For the second time this season, the Canisius College hockey team scored the only goal of the game in the third period, defeating Connecticut on Sunday afternoon, 1-0. The win jumps the Griffs to third place in the Atlantic Hockey standings as the team is now 5-6-1 and 4-3-1 in league play.
"We battled right to the end today," said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. "It was a close game and we stayed sharp throughout the contest. Connecticut kept coming but we were able to match them in intensity. When the buzzer sounds and you see the victory, it is a good feeling."
Sophomore Dave Kostuch scored the game's lone goal of the afternoon, finding the back of the net with 15:56 left in the contest. Seniors Josh Heidinger and Ryan Klusendorf cycled the puck behind the net to Kostuch. The sophomore then made a move to beat a defender and skated to the front of the goal, burying the shot for his fifth score of the season.
"We knew that if we kept battling, that we would get one in," Kostuch said. "We had a lot of shots and our team was confident that if we kept bringing it to them, that one would get through. On my goal there was a battle down low and Josh Heidinger and Ryan Klusendorf got the puck to me on the other side of the net. I made a move and was able to get the puck by their goalie."
Sophomore Dan Morrison took it from there, stopping all 19 shots on goal in earning his third career shutout and second of the season. Morrison was especially strong on the penalty kill, stopping all seven shots he faced while a man down, including 52 seconds of 5-on-3 hockey in the first period.
Both penalty kill units excelled on the afternoon, with neither team scoring in four extra-man chances. Canisius outshot the Huskies, 29-19.
Connecticut's Jeff Larson stopped 28 shots in the defeat. With the loss, the Huskies fall to 2-7-1 and 2-4-1 in league play.
The Griffs return to the ice on Friday, playing at Atlantic Hockey foe AIC. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m.
Game Notes: The Griffs, who have never skated to a 0-0 draw, played their seventh 1-0 game in the program's history ... Morrison recorded 48 saves in blanking Ferris State, 1-0, earlier in the season ... Morrison's other shutout during his career was also against Connecticut last season ... Heidinger is now one point shy of becoming the fourth Griff in the program's history to record 100 career points ... Canisius is unbeaten in four-straight games for the first time since the 2007-08 season ... The Griffs outshot a team for the fifth-straight game, its longest run since also recording a five-game stretch in the 2005-06 season.
