Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Canisius University Athletics

#Griffs The Official Home of the Canisius University Golden Griffins | #Griffs
Canisius forward Niclas Puikkonen stands in front of the Mercyhurst net during game action at the Mercyhurst Ice Center on Nov. 19, 2021
Lindy Feider
6
Winner Canisius CAN 7-4-1, 4-1-0
1
Mercyhurst MER 2-5-4, 2-3-4
Winner
Canisius CAN
7-4-1, 4-1-0
6
Final
1
Mercyhurst MER
2-5-4, 2-3-4
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
Canisius CAN 1 3 2 6
Mercyhurst MER 0 0 1 1

Game Recap: Ice Hockey |

Hockey Rolls Past Mercyhurst to Extend Winning Streak

Junior Keaton Mastrodonato and sophomore Cooper Haar scored twice to pace Canisius in a 6-1 victory over Mercyhurst in Atlantic Hockey Association action Friday at the Mercyhurst Ice Center in Erie, Pa.
 
Sophomores Max Kouznetsov and Niclas Puikkonen also scored for the Golden Griffins (7-4-1, 4-1-0 AHA), who picked up their fourth straight victory with Friday's triumph. Junior Jacob Barczewski stopped 18-of-19 shots faced as Canisius out-shot Mercyhurst by a 38-19 margin for the contest.
 
Geoff Kitt accounted for the lone goal for the Lakers (2-5-4, 2-3-4 AHA) while Hank Johnson made 32 saves between the pipes for the hosts.
 
Kouznetsov opened the scoring at the 14-minute mark of the first period, putting home is own rebound on the rush after Johnson turned aside his initial attempt for his fourth of the campaign.
 
Canisius put the game out of reach in the second, erupting for three goals to build a 4-0 cushion.
 
Mastrodonato tallied the first two goals of the frame, scoring twice in a 4:23 span to make it a 3-0 contest. He got his first with three minutes elapsed in the second, stuffing home a loose puck from just off the left post before adding his second of the period a few shifts later when he deposited a rebound from classmate Lincoln Erne into the Lakers cage to make it a 3-0 contest.
 
Puikkonen closed out the second-period scoring barrage at the 17:04 mark of the middle frame, beating Johnson with a wrist shot to the glove side for his first of the campaign.
 
Haar made it a 5-0 contest 1:23 into the third, stuffing home a loose puck from just off the right post for his first of the season.  
 
Kitt spoiled the Griffs shutout bid with 3:34 to play, wiring a wrist shot off the left post and in from the middle of the slot to trim the deficit to 5-1.
 
Haar closed out the scoring with a power-play goal in the final minute of regulation, chipping a loose puck over the glove of Johnson from close range to determine the five-goal margin of victory.
 
Head Coach Trevor Large's Postgame Comments
"It was a great all-around effort by our entire bench tonight. I really loved how we broke the puck out. We were together, we played hard, we played our system very well. But, most importantly, our guys supported each other. We were very close to each other. It was short passing. That makes us fast and obviously, we got production up and down the lineup in a 6-1 game, which we got what we deserved tonight. We deserved the goals that we got and I'm very proud of the effort. Now we have to quickly recover and get ready for an opponent tomorrow night.
 
"The way Mercyhurst defends, you need to be around the net, you need second-chance opportunities. You have to get inside on them and they make it tough on you because they surround you in defensive-zone coverage. We were able to do some things in the offensive zone to find some space. I really liked us on the rush tonight. I really liked us breaking the puck out. That was extremely helpful. We played a very hard, smart hockey game and if we continue to keep playing like that, we'll be a tough out for sure.
 
"We started to become a stretch-pass team midway through the second period and when you do that, you're separated. You have your forwards too far away from your D and it gives the opponent some space in between your system. When we started to try and stretch it out and think that was going to help us or create offense, that gave Mercyhurst some opportunities. They're very good on the rush. They have guys that can really skate and have skill. That's what happened in those moments. We got too separated. It was a quick recovery from us. I liked our response. We made that correction very quickly and bench demeanor was a big help with that because we were communicating."
 
Game Notes
• Friday's game served as the 99th all-time meeting between Canisius and Mercyhurst and the 78th at the Division I level. Canisius trails in the all-time series (41-46-11), but holds the lead in Division I meetings (34-33-10).
• Canisius extended its current unbeaten streak against Mercyhurst to seven games with Friday's victory.
• Canisius scored the first goal of the game for the fourth straight contest and the sixth time this season. The Griffs improved to a perfect 6-0-0 this season when opening the scoring with Friday's victory.
• The Griffs tallied four or more goals in a game for the fourth straight contest and seventh time this season. Canisius moved to 6-0-1 when tallying four or more goals in a game this season with Friday's victory.
• Mastrodonato tallied multiple goals in a game for the fourth time in his career with his two-goal effort on Friday. Three of those multi-goal efforts have come against Mercyhurst.
• Kouznetsov tallied multiple points in a game for the second time this season and the third time in his career with his two-point effort (1g, 1a).
• Puikkonen and Haar became the 17th and 18th different Canisius players to score a goal this season with their first goals of the season on Friday.
• Haar recorded multiple goals and points in a game for the first time in his career with his two-goal effort on Friday.
• Senior Mitchell Martan recorded multiple assists for the fourth time this season with his two-assist effort on Friday.
• Senior Lee Lapid tallied multiple assists in a game for just the second time in his career with his two-assist effort on Friday.
 
Up Next
The teams complete their home-and-home series Saturday with a 7 p.m. contest at LECOM Harborcenter in downtown Buffalo.
 
For complete coverage of the Canisius hockey team, please follow the Griffs on social media at @GriffsHockey on Twitter and Instagram.
Print Friendly Version