Hockey Opens Second Half at No. 14 Union

Games 16-17
Canisius (6-8-1) at No. 14 Union (8-4-3)
Date: Friday, Dec. 28 | Saturday, Dec. 29
Times: 7 p.m. | 4 p.m.
Location: Messa Rink | Schenectady, N.Y.
Live Stats: SIDEARM Stats
TV/Webcast: ESPN+ (Friday) | ESPN+ (Saturday)
Tickets: Union Tickets
Game Notes: Canisius (PDF) | Union

The Canisius hockey team opens the second half of the regular season this weekend with a road series against non-conference foe No. 14 Union at Messa Rink in Schenectady, N.Y.

The series opener between the Golden Griffins and Dutchmen is set for Friday at 7 p.m. The finale will take place Saturday with a start time of 4 p.m.

Scouting Canisius
• Canisius returns to action for the first time in nearly a month this weekend after closing out the first half of the regular season at Atlantic Hockey foe Army.
• Senior Dylan McLaughlin has been the engine behind the Golden Griffins attack this season, pacing the squad with 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points. McLaughlin ranks among the top 10 players in the country in goals (0.73/5th) and points (1.47/7th) per game.
• Junior Nick Hutchison is second on the squad in both goals (9) and points (15). Hutchison also paces the squad with a +4 rating.
• Senior defenseman Jimmy Mazza leads Canisius blueliners in both assists (11) and points (13). Mazza has recorded a point in 11 of the 14 games he has played in this season.
• Canisius will look to improve upon its defensive efforts in the second half of the regular season as it currently ranks 58th in the nation in scoring defense (4.00). The Griffs have held their opponents to two goals or less in just five of 15 contests this season.
• Canisius has been potent on the power play this season as they are 15-of-74 (.203) with the man advantage in 2018-19. The Griffs have recorded a power-play goal in 12 of its first 15 games played this season.

Canisius Closes First Half with Split at Army
• The Griffs closed out the first half of the regular season with a split of their series at league foe Army.
• The Black Knights claimed the opener on Nov. 30 by a 5-4 margin before Canisius battled back to post a 4-2 triumph in the series finale on Dec. 1.
• Junior Nick Hutchison scored twice in game one to pace the Griffs while senior Ian Edmondson chipped in a goal and an assist and sophomore Austin Alger pitched in a power-play tally.
• Sophomore Grant Meyer finished with two assists as he recorded multiple assists in a game for the second time this season.
• In the finale, senior Dylan McLaughlin scored two goals and assisted on the insurance marker to power Canisius to the two-goal triumph. With his two goals, McLaughlin became just the fifth player in the Division I era of the program to reach the 50-goal plateau for his career.
• Alger and Edmondson both found the back of the net for the second consecutive contests while junior goaltender Blake Weyrick stopped 33-of-35 shots faced to record his third victory of the season.

Scouting Union
• Like Canisius, No. 14 Union takes a break from league play this weekend after wrapping up the first half of the regular season with a pair of games against ECAC Hockey foes Brown (T, 3-3) and Yale (L, 3-0).
• Cole Maier highlights a balanced Dutchmen attack as he leads the team with 14 points on five goals and a team-best nine assists.
• Ryan Walker is second on the team in both assists (8) and points (13) while also part of a four-way tie for first on the team's scoring chart with five goals.
• Netminders Darion Hanson and Jake Kupsky have split time in goal this season for Union, combining to post a .915 save percentage and a 2.42 goals against average in 15 contests.

Canisius-Union Series Notes
• The non-conference series between Canisius and Union will serve as the first meeting between the two Empire State foes since the 2005-06 season.
• The Dutchmen have controlled the series against the Golden Griffins since its inception, winning all six previous meetings between the two schools.
• Five of those previous six matchups took place when both programs played at the Division III level.
• The lone Division I matchup between Canisius and Union took place on Dec. 30, 2005 at the Dodge Holiday Classic in Minneapolis, Minn. The Dutchmen were victorious in that contest by a 2-0 margin.

Griffs Versus Ranked Opponents
• The non-conference series at No. 14 Union this weekend serves as another opportunity for Canisius to make a splash on the national stage.
• Canisius holds an all-time record of 9-40-4 against nationally-ranked schools since moving to the Division I ranks prior to the start of the 1998-99 season.
• The Griffs went 3-4 against ranked opposition last season, splitting an Atlantic Hockey Conference series against No. 18 Air Force at HARBORCENTER in late October, falling twice to No. 3/4 Clarkson in a home-and-home series, sweeping a home-and-home series versus AHC rival No. 20 Niagara in mid-December and suffering a defeat at the hands of No. 5 Cornell to close out the 2017 calendar year.
• The matchup with the Dutchmen is the first of two series against a ranked opponent for Canisius as the Griffs will host No. 13 North Dakota next weekend at Harborcenter.

Up Next
• Canisius rings in the New Year Jan. 4-5 when it welcomes No. 13 North Dakota to Harborcenter for a two-game series.
• Puck drop for both games of the non-conference matchup between the Griffs and Fighting Hawks is set for 7:35 p.m.
• Tickets for both games are still available. They can be purchased by visiting the tickets page on GoGriffs.com or by calling 716-888-TIXX.

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Players Mentioned

#8 Ian Edmondson: D; 6' 1"; Senior

#91 Nick Hutchison: F; 6' 3"; Junior

#77 Jimmy Mazza: D; 6' 2"; Senior

#13 Dylan McLaughlin: F; 5' 11"; Senior

#15 Grant Meyer: F; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#85 Blake Weyrick: G; 6' 3"; Junior

#83 Austin Alger: F; 6' 0"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#8 Ian Edmondson
: 6' 1"; Senior
: D

#91 Nick Hutchison
: 6' 3"; Junior
: F

#77 Jimmy Mazza
: 6' 2"; Senior
: D

#13 Dylan McLaughlin
: 5' 11"; Senior
: F

#15 Grant Meyer
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: F

#85 Blake Weyrick
: 6' 3"; Junior
: G

#83 Austin Alger
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: F