.

The Catamounts extended their lead in the second frame, connecting on a power play just with8:03 left in the period. Michael Paliotta scored off a faceoff victory for a 4-1 lead through 40 minutes of action. Vermont added another tally when Matt White finished a 2-on-1 rush with12:54 remaining in the game for a 5-1 advantage.

Conacher added his second goal of the season with 2:01 left in regulation, finishing a 3-on-2 rush. Junior Mitch McCrank (Haileybury, Ontario) found Conacher trailing on the rush and the rookie finished his chance for the 5-2 score. Senior Kyle Gibbons (Westlake, Ohio) also registered an assist on the tally.

The Catamounts then finished the scoring with just 1.7 seconds remaining in the game when Jake Fallon scored on a breakaway.

Vermont finished the game with a 61-28 advantage in shots. The Catamounts were also 1-for-3 on the power play, while killing all three Canisius extra-man chances.

Last Minute Tally Lifts Raiders

Tylor Spink Scores Two Power Play Goals Against Russian Red Stars

HAMILTON – After only one goal in the first 50 minutes of action, the Raiders scored three in the final seven minutes to earn a 3-2 come-from-behind win over the Russian Red Stars in an exhibition game on Tuesday.

Colgate saw Tylor Spink factor in all three goals with a pair of power play tallies and an assist on his 21st birthday. Tyson Spink had an assist on his 21st birthday as well. Kyle Baun made it a Cornwall Colts hat trick with a goal that tied the game at 2-2. Charlie Finn got the start and made 10 saves, while Mihalik finished the game with 15 stops.

The Red Stars got two goals from Alexander Kuvaev with the first coming just 26 seconds into the game. Vacheslav Volkov was impressive in net for the Russian team with 29 saves, including 14 in the second period.

The Raiders were able to get their power play on track in the third period with a pair goals and ended the night with a 2-for-5 with the extra man. The Red Stars scored once on the power and it gave them a 2-1 lead late in the game.

The gamewinning goal by the Raiders was an impressive one as Mike Borkowski passed the puck down to Tyson Spink and he slid a cross-ice pass to the opposite. Tylor Spink was waiting for the pass and buried the puck with 19 seconds left to earn the 3-2 win.

Colgate is back on the ice on Friday as the Raiders take on top-ranked Minnesota at 8:07 p.m.and the game can be seen live on Fox College Sports Central on any Time Warner Cable system.