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Canisius University Athletics

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Canisius defenseman Hudson Lambert skates with the puck during game action against Robert Morris at LECOM Harborcenter on Feb. 22, 2020
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2
Canisius CAN 1-2-0
6
Winner Rensselaer RPI 1-1-1
Canisius CAN
1-2-0
2
Final
6
Rensselaer RPI
1-1-1
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
Canisius CAN 0 0 2 2
Rensselaer RPI 0 4 2 6

Game Recap: Ice Hockey |

Second-Period Surge Dooms Hockey at RPI

RPI scored four goals in the second period to break open a scoreless contest on its way to a 6-2 victory over Canisius in collegiate men's hockey action Friday at Houston Field House in Troy, N.Y.
 
The Engineers (1-1-1) used goals from TJ Walsh, Simon Kjellberg, Lauri Sertti and Ottoville Leppanen during the middle frame to build a commanding lead.
 
Jakob Lee and Ture Linden added insurance markers in the final minute of the third for RPI after juniors Keaton Mastrodonato and Hudson Lambert struck less than three minutes apart during the final frame to pull the Golden Griffins (1-2-0) back into the contest.
 
Following a scoreless opening frame, Walsh opened the scoring at the 4:53 mark of the second period, burying a rebound from the middle of the slot after Canisius goaltender Jacob Barczewski turned aside the Engineers' initial attempt off the stick of Kyle Hailbauer.
 
Kjellberg doubled the Engineers margin just past the 12-minute mark of the second when his shot from the point found its way through traffic and over the right shoulder of Barczewski.
 
Sertti added to the RPI lead on the next shift, forcing a turnover in front of the Canisius cage before stuffing the puck into the net for his first collegiate tally.
 
Leppanen finished off the second-period surge with less than four minutes to play in the frame as he capitalized on a shorthanded breakaway to make it a 4-0 contest.
 
Mastrodonato got Canisius on the board with a power play goal at the 12:22 mark of the third, jamming home a loose puck from the top of the crease to make it a 4-1 game.
 
Lambert trimmed the Canisius deficit to 4-2 just 2:13 later when he poked in a rebound on a shot from the stick of senior Lee Lapid for his first collegiate goal.
 
That would be as close as Canisius would get as RPI scored twice in a nine-second span during the final minute of regulation to determine the four-goal margin of victory.
 
Barczewski got the start in goal for the Golden Griffins (1-1-0), making 21 saves before being replaced by junior John Hawthorne in the second period. Hawthorne, making his Canisius debut, finished with 12 saves.
 
Linden Marshall made 23 stops between the pipes for RPI.
 
Head Coach Trevor Large's Postgame Comments
"We were completely outworked tonight. It was an inexcusable effort from our guys. We talk about compete being the most important thing for us to win shifts and periods and at most we won a couple shifts tonight. It's an inexcusable effort from us. We're all going to look in the mirror tonight. The best thing about college hockey is you get a chance to redeem yourself quickly. But in terms of effort, that was not what we need to beat any opponent.
 
"Give credit to RPI. They outworked us. In terms of anything in particular that gave us trouble, it was when five guys in white are working and skating and we have one guy in blue working hard and everybody else on our side is waiting for them to do all the work. It is a terrible recipe to compete in college hockey. It's inexcusable. Man-to-man on our roster it was not even close. So, nothing in particular, other than effort from an opponent and a lack of commitment, effort and belief in us.
 
"We're not interested in moral victories on this team. If you looked at tonight, we scored two goals to try to scratch and claw back in the third period. But that moral victory is done; it's not a victory. We pushed and we got a couple goals, but the opponent has taken its foot off the gas at that point. Good on us for getting a couple goals, but that's not what we're interested in doing in a college hockey game."
 
Game Notes
• Friday's contest served as the third meeting between Canisius and RPI. The Engineers have won all three meetings between the two in-state rivals.
• RPI outshot Canisius by a 39-25 margin for the contest, highlighted by an 18-9 advantage in the second period.
• Canisius was 1-for-5 on the power play while RPI was 0-for-2 with the man advantage.
• Mastrodonato has scored a goal in all three games for Canisius this season, the longest goal-scoring streak of his career.
• Mastrodonato also tallied multiple points in a game for the first time this season and the 10th time in his career as he earned a secondary assist on Lambert's third-period tally.  
• Lambert recorded his first career goal in his 37th game in a Canisius uniform. He is also the first Griffs defenseman to score a goal this season.
• Freshman forward Alton McDermott made his collegiate debut in Friday's contest. He is the first freshman to appear in a game for Canisius this season.
 
Up Next
The teams complete their two-game series Saturday with a 7 p.m. contest at Houston Field House.
 
For complete coverage of the Canisius hockey team, please follow the Griffs on social media at @GriffsHockey on Twitter and Instagram.
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