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Canisius University Athletics

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Canisius goaltender John Hawthorne is shown in game action during the Griffs contest against Niagara at LECOM Harborcenter on Dec. 10, 2021
Lindy Feider
2
Canisius CAN 9-8-2, 6-5-1
3
Winner Niagara NIA 4-10-2, 4-4-2
Canisius CAN
9-8-2, 6-5-1
2
Final
3
Niagara NIA
4-10-2, 4-4-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 OT 1 F
Canisius CAN 1 1 0 0 2
Niagara NIA 0 1 1 1 3

Game Recap: Ice Hockey |

Hockey Falls at Niagara in Heartbreaker

Niagara tied the game with 6.4 seconds remaining in regulation before scoring in overtime to defeat Canisius, 3-2, in Atlantic Hockey Association action Friday at Dwyer Arena in Lewiston, N.Y.
 
The Purple Eagles (4-10-2, 4-4-2 AHA) used a trio of power-play tallies from Shane Ott, Ryan Cox and Albin Nilsson to salvage a split of the weekend series between the Battle of the Bridge rivals. Chad Veltri made 18 saves to earn the victory.
 
Senior Lee Lapid and junior Keaton Mastrodonato scored for the Golden Griffins (9-8-2, 6-5-1 AHA). Junior goaltender John Hawthorne made 35 saves in his third start of the season.
 
Trailing by one in the final minute of regulation, Niagara tied the game with less than seven seconds remaining as Cox fired a one-timer off the left post and in from the right faceoff circle to send the game to overtime.
 
In the extra session, the Purple Eagles completed the comeback when Nilsson wired a slap shot past the glove of Hawthorne during a 5-on-3 power play opportunity to win the game.
 
Earlier in the contest, Lapid got Canisius on the board at the 12:57 mark of the first, putting home a centering feed from Mastrodonato for his sixth of the campaign.
 
The teams traded tallies during a 48-second span near the midway point of the second period. Mastrodonato doubled the Griffs margin to 2-0 at the 7:23 mark of the middle frame, finishing off a 2-on-1 rush with senior Mitchell Martan for his team-leading 10th goal of the season.
 
The Purple Eagles answered back on the following shift as Ott beat Hawthorne with a shot to the glove side from the middle of the slot for his third of the campaign.  
 
Head Coach Trevor Large's Postgame Comments
"It was a good battle. Really disappointed with the end of the game. Not in our control in any way, shape or form. Obviously disappointed with the result, but our choices remain the same. We let it in, let it sting and we get better from it. So same process, it happens that today it was a heartbreaking loss, but it's just a loss and we need to get better from it.
 
"Five-minute kills are very difficult. It felt like we were on the brink of getting it done and then we really would have got what we deserved tonight. Overall, we had some guys do some really good things, our penalty kill was solid. Our power play needs to get us some goals, but overall, not good enough against a rival and will be better for it.
 
"John (Hawthorne) was awesome. He was solid all game, but particularly in the third period I thought he was spectacular. He made a couple of highlight-reel saves. I'm very proud of his effort. He's a heck of a goalie and he's showing that to people other than just our team, so excited for the effort from John tonight."
 
Game Notes
• Niagara out-shot Canisius, 38-20, for the contest, highlighted by a 12-3 edge in the third period.
• The Purple Eagles were 3-for-7 on the power play while Canisius was 0-for-3 with the man advantage. Niagara had the final four power-play opportunities of the contest.
• Canisius suffered its first loss of the season when tallying the first goal of the game. The Griffs are now 7-1-0 this season when scoring first.
• Martan recorded multiple assists for the sixth time this season and registered multiple points for the seventh time this season with his two-assist effort on Friday.
• Mastrodonato tallied multiple points in a game for the sixth time this season as he finished with a goal and an assist. Mastrodonato also became the first Griff to reach double-digits in goals this season as his second-period tally was his tenth of the campaign.
• Hawthorne made 30 or more saves in a game for the third time this season with his 35-save effort on Friday. All three of his 30-plus save efforts have come in all three of starts this season.
 
Up Next
Canisius will take its traditional end of semester break before returning to action Jan. 3 with a non-conference contest against Clarkson. Puck drop at LECOM Harborcenter is slated for 7 p.m.
 
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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