Senior Josh Heidinger became the Canisius College hockey team's all-time leading scorer as the Griffs celebrated Senior Day with a 5-3 victory against AIC.
Heidinger registered four assists in his last regular-season home game to raise his career total to 123 points. He surpasses the program's Division I record of 119, previously held by David Deeves. Heidinger's four assists on the afternoon also ties the school's single-game record.
"It was a good way to say good bye to our fans, families and friends," Heidinger said. "It was really nice to go out with a win. We came in here four years ago and we are leaving with the program in a different place. We knew that we had to lay the ground work for the years to come. Our job was to point Canisius in the right direction and I think we did a great job. We have some great leaders and great players in this class."
The win improved the Griffs record to 15-12-5 and 13-9-4 in Atlantic Hockey play. Canisius is now tied with Air Force for fourth place in the league standings and is one point behind Mercyhurst for third with two games remaining. The top four teams in the regular season standings earn home ice in the Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals.
Senior Dave Cianfrini, junior Vincent Scarsella and sophomores Dave Kostuch and Scott Moser all scored for the Griffs in the victory.
Senior Andrew Loewen recorded 20 saves in net to earn the win.
"Our seniors will be sorely missed," said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. "They can't be replaced and what they brought to the table. They succeeded in the three pillars that we stress at Canisius - academics, athletics and socially."
Canisius jumped to an early lead with Moser scoring 4:12 into the contest. The sophomore knocked in Heidinger's rebound for his fourth goal of the season. Kostuch also registered an assist on the game's opening goal.
Hudson stretched the Griffs lead to two, scoring on the power play with a two-man advantage. The senior fired a shot in off a pass from Heidinger for his 12th goal of the season and his ninth power-play score. Junior Cory Conacher also registered an assist on the goal.
AIC (5-22-3, 5-17-3 Atlantic Hockey) answered back with two tallies of its own. Rob Blanchette scored on a rush with 1:38 left in the first and Steve McLeod netted a goal 10:12 into the second to tie the game, 2-2.
Kostuch would give the Griffs the lead with 3:48 remaining in the second stanza, scoring his 12th goal of the season. Moser gave the puck to his linemate in the slot and Kostuch found the back of the net for the 3-2 lead. Heidinger also registered an assist on the score.
The Yellow Jackets would once again answer when McLeod scored his second goal of the afternoon 7:10 into the third period.
Canisius would take advantage of a power play to score the game-winning goal. Heidinger sent a shot toward the net and Scarsella redirected the puck in for his 11th goal of the season. Conacher registered his second assist of the night on the goal.
The Griffs sealed the victory when Cianfrini scored an empty-net goal. The senior poked the puck out of the zone and it trickled down the ice and into the goal with one second remaining in the game. Loewen registered his first career assist on the game-clinching goal.
"I thought AIC played very well," Smith said. "They put us in some uncomfortable positions but I like the way we responded. We had two really good power plays in the third period. We were unable to score on the first but we were able to capitalize on the second chance."
Canisius held a 35-23 advantage in shots over AIC. The Griffs were 2-for-6 on the power play, while the Yellow Jackets went scoreless in five extra-man opportunities. AIC's Ben Meisner stopped 30 shots in net.
The Griffs wrap up the regular season next weekend with a pair of games at RIT. Canisius needs to gain one point on either Air Force or Mercyhurst to earn home ice advantage. Canisius and RIT will play on Friday and Saturday at 7:05 p.m.
Game Notes: Canisius honored its eight seniors - Cianfrini, Heidinger, Hudson, Loewen, Vincent Amigone, Ryan Klusendorf, Peter MacDougall and Jason Weeks following the game ... Heidinger now has 34 goals and 89 assists during his career ... His 89 assists are also the most in the program's Division I history, 19 more than Deeves ... Heidinger has now registered a point in a career-best seven-straight games, recording 13 assists during the streak ... Conacher's two assists give him 27 this season, surpassing the school's record of 26 held by Heidinger (2006-07) and Chris Duggan (1998-99) ... Conacher's 47 points are one shy of the single-season record held by Duggan ... Hudson's nine power play goals this season tie the program's record, held by Deeves (1998-99) ... Canisius has not allowed a power-play goal in its last four games ... The Griffs are unbeaten in their last eight games against AIC (7-0-1).
