Waltham, Mass. - The Canisius College hockey team fought back from an early 3-0 deficit but lost to a late power-play goal, 5-4, at Bentley on Friday night. The loss drops the Griffs to 9-10-2 and 7-7-1 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Falcons improve to 9-7-3 and 7-4-2 against league foes.
"I liked the way we played most of the game tonight," said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. "We just didn't get much puck luck. We worked hard to get back into the game but a power-play goal got through late. We have to win a few more puck battles, sacrifice a little more on the penalty kill and that will help us get closer to a complete game."
Freshman Preston Shupe recorded the first multi-goal game of his career, netting two scores on the night. Sophomore Dave Kostuch and senior Dave Cianfrini also scored for the Griffs.
The Falcons scored the only two goals of the first period to grab the early advantage. Dan Koudys fed Tyler Quartuccio in the slot for his first goal of the season at the 3:33 mark. Joe Campanelli then tipped in a shot on a 5-on-3 power play with 2:01 left in the opening stanza.
Bentley stretched its lead to three 6:27 into the second period when Jamie Nudy tipped a shot in.
Canisius answered back, scoring 36 seconds apart to quickly cut the Falcon lead to one, 3-2. Kostuch started the rally, scoring on the power play when he hammered in a loose puck from in front of the net. Senior Jason Weeks and freshman Steven Shafer each registered an assist on the goal at the 9:09 mark.
Shupe then followed with his first of two goals. Junior Cory Conacher fed the freshman while on a rush and Shupe buried the shot. Junior Vincent Scarsella also registered an assist on the goal.
Bentley reclaimed its two-goal lead when Bobby Preece connected from the blue line on the power play, scoring with 8:29 left in the second period. Shupe would add his second goal of the night and fourth of the season with 3:52 left in the stanza as Canisius pulled to within one at the end of two, 4-3. After an initial save off a scrum in front of the net, Shupe lifted the puck over the goalie for the score. Conacher and Scarsella each registered their second assist on the tally.
Canisius finally knotted the game at four with 13:07 remaining in regulation, scoring its second power play goal of the night. Cianfrini sent a wrist shot in from the blue line and the puck found the back of the net to tie the game at four. Kostuch and Weeks each registered an assist on the goal.
Bentley, however, answered back and scored the game-winning goal with 5:11 remaining. Preece netted his second power-play score of the night to secure the Falcons' victory.
Canisius outshot the Falcons, 30-26, including a 10-3 edge in the third period. Sophomore Dan Morrison recorded 21 saves on the night, while Bentley's Kyle Rank had 26 stops.
The Falcons were 3-for-9 with the extra-man advantage, while Canisius was 2-for-6 on the power play.
The teams complete the two-game series tomorrow night with game time slated for 7:05 p.m.
Game Notes: With his two assists, Weeks is now one point shy of becoming the fifth Griff in the program's Division I history to record 100 career points ... Conacher extended his career long streak of recording a point to nine games ... Scarsella has registered multiple points in four-straight games, recording 10 points during the run (4g, 6a) ... Hudson had his streak of recording a point in eight-straight games snapped, the longest by a Griff defender ... Bentley is now 9-3-0 all-time against Canisius in one-goal games ... Canisius has scored at least four goals in five-straight games for the first time since the 1998-99 season.
