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Canisius University Athletics

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Canisius defenseman Joey Matthews is seen skating the puck during game action versus Ferris State at LECOM Harborcenter on Oct. 30, 2021
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0
Canisius Golden Griffin CNS 10-9-2, 7-6-1
3
Winner Army West Point AWP 8-9-3, 6-5-2
Canisius Golden Griffin CNS
10-9-2, 7-6-1
0
Final
3
Army West Point AWP
8-9-3, 6-5-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
Canisius Golden Griffin CNS 0 0 0 0
Army West Point AWP 1 0 2 3

Game Recap: Ice Hockey |

Hockey Settles for Series Split at Army

Eric Butte scored two goals and Gavin Abric stopped all 29 shots he faced to pace Army in a 3-0 victory over Canisius in Atlantic Hockey Association action Saturday at Tate Rink in West Point, N.Y.
 
Thomas Farrell opened the scoring for the Black Knights (8-9-3, 6-5-2 AHA) in the first period before Butte tallied both of his goals in the third to help the home team salvage a split of the weekend series.
 
Junior Jacob Barczewski made 34 saves in goal for the Golden Griffins (10-9-2, 7-6-1 AHA).
 
Farrell opened the scoring just past the nine-minute mark of the first when his slap shot from the right faceoff circle deflected off a Canisius defender and into the goal.
 
The Griffs appeared to tie the game later in the opening frame when sophomore Cooper Haar scored during a zone entry opportunity, but the play was deemed to be offside.
 
Following a scoreless second, Butte added an insurance marker at the 5:59 mark of the third with a power-play goal, racing into the Canisius zone on the rush before lifting a backhander over the glove of Barczewski to make it a 2-0 contest.
 
Canisius turned up the pressure after the second Army goal, drawing three penalties during the final 11 minutes of the third, but they were unable to solve Abric, who finished with 16 saves during the final frame.  
 
The Griffs almost got on the board after pulling the goalie during the final minutes of regulation, but a rebound attempt during a goalmouth scramble was cleared off the goal line by Army defenseman Anthony Firriolo to keep Canisius off the board.
 
Butte closed out the scoring with an empty-net tally with eight seconds to play to determine the final margin.
 
Head Coach Trevor Large's Postgame Comments
"Tough loss to a good team on the road. We had a good push late; it wasn't enough for us to get the result that we were looking for this evening. But the resolve that our team has shown, the competitiveness that our entire lineup has shown in terms of their effort, makes me very proud to coach this group. Up and down our lineup again, very similar to last night, the guys gave everything they had. We just didn't get the win. So, we move on and focus on getting better on Monday.
 
"Watching a shot chart is pretty dangerous game because it wasn't how the game went. Army has a piece in that, where in they're a team that throws a lot of pucks on net. We defended them well, even though there were some shots on net. If I'm tracking scoring chances, I didn't feel that they had the majority of them this evening. It was a pretty even game for the most part and a couple of great chances from us and some saves by their goalie and Barczewski again was outstanding tonight. We just weren't able to get anything in the net, so it put a lot of pressure on our defense and goaltending.
 
"There's a lot of experiences from the game that are going to help us moving forward. Some guys were put into scenarios that maybe they hadn't been in before, but we trust them and value them and believe in them. I talked with our staff after the game and said that this is a team that is never going to use a depleted lineup as an excuse. Our players have proven that to us that whoever's wearing Blue and Gold is going to bleed everything they've got when they get on the ice. It's been about a month or so of having to handle that adversity, but I couldn't be prouder of how we're doing and specifically, how the players are handling it. There's no feeling among our staff or our players that we can't win. When we're down players who are dealing with injuries or other things are happening in the world, whoever's wearing our jersey is going to give everything they got. I am very proud to coach them in those moments. Connor Zilisch was great again tonight, as was Matt Vermaeten. They played a lot. Joey Matthews made a huge block at the end to stop their first opportunity on our empty net. That was a great moment for him and for our team. Again, we're not focused on results. We're not going to die on the branch that says that winning is everything. What we're leaving with is a proud effort from this group this weekend and I know I've said it before, but we'll get to work on Monday."
 
Game Notes
• Army out-shot Canisius, 37-29, for the contest, highlighted by a 31-13 advantage during the first two periods. The Griffs held a 16-6 advantage in shots taken during the third.
• Army was 1-for-2 on the power play while Canisius was 0-for-6 with the man advantage on Saturday.
• Canisius was held scoreless for the first time this season with Saturday's shutout.
• The Griffs were shutout by the Black Knights for the seventh time in series history and the first victory Nov. 11, 2016.
• The Griffs moved to 0-9-0 this season when tallying two goals or fewer in a game.
• Barczewski made 30 or more saves in a game for the fourth time this season and the 16th time in his career with his 34-save effort on Saturday.
 
Up Next
Canisius completes its four-game road swing next weekend when it travels to Holy Cross for a two-game Atlantic Hockey series. Both games of the Jan. 14-15 series are slated for 7 p.m. at the Hart Center in Worcester, Mass.
 
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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