BUFFALO – Canisius travels to Colorado this weekend to take part in the Pioneer Faceoff Classic, hosted by the University of Denver.
The Griffs (1-0) open the event Saturday with a 1 p.m. EST contest against the Falcons (1-2) before squaring off against the host and top-ranked Pioneers Sunday in a 3:30 p.m. EST matchup. Both games will be played at Denver’s Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium.
Canisius travels west this weekend after opening the regular season with a 13-8 victory over Dartmouth in a neutral-site contest in Victor on Feb. 18. In the first meeting between the two programs, junior Connor Kearnan paced the Griffs attack, registering career highs in goals (4), assists (5) and points (9) to earn MAAC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Junior Steven Coss and sophomore Mario Caito pitched in two goals each while five players chipped in one goal apiece. Junior Liam Ganzhorn matched his career high with 14 saves, seven of which came during the fourth quarter as Canisius held off a late charge from the Big Green.
– Freshman Daniel Balawejder was 12-of-20 at the faceoff X in his collegiate debut. Balawejder also led Canisius with six ground balls.
Air Force makes the short drive from Colorado Springs to Denver for the Faceoff Classic sporting a 1-2 mark on the season. The Falcons opened the season with an 11-10 victory at then No. 7 Duke, but have suffered back-to-back setbacks to No. 1/2 Denver (14-6) and MAAC member Marist (10-4). Junior attackers Chris Walsch and Nick Hruby lead Air Force with 10 and nine points, respectively. Walsch has tallied five goals and five assists while Hruby leads the team with seven goals and two assists Freshman goalkeeper Paxton Boyer has recorded 29 saves through three games. He has a .460 save percentage. Air Force is in its eight season under the guidance of head coach Eric Seremet. Seremet has led the Falcons to two conference championships in the last three seasons, winning USILA Division I Coach of the Year honors in 2014 and claiming conference Coach of the Year honors in 2014 and 2016.
Saturday’s contest serves as the fifth meeting between Canisius and Air Force and the fourth matchup between the two sides in the last five seasons. The Falcons hold a 3-1 edge in the series which dates back to the 1997 campaign. Including Saturday’s contest, four of the five matchups have been neutral-site affairs. The Griffs lone victory in the series to date came on Feb. 22, 2014, when Canisius scored a 7-6 triumph against the Falcons at the Faceoff Classic in Denver. Air Force was triumphant in the most recent matchup, recording a 13-6 victory at home on Feb. 22, 2015.
No. 1/1 Denver enters the Faceoff Classic with a 2-0 record on the young season. The Pioneers opened the 2017 campaign with home victories against No. 17/19 Air Force (14-6) and No. 14/15 Duke (14-9). Senior Connor Cannizzaro, a finalist for the 2016 Tewaaraton Award, leads the Denver attack in the early going, posting team highs of eight goals and four assists in two contests. Alex Ready has started both games in goal for the Pioneers, posting a 7.14 goals against average and a .562 save percentage in the wins against the Falcons and Blue Devils. Legendary collegiate lacrosse head coach Bill Tierney is in his eighth season with the Pioneers. Tierney led Denver to the 2015 National Championship, becoming first the coach to win National Championships at two programs after winning six titles at Princeton (1988-2009).
Sunday’s contest marks the fourth meeting between Canisius and Denver. All three previous meetings have taken place since the start of the 2010 campaign. The Pioneers hold a 3-0 edge in the series as they have hosted all three meetings against the Griffs. Denver recorded a 14-3 victory over Canisius in their most recent matchup on Feb. 23, 2014 as part of the Faceoff Classic. Current senior Jeff Edwards notched a goal and an assist to pace the Griffs in that contest.
Canisius is making its third appearance in the Faceoff Classic after taking part in the 2013 and 2014 editions of the event. The Griffs hold a 1-3 mark in their two previous appearances in the four-team event, falling to both Air Force (10-8) and Denver (11-4) in their inaugural trip in 2013 before defeating the Falcons (7-6) and losing to the Pioneers (14-3) in a return visit the following season.
Canisius gets a chance to improve its record against ranked competition when it takes on top-ranked Denver on Sunday. Since the 2004 campaign, the Griffs have played 22 games against ranked competition, compiling a 1-21 mark in that time frame. Canisius’ one win against a ranked school since 2004 came in 14-10 triumph against No. 13 Albany on March 25, 2014 in Albany. The Griffs have faced a No. 1 ranked team once in that time frame, suffering a 17-5 setback to No. 1 Loyola (Md.) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on May 12, 2012.
Canisius continues its four-game road swing March 4 with a 1 p.m. contest at first-year program Cleveland State. The Vikings are the fourth team involved with the Pioneer Faceoff Classic this weekend.
from GoGriffs.com via IFTTT
