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Canisius University Athletics

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Canisius senior forward Lee Lapid skates with the puck away from a pair of Merychurst defenders during game action at LECOM Harborcenter on March 11, 2022
Lindy Feider
2
Winner Mercyhurst MER 15-18-4
1
Canisius CAN 16-15-3
Winner
Mercyhurst MER
15-18-4
2
Final
1
Canisius CAN
16-15-3
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 OT 1 OT 2 F
Mercyhurst MER 0 1 0 0 1 2
Canisius CAN 0 1 0 0 0 1

Game Recap: Ice Hockey |

Mercyhurst Defeats Hockey in Double Overtime to Open AHA Quarterfinal Series

Owen Norton scored a power-play goal at the 3:20 mark of double overtime to lift seventh-seeded Mercyhurst to a 2-1 victory over second-seeded Canisius In game one of their 2022 Atlantic Hockey Association Tournament Quarterfinal Round Series Friday at LECOM Harborcenter in downtown Buffalo.
 
Kyle McClellan stopped 32-of-33 shots faced for the Lakers (15-18-4), who took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series. Austin Heidemann accounted for the other Mercyhurst goal, opening the scoring with an even-strength tally in the second period.
 
Graduate student Cory Thomas scored the lone goal for the Golden Griffins (16-15-3). Junior Jacob Barczewski made 33 saves in goal.
 
Norton scored the game winning goal just 18 seconds into the Lakers' third power-play opportunity of overtime, collecting a pass from Dante Sheriff at the left point and working his way into the left faceoff circle before beating Barczewski five-hole with a wrist shot for his third goal of the season.
 
Following a scoreless first period, Mercyhurst took a 1-0 lead at the 11:49 mark of the second period as Heidemann scored on a centering feed from Garrett Dahm for his 11th goal of the campaign.
 
Thomas brought Canisius level a little more than two minutes after Heidemann's tally when his shot from the left point deflected off a Mercyhurst defender and past McClellan for his second of the season.
 
Canisius had the best chance to score the go-ahead goal in the third period, but senior Lee Lapid's wrist shot from the slot rang off the right post and stayed out.
 
Head Coach Trevor Large's Postgame Comments
"That was a really good college hockey game. Obviously, it's playoff time and you get to double overtime so, it means both teams are playing well. That was certainly the case tonight. It's tough to win scoring just one goal. We need to find a way to get more pucks behind their goalie. We're going to lick our wounds very quickly because tomorrow's the most important game of our season. So, our guys are going to try to recover very quickly, both physically and mentally, and get ready for the game tomorrow. It's a must win for us.
 
"The bench demeanor was excellent. The guys were dialed in the way they needed to be. We had a very clear focus. The guys were communicating in a positive way. I loved the bench demeanor. There were moments of the game where it was helping us. The communication was great. We just didn't get that last goal. So, in terms of evaluating our bench demeanor and culture, it was excellent.
 
"Honestly, it's the same for teams this time of year. Guys are playing well; teams are playing well. There are only good teams left. Everybody has a good goalie. We get the one goal tonight, which isn't enough, but how we get it is good pressure and a good net-front presence. That's going to be the recipe for every team to be able to score more goals. We had enough shots on net tonight. With more of a net presence in and around their net, the expectation is to score more goals. So, all you have to do is look at our one tonight and understand that that's the recipe and repeat it."
 
Game Notes
• Friday's game served as the eighth postseason contest between Canisius and Mercyhurst. The teams have now split those eight previous matchups.
• The game was also the fourth postseason contest between the two programs to go to overtime and the first since their semifinal matchup in 2014 that saw the Griffs post a 5-4 victory in double overtime.
• Canisius played its first double-overtime game since opening the 2019 postseason with a double-overtime contest against Niagara at Dwyer Arena.
• Mercyhurst out-shot Canisius, 35-33, for the contest. The Lakers took four of the five shots registered in double overtime.
• Canisius was 0-for-2 on the powerplay while Mercyhurst was 1-for-4 with the man advantage.
• The Griffs moved to 2-3-3 in overtime games this season with Friday's setback.  
• Thomas scored his first goal since finding the back of the net against Ferris State on Oct. 30.

Up Next
Game two of the best-of-three quarterfinal round series is scheduled for Saturday at LECOM Harborcenter. Puck drop is set for 8:05 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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