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Canisius University Athletics

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Forward Keaton Mastrodonato skates up the ice during Canisius' matchup with Niagara on Harborcenter on Nov. 16, 2019
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3
Winner Canisius CAN 9-18-6, 8-13-2 AHA
2
Mercyhurst MER-M 2-26-2, 3-22-2 AHA
Winner
Canisius CAN
9-18-6, 8-13-2 AHA
3
Final
2
Mercyhurst MER-M
2-26-2, 3-22-2 AHA
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
Canisius CAN 1 2 0 3
Mercyhurst MER-M 0 2 0 2

Game Recap: Ice Hockey |

Hockey Takes Opener at Mercyhurst

Freshman Keaton Mastrodonato scored twice to lift Canisius to a 3-2 victory over Mercyhurst in Atlantic Hockey action Friday at the Mercyhurst Ice Center in Erie, Pa.
 
Mastrodonato notched both of his goals during a four-minute plus stretch in the second period to propel the Golden Griffins (9-18-6, 8-13-6-3 AHA) to victory. Senior Matt Hoover accounted for the third Canisius goal as he opened the scoring in the first with his 13th of the campaign. .
 
James Anderson was responsible for both goals for the host Lakers (5-26-2, 3-22-2-0 AHA).
 
Hoover put Canisius in front just after the midway point of the opening frame, one-timing fellow senior Nick Hutchison's feed past the glove Mercyhurst goaltender Garrett Metcalf from the middle of the slot.
 
Mastrodonato doubled the Canisius advantage to 2-0 at the 9:07 mark of the second period, putting home his own rebound after his initial attempt on a 2-on-0 break with sophomore David Baskerville was turned aside by Metcalf.
 
Anderson got the Lakers on the board a little more than two minutes later with a power-play tally when he stuffed home a loose puck from just off the right post to make it a one-goal contest.
 
Mastrodonato netted his second of the period with 13:18 elapsed in the second, firing a wrist shot off the crossbar and in while on the rush for his 10th of the season.
 
Anderson once again had an answer for the Lakers, placing a shot off of Canisius goaltender Jacob Barczewski and into the goal from below the goal line in the final seconds of the middle frame to make it a 3-2 contest heading into the third.  
 
Mercyhurst pushed for the equalizer in the third as it had a pair of power-play opportunities, including a five-minute major to open the frame. But, Barczewski stopped all eight shots he faced from the Lakers in the third to preserve the one-goal lead.
 
Barczewski made 22 saves in goal for Canisius. Metcalf finished with 37 saves between the pipes for Mercyhurst.
 
Head Coach Trevor Large's Postgame Comments
"This was a hard-fought road game. It's a tough game this time of year. We took too many penalties, which gave Mercyhurst a little bit of a boost and obviously, they get a power play goal and their second one is not on the power play, but it's right after one ended, so it felt like we were in the control of the game until that point. But, killing off a five-minute major to start the third period is great for our penalty kill, it's great for our goaltending, that our guys could go through that and understand how hard it is to win this time of year. We were on early and scored and then some mistakes and some undisciplined play let Mercyhurst back in it, but we'll put the three points in the bank and get ready for the last game of the regular season tomorrow.
 
"When we play hard and we play the right way and use our system the way it's supposed to supposed to work, we have the ability to dominate an opponent. That's what the first period felt like to me. We want more guys around the net. We started to take maybe too many chances and turn it into a track meet late in the first period. But, we were really strong to start the game, which is what you need to do at this time of year; trying to be the aggressor immediately in a game. We were able to do that at a very high level. Obviously, we get an unbelievable goal from Matt Hoover with that line starting us off and a couple goals for (Keaton) Mastrodonato again, it seems like he's clicking right now. Getting depth of scoring this time of year is a good recipe for success."
 
Game Notes
• Friday's game served as the 93rd all-time meeting between Canisius and Mercyhurst and the 72nd as Division I opponents. The Griffs moved to 29-33-10 all-time against the Lakers with Friday's victory.
• Canisius out-shot Mercyhurst by a 37-23 margin for the contest, highlighted by a 20-5 advantage in the first period.
• Mercyhurst was 1-for-4 on the power play while Canisius was 0-for-2 with the man advantage.
• Canisius moved to 3-7 this season in one-goal games with Friday's victory.
• The Griffs improved to 8-3-0 in 2019-20 when leading after 40 minutes with Friday's victory.
• Hoover moved within four points of the 100-point plateau for his career with his first-period goal on Friday.
• Mastrodonato tallied multiple goals in a game for the second time this season with his two-goal effort on Friday (Jan. 18 at Sacred Heart). He also became the third Canisius player to reach double-digits in goals for the season.
• With his assist on Hoover's first-period goal, Hutchison moved into sole possession of eighth place on the program's Division I era chart for career points with 108.
 
Up Next
• The teams complete both their weekend series and the regular season Saturday with a 7:05 p.m. contest at the Mercyhurst Ice Center.
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