Griffs’ offense struggles, swept by Bentley

By: Kaitlyn Belile, Assistant Features Editor

The Canisius hockey’s offense lost their connection as the Griffs fell twice to the Bentley Falcons last weekend in the season's only contests against the team. 

The Griffs scored one goal over the span of two games, credited to Stefano Bottini on Friday during the first minute of play. Bottini was assisted by Grant Porter and Walter Zacher, both of whom have had breakout seasons. Porter extended his nation-leading eight-game point streak, but lost it the following night. 

Friday night's 4–1 loss included goals from Bentley’s Colton Cameron, Dylan Cook and two from Michael Mesic. Cameron was awarded the AHA defenseman of the week after scoring on both the shots he took. This season, Cameron was also only one of five Division I defenseman to have two or more goals in a single week. 

Saturday’s 3–0 loss awarded goals to the Falcon’s Kellan Hjartarson, Cameron and Stephen Castagna. Along with Cameron, Bentley had another player awarded as an AHA player of the week. Their goalie, Nicholas Bevilacqua, grabbed his first career shutout Saturday and stopped 50 out of 51 shots from the weekend. From last week, he was one of two Division I goalies to allow only one goal through two games. 

Head Coach Trevor Large says that in order to recreate their early season success, the team needs to get back to their identity. Large admits that the team was “outcompeted” because the Griffs played individually rather than as a team, saying, “We got very unpredictable. And whenever you play like that against an opponent who is extremely predictable, you may be dependent on some individual plays to get you a goal and assist.” 

The Griffs will host their season’s first home conference game Saturday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. against the Army Black Knights.