Watertown, Mass. ? The Canisius College hockey team lost to Bentley, 4-2, in the deciding game of the Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals. Canisius finished its 2008-09 campaign with a 15-16-6 record.
“It's disappointing whenever you lose your last game,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “Our thoughts go out to our seniors, who have done a lot for our program. Bentley had some timely goals tonight and they played extremely hungry and hard.”
Freshman Adam Brace registered both of the Griffs' scores with junior Josh Heidinger recording an assist on each goal. Junior Andrew Loewen and freshman Dan Morrison split time in goal, recording 16 and 18 saves, respectively.
“It's tough right now,” said senior assistant captain Spencer Churchill. “We put in a lot for this to come so close but a couple of bad plays cost us. It hurts. We had a couple of bad breaks but we battled to the last second. As a team, we made great strides this season and had a lot of firsts and that is something to be proud of.”
It took the Falcons just 14 seconds to find the back of the net. Jeff Gumaer scored off a rebound to give Bentley the early advantage. Canisius answered right back when Brace tallied a goal less than three minutes later. Freshman Dave Kostuch found Brace in the slot and the rookie knocked the puck in for this fifth score of the season. Heidinger also registered an assist on the goal.
Bentley (19-16-2) reclaimed its advantage when Marc Menzione tallied his 14th goal of the season with 8:44 left in the first. The junior fired a shot from the boards as the Falcons headed into the first intermission with a 2-1 advantage.
The Falcons added two goals during the second period of play to gain a 4-1 advantage. Gumaer scored his second goal of the contest nine seconds into the period and then completed the hat trick at the 7:59 mark. Both goals were scored on an open net after cross-ice passes.
Brace added his second goal of the evening, trying to spark a Canisius comeback. The freshman scored 2:11 into the period off a feed from Heidinger for his sixth goal of the season. Sophomore Cory Conacher also registered an assist on the goal.
Canisius had opportunities to pull closer, including 1:01 of a 5-on-3 power play. However, the Griffs could not find the back of the net. Bentley's Kyle Rank stopped 29 shots in goal, including 16 in the third period, to earn the victory.
Bentley advances to play either Air Force or Mercyhurst in the Atlantic Hockey semifinals.
Game Notes: Canisius has allowed at least four goals in all 16 losses this season ... Brace (2g, 4a) and Kostuch (3g, 3a) led the Griffs with six points during the series against Bentley ... Canisius has not won consecutive postseason games since the 1999 MAAC Tournament.
