The Canisius College hockey team nearly fought back from a three-goal deficit but despite constant pressure in the final frame, the Griffs fell just short versus Air Force, 3-2, at HARBORCENTER on Saturday night. The loss drops Canisius to 5-6-4 on the season and 4-4-3 in Atlantic Hockey play, while the Falcons improve to 5-8-2 and 4-3-1 against league foes.

“I'm proud of our effort and I'm proud of our mentality tonight,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “No matter what the score was, we played the way we wanted to play. We ran out of time but our maturity as a team and process were very good. We just fell a little short today.”

Senior Cody Freeman led the Griffs with two points on the night, scoring one goal and adding an assist. Senior captain Doug Jessey also scored for Canisius.

Freshman Reilly Turner turned away 16 shots in net for the Griffs.

The Falcons started the contest strong and took advantage with a 2-0 lead after one period. Scott Holm opened the scoring, slipping a goal past the Canisius netminder on a rush for the 1-0 advantage 4:56 into the game. Matthew Meier extended the lead with 6:12 left in the first, taking advantage of a failed clearing attempt by the Griffs in their defensive zone for the 2-0 score through 20 minutes of play.

Max Hartner stretched the lead to three, scoring an unassisted goal 3:51 into the second frame. The junior gathered a loose puck behind the net and scored on a wrap-around when he had the Canisius goalie going the wrong way.

The three-goal deficit did not deter the Griffs, however. Canisius controlled the third period with a 15-4 advantage in shots and nearly completed the comeback. Freeman finally got the Griffs on the scoreboard with his sixth tally of the season, connecting on a 5-on-3 power play with 12:00 remaining. The senior one-timed the puck into the back of the net off of passes from sophomore Shane Conacher and junior Chris Rumble to pull the team within two, 3-1.

The Griffs continued to fight in attempt of a comeback and came close on a number of occasions. Twice in the final four minutes of regulation, the referees went to the replay monitor to get another look at a potential Canisius goal but both times they ruled a no goal, including a Freeman shot that rang off the crossbar.

Canisius finally did net its second goal when Jessey scored on a power play. With the goalie pulled for a two-man advantage, Freeman passed back to the slot and the senior captain buried his chance to bring Canisius within one, 3-2. Senior Mitch McCrank added an assist on the tally with 1:48 remaining.

The Griffs, however, could not find the equalizing tally despite pulling the netminder once again as Air Force held on for the 3-2 victory.

Canisius finished the game with a 36-19 advantage in shots, including a 28-10 edge in the final 40 minutes of action. The Griffs were also 2-for-9 on the power play, while killing both of the Falcons' extra-man chances.

Chris Truehl stopped 34 shots for the Falcons to earn the victory in net.

Canisius continues Atlantic Hockey play at HARBORCENTER next weekend with a pair of games against AIC. The schools begin the series on Friday at 7:35 p.m.

Game Notes: The nine power-plays for Canisius are a season high … Turner suffered his first Atlantic Hockey loss of the season and is now 3-1-2 against league foes … The plus-11 margin in shots during the third period is a season-best total for the Griffs … Canisius is now 4-1-2 on Fridays during two-game series this season but just 1-5-1 on Saturdays.