Canisius closed out the non-league portion of its 2016 schedule with a pair of wins last week, as the Blue and Gold defeated St. Bonaventure and Central Connecticut State. In the Griffs’ win over long-time rival St. Bonaventure Sept. 16, senior defender Thomas Teupen scored the game’s lone goal in the sixth minute to lead Canisius to a 1-0 victory. That win was Canisius’ sixth-straight over the Bonnies, the program’s longest winning streak in the long series history.
On Sept. 18, Canisius came back from a 1-0 deficit to post a 2-1 overtime win at Central Connecticut State. In that game, sophomore Melvin Blair scored his first goal of the season to knot the game at 1-1, and in overtime, sophomore Alex Grattarola scored his first collegiate goal in the game’s 93rd minute to lift the Griffs to victory. The back-to-back wins helped Canisius close out the non-conference portion of the 2016 slate with a 4-4-0 record. Under sixth-year head coach Dermot McGrane, Canisius has posted a winning non-conference record four times.
The Broncs hold a slight edge in the all-time series against the Griffs, 11-10-0. Canisius, however, has won six of the last eight regular-season meetings between the two schools. Last season, the Griffs beat Rider 5-2 on the power of a career day from Melvin Blair. In that game, Blair had eight points after he scored three goals and added two assists. That eight-point day was the best offensive production for a Canisius player since 1999.
Rider is 4-2-0 this season. After starting the season with four-straight wins, the Broncs have dropped two straight, including a 2-1 loss at LIU Brooklyn on Sept. 16. The Broncs were ranked as high as No. 22 in the NSCAA Coaches Poll prior to the team’s two losses. The Broncs received two votes in the most recent NSCAA poll, which was published Sept. 20.
from GoGriffs.com via IFTTT
