"We came out really strong in the first but AIC rebounded well and all the credit goes to them," said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. "They really carried the flow in the second period. We need to find a way to eliminate our carless mistakes and play the way we are capable of playing."

Sophomore Dave Kostuch scored both of Canisius' goals, while senior Josh Heidinger and sophomore Scott Moser each registered a pair of assists. With his two helpers, Heidinger moves into a tie atop the Canisius Division I record book with 119 career points. The senior matches the standard set by former Griff David Deeves.

Sophomore Dan Morrison recorded 36 saves in net to anchor the Canisius defense.

The Griffs came out strong to open the contest, outshooting AIC, 16-3, during the first period. However, AIC goaltender Ben Meisner stood strong as the teams headed into the first intermission scoreless. Kostuch finally got the Griffs on the scoreboard 6:29 into the second. From behind the blue line, the sophomore sent a puck toward the goal. Meisner went to play the puck but it took an awkward bounce into the back of the net.

The Yellow Jackets (-21-3, 5-17-3 Atlantic Hockey) responded with two goals early in the third period by Richard Leitner. The sophomore tipped a shot past Morrison 1:35 into the stanza to knot the game at one and then scored on his own rebound for a 2-1 advantage at the 4:40 mark.

Canisius drew even with 6:53 remaining in regulation when Kostuch scored his second goal of the afternoon. Heidinger brought the puck up the ice and made a move to beat a defender before finding his linemate open on the back door.

The Griffs nearly took the lead shortly after, but junior Cory Conacher had his shot ring off the goal post as the teams fought to a 2-2 tie.

Canisius outshot AIC, 44-38, but Meisner recorded 42 saves on the afternoon to earn the draw. Both teams went scoreless in two extra-man opportunities.

"It was a little frustrating today," Kostuch said. "Sometimes you just run into a hot goalie and that is what happened today. AIC played well and we just need to bear down and get two points tomorrow. If we do a better job controlling the puck, we will have a better result to show for it."

The schools close out the two-game series tomorrow afternoon at the Buffalo State Sports Arena. The Senior Day contest is set to begin at 4:05 p.m.

Game Notes: Heidinger, who also holds the school's career assists record, now has 34 goals and 85 assists during his tenure ... Junior Vincent Scarsella played in his 100th career game ... Kostuch scored two goals in a game for the seventh time in his career and the first since Nov. 6, 2009 against Mercyhurst ... Conacher was held without a point for just the sixth time this season and for only the second time in the last 19 contests ... The tie ended a six-game winning streak in the series for Canisius.