CANISIUS COLLEGE ATHLETICS
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Sophomore Grant Meyer tallied a goal and an assist and classmate Blake Weyrick stopped all 34 shots he faced to lead Canisius to a 2-0 victory over Air Force in Atlantic Hockey Association action Saturday at KeyBank Rink at Harborcenter.
Sophomore Matt Hoover netted the game-winning goal for the Golden Griffins (2-2-0, 2-2-0 AHA), who earned a split of the early-season series between the top two teams in the AHA Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
Senior Billy Christopoulos made 16 saves in the loss for the Falcons (1-3-0, 1-1-0 AHA).
Following a scoreless first period, Canisius took a 1-0 lead less than a minute into the middle frame when Meyer created a turnover that led to a 2-on-1 opportunity that Hoover as able to finish off for his third of the campaign.
Meyer doubled the Griffs margin to 2-0 at the 7:19 mark of the middle frame with a power-play tally when he tapped home a backdoor feed from senior Dylan McLaughlin. Junior Matt Stief was credited with a secondary assist on the play.
Weyrick made sure that would be enough as he turned aside all 34 shots he faced, including 14 during the final period to post his first career collegiate victory.
Head Coach Trevor Large‘s Postgame Comments
“I had somebody tell me after the game that it was a gritty win, and that’s really what it was, especially in that third period. It’s a 2-0 game, the opponent was on us for what felt like the whole 20 minutes. I was very pleased with a couple of things, One was the overall grit from every player and Blake Weyrick was unbelievable, specifically late in the third. Obviously for him to get his first win and first shutout is an unbelieve feeling and we’re all really proud of him.
“We made a couple of adjustments (on the penalty kill) to try and force their power play to shoot from the outside. Anytime they did get the puck in, I thought Blake was unbelievable. Sometimes your goalie needs to be your best penalty killer and tonight, Blake was our best penalty killer.”
Game Notes
• Saturday’s shutout was just the second for the Griffs in 45 contests against the Falcons and the first since a 4-0 victory at the Buffalo State Sports on Feb. 14, 2014.
• Canisius remained undefeated since the beginning of the 2016-17 season when leading after 40 minutes as it improved to 31-0-0 under such circumstances with Saturday’s victory.
• The Griffs were 1-for-2 with the man advantage on Saturday as they recorded a power-play goal for the third time in four contests.
• With his two points on Saturday, Meyer has now found his way onto the scoresheet in each of the Griffs’ four games this season. His two-point effort was also the sixth multiple-point performance of his career.
• Hoover’s game-winning goal was the fourth of his career and his first this season. The tally also extended his goal-scoring streak to three games.
• McLaughlin stretched his point-scoring streak to three game with his assist in the second period.
• McLaughlin’s helper also gives him 73 for his career, moving him into a tie with Kyle Gibbons (2010-14) for fifth place on the program’s Division I chart for career assists.
Up Next
• Canisius begins a home-and-home series with non-conference foe Clarkson on Oct. 27 when it faces the Golden Knights in a 7 p.m. contest at Cheel Arena in Potsdam, N.Y.
• The teams complete their two-game set Nov. 10 with a 7:35 contest at KeyBank Rink at Harborcenter.
