Hockey Opens Homestand with Pivotal League Series Versus Bentley

Games 24-25
Canisius (11-9-3, 8-6-2 AHA) vs Bentley (11-9-0, 9-5-0 AHA)
Dates: Friday, Jan. 21 | Saturday, Jan. 22
Times: 7 p.m. | 7 p.m.
Location: Buffalo, N.Y. | LECOM Harborcenter
Live Stats: viaGoGriffs.com
Stream: Flohockey.tv
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram
Game Notes: Canisius (PDF) | Bentley

1) Puck Drop
The Canisius hockey team begins a five-game homestand this weekend as it welcomes Bentley to LECOM Harborcenter for a pivotal Atlantic Hockey Association series.
The Golden Griffins enter the weekend in second place in the league standings with 28 points, two ahead of the third-place Falcons (26). Canisius also sits just four points back of first-place AIC, but has played the most conference games of anyone in the league to date.
Start times for both games of the Friday-Saturday series are slated for 7 p.m.

2) Entertaining the Falcons
Bentley is making its first visit to the LECOM Harborcenter in nearly three years, having last visited the Nickel City for a two-game league series Jan. 25-26, 2019. Canisius is 4-2-2 against Bentley at LECOM Harborcenter, with both setbacks coming during the Falcons most recent visit.
Canisius holds a slim 34-32-8 advantage over Bentley in 74 previous meetings in a series that dates back to 1981, including a 33-31-8 mark in Division I contests.
The Falcons have held the edge of late, entering the weekend with an 8-1-2 record during their last 11 games versus the Griffs, a stretch that halted an 11-game unbeaten span for Canisius (9-0-2).

3) Goaltending Showdown
This weekend's series features two of the top netminders in all of Atlantic Hockey as Canisius junior Jacob Barczewski squares off against Bentley graduate transfer Evan DeBrouwer. DeBrouwer, who joined the Falcons after beginning his career at Arizona State, leads the league in both goals against average (1.90) and save percentage (.939) while Barczewski ranks second in save percentage (.926) and is fourth in goals against average (2.42). Barczewski was the first goaltender in the AHA to reach double-digit wins this season, while DeBrouwer ranks first on the circuit in winning percentage among goaltenders (.857). Both netminders were named to the Mike Richter Award "Watch List," given annually to the top goaltender in NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey.

4) Scoring While Shorthanded
Canisius has had little issue generating offense when shorthanded this season as it leads the nation with six shorthanded goals. Graduate student Alex Ambrosio and junior Keaton Mastrodonato have led the way for the Golden Griffins in that category as they are among the 11 players tied for the national lead with two shorthanded tallies each in 2021-22.

5) No Offense, No Problem Versus Holy Cross
Canisius had its lowest scoring output of the season during its two-game series against Holy Cross as it was limited to just three goals during the two-games series versus the Crusaders. That was little issue for the Griffs, however, as they claimed five of six points by way of a regulation victory and a shootout win following a tie. Prior to the matchup with Holy Cross, Canisius had been one of the most potent offenses in the nation, averaging more than three goals per contest (3.14) through its first 21 games of the 2021-22 campaign.

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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Players Mentioned

#30 Jacob Barczewski: G; 6' 1"; Junior; L

#8 Keaton Mastrodonato: F; 6' 0"; Junior; R

#71 Alex Ambrosio: F; 5' 10"; Graduate Student; L

Players Mentioned

#30 Jacob Barczewski
: 6' 1"; Junior; L
: G

#8 Keaton Mastrodonato
: 6' 0"; Junior; R
: F

#71 Alex Ambrosio
: 5' 10"; Graduate Student; L
: F

Players Mentioned

#30 Jacob Barczewski

#8 Keaton Mastrodonato

#71 Alex Ambrosio

Players Mentioned

#30 Jacob Barczewski

#8 Keaton Mastrodonato

#71 Alex Ambrosio