Niagara wins, 3-0, to improve to 14-9-1 in Atlantic Hockey, 17-11-3 overall. Canisius fell to 8-11-5 in the league, 9-16-6 overall. It is the fourth straight loss for the Griffs marks the first time in program history that they have been shutout in three straight games.
Third period:
15:00 left: Niagara still leads, 2-0. Canisius had about 70 seconds worth of a 5-on-3 and failed to get on the board.
3:41 left: Niagara adds one more to take a 3-0 lead. Bryan Haczyk scored on a pass from Paul Zanette.
Second period:
15:39: Still scoreless. Some great chances by Canisius, particularly Vince Scaresella but Chris Noonan made big saves for Niagara.
10:54 left: Sam Goodwin scores to give Niagara a 1-0 lead.
4:18 left: Niagara goes up, 2-0 on a perfectly executed power play. A shot by Ryan Rashid was tipped in high by Paul Zanette.
End of the second: Niagara leads, 2-0. The final 2:13 saw three penalties called and when the third starts, the Purple Eagles will have 38 seconds of a 5-on-3 power play.
First period:
7:05 p.m.: Canisius' Cory Conacher and Niagara's David Ross take a ceremonial puck drop with the JDRF. Both player have type 1 diabetes.
7:06 p.m.: Game on!
11:06 left: No score. Niagara had a power play and some good scoring chances but Dan Morrison came up big in goal for the Griffs.
5:07 left: Canisius had back-to-back power plays but still nothing up on the scoreboard for either team.
End of the first: No score. Both teams went 0-for-2 on the power play. Canisius holds an 8-6 lead in shots on goal. Of NIagara's six shots, only one came at even strength.
Pregame:
Rivalry week continues tonight at the Buffalo State Ice Arena as Canisius and Niagara clash in an Atlantic Hockey meeting.
Niagara won the earlier season matchup, 6-5 in overtime, in a game which saw crazy momentum swings. The Purple Eagles hold a 13-6-1 advantage in the series dating back to 1997 and have won four of the last five meetings.
At 8-10-5 in Atlantic Hockey, Canisius is fighting for home ice in the opening round of the conference playoffs. Pacing the Golden Griffins is senior Cory Conacher, who became the program's all-time leading scorer this season. Freshman defender Ben Danford is third in the country for assists by a defender with 17 while senior Eric Rex already has a career-best 20 points. He came into the season with 13 points over the previous three seasons.
Niagara (13-9-1) is in third place in Atlantic Hockey, led by a strong top line. Senior Paul Zanette has 46 points (24 goals, 22 assists) while Bryan Haczyk has 41 points (26 goals, 15 assists).
Check back for updates throughout the game.
--- Amy Moritz
