BUFFALO – Top-seeded Canisius begins its quest for the 2017 Atlantic Hockey Conference Tournament title this weekend as it hosts No. 11 seed Niagara in a best-of-three quarterfinal round series March 10-12 at KeyBank Rink in HARBORCENTER.
Game one of the series is slated for Friday at 7:35 p.m., while game two is scheduled for an 8:05 p.m. puck drop on Saturday. If necessary, a winner-take-all game three will be played Sunday at 6:35 p.m.
The winner of the best-of-three series advance to the tournament semifinals, slated for March 17 at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester.
Fresh off claiming the program’s first Atlantic Hockey regular season title, top-seeded Canisius (19-10-7) enters the Atlantic Hockey Tournament riding a program-record 15-game unbeaten streak. The streak is the nation’s longest active unbeaten streak and matches Denver for the longest unbeaten streak by a Division I program this season. Sophomore Dylan McLaughlin leads the Griffs in scoring with 30 points (13g, 17a). McLaughlin, an All-AHC Third Team selection, has recorded 21 points (9g, 12a) during the Griffs’ current unbeaten streak. Junior Ryan Schmelzer is second on the team with 28 points (11g, 17a). Schmelzer begins the postseason having registered a point in 12 of the last 13 games of the regular season. He was named an All-AHC Second Team selection on Thursday. Senior Charles Williams has been rock solid in goal for the Griffs this season. A First-Team All-AHC selection and a Mike Richter Awad semifinalist, Williams leads the nation in save percentage (.944) and ranks second nationally in both goals against average (1.83) and shutouts (5). Playing its final home games of the 2016-17 campaign, Canisius looks to continue its success in HARBORCENTER. The Griffs are 9-2-5 at home this season, highlighted by a 5-0-1 mark in its last six home contests.
• Canisius has found its offensive groove since the start of the 2017 calendar year as it is averaging 3.82 goals per game over its last 17 contests, compared to a 1.84 goals per game clip during the Griffs’ first 19 games of the season.
Canisius closed out the regular season Feb. 23 with a 4-0 shutout victory over Mercyhurst at HARBORCENTER. The win, combined with Air Force’s loss to Sacred Heart on the final day of the regular season, secured the Atlantic Hockey regular season crown for the Griffs for the first time in program history. Canisius used first-period goals from sophomore Alex Jaeckle, junior Ryan Schmelzer and sophomore Cameron Heath to build a 3-0 lead after one. Freshman Jesse Pereira closed out the scoring with an insurance marker in the second period. Jaeckle recorded his third game-winning goal of the season with his first-period tally. All three of Jaeckle’s goals this season have been game-winning tallies. Senior Charles Williams stopped all 32 shots he faced from the Lakers. With the shutout victory, Williams set program marks for wins (19) and shutouts (5) in a season, eclipsing the old marks set by Tony Capobianco during the 2012-13 campaign.
No. 11 Niagara (5-29-4) makes its fifth Atlantic Hockey Tournament quarterfinal round appearance in seven seasons this weekend after upsetting No. 6 seed RIT in their first-round series last weekend at the Gene Polisseni Center in Rochester. Junior Stanislav Dzakhov leads the Purple Eagles in scoring with 17 points on nine goals and eight assists. Dzakhov scored two goals in Niagara’s 4-1 victory in game three against the Tigers. Freshman Kris Spriggs is second on the team in scoring with 16 points. Spriggs is tied for the team lead with nine goals this season. Senior Jackson Teichreob has been the goaltender of choice for the Purple Eagles this season, leading the team with a .885 save percentage and a 4.07 goals against average. Teichreob stopped 104-of-113 shots faced during the Purple Eagles’ first round series against RIT.
In a rivalry that began in 1997, Niagara holds a 21-19-4 advantage in the all-time series, while Canisius enjoys an 18-17-4 edge in Division I meetings. The Griffs have dominated the Purple Eagles in recent meetings, holding an 8-1-1 record in their last 10 matchups. Canisius has won each of the last six contests against Niagara, the longest winning streak for either program during the series. Canisius carries a 8-8-1 record at home against Niagara into the weekend. The Griffs have won each of their last four home games against the Purple Eagles, including both regular season matchups on Jan. 24 (4-1) and Feb. 15 (4-2). Canisius holds a 4-1-0 mark against Niagara in postseason competition. The Griffs took two-of-three games from the Purple Eagles in the first round series last March at HARBORCENTER, rallying from a 3-2 setback in the opener with a 1-0 triumph in game two and a 4-1 victory in the series finale.
The Griffs are in their 19th season competing at the Division I level, having compiled a 24-25postseason mark during that span, including a 21-19 record in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament. Since 2013, Canisius is 15-6 in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament. The Griffs advanced to the final four in three of the past four seasons, winning the program’s first title in 2013 and finishing as runner-up in 2014.
Unbeaten in its last 15 contests, Canisius is not only the owner of the nation’s longest active undefeated streak, but the Griffs have also established a program mark for consecutive games without a loss. The streak is also the longest for any Division I program this season (Denver Oct. 14-Dec. 9). The current stretch marks the first time in the Division I era of the program that it has gone 10 or more games without a loss. The previous longest unbeaten streak during the Division I era came during the 1999-2000 season, when the Griffs went 7-0-2 from Nov. 13-Jan. 15. The previous longest unbeaten streak in program history occurred during the 1996-97 campaign, when Canisius ran off 11 games without a loss from Dec. 9-Feb. 2 of that season.
All WNY is made possible thanks to coffee and sleep deprivation.
We appreciate your readership. We like money, too.
