"Harvard beat us in transition today," said Canisius head coach Randy Mearns. "Our mistakes led to the ball being in the back of our net. Our heart and effort was there today but our full field execution was spotty."

Junior Adam Jones led the Griffs with three points on a pair of goals and an assist. Senior Mike Benzinger added two scores, while senior Alex Caldiero and sophomore Travis Gibbons rounded out the scoring for Canisius.

Harvard opened the game with the first three goals of the contest but Canisius answered back with the final two tallies of the first quarter. Benzinger netted a man-up goal and Caldiero followed 52 seconds later to cut the deficit to one.

The Crimson controlled the next two quarters, outscoring the Griffs, 6-1 in each period to grab a 15-4 lead. Canisius outscored Harvard in the final frame, 2-1, with Jones and Gibbons both scoring man-up goals.

Harvard held a slight edge in shots on the day, 34-33 and controlled the faceoff X, winning 20-of-25 draws. Dean Gibbons led the Crimson with five goals, while Christian Coates and Harry Krieger combined to make 13 saves in net.

Sophomore Sean Callahan recorded three saves in his first collegiate start, while Kyle Bell posted three stops in relief.

Canisius returns home for a matchup with No. 7 Cornell on Tuesday. The Griffs' home opener is set to begin at 4 p.m.

Game Notes: The Griffs and Crimson were meeting for the first time in the program's histories ... Canisius opened against a nationally-ranked team for the fifth-straight season ... Jones has scored a goal in 17-straight games ... Senior Dan Coates posted game-highs with six ground balls and three caused turnovers in his first career start on close defense.