"It was the first time in a long time that we played and looked like an inexperienced team," said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. "Holy Cross deserves a lot of credit because they played very physical, very poised and they played together today. We need to rest up and get ready for another tough conference matchup next weekend."

Holy Cross wasted no time gaining the early lead, taking advantage after Canisius was whistled for a quick penalty and scoring a power-play tally just 67 seconds into the contest for a lead it would not relinquish. Andrew Cox knocked in a rebound for his third extra-man tally of the weekend and the 1-0 advantage.

The Crusaders then stretched their lead to three with two goals 1:23 apart in the second frame. Matt Gordon scored on a rush with 2:20 remaining in the period before Erik Vos knocked in a rebound on the power play with just 56.3 ticks left in the stanza.

Holy Cross added one final goal in the third period when Rob Linsmayer scored with 8:17 remaining for the 4-0 final.

The Crusaders held a 33-14 advantage in shots on the afternoon. Holy Cross also converted 2-of-6 power-play chances, while killing all five Canisius man-up opportunities.

Matt Ginn stopped all 14 shots on the afternoon to earn the victory, while senior Dan Morrison recorded 29 saves for the Griffs.

Canisius returns home for an Atlantic Hockey contest on Friday, squaring off with Mercyhurst. Game time at the Buffalo State Sports Arena is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Game Notes: Saturday's game marked the seventh time that Canisius scored one or fewer goals and the third time it was shutout this season ... The Griffs are 1-8-2 in their last 11 games against Holy Cross ... Canisius allowed seven goals in the two-game series after allowing just 10 in its first seven league games combined.