Watertown, Mass. - Freshman Ben Danford scored a power-play goal 2:19 into overtime to lead the Canisius College hockey team to a 3-2 victory over host Bentley on Sunday. With the win, Canisius improves to 6-6-4 on the season and 5-5-4 in Atlantic Hockey play, while Bentely drops to 5-6-1 and 4-3-0 against league foes.
Danford fired a shot from the blue line off a pass from sophomore Wes Love for his second collegiate goal and his first career game-winning tally. Senior Vincent Scarsella also registered an assist on the game-winning score.
"I thought our power play came up huge for us today, scoring a big goal in overtime," said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. "That has been the difference for us this season and we were able to take advantage today. It was a great shot by Ben Danford, a great screen and great puck movement. It was a complete game for us from start to finish."
Danford led the Griffs with a career-high three points on the afternoon, scoring the one goal and adding two assists. Scarsella and classmate Cory Conacher both chipped in two points on a goal and an assist.
Freshman Tony Capobianco remained undefeated during his career, recording 31 saves to earn the victory in goal.
The Griffs opened the scoring halfway through the first period. From behind the net, Conacher fed Scarsella and the senior then skated toward the net and beat the Bentley goaltender through traffic for the early 1-0 advantage. Danford also registered an assist on the game-opening score at the 9:58 mark.
Bentley tied the game with 8:19 left in the second frame, scoring in a 4-on-4 situation. Aaron Stonacek tipped a shot into the back of the goal to square the game at one.
Canisius reclaimed its advantage when Conacher netted his team-leading eighth goal of the season with 4:18 remaining in the second. Freshman Taylor Law fed the senior on a rush and Conacher finished for his third power-play score of the season. Danford posted his second assist of the game on the tally.
The Falcons once again answered back, scoring a power-play goal of its own with 7:54 left in regulation. Joe Campanelli netted his third goal of the season to knot the game at two, setting up Danford's late-game heroics.
Bentley outshot the Griffs, 33-28, on the afternoon. Canisius converted two of its seven power-play attempts, while killing 4-of-5 Bentley extra-man chances. Joe Calvi stopped 25 shots for the Falcons in the defeat.
Canisius is off until Dec. 17, resuming action with an Atlantic Hockey contest at RIT. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m.
Game Notes: Canisius played its eighth overtime game of the season, the most of any school in Division I ... The Griffs are now 2-2-4 in the extra session this season ... Danford has posted a point in three-straight games for the first time in his career ... The rookie also ranks third among Atlantic Hockey defensemen with 11 points (2g, 9a) this season ... Capobianco is now 2-0-1 to start his career, posting a 1.57 goals against average and .954 save percentage.
