Rochester, N.Y. – The Canisius College hockey team had its season come to an end with a 2-1 loss to RIT in the Atlantic Hockey Semifinals on Friday night. The second-seeded Griffs finished their campaign with an 18-12-7 record, while the third-seeded Tigers advance to Saturday's title game with an 18-14-5 record.

“We played hard and created chances but came up just a little short tonight,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “We did a good job of limiting their top line and executed the game plan well. We held them to under 30 shots and even outshot them but we just couldn't find enough goals to get the win tonight.”

Sophomore Shane Conacher scored the lone goal for the Griffs in the loss. Senior Keegan Asmundson wrapped up his record-breaking season with 25 saves on the night.

The Tigers struck first in the contest, taking advantage of a Canisius miscue in the closing seconds of the first period. After a Griffs turnover in its own zone, Brad McGowan found the back of the net with just 23.1 seconds remaining for the 1-0 RIT lead through 20 minutes in action.

After being outshot in the opening frame, 12-6, Canisius upped its level of play in the remaining two periods and it paid off with Conacher's 11th tally of the season with 9:58 left in the second. The sophomore knocked a rebound in off a shot from senior captain Doug Jessey to square the contest at one. Junior Ralph Cuddemi also registered an assist on Conacher's goal.

RIT, however, answered back and scored the go-ahead goal with 4:45 left in the second frame with an unfortunate call for the Griffs leading to the tally. Danny Smith was in an offside position when the puck entered the zone on a 2-on-2 rush. Smith would seize the opportunity and find the back of the net, knocking in his own rebound to pull the Tigers ahead, 2-1.

Canisius did not go down quietly, however, but couldn't find the equalizing tally despite a 10-5 advantage in shots during the third period. The Griffs' best opportunity came on the team's only power play of the game when a number of players had a chance on a rebound along the goal crease. However, nobody could connect and the Tigers eventually prevailed, 2-1.

The Griffs finished the game with a slight edge in shots, 28-27. Neither team was able to score on the power play with Canisius going 0-for-1 and killing all three Tigers extra-man chances.

RIT now advances to Saturday's championship game where it will face fifth-seeded Mercyhurst. The Lakers earned a 4-3 overtime victory against top-seeded Robert Morris in the first semifinal of the night.

Game Notes: Asmundson finished the season with school records in goals against average (1.96) and save percentage (.930) … Canisius has lost its last six postseason games to the Tigers dating back to the schools' Division III rivalry, including two in Atlantic Hockey Semifinals … Conacher has 60 points in his first two seasons with the Blue and Gold, tied with Josh Heidinger for the second most in school history (David Deeves had 62 points in his first two years) … The Griffs advanced to the Atlantic Hockey Semifinals for the third-straight year for the first time in school history … Canisius is 13-3 in the last three years during the postseason, which included a championship in 2013 and a runner-up finish in 2014 … The loss ends the collegiate careers for 10 players – the second-largest senior class in the nation ... Freshman Ryan Schmelzer finished the season with a plus/minus of +15 - the highest mark in the program's Atlantic Hockey history.