Lindy Feider

Box Score

Canisius CAN 14-12-3, 11-9-2

Niagara NIA 11-17-2, 10-10-2

Canisius CAN

14-12-3, 11-9-2

Final

Feb. 12, 2022

Niagara NIA

11-17-2, 10-10-2

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	F
Canisius CAN	1	1	3	5
Niagara NIA	0	1	0	1

Game Recap: Ice Hockey | 2/12/2022 11:00:00 PM

Hockey Earns Split with 5-1 Victory at Niagara

Next Game:

Sacred Heart

2/18/2022 | 7 p.m.

Next Game

Full Schedule

Feb. 18 (Fri) / 7 p.m.

Sacred Heart

Recap
Roster

Canisius used goals from five different players and a 34-save performance from junior goaltender John Hawthorne to defeat Niagara, 5-1, in Atlantic Hockey Association action Saturday at Dwyer Arena in Lewiston, N.Y.

Junior Ryan Miotto, senior Mitchell Martan, sophomore Max Kouznetsov, graduate student Jake Witkowski and junior Daniel DiGrande accounted for the five goals for the Golden Griffins (14-12-3, 11-9-2 AHA), who earned a split of the weekend series versus their Battle of the Bridge rivals with Saturday's victory.

Zac Hermann scored the lone goal for the Purple Eagles (11-17-2, 10-10-2 AHA) while Chad Veltri finished with 33 saves between the pipes for the hosts.

Miotto opened the scoring at the 7:06 mark of the first period, depositing classmate David Melaragni's centering feed into the Niagara goal from the middle of the slot for his fifth of the season.

Hermann tied the game at 1-1 with a power-play tally midway through the second period, firing a one-timer from the right face-off circle that Hawthorne was able to get a piece of, but was unable to keep from crossing the goal line.

Martan restored the Griffs lead less than four minutes after Hermann's equalizer, collecting a loose puck in the Canisius zone and racing down the left side before sliding the puck between the legs of Veltri to put the Griffs back in front, 2-1.

Canisius scored three times in the third to pull away from Niagara and put the game out of reach. Kouznetsov made it a 3-1 contest just 1:10 into the third, beating Veltri with a shot inside the left post for his 10th goal of the season.

Witkowski stretched the Griffs margin to 4-1 less than two minutes later, one-timing a feed from fellow graduate student Alex Ambrosio into the Niagara goal from the left face-off circle.

DiGrande closed out the scoring with an empty-net goal with 5:24 remaining after Niagara pulled Veltri to gain the extra attacker while on the power play.

Head Coach Trevor Large's Postgame Comments
"That was a really good team win. I'm extremely proud of John Hawthorne. He was spectacular in net tonight. Huge credit goes to our penalty kill as well. A great response from them. Last night, Niagara goes 2-for-2 on the power play and tonight was 1-for-9. We controlled the game tonight for the most part. I really liked how we played together. I really liked our bench demeanor and communication. The guy's scratched and clawed and played Canisius hockey tonight, so I'm extremely proud of everybody in our room.

"This time of year, you are who you are. We could have had a video session today where it was all about trying to correct every part of our system. The system is not the reason why we win. It's our players. We got together and had a very clear message that we have to out-compete opponents to win games and that's what our focus was in our short video session today. I know our guys were attentive and listening. We have a room full of guys that care. We came out and really put all of it into play. All the things that we know how we can play and play together and communicate and have a calm bench and be very focused and determined and out-compete an opponent. We did that tonight and we got the result we deserved.

"I loved everything in that third period. As you're evaluating the game and the guys are talking in the room, they were saying the right things. It was about effort; it was about compete. It was about us playing together. As a head coach, I really didn't need to tell them much. They knew what to do. They went out and took control of the game. We have to work on ending an opponent without what we call a slow death. Tonight, we took too many penalties in those moments and maybe it required more energy than we want it to end the game. But when Daniel DiGrande scores that empty-net goal, there's no better feeling on a bench than an empty-net goal. So, again, I really liked how we played the whole game and we took the game over in the third."

Game Notes
• Canisius improved to 12-10-2 at Niagara with Saturday's victory. The Griffs have been victorious in two of their last three visits to Dwyer Arena, dating back to last season.
• Canisius out-shot Niagara, 38-35, for the contest, highlighted by a 14-9 advantage in the first period.
• Niagara was 1-for-9 on the power play was Canisius was 0-for-2 with the man advantage.
• Canisius improved to 9-1-0 this season when leading after 40 minutes. The Griffs also improved to 12-1-1 when scoring three or more goals in a game this season.
• DiGrande recorded multiple points in a game for the foruth time this season as he finished with a goal and an assist.
• Kouznetsov also finished with a goal and an assist as he recorded multiple points in a game for the fifth time in 2021-22.
• Miotto notched multiple points in a game for the third time this season as he ended Saturday's contest with a goal and an assist.
• Melaragni recorded his 13th assist of the season on Miotto's first-period goal, the most among Canisius defenseman this season.
• Martan's second-period goal was his fifth of the season and his first on the road.
•Hawthorne recorded 30 or more saves for the fourth time this season as he has finished with 30 or more saves all all four of his starts this season.

Up Next
Canisius welcomes Sacred Heart to LECOM Harborcenter next weekend for an Atlantic Hockey Association series. Puck drop for both games of the Feb. 18-19 series is scheduled 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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