Frustration in Fairfield: Canisius swept in conference play opener
By Cecil Milligan, Sports Reporter
Conference play for men’s Division I ice hockey began this past weekend, and the Canisius Golden Griffins experienced quite a disappointing start. The Griffs have now gone five games being held to two goals or fewer after they dropped back–to–back games against Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn. on Nov. 6–7.
The series opener established the weekend’s frustrating tone. The first period started off silent, with neither team cashing in on any of their attempts until the dying minutes. Sacred Heart opened the scoring with a goal by Michael Rubin, his first of the year.
The Pioneers scored again in the first half of the second period, giving them the 2–0 lead over Canisius. Canisius cut the lead to one with a goal by Noah Quinn, but Sacred Heart quickly snuffed out any hope the Griffs had, retaking their two–goal lead.
Canisius hoped to gain some momentum to tie the game when Hunter Price scored a power play goal in the opening minutes of the third, but despite getting 11 more shots on goal, none were able to beat Pioneers’ goalie Jack Spicer, falling 3–2.
Saturday’s rematch proved even more painful. It panned out with an extremely similar script to Friday, where Canisius once again dominated in shooting, but struggled with getting the puck into the net.
Things went south quickly as Ethan Wolthers took a penalty for elbowing in the first half of the first period. This led to Sacred Heart capitalizing on the power play less than 10 seconds after the call. Both teams then settled into an offensive stalemate, with no other goals being scored for the next 23 minutes.
Sacred Heart’s second goal came almost 10 minutes into the second, when Vitaly Levyy fired a shot that ricocheted off of the post and into the net. The teams went stagnant once more, with no other goals being scored for the rest of the period.
The third period was high energy, with both teams combining for a total of five goals scored. The action started quick as Sacred Heart scored their third goal of the game less than two minutes in.
Canisius decided to make a goaltending change, hoping to spark some momentum after goalie Jack Lisson let in three goals on 19 shots. They pulled Lisson, and sent in goaltender Kolby Hay in relief.
This move provided an immediate spark for the Blue and Gold. Just over a minute later, Canisius finally revved their scoring engine, notching their first goal after being shut out for 42 minutes. Griffs defenseman FJ Buteau fired a shot through traffic, flying past Spicer to cut the lead to two. However, it quickly sputtered out as Sacred Heart was quick to respond. Less than two minutes after Buteau’s goal, the Pioneers regained their two–goal lead off of a rebound.
Desperate to claw back, the Golden Griffins dominated the game after Sacred Heart’s fourth goal, recording 12 shots in the remaining minutes. They finally cashed in on their relentless pressure when L–P Fontaine buried a loose puck to cut the lead down back to two.
Trailing in the dying minutes, Canisius made a risky decision to pull their goalie when they went on a power play. This choice quickly backfired as Sacred Heart scored an empty netter to seal the 5–2 win, despite being outshot by the Blue and Gold 36–24.
Canisius hopes to snap their losing streak when they face off against in–state foe, the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Tigers in Rochester, N.Y. this weekend on Nov. 14.
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