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Graduate forward Kyle Haskins celebrates after scoring the opening goal in the Griffs 2-0 victory over Mercyhurst Saturday at LECOM Harborcenter in downtown Buffalo
Lindy Feider
0
Mercyhurst MCY 4-27-4
2
Winner Canisius CAN 12-21-2
Mercyhurst MCY
4-27-4
0
Final
2
Canisius CAN
12-21-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
Mercyhurst MCY 0 0 0 0
Canisius CAN 1 0 1 2

Game Recap: Ice Hockey |

Hockey Blanks Mercyhurst to Advance in AHA Postseason

No. 6 seed Canisius used goals from graduate student Kyle Haskins and junior Grant Porter and a 16-save shutout from freshman Ben Bonisteel to post a 2-0 victory over No. 11 seed Mercyhurst in Atlantic Hockey America Postseason Tournament first round action Saturday at LECOM Harborcenter in downtown Buffalo.
 
With the win, the Golden Griffins (12-21-2) advanced to the tournament quarterfinals, where they will face No. 3 seed Bentley in a best-of-three series March 7-9 at the Bentley Arena in Waltham, Mass.
 
Carter McPhail finished with 31 saves for the Lakers (4-27-4).
 
Haskins opened the scoring with a highlight-reel marker moments before the midway point of the first period, beating McPhail with a shot between his legs from close range for his team-leading 11th goal of the campaign. The score remained the same for nearly 40 minutes before Porter provided some breathing room at the 9:37 mark of the third when he tapped home a centering feed from senior Alton McDermott to give the Griffs a 2-0 edge. That was all the support that Bonisteel and the Canisius defense needed, as they limited the Lakers to a season-low 16 shots as they closed out the contest to advance to the next round. POSTGAME COMMENTS GAME NOTES
• Canisius outshot Mercyhurst by a 33-16 margin for the contest, highlighted by a 9-2 edge in the first period.
• Both teams were 0-for-2 on the power play on Saturday.
• Canisius improved to 11-4-2 when scoring first and remained undefeated (11-0-1) when carrying a lead into the third period this season.
• The 16 shots by Mercyhurst were a season-low for shots by a Canisius opponent and the fewest allowed by the Griffs since they limited Niagara to 16 shots back on Jan. 19, 2024.
• Bonisteel posted his first career shutout with his 16-save performance on Saturday. He is the second Canisius netminder to record his first career-shutout this season, joining sophomore Ethan Robertson (Oct. 31 vs Army).
• The shutout by Bonisteel was the Griffs' 11th in the AHA Postseason and the first since Jacob Barczewski posted a 3-0 victory over Holy Cross in the 2023 AHA Championship Game.
• Haskins recorded his second game-winning goal of the season and third of his career with his first-period goal on Saturday.
• Haskins also extended his point-scoring streak to a career-high five games with his first-period goal.
• Porter joined Haskins in the double-digit goal club as his third-period tally was his 10th of the season.
• Senior forward Alton McDermott recorded his eighth assist of the season with his helper on Porter's insurance marker in the third period.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius will face No. 3 seed Bentley in a best-of-three quarterfinal round series March 7-9 at the Bentley Arena in Waltham, Mass.
 
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