Senior Carl Hudson scored the Griffs' lone goal of the game, with senior Josh Heidinger and freshman Torrey Lindsay each tallying an assist.

Senior Andrew Loewen stopped 39 shots in goal for the Griffs.

"I thought we showed signs of a bright future in the second period," said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. "We played with tenacity and played a good team game but there were too many moments tonight where it showed that it was our first game and their second match. It was good to see some of our new players get their feet wet. We just need to cut down on our mistakes and do a better job of taking advantage of theirs."

The Bulldogs opened the scoring just 1:16 into the contest. Eric Alexander got past the Canisius defense and then beat Loewen to give Ferris State a 1-0 advantage. Zach Redmond stretched the Bulldogs' lead to two at the 9:29 mark, finding the back of the net on a power play.

The Canisius defense then clamped down as the Griffs attempted a rally. Hudson cut the deficit to one at the 10:13 mark of the second period, firing a shot in on the power play off a pass from Lindsay.

The Griffs then had a number of chances to tie the game after Hudson's goal. Canisius had 35 seconds of a 5-on-3 power play in the third period but could not find the back of the net. Junior Pat Kenney then got a shot past the Ferris State goaltender but the puck ringed off the post.

Ferris State would then seal its victory with three goals in the final 10 minutes of the game. Travis Ouellette and Kyle Bonnis both notched goals on breakaway chances and Aaron Lewicki ended the scoring with 1:13 left in the contest.

"We came out a little slow tonight," Heidinger said. "We got into the game as the first period went on and played well in the second. When they killed the 5-on-3 power play, it took a little out of us from there. We were able to show some good stuff at times though tonight."

Taylor Nelson recorded 23 saves in net for the Bulldogs to earn the victory.

The two teams wrap up the two-game series tomorrow night. Game time at the Buffalo State Sports Arena is set for 7:05 p.m.

Game Notes: Hudson's power play goal was the 21st of his career ... He is just one shy of the program's Division I record, set by Michael Cohen ... Hudson has tallied 21 of his 31 career goals on the power play (67.7 percent) ... The assist for Lindsay was the first collegiate point of his career ... Canisius falls to 9-17-4 all-time in season openers and 3-7-2 at the Division I level.