Watertown, Mass. - The Canisius College hockey team lost a 3-2 battle with host Bentley on Saturday night. The loss drops the Griffs to 5-6-4 on the season and 4-5-4 in Atlantic Hockey, while the Falcons improve to 5-5-1 and 4-2-0 against league foes.
"It was a good road hockey game," said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. "We battled back hard with a good short-handed goal but we just couldn't find the equalizer late even though we had good pressure."
Senior Vincent Scarsella and freshman Taylor Law both scored for the Griffs in the defeat.
Junior Dan Morrison stopped 26 shots in goal to anchor the Canisius defense.
The Falcons struck first, netting a goal just 1:40 into the contest. Joe Campanelli scored off a centering pass from behind the net for the early 1-0 lead.
Bentley stretched its advantage to two 8:21 into the game. Dan Koudys deflected Zach Ledford's shot and the puck trickled past the goal line for the 2-0 lead.
The Griffs cut their deficit to one when Scarsella tallied his fifth goal of the season 6:18 into the second. The senior gained possession of the puck in the corner and then skated toward the goal untouched, made a move to beat the Falcons goaltender and scored. Senior Eric Rex and junior Scott Moser both registered an assist on the goal.
Bentley reclaimed its two-goal advantage with 5:52 remaining in the second frame, connecting on the power play. Dustin Cloutier sent a shot past Morrison to give the Falcons a 3-1 lead after two.
The Falcons were awarded a five-minute power play early in the third but it was the Griffs who took advantage. Law skated down the ice on a breakaway and beat the Falcons goaltender for his first collegiate score. Moser and freshman Ben Danford both registered an assist on the goal 4:49 into the period.
Canisius had a number of near misses in the last 10 minutes. The Griffs had two power-play opportunities but were unable to bury a shot. Moser was robbed on a point-blank attempt and then Danford hit the pipe in the closing minutes as Bentley earned the 3-2 victory.
The Falcons held a slight advantage in shots on the night, 29-28, while going 1-for-6 on the power play. The Griffs did not convert in eight extra-man chances. Joe Calvi matched Morrison with 26 saves to earn the victory in goal.
The teams wrap up the two-game series tomorrow afternoon at the John A. Ryan Skating Arena. Game time is set for 4:05 p.m.
Game Notes: Law is the fifth freshman to score for the Griffs this season ... Rex raised his season-point total to 11 points, just two points shy of his career total from his first three seasons ... Five of the team's six losses have been by just one goal this season ... The Griffs dropped to 1-5-0 in one-goal games.
