The Canisius College hockey team rallied from a shaky start to earn a 3-3 draw with Mercyhurst on Saturday night at HARBORCENTER. The Griffs are now 4-5-4 on the season and 3-3-3 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Lakers are now 5-4-2 and 3-2-2 against league foes.

“We were very good at details today and for a process-oriented team, we showed how good we can be at times during this contest,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “It was a good game both ways and a big character comeback for us.”

Junior Ralph Cuddemi and freshman Ryan Schmelzer each posted two points on the night, scoring a goal and adding an assist. Senior Cody Freeman finished the scoring for Canisius with the game-tying goal in the third period.

Freshman Reilly Turner played the final 45 minutes in goal for the Griffs, stopping all 24 shots he faced to anchor the defense in the comeback.

Mercyhurst started the game strong behind two goals from Daniel Bahntge in the first 4:28 of the contest. The senior opened the scoring 2:19 into the contest, getting the Canisius goalie going the wrong way from behind the net and finishing on the other side. Bahntge then scored on a five-minute major power play just 2:09 later, knocking in a loose puck from the low slot for the 2-0 advantage.

Canisius, however, quickly answered back, scoring two goals in 70 seconds on rushes. Cuddemi got the Griffs on the scoreboard with his fifth tally of the season at the 8:06 mark of the first. Sophomore Shane Conacher found his linemate on the rush and Cuddemi faked glove-side and finished stick-side to cut the Canisius deficit in half. Schmelzer added an assist on the team's first goal of the game.

Schmelzer then knotted the game just over a minute later with the second goal of his rookie season. After Cuddemi dumped the puck into the far corner on a rush, Conacher passed it back to Schmelzer right in front of the net, who buried his attempt near-side for the 2-2 score 9:16 into game.

Mercyhurst added another goal in the opening frame to escape with the lead after 20 minutes of action. Kyle Dutra knocked in a rebound with 4:59 left in the period as the teams headed to the intermission with the Lakers ahead, 3-2.

After a scoreless second frame, Canisius poured on the pressure in the final period of regulation. The Griffs outshot the Lakers, 16-8, which included a 9-1 stretch to start the period. Canisius was finally able to take advantage of the constant pressure when Freeman netted his fifth goal of the season. In the Griffs' defensive zone, senior Braeden Rigney knocked the puck ahead to Freeman in the neutral zone. The senior then split a pair of Mercyhurst defenders to gain a step and while being hooked and drawing a penalty, was able to get a shot on net. He then cleaned up the rebound and snuck it past the Mercyhurst goaltender to tie the game with 10:28 remaining in regulation.

Both teams had chances to finish off the victory but couldn't convert. Canisius had two power-play opportunities in the final 10 of regulation but was unable to capitalize. In the extra session, Bahntge had a great look in front of the goal on unsettled play, but Turner robbed him of the hat trick and game-winning tally with a glove save, preserving the point for Canisius and 3-3 draw.

Canisius finished the game with a 38-33 advantage in shots. The Lakers were 1-for-5 on the power play, while the Griffs did not convert in four extra-man chances.

Brandon Wildung stopped 35 shots in net for Mercyhurst.

Canisius is back in action with a pair of Atlantic Hockey games next weekend against Air Force at HARBORCENTER. The schools open the series during the holiday weekend on Friday at 2:05 p.m.

Game Notes: Junior Adam Harris started the game for Canisius, stopping six shots in his first collegiate start … Cuddemi now has 11 points and eight goals in nine career games against Mercyhurst … He has scored one-third of his career tallies versus the Lakers (8-of-24) … In four conference games this season, Turner owns a 1.83 goals against average and .936 save percentage … The schools were meeting for the first time since the Griffs posted a 5-4 double-overtime win in the Atlantic Hockey semifinals last season … Schmelzer recorded multiple points in a game for the first time in his career … Canisius recognized the six coaches in the program's history (Dr. David Dietz, Mike Kelly, Brian Cavanaugh, Carl Koeppel, Clancy Seymour and Dave Smith) prior to the game.