USAF Academy, Colo. - The Canisius College hockey team and Air Force fought to a 4-4 tie on Friday night at the Cadet Ice Arena. The Griffs are now 8-11-6 on the season and 7-6-5 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Falcons are 10-9-5 and 8-5-5 against league foes.
"It was a good tie and a good effort by our players tonight," said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. "After getting down early, we responded with a great start in the second to get the lead. A number of our players stepped up and playing an outstanding game tonight."
Junior Scott Moser led the Griffs with his first career multi-goal contest, while sophomore Preston Shupe also added two scores on the night.
Junior Dan Morrison anchored the Canisius defense with 44 saves to earn the draw.
The Falcons scored two special teams goals in the first period to grab the early advantage. Jacques Lamoureux knocked in a loose puck around the net 11:06 into the frame on the power play for the 1-0 lead. Sean Bertsch then added a short-handed tally with 56 seconds remaining for the two-score advantage after one. After his initial shot went wide, Bertsch knocked the puck down from behind the net and it landed in the goal crease. He was then able to swat the puck in for his first goal of the season.
Canisius answered back with three goals in a 51-second span to take the lead early in the second frame. With the extra-man advantage, freshman Ben Danford fired the puck toward the goal and senior Cory Conacher tipped the shot on net. After the Air Force goaltender made the save, Shupe knocked in the rebound to bring the Griffs within one, 2-1, 3:30 into the period.
Shupe added a second goal - his eighth of the season - just 19 seconds later. Sophomore Torrey Lindsay sent a shot on goal from the boards and Shupe was one again there to score off the rebound. Senior Vincent Scarsella added an assist on the goal that tied the contest at two.
The Griffs then finished the run when Moser netted his fifth goal of the season just 32 seconds following Shupe's second score. Senior Phil Rauch chipped the puck off the boards to senior Eric Rex, who along with Moser entered on a 2-on-1 rush. The senior then fed Moser, who knocked the puck into the back of the net for the 3-2 lead.
The Falcons rallied back when Lamoureux scored his second power-play goal of the night with 4:27 left in the second. The senior one-timed a shot in to knot the game at three after two periods of play.
Canisius reclaimed its advantage 3:37 into the third period when Moser scored his second goal of the night. Rex gave the puck to the junior in Canisius' defensive zone. Moser then skated down the ice and sent the puck on goal, which sneaked by the Air Force goaltender of the 4-3 lead. Conacher added his second assist of the night on the goal.
The Falcons once again answered back on the power play, this time scoring with a two-man advantage. Derrick Burnett knocked in a rebound to tie the game at four with 7:25 remaining in regulation.
Both teams would clamp down on defense as the game ended in the 4-4 draw. Air Force held a 48-29 advantage in shots on the night, with Jason Torf stopping 25 shots to earn the draw. The Falcons were 3-for-6 on the power play, while Canisius went 1-for-4 with the extra-man advantage.
The teams wrap up the series tomorrow night with the game slated for 9:05 p.m. ET at the Cadet Ice Arena.
Game Notes: Canisius has played 11 overtime games this season, the most by any team in the country this year ... The Griffs are now 2-3-6 in the extra session ... Of their 11 overtime games this season, the Griffs surrendered a third-period game-tying goal in eight of them ... Canisius is unbeaten in its last five games at the Cadet Ice Arena (2-0-3) and is 3-1-3 all-time at Air Force ... Shupe has recorded multiple points in each of his last three games, posting seven points (3g, 4a) during the stretch ... Conacher now has 130 career points, just two shy of Josh Heidinger's program record.
