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Canisius University Athletics

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Keaton Mastrodonatio action vs Niagara 11-15-19
Canisius University Athletics
2
Niagara NIA 0-8-1 (0-4-1 AHA)
4
Winner Canisius CAN 2-6-0 (1-2-0 AHA)
Niagara NIA
0-8-1 (0-4-1 AHA)
2
Final
4
Canisius CAN
2-6-0 (1-2-0 AHA)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
Niagara NIA 1 0 1 2
Canisius CAN 0 2 2 4

Game Recap: Ice Hockey |

Hockey Doubles Up Niagara to Claim Series Opener

Senior Matt Hoover and sophomore Lee Lapid tallied a goal and an assist each to pace Canisius in a 4-2 victory over rival Niagara in Atlantic Hockey Association action Friday at KeyBank Rink at LECOM Harborcenter in downtown Buffalo.
 
Senior Nick Hutchison and sophomore Mitchell Martan also scored for the Golden Griffins (2-6-0, 1-2-0 AHA), who picked their first league victory of the season with Friday's triumph over their "Battle of the Bridge" foe.
 
Justin Kendall accounted for both goals for the Purple Eagles (0-8-1, 0-4-1 AHA)
 
Kendall staked Niagara to a 1-0 lead at the 16:19 mark of the first, beating Canisius goaltender Matt Ladd with a shot between the legs from the right face-off circle.
 
Martan brought the Griffs level less than four minutes into the second period when he chipped the puck over the glove of Niagara netminder Chad Veltri from the bottom of the slot just seconds after a Purple Eagles penalty had expired.
 
Hutchision gave Canisius the lead with 6:45 elapsed during the middle frame as he was able to get behind the Purple Eagles defense during a 4-on-4 sequence and put the puck over the glove of Veltri and under the crossbar to make it a 2-1 game.
 
Hoover and Lapid stuck just 1:32 apart during a five-minute power play early in the third to stretch the Canisius lead to 4-1.
 
Hoover began the sequence at the 3:15 mark of the final frame, collecting a loose puck just off the right post and waiting traffic to clear before depositing the puck into the back of the cage while Lapid made a three-goal game moments later when he jammed home a rebound from the top of the crease for his second of the season.
 
Kendall trimmed the Niagara deficit to 4-2 with less than four minutes to play in the contest, beating Ladd with a shot from the right side during a 5-on-3 power play.
 
Ladd made 38 saves in goal for Canisius while Veltri finished with 20 saves between the pipes for Niagara.   
 
Head Coach Trevor Large's Postgame Comments
"It's a great win for us. You're going against a rival and we're playing for three points in the league, so we're very excited about the result tonight. Just like after any game, though, we have to get better. We have to take fewer penalties. I really liked our power play tonight; loved our penalty kill, they were unbelievable. Matt Ladd was extremely solid in net. We needed all those things, and more, to beat a very good Niagara team.
 
"It was huge for our team (to score twice during the five-minute major in the third.) It's 2-1 going into the third period. We've been working really hard on the power play and it's felt like we've deserved some power-play goals, but they haven't been going in for us. We put in another good week of working on what we want to do and how we want to play together when on the man advantage. I was really pleased with what that unit was able to do, being able to go out and get two goals to go up 4-1 was great. Once that happens, we have to find a way to make it easier on ourselves to really put the game out of reach. It felt like the last 10 minutes we were in the box. We need to do better, we need to have more composure. It's a young team trying to understand what it takes to win. We'll remedy that and move forward."
 
Game Notes
• Friday's game was the 58th meeting between the two Western New York rivals. Canisius increased its lead in the all-time series to 27-25-6 edge and to 26-21-6 in Division I matchups with Friday's victory.
• Niagara out-shot Canisius by a 40-24 margin for the contest, highlighted by an 28-14 advantage during the first two periods.
• Canisius was 2-for-6 with the man advantage as it recorded multiple power-play goals for the first time this season. Niagara was 1-for-10 on the power play Friday.
• Canisius tallied four goals in a game for the second time this season, improving to 2-0-0 this year and 34-5-1 since the start of the 2016-17 campaign when doing so.
• Three of the four goal scorers for the Griffs (Hoover, Hutchison, Martan) all recorded their first goals of the season on Friday.
• Ladd finished with 35 or more saves for the first time this season and the 5th time in his career with his 38-save effort on Friday. He moved to 3-1-1 during his career when doing so.
• Freshman Simon Gravel extended his point-scoring streak to three games with an assist on Martan's second-period tally.
• The Griffs held a lead after 40 minutes for the second time this season and improved 2-0-0 in 2019-20 when doing so. Canisius also moved to 39-1-1 since the beginning of the 2016-17 season when in front after the first two periods.
 
Up Next
• The teams complete their two-game series Saturday with a 4:05 p.m. contest at LECOM Harborcenter.
• Tickets for the game are still available. They can be purchased by calling 716-888-TIXX or by visiting ticketmaster.com.
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