Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. - The Canisius College hockey team lost to host Lake Superior State on Saturday night, 3-0, in front of 2,756 fans. The loss drops the Griffs to 1-3-0 on the season, while the Lakers improve to 3-1-0.
"I'm disappointed with the loss," said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. "We just weren't able to get pucks to the net and I give credit to them. They did a very good job defensively tonight. We did some good things. We were more committed to managing the puck at the blue line. It was a much better team effort tonight compared to yesterday."
The Lakers began the contest strong, tallying two early goals just 43 seconds apart. Will Acton opened the scoring, netting his first goal of the season on a rebound opportunity while Lake Superior State was on the power play. Tyson Hobbins answered at the 5:03 mark, hammering in a loose puck in front on the net to give the Lakers a 2-0 advantage at the end of one period.
Both teams had a number of power play opportunities in the second stanza but neither could take advantage. The Griffs missed out on three chances, while killing two Laker power plays, including a five-minute major. Lake Superior State was able to stretch its advantage to three with an even-strength goal. Simon Gysbers netted his first tally of the season with 2:19 remaining in the second for the period's only goal.
The Griffs mustered nine shots on goal in the third period but still couldn't get the puck past Brian Mahoney-Wilson, who recorded 18 saves on the night.
Sophomore Dan Morrison recorded 24 saves for Canisius in the defeat.
Lake Superior State was 1-for-3 with the extra-man advantage on the night, while the Griffs went without a power play score in five chances.
Canisius is back in action next Saturday, hosting Holy Cross in an Atlantic Hockey matchup. Game time at the Buffalo State Sports Arena is set for 4:05 p.m.
Game Notes: Senior Carl Hudson played in his 100th career game ... The Griffs were shutout for the first time since a 3-0 defeat to Air Force on Jan. 22, 2007, ending a span of 45 games with a goal ... The game was the first in the series that was decided by more than one goal.
