Erie, Pa. ? The Canisius College hockey team lost its regular-season finale, falling at Mercyhurst 4-3 in overtime. The Griffs finish the regular season with a 14-14-6 record and 12-12-4 in Atlantic Hockey play.
“I thought we played very well,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “It was a good 60-minute hockey game. We had a chance to win in overtime but their goalie came up big. They came down and banged one out of the air but I am pleased with our effort today. I thought our special teams was very good.”
Sophomore Cory Conacher and freshmen Adam Brace and Dave Kostuch each tallied a goal for the Griffs.
Freshman Dan Morrison stopped a career-best 41 shots in net.
The Griffs controlled the tempo of the first 10 minutes of play, outshooting Mercyhurst 14-3, but still found themselves trailing, 2-0. The Lakers scored 36 seconds into the game when Cody Collins sent a pass from behind the net to Neil Graham, who found the back of net for his seventh goal of the season. Matt Pierce also scored for Mercyhurst, notching a short-handed goal 3:29 into the game.
Canisius cut the lead to one when Conacher tallied a short-handed goal with 3.8 seconds left in the first. Junior Jason Weeks won a faceoff to the corner and then centered the puck to Conacher. The sophomore then beat Mercyhurst' Matt Lundin for his 11th goal of the season.
Mercyhurst (19-14-3, 17-8-3 Atlantic Hockey) reclaimed its two-goal advantage when Collins fired a shot in off a rebound. Collins' second goal of the season came 6:52 into the second frame.
Canisius once again cut the Mercyhurst lead to one when Brace scored with a two-man advantage. Junior Carl Hudson fired a shot toward the goal and Brace cleaned up the rebound for his fourth goal of the season. Conacher also registered an assist on the power play score 9:21 into the second.
Mercyhurst would maintain its lead until 1:14 left in the third period. After successfully killing a five-minute major penalty, including four minutes of 5-on-3, Canisius converted on a power play of its own. Kostuch found the back of the net off a feed from junior Josh Heidinger for his team-leading 18th goal of the season. Brace also posted an assist on the goal.
Canisius opened the overtime session with a great chance to win the game. Kostuch tipped a shot toward the goal off a crossing pass but Lundin made the save. Mercyhurst came down on the other end and Chris Risi scored 44 seconds into extra session for the game-winning goal.
Mercyhurst outshot the Griffs 45-38 in the contest. The two teams were whistled for a combined 84 minutes worth of penalties. Canisius was 2-for-9 with the extra man, while the Lakers were held without a power play goal in eight chances.
“We just never gave up,” said junior captain Peter MacDougall. “We ran into some trouble with penalties but we converted on our power plays. We just didn't give up and that is big going into the playoffs.”
Canisius earned the five seed for the Atlantic Hockey Playoffs and will play at No. 4 Bentley in a best 2-of-3 series. The series is set to begin on Friday, March 13.
Game Notes: Eight of the last 13 games in the series have gone to overtime ... Since the start of the 2006-07 season, Mercyhurst leads the series 5-4-5 ... Canisius played its 12th overtime game of the season, one shy of the school record. The Griffs are now 4-2-6 in overtime this season ... Conacher's short-handed goal was his third of the season, tying the program's Division I record. He scored two short-handed goals in the opener against Ferris State ... Canisius was not shutout for the entire regular season, a first in the program's Division I history.
