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Canisius University Athletics

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Cole Kodsi is shown skating during game action at Penn State 1-18-25
Lucas Dembski
4
Winner Canisius CAN 8-13-2, 8-5-2
2
American Int'l AIC 7-17-1, 5-12-0
Winner
Canisius CAN
8-13-2, 8-5-2
4
Final
2
American Int'l AIC
7-17-1, 5-12-0
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
Canisius CAN 3 0 1 4
American Int'l AIC 1 0 1 2

Game Recap: Ice Hockey |

Strong First Period Sparks Hockey to Victory at AIC

Canisius tallied three goals in the first period to grab an early lead as it defeated AIC, 4-2, in Atlantic Hockey America action Friday at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass.
 
Graduate students Alec Cicero and Cole Kodsi and junior Killian Kiecker-Olson all scored during the first-period barrage for the Golden Griffins (8-13-2, 8-5-2 AHA). Kodsi and Cicero both added assists for two-point outings while sophomore Matteo Giampa accounted for the fourth Canisius goal with a power-play tally in the third period. Sophomore Ethan Robertson made 22 saves between the pipes to earn his seventh victory of the season.
 
Josh Barnes and Alexander Malinowski tallied the two goals for the Yellow Jackets (7-17-1, 5-12-0 AHA). Chase Clark made 35 saves in goal for the home team.
 
Cicero opened the scoring just 4:56 into the contest, tapping home his own rebound out of midair past the right shoulder of Clark to give the Griffs the early lead. Kiecker-Olson doubled the Canisius advantage to 2-0 just past the midway point of the opening frame as he collected the rebound on his initial attempt and slid the puck past the left leg of Clark for his second goal of the season. The teams traded goals in a 21-second span in the latter stages of the first. Barnes got the Yellow Jackets on the board with 16:03 elapsed in the first when he beat Robertson with a wrist shot to the blocker side while on the rush.
 
Kodsi answered back for the Griffs on the next shift, putting home a wraparound to restore Canisius' two-goal cushion, 3-1. Following a scoreless second, Giampa increased the Canisius lead to 4-1 with a power-play goal at the 11:20 mark of the third, putting the puck over the left shoulder from the middle of the slot for his seventh goal of the campaign. AIC pulled within two just 19 seconds after Giampa's tally with a power-play goal of its own as Malinowski beat Robertson with a slap shot from the right face-off circle to make it a 4-2 contest.
 
That would as close as the Yellow Jackets would get, however, as the Griffs kept AIC off the scoreboard the rest of the way to secure the victory.
 
POSTGAME COMMENTS GAME NOTES
• Canisius outshot AIC by a 39-24 margin for the contest, highlighted by a 16-9 margin in the first period.
• Both teams were 1-for-3 on the power play with both power play goals coming during a 19-second span in the third period.  
• Canisius scored the first goal of the game for the 10th time this season and improved to 7-1-2 when doing so.
• The Griffs remained undefeated this season when scoring four-or-more goals in a game as they improved to 7-0-0 when doing so.
• Kodsi notched his first goal in a Canisius uniform with his first-period tally. He also recorded multiple points for the first time this season and the eighth time in his career as he finished with a goal and an assist.
• Kodsi posted his second career game-winning goal with his first-period tally. It was also his first game-winning goal since he recorded the decisive tally in a 7-4 victory against Canisius on Jan. 22, 2022.
• Cicero notched multiple points in a game for the first time this season and the seventh time as he finished with a goal and an assist.
• Giampa scored his first power-play goal of the season and his third of his career with his third-period goal.
 
UP NEXT
The teams complete their two-game series Saturday with a 1 p.m. contest at the MassMutual Center.
 
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