West Point, N.Y. ? The Canisius College hockey team and Army battled to a 2-2 draw on Saturday night in front of 2,594 fans at Tate Rink. The Griffs are now 11-11-6 on the season and 9-9-4 in Atlantic Hockey play.
“Our effort was unbelievable tonight,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “I thought we played exceptionally hard. Army is a good team and their goalie played pretty well. It was playoff hockey tonight. Everybody is fighting for points and it was a battle.”
Sophomore Cory Conacher and junior Josh Heidinger each tallied goals for the Griffs. Junior Andrew Loewen stopped 33 shots to earn the draw.
The Griffs opened the scoring 5:04 into the contest, taking advantage of a 2-on-1 break. Junior Jason Weeks gained possession of the puck in the Griffs' defensive zone and skated the length of the ice. Weeks then sent the puck through the slot and to Conacher, who fired it in for his ninth goal of the season.
Army (8-16-4, 7-11-4 Atlantic Hockey) answered right back, knotting the game at one just 32 seconds later when Cody Omilusik beat Loewen for his 12th goal of the season. The Black Knights took their first lead of the evening with 9:41 left in the first. Zach McKelvie intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and then fired a shot in from the blue line for the 2-1 lead.
Heidinger tied the game at two with 8:44 left in the second frame. The junior gained possession after Army tried to clear the puck off the boards. Heidinger then skated in and hammered the puck past Army's Jay Clark for his sixth goal of the season. Freshman Adam Brace posted an assist on the goal.
The two teams were held off the scoreboard in the third period and the Black Knights had the best opportunity in the extra frame but Loewen stopped a point-blank shot to preserve the tie.
Canisius held a 44-35 advantage in shots. Clark recorded 42 saves for the Black Knights in the draw. Neither team was able to tally a power play goal. Army went 0-for-9 with the extra-man advantage, while the Griffs did not convert in four power play opportunities.
Canisius returns to the ice on Friday, hosting AIC at the Amherst Pepsi Center. Game time is slated for 7:05 p.m.
Game Notes: The Griffs played in their eighth overtime game, their most since playing 13 overtime contests during the 2003-04 season. Canisius is 3-0-6 in overtime games this season ... Heidinger scored in his first game since Nov. 15 against Connecticut.
