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Canisius University Athletics

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Matt Long is shown skating during game action against Sacred Heart at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn.
John McCeary
2
HOly Cross HC 12-11-7, 11-7-6 AHC
5
Winner Canisius CAN 14-12-2, 14-8-0 AHC
HOly Cross HC
12-11-7, 11-7-6 AHC
2
Final
5
Canisius CAN
14-12-2, 14-8-0 AHC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
HOly Cross HC 0 1 1 2
Canisius CAN 1 3 1 5

Game Recap: Ice Hockey |

Hockey Returns to First Place with Win over Holy Cross

Sophomore Matt Hoover scored twice and freshman Matt Long chipped in a goal and an assist to lead Canisius to a 5-2 victory over Holy Cross in Atlantic Hockey Conference action Saturday at KeyBank Rink at HARBORCENTER.
 
Freshmen Logan Gestro and Grant Meyer also found the back of the net for the Golden Griffins (14-12-2, 14-8-0 AHC), who moved back into a tie with the Crusaders (12-11-7, 11-7-6 AHC) for first place in the Atlantic Hockey standings.
 
Hoover opened the scoring with less than two minutes remaining in the first period when he took advantage of a rebound off the end boards to give the Griffs the 1-0 lead.
 
Gestro doubled the Canisius margin to 2-0 at the 3:51 mark of the second, working his way in front of the Holy Cross net before sliding the puck past Crusaders keeper Paul Berrafato for his first collegiate tally.
 
Michael Laffin trimmed the Crusaders margin in half with a power-play tally less than two minutes later, beating Canisius goaltender Daniel Urbani with a wrist shot to the blocker side for his 12th of the campaign.
 
Long restored the Griffs' two-goal margin midway through the middle period, putting home a wraparound feed from junior Dylan McLaughlin for his third of the campaign.
 
Hoover stretched the Canisius cushion to 4-1 with his second of the contest, jamming home a rebound from just off the left post with 18 seconds to play in the second.
 
Logan Ferguson made it a 4-2 contest 3:14 into the third period, one-timing a feed from Peter Crinella from the left faceoff circle, but Meyer closed out the scoring with a power-play tally with 2:16 remaining to seal the victory.  
 
Urbani made 31 saves in goal for Canisius. Berrafato turned aside 29 shots between the pipes for Holy Cross.  
 
Head Coach Trevor Large's Postgame Comments
"I know coaches say it all the time, but it felt like a great team win today. Everybody responded from last night. Our discipline was way better. Our lack of discipline hurt us last night. Today I felt we were disciplined during some very emotional moments of the game. That was a big adjustment. Our energy into the way we want to play was great from the start.  
 
"There are no secrets in hockey. There isn't one systematic thing that's going to change from game-to-game, especially this time of year. What we did as a coaching staff is refocus the guys to get shots on net. We want to make plays, but we need more shots on net to score more and the guys responded today."
 
Game Notes
• Canisius improved to 8-3-1 in its last 12 matchups against Holy Cross with Saturday's victory.
• The Griffs moved to 12-0-1 this season when scoring the first goal of the contest.
• Canisius also improved to 10-0-1 in 2017-18 when scoring four or more goals in a game.
• The Griffs tallied a power play goal for the 20th in 28 games with Meyer's man-advantage marker in the third period.
• Freshman Matt Long recorded multiple points in a game for the first time in his career with his two-point effort on Saturday.
• Sophomore Matt Hoover tallied multiple goals in a game for the second time in his career with his two-goal performance on Saturday.
• Junior Cameron Heath tallied multiple points in a game for the third time this season as he notched two assists during Saturday's contest.
• Junior Dylan McLaughlin picked up an assist on Saturday, moving him into a four-way tie for ninth on the program's single-season points chart during the Division I era with 39.
• Junior Alex Jaeckle extended his career-best point streak to four games with an assist on Meyer's third-period goal.
 
Up Next
• Canisius continues its four-game homestand when it hosts Army West Point for a two-game Atlantic Hockey series at HARBORCENTER Feb. 9-10.
• Puck drop for both contests is set for 7:35 p.m.
• Tickets are available and can be purchased by calling 716-888-TIXX or by visiting Ticketmaster.com. 
 
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