Watertown, Mass. ? The Canisius College hockey team lost the opening game of the Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals at Bentley, 6-3. The Falcons now lead the best 2-of-3 series 1-0.
“I thought we had our chances but they were more opportunistic in the end,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “Our guys competed extremely hard. They showed a lot of heart and character and we battled right to the end. It just wasn't in the script for us tonight.”
Freshman Dave Kostuch led the Griffs with two goals, while junior Josh Heidinger added a goal of his own.
Bentley took advantage of two 2-on-1 breaks to claim an early lead. Erik Peterson buried his 12th goal of the season 3:34 into the contest and Dain Prewitt followed with his 18th score 8:55 into the frame to give the Falcons a 2-0 advantage.
Heidinger cut the Bentley lead to one shortly before the first intermission. Heidinger gained possession of the puck in the neutral zone, skated into the offensive zone and ripped a shot past Bentley's Kyle Rank with 2:03 left in the period. The junior's ninth goal of the season was assisted by freshman Adam Brace and Kostuch.
Canisius (14-15-6) knotted the game at two when Kostuch scored a short-handed goal 11:32 into the second period. The rookie gained possession of the puck and then got Rank on the ice before finding the back of the net for his team-leading 19th goal of the season. Sophomore Eric Rex registered an assist on the goal.
Bentley (18-15-2) reclaimed its two-goal advantage with a pair of power play scores. Prewitt notched his second goal of the game with 6:13 left in the period and Anthony Canzoneri added a power play tally with 3:38 remaining in the second.
Kostuch tallied his second goal of the game 1:44 into the third period to cut the Bentley lead to one, 4-3. Brace skated in and fired a shot on goal but Rank was there to make the save. However, Kostuch cleaned up the rebound and tapped the puck in for his 20th goal of the season. Sophomore Scott Jenks also tallied an assist on the goal.
The Falcons sealed the victory by scoring a goal with 5:18 left in the third. Justin Kemmerer centered the puck, which deflected off a Canisius defender and into the back of the net. Bentley added an empty-net goal with 15.5 seconds remaining in the contest.
“I thought we played a good game,” Kostuch said. “They got a couple of bounces that went their way. We had our chances tonight but couldn't capitalize.”
The Griffs held a 34-24 edge in shots but could not convert in four power play opportunities. Bentley went 2-for-3 with the extra-man advantage.
Freshman Dan Morrison stopped 18 shots in goal for the Griffs, while Rank recorded 31 saves to earn the victory.
Game two of the best 2-of-3 series will be held Saturday night. Game time at the John A. Ryan Skating Area is set for 7:05 p.m.
Game Notes: Canisius has lost its last seven postseason games dating back to 2004 ... The Griffs scored more than two goals in a postseason game since the 2001 MAAC Tournament, ending a streak of nine games ... Kostuch is the second Griff to score 20 goals in a season, joining Chris Duggan who tallied 22 during the 1998-99 season ... Bentley has won all five meetings with Canisius this season and holds an 11-2-1 edge in the last 14 meetings.
