Milford, Conn. – A sloppy first period once again cost the Canisius College hockey team as Sacred Heart defeated the Griffs, 4-0, on Saturday night. The loss drops Canisius to 2-4-0 on the season and 2-2-0 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Pioneers improved to 3-2-1 and 2-1-0 against conference foes.
“We gave them three goals in the first period and put ourselves behind the eight-ball,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “It was a long way back and we weren’t able to climb out of the early hole we put ourselves in. We are still learning how to play effectively on back-to-back nights and it is something we need to improve on for the growth of our team.”
The Pioneers struck with three first-period goals and never looked back en route to the victory. Justin Danforth opened the scoring, connecting on a rebound 9:41 into the contest. Jacob Brightbill then scored on a wrap-around with 1:26 remaining in the first before Evan Jasper snuck one in with just one second remaining for the 3-0 score after 20 minutes of play.
Sacred Heart quickly added to its lead in the second when Zach De Concilys scored on a rebound just 1:40 into the frame for the 4-0 advantage. The four goals were more than enough on the day as the schools split the weekend series.
The Pioneers finished the game with a 30-18 advantage in shots. Neither team scored on the power play with Canisius having two opportunities and killing all four Sacred Heart chances.
Canisius takes a break from Atlantic Hockey play with a home game against No. 17 Merrimack on Saturday. The schools are set to meet at HARBORCENTER with a 6:05 p.m. puck drop.
Game Notes: Canisius has now been outscored by a 10-0 margin in the first period this season … The Griffs have played even with their opponent in the second and third period, tied 11-11 during the final 40 minutes of the contest … Junior Shane Conacher had his career-best six-game point streak snapped … The Griffs, who entered the weekend with a 54.5 percent penalty kill, successfully killed all nine power plays this weekend.
