Waltham, Mass. - The Canisius College hockey team used a strong penalty kill in the third period and a late goal to earn a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Bentley on Saturday night. With the win, the Griffs improve to 10-10-2 and 8-7-1 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Falcons fall to 9-8-3 and 7-5-2 in league play.
Junior Cory Conacher scored the game-winning goal with just 2:40 left in the game after Canisius successfully killed off five Bentley power plays during the period. The junior gained possession of the puck in the Griffs' defensive zone and fed freshman Preston Shupe. Shupe then skated along the boards and gave the puck back to Conacher in the slot, who buried his team-leading 15th goal of the season.
"We did a lot wrong but just a little more right today," said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. "We showed a lot of heart and determination to earn this victory. Scott Moser and Preston Shupe were unbelievable on the penalty kill, sacrificing their bodies."
Senior Jason Weeks added a goal for Canisius, recording his 100th career point in the process. The senior is the fifth player in the program's Division I history to reach the plateau, registering 47 goals and 53 helpers during his career.
Sophomore Dan Morrison stopped 35 shots on the night to earn the victory.
Weeks recorded his 100th career point just 3:03 into the contest, scoring as soon as a Bentley penalty expired. The senior was stationed in front of the goal and after sophomore Dave Kostuch passed him the puck, Weeks found the back of the net for his sixth score of the season. Senior Chris Forsman added an assist on the tally.
Canisius stretched its lead to two when Conacher took advantage of a 5-on-3 power-play opportunity at the 8:08 mark of the first. Senior Carl Hudson fired a loose puck toward net and Conacher hammered in the rebound for his team-leading fifth power-play tally of the season. Shupe also registered an assist on the extra-man score.
Bentley cut its deficit to one with a power-play goal of its own. Joe Campanelli tipped a shot past Morrison with 6:31 left in the frame as the teams headed into intermission with Canisius leading, 2-1.
The Falcons drew even 1:18 into the second period, connecting on its second power play goal of the night. Dustin Cloutier fired a shot in for his sixth tally of the season to knot the game at two.
The Canisius defense then clamped down, especially on the penalty kill. The Griffs needed to kill off five power plays during the third frame, including two minutes of 5-on-3 action. During the five power plays, the Falcons could muster only two shots on goal. Conacher then found the back of the net to give Canisius the victory.
"We knew how important this game was," Moser said. "We are very close in the standings with Bentley. We showed a lot of will to win in the third and overcame a lot of penalties. It proves how important these two points were to us."
Bentley held a 37-25 advantage in shots on the night. The Falcons' Joe Calvi recorded 22 saves in the defeat.
Canisius returns to Buffalo next weekend, hosting Army for two games. The teams open the series on Friday at 7:05 p.m.
Game Notes: Weeks joins current teammate Josh Heidinger and former Griffs David Deeves, Chris Duggan and Michael Cohen in the program's Division I 100-point club ... Weeks moves to within two goals of the school record total of 49, set by Deeves ... Conacher extended his career-long streak of recording a point to 10 games ... His five power-play goals is a new career high ... Conacher also leads all Atlantic Hockey players with four game-winning scores this season.
