Conacher recorded the third hat trick of his career and the 12th in the program's Division I history. The senior also raised his career-point total to 134, setting the program's all-time scoring record. Conacher, who has tallied 57 career goals and 77 career assists, surpassed the record held by former teammate Josh Heidinger, who recorded 132 points from 2006 to 2010.

"I have to give the credit to my linemates and my teammates for this record," Conacher said. "I'm more worried about winning the game then setting records. It was important to get that win tonight, especially after a close loss last weekend. We were down 4-3 and the guys kept coming. Dan Morrison made some good saves at the end and that was huge."

Junior Scott Moser matched a career high with three points on the night, scoring a goal and registering two assists. Freshman Ryan Bohrer also scored for Canisius to round out the scoring.

Junior Dan Morrison anchored the Canisius defense in net, stopping 31 shots to earn the victory.

"A lot of ups and downs in the game," said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. "It was a great character comeback. We received great individual performances from a number of players, especially Cory Conacher and Dan Morrison. When we play together, we're a good hockey team. We got away from that a little bit today but showed a lot of character in the third period to get the victory."

Canisius started the contest strong, netting a season-best three goals in the first period. The Griffs opened the scoring 2:48 into the game, taking advantage of an early Robert Morris turnover. Freshman Patrick Sullivan intercepted a clearing pass and fed Conacher in the slot. The senior then buried a shot for his first score of the night.

The Griffs added a second goal with 4:13 remaining in the first period. On a rush, freshman Taylor Law sent the puck to Bohrer, who knocked it in for his fifth score of the season. Freshman Kyle Gibbons also registered an assist on the goal to give the Griffs a 2-0 advantage.

Canisius stretched its lead to three with 2:30 left in the opening stanza, taking advantage of another Robert Morris miscue. After gaining possession of the puck in the neutral zone, Moser skated in and ripped a shot past the Colonial goaltender to give Canisius a 3-0 advantage after one. Senior Eric Rex added an assist on Moser's seventh goal of the season.

The Colonials, however, responded with three goals of their own in the second frame. Colin South started the run with 7:13 remaining in the period, tipping a shot past Morrison on the power play. Adam Brace then netted a goal off a rebound with 4:49 left in the second to pull the Colonials within one, 3-2.

Robert Morris pulled even with a short-handed goal with 45 ticks left in the second period. After a 5-on-3 power play for the Griffs expired, an errant pass went right to Ron Cramer in the neutral zone. He then skated in on a breakaway and scored as the teams headed into the second intermission knotted at three.

The Colonials took their only lead of the night early in the third period. Josh Jones blasted a shot into the back of the net 1:04 into the frame for the 4-3 lead.

Canisius and Conacher would answer right back, scoring just 21 seconds after Robert Morris gained the advantage. Rex passed the puck to Conacher, who was streaking down the middle. The senior then redirected the puck past the Robert Morris goaltender to knot the game at four and set the program's all-time scoring record. Moser added the assist on the game-tying score.

Conacher then netted the game-winning score with 9:33 remaining in regulation. The senior gained possession of the puck on the boards, skated in untouched and then found the back of the net to complete his hat trick. Moser posted his second assist of the night on the game-winning tally.

The Griffs needed to kill one final power play before earning the victory. With 1:20 remaining in regulation, Canisius was whistled for a penalty and the Colonials also pulled the goaltender for a two-man advantage. Morrison came up with a number of big saves and Denny Urban's shot rang off the pipe to preserve the 5-4 victory for the Griffs.

Robert Morris held a 35-27 advantage in shots on the night, including a 14-6 edge in the third period. The Griffs didn't convert in five power-play chances, while the Colonials were 1-for-4 with the extra-man advantage. Eric Levine and Brooks Ostergard combined to make 22 saves for the Colonials in the losing effort.

The teams wrap up their season series on Saturday night, playing at Robert Morris. Game time is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

Game Notes: Conacher is the first Griff to net three hat tricks during his career ... He also extended his program records in goals (57) and game-winning tallies (11) ... Canisius has won the last two games against Robert Morris as the home team after the host went winless in each of the first five games of the series ... The Griffs improved their record to 3-7-0 on the season in one-goal games, with two of the three victories coming against Robert Morris ... Canisius was averaging only 0.50 goals in the first period this season before Thursday's three-goal outbreak ... Rex reached the 20-point mark this season after recording just 13 points during his first three season combined.