West Springfield, Mass. - The Canisius College hockey team earned a 2-1 victory over host AIC on Saturday night, 2-1. With the win, the Griffs improve to 3-6-3 on the season and 3-1-2 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Yellow Jackets drop to 3-9-2 and 2-4-2 against league foes.
"Those two points were heart and soul and team defense points," said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. "Our team played with a lot of effort and will tonight to lead us to the victory. Our power play performed well and that helped us build confidence early. Braeden Rigney was also stellar down the stretch, which really helped us control the puck in our defensive zone."
Sophomores Ben Danford and Kyle Gibbons both scored in the win.
Sophomore netminder Tony Capobianco finished with 39 saves to anchor the Canisius defense.
The Griffs grabbed the early advantage, scoring just 12 seconds into their first power-play opportunity of the night. Sophomore Taylor Law found Gibbons open on the back door and Gibbons found the back of the net for his fourth tally of the season. Junior Preston Shupe also registered an assist on the game's opening goal at the 10:36 mark of the first.
Canisius extended its advantage to two early in the second period when Danford netted his first goal of the 2011-12 campaign. The sophomore fired a shot in from the blue line just 47 seconds into the frame for the 2-0 lead. Law added his second assist of the night on the tally.
AIC cut its deficit in half with a power-play score 4:48 into the second. Jon Puskar's shot from the blue line found the back of the net to bring the Yellow Jackets within one, 2-1.
Capobianco shut down the Yellow Jackets the rest of the way for the victory. AIC's best opportunity came late in the second when the Yellow Jackets caught the Griffs in a line change, leading to Adam Pleskach skating in 1-on-1 with Capobianco. The sophomore netminder came up with a big stop to preserve the 2-1 win.
The Yellow Jackets finished with a 40-34 advantage in shots on the night with both teams converting 1-of-5 power-play chances. Ben Meisner recorded 32 saves in the defeat for AIC.
Game Notes: The Griffs are unbeaten in their last 11 games (10-0-1) against AIC ... Capobianco, who entered the weekend ranked fifth nationally in save percentage, raised his season save percentage to .942 ... Canisius scored a power-play goal in consecutive games for the first time this season ... Gibbons is now tied with Law for the team lead with four goals this season ... Danford recorded his third collegiate goal and his second game-winner ... The win was the first for the Griffs this season on the road as Canisius is now 1-4-2 away from Buffalo.
