By: Connor Pohlman
Sophomore Alton McDermott's goal at the 8:13 mark of the third period proved to be the difference as Canisius defeated AIC, 3-2, in Atlantic Hockey Association action Saturday at LECOM Harborcenter in downtown Buffalo.
Senior Simon Gravel and graduate student Nick Bowman also scored for the Golden Griffins (4-8-1, 2-3-1 AHA), who completed a sweep of the visiting Yellow Jackets with the one-goal victory. Junior Randy Hernandez dished out two assists while senior Jacob Barczewski made 28 saves as he surpassed the 2,000-save plateau for his career during the contest.
Jordan Biro and Julius Janhonan found the back of the net for the Yellow Jackets (5-6-2, 3-5-0 AHA). Troy Kobryn finished with 22 stops in goal for the visitors.
Gravel staked Canisius to a 1-0 lead for the second consecutive contest as he struck just 1:46 into the game when he deflected senior Hudson Lambert's point shot under the right pad of
Kobryn.
Biro tied the game at 1-1 at the 4:35 mark of the second period with a power-play goal as he fired a wrist shot past a screened Barczewski from the top of the slot.
Bowman put the Griffs back in front with a power-play goal just past the midway point of the contest when he snuck a shot under the right arm of Kobryn from close range for his team-leading sixth of the campaign.
McDermott stretched the Canisius advantage to 3-1 at the 8:13 mark of the third, collecting a pass from Hernandez in the neutral zone before beating Kobryn to the blocker side while on the rush for his second of the season.
Janhonen brought the Yellow Jackets within one with under four minutes remaining, completing a tic-tac-toe passing sequence with a shot over the glove of Barczewski from close range to make it a 3-2 game.
That would be as close as the Yellow Jackets would get, however, as the Griffs held on for the one-goal triumph.
Canisius returns to action Nov. 25-26 when it hosts Army in a two-game Atlantic Hockey Association Series at LECOM Harborcenter. Puck drop for both games of the series is slated for 1 p.m.