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Canisius University Athletics

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Canisius goaltender Jacob Barczewski tracks the puck with Logan Gestro in front of him looking to block the shot in game action vs AIC at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass.
Lindy Feider
2
Canisius CGG 11-6-0
5
Winner American Int'l AIC 15-3-0
Canisius CGG
11-6-0
2
Final
5
American Int'l AIC
15-3-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
Canisius CGG 1 1 0 2
American Int'l AIC 0 2 3 5

Game Recap: Ice Hockey |

Hockey Upended by AIC in AHA Tournament Championship Game

Chris Theodore scored the go-ahead goal 3:24 into the third period to break a 2-2 tie and propel No. 15 AIC to a 5-2 victory over Canisius in the championship game of the 2021 Atlantic Hockey Tournament Saturday at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass.
 
Theodore scored off a rebound with two seconds remaining on a five-minute major to put the host Yellow Jackets (15-3-0) ahead before AIC added a pair of empty-net goals in the final two minutes of regulation to secure the win and earn the league's automatic berth into the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
 
Junior Kevin Obssuth and senior Grant Meyer scored the two goals for the Golden Griffins (11-6-0). Sophomore goaltender Jacob Barczewski made 31 saves between the pipes for Canisius.
 
Obssuth gave Canisius a 1-0 lead just 8:40 into the first, jamming home a loose puck from the top of the crease after senior Matt Long worked the puck out front from behind the Yellow Jackets' goal.
 
Justin Cole tied the game at 1-1 just 81 seconds into the second period when a point shot from Chris Dodero deflected off of him in front of the Canisius goal and into the cage.
 
Meyer restored the Griffs' advantage less than two minutes later with his third of the season, camping in front of the AIC goal and putting home a loose puck after a point shot from sophomore David Melaragni was turned aside by AIC goaltender Stefano Durante.
 
Elijiah Barriga brought the Yellow Jackets level for the second time in the period with just over five minutes to play in the middle frame, firing a wrist shot over the glove Barczewski from the middle of the slot on a zone entry during an AIC power play to make it 2-2, setting the stage for Theodore's third-period heroics.  
 
Head Coach Trevor Large's Postgame Comments
"It's a tough loss to a great team. That's all I'm really going to talk about regarding the game.  All my energy and thoughts right now go to our seniors. That's what I have in me right now is to thank those guys. They've all been unbelievable. It's a great legacy that they've left with our program. I heard them talking to their teammates after the game to let this one sting and use it to fuel the fire for next season and that's really the epitome of who they are as people and I can't thank them enough.
 
"Jacob Barczewski was great tonight. He's ultra-competitive. He's very athletic. Those things were on display tonight. Every time he's been in net for us, he's an absolute rock. We love him, we love who he is, how he competes and obviously, he's an elite goaltender in any conference. So, Barzo was a big reason why we got here. But it wasn't just him and he would tell you that. But I thought he was excellent.
 
"It's everything. To be honest, it's been a year filled with lots of teams that are going to talk about adversity, we called them inconveniences this year. Every team in college hockey can put a list together and it's long. For everything that every team has gone through, getting through a season in a global pandemic is a huge challenge and I think the biggest thing that we can look at is all the effort that we put in for details and defense and all the above it paid dividends for us. We got one period away from winning a championship and getting to the NCAA tournament. So the result tonight is not what we wanted, but in terms of the future for this program, we're in a great spot because of the guys that we have in the locker room They are super passionate. They believe in the program; they believe in each other. So those are the absolute takeaways that we are going to take away from this season. We've also got some work to do; we're going to go back to work. Because we're going after championships that that is our goal. We did not accomplish that this year, but obviously very proud of everybody in our locker room. We're filled with great people.
 
Game Notes
• Saturday's game served as the fifth meeting between Canisius and AIC in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament.
• The Griffs made their third appearance in the championship game of the Atlantic Hockey Tournament and the first since the 2013-14 season.
• Junior J.D. Pogue and senior Logan Gestro were named to the all-tournament team for their efforts this weekend.
• AIC out-shot Canisius by a 36-17 margin for the contest, highlighted by a 20-4 edge in the third period.
• The Yellow Jackets were 2-for-4 on the power play while Canisius did not have a man-advantage opportunity in the contest.
• Canisius moved to 7-2-0 this season when scoring the first goal of the game with Saturday's setback.
• Barczewski made 30 or more saves in a contest for the seventh time this season with his 31-save effort on Saturday.
• Meyer and Obssuth both scored their third goals of the season on Saturday.
 
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