Big Rapids, Mich. ? Superb special teams and strong goaltending led the Canisius hockey team to a convincing 5-2 victory over CCHA foe Ferris State to open the season.
“I'm really proud of the demeanor of our team tonight,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “The power play kept the game even in the first period with some timely goals. Then I thought the short-handed goals gave us some momentum. Special teams and goaltending definitely led us to the victory lane tonight.”
The Griffs (1-0-0) scored two power-play goals in seven opportunities and also added two short-handed tallies, while holding the Bulldogs (0-1-0) scoreless on six extra-man chances.
Sophomore Cory Conacher led the Griffs with three points on two goals and an assist, while junior goalie Andrew Loewen anchored the Canisius defense with 50 saves.
Junior Josh Heidinger tallied two points on a goal and an assist, while Carl Hudson and Dave Kostuch also added a goal. Junior Jason Weeks and sophomore Vincent Scarsella paced the offense with two assists apiece.
The Bulldogs opened the scoring at the 3:38 mark. Off a faceoff victory, Ferris State's Justin Lewandowski had his shot deflected and the puck trickled past Loewen for the game's first goal. The Griffs answered with a score at the 11:03 mark, connecting on the power play. A loose puck went off the boards and right to Hudson, who one-timed it in for the team's first goal of the season. Weeks and Scarsella each posted an assist on the score.
Ferris State reclaimed its advantage with 4:16 remaining in the first. Blair Riley skated past the Canisius defense and beat Loewen one-on-one. The Griffs once again answered the Bulldogs' score with another power-play score, connecting on a two-man advantage with 1:48 left in the first. Heidinger fired a shot in off a pass from Weeks to knot the game at the end of the first stanza. Conacher also registered an assist on the goal.
Canisius claimed its first lead of the evening 4:01 into the second period. Freshman Wes Love blocked a shot during a Ferris State power play. The puck went to Conacher and the sophomore outhustled the Bulldogs' defense and scored on a breakaway for the short-handed tally. The Griffs scored on a breakaway once again as Kostuch tallied his first career goal at the 11:12 mark. Heidinger recorded an assist on the Griffs' fourth score of the game.
Strong special teams continued for Canisius as the Griffs once again scored a short-handed tally. Scarsella forced a Ferris State turnover in its own zone and Conacher found the back of the net once again to give Canisius a three-goal advantage with 2:36 remaining in the second period.
The Bulldogs attempted a comeback in the third period but Loewen was up to the challenge, making 21 of his 50 saves in the final period of play.
The Griffs and the Bulldogs wrap up the series tomorrow night with game time slated for 5:05 p.m.
Game Notes: The victory was the first for the Griffs against a team from one of the four original conferences (CCHA, ECAC, Hockey East, WCHA) ... Canisius is now 1-8-3 all-time against teams from the CCHA ... The Griffs improved to 9-16-4 in season openers and 3-6-2 at the Division I level ... Hudson has scored 13 of his 17 career goals on the power play ... Love's assist was the first point of his career ... The Griffs scored two short-handed goals for the first time since Jan. 12, 2008 against Connecticut ... Conacher is the first Griff to score two short-handed goals in a game since Weeks accomplished the feat on Jan. 6, 2007 against Army.
