USAF Academy, Colo. ? The Canisius College hockey team won its second-straight game at nationally-ranked Air Force, defeating the No. 15 Falcons 4-2 in front of 2,698 fans at the Cadet Ice Center. With the win, the Griffs improved to 9-8-4 on the season and 7-6-2 in Atlantic Hockey play.
“It was a tremendous effort from all four lines, six defenders and Andrew Loewen stood tall in net,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “We showed terrific composure and continued to play aggressively and confidently with the lead in the third period.”
Sophomore Cory Conacher, junior Ryan Klusendorf, junior Jason Weeks and sophomore Vincent Scarsella all tallied goals for the Griffs in the victory.
Junior Andrew Loewen stopped 46 shots in net to earn his fifth victory of the season.
“I'm drained,” Loewen said. “They are a tough team and it feels great to get a victory like this. It was a total team effort. Everybody played this weekend and contributed to our success. When everybody is on the same page, we can do amazing things.”
The Falcons (15-6-1, 12-3-1 Atlantic Hockey) opened the scoring 9:14 into the contest. Derrick Burnett intercepted a clearing pass and skated in on a 2-on-0 break. Loewen stopped Burnett's shot but Matt Fairchild was there to tip in the rebound for his seventh goal of the season.
The Griffs knotted the game 31 seconds into the second stanza, taking advantage of a 5-on-3 power play. Junior Carl Hudson fired a shot toward the goal but Air Force's Andrew Volkening made the save. The rebound went right to Conacher in the slot and the sophomore turned and fired a shot past Volkening to tie the game at one. Freshman Dave Kostuch also registered an assist on the power play score.
Canisius claimed its first lead of the evening with 9:41 left in the second period. Senior Spencer Churchill won a faceoff back to Hudson. The junior defender skated to the goal line and found Klusendorf open on the back door. Klusendorf then tipped the puck in for his first goal of the season.
Weeks stretched the Griffs lead to two, scoring a short-handed tally with 31 seconds remaining in the period. Junior Dave Cianfrini blocked a shot by an Air Force defender and the puck went to Weeks, who skated the length of the ice and beat Volkening for his fourth score of the season.
The Falcons cut the Canisius lead to one, scoring 3:12 into the third period. Blake Page found a loose puck in front of the net and knocked it in past Loewen for his fourth goal of the season.
Air Force, however, could not find the equalizer. With just over two minutes remaining in the game, the Falcons elected to go with the empty net. Freshman Wes Love gained possession in the Griffs' defensive zone and lofted the puck to Scarsella. The sophomore then skated in with no defenders in his way and sealed the Griffs' victory with 1:39 left in the game.
The Falcons held a 48-25 advantage in shots but Loewen was up for the challenge. Volkening recorded 21 saves in net for Air Force. Canisius went 1-for-3 with the extra-man advantage and killed all six Air Force power plays. The Falcons entered the game ranked first nationally with the extra man, converting 26.8 percent of their opportunities.
The Griffs return to action on Thursday, hosting RIT in Atlantic Hockey play. Game time at the Buffalo State Sports Arena is slated for 7:05 p.m.
Game Notes: Canisius improved to 2-13-1 all-time against nationally-ranked teams, including 2-2-1 in its last five games ... The Griffs are now 4-4-2 all-time against Air Force and 3-1-2 in Colorado ... Canisius is unbeaten in its last four road games and is 6-5-2 away from Buffalo ... Canisius' six road victories this season are one more then it had in the last two seasons combined ... Weeks' short-handed tally was the fifth of his career, breaking the program's Division I record of four, shared by Steve Birch and Brad Kenny ... Scarsella's empty-netter was the first for a Canisius game this season.
