The Canisius College hockey team rallied from three-goals down to tie the game but the Bentley Falcons escaped the Amherst Pepsi Center with a 4-3 victory on Saturday, scoring a power play goal with 5:39 left in the game. The Griffs fell to 7-8-4 on the season and 5-6-2 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Falcons improved to 8-10-1 and 7-6-1 in league play.
“It came down to one power play,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “It could have gone either way and it just wasn't with us tonight. It was a really good college hockey game. I thought we showed a lot of heart to battle back and I was very happy with our power play tonight. In the end, we couldn't overcome the early deficit.”
Sophomore Vincent Scarsella posted a goal and an assist, while junior Jason Weeks and freshman Dave Kostuch each tallied a goal. Sophomore Cory Conacher posted two assists in the defeat. All three Canisius goals were scored on the power play.
Bentley's Erik Peterson took advantage of two Canisius miscues to give the Falcons a 2-0 advantage after one. He scored his first goal after intercepting a pass in the neutral zone and beating Canisius goalie Andrew Loewen one-on-one. Peterson then posted his second goal of the night on a 2-on-1 rush with 4:31 left in the first.
The Falcons stretched their lead to three 49 seconds into the second stanza when Jeff Gumaer connected on the power play. The Griffs would respond with three power play goals of their own, all in the second period.
Scarsella scored the Griffs first goal of the evening 13:38 into the second period with Conacher and junior Carl Hudson posting the assists. On the team's next power play, senior Spencer Churchill found Weeks on the crease and the junior knocked the puck in to bring the Griffs within one. Freshman Adam Brace also posted an assist on the goal.
Kostuch knotted the game, scoring on the power play with 45 seconds left in the second. The freshman swatted at the puck while on his knees and found the back of the net for his team-leading 12th goal of the season. Scarsella and Conacher both registered an assist on the game-tying score.
The Falcons came out firing in the third period and took advantage of its sixth power play attempt. Dain Prewitt got behind the Canisius defense and beat Loewen one-on-one to seal the weekend sweep for Bentley.
“We struggled in the first period tonight,” Scarsella said. “We were much better in the second period and we gained a lot of momentum. We tried to carry that into the third period and they snuck one by us.”
Bentley outshot the Griffs 42-28, including a 21-9 advantage in the third period. Loewen recorded 38 saves in net for the Griffs.
Canisius converted three of its nine power play attempts, while Bentley was 2-for-6 with the extra-man advantages.
The Griffs return to the ice on Friday and Saturday, playing at No. 14 Air Force.
Game Notes: Bentley is 10-2-1 in its last 13 games against Canisius ... Kostuch tallied three power play goals in the two-game series. He now has six extra-man goals this season, twice as many as the next-highest Griff ... The last time Canisius scored three power play goals was against RIT on Feb. 10, 2008 ... Bentley converted seven of its 13 extra-man advantages during the weekend series.
