CANISIUS COLLEGE ATHLETICS
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Senior Dylan McLaughlin tallied two goals and an assist to power Canisius to a 4-2 victory over AIC in Atlantic Hockey Association action Friday at KeyBank Rink at Harborcenter in downtown Buffalo.
Junior Matt Hoover and freshman Mitchell Martan also scored for the Golden Griffins (3-3-0, 3-2-0 AHA) while sophomore goaltender Tucker Weppner recorded 28 saves to post his second victory of the season.
Luka Maver and Darius Davidson accounted for the two goals for the visiting Yellow Jackets (2-5-1, 2-2-1 AHA).
Following a scoreless first period, the teams exchanged goals just 53 seconds apart early in the second to open the scoring. Maver finished off a 2-on-1 rush to give AIC a 1-0 lead at the 6:33 mark of the middle frame, only to see Canisius counter on the following shift when Martan stuffed home a goalmouth feed from McLaughlin to knot the game at 1-1.
McLaughlin put the Griffs in front, 2-1, just past the midway point of the contest with a power-play tally as he beat Yellow Jackets keeper Zackarias Skog with a snap shot just over the right pad from the right faceoff circle.
McLaughlin added his second of the contest with a highlight-reel effort a little more than five minutes into the third, racing down the right side before beating Skog with a between-the-legs shot just inside the left post to make it a 3-1 contest.
Hoover chipped in an insurance marker with his fourth of the campaign just before the halfway mark of the third, beating Skog with a wrist shot to the blocker side that increased the Canisius cushion to 4-1.
Davidson closed out the scoring a little less than two minutes later, putting home a rebound from the middle of the slot for his third of the season.
Head Coach Trevor Large‘s Postgame Comments
“It was a really slow start for us tonight. I got to give credit to AIC, I thought they had a great first period. They were on us, they were passing better than us, skating better than us, working hard, getting inside guys. We had to figure some things out during the first intermission. I was really happy with how our guys played the final 40 minutes.
“For some reason AIC scoring first gave us a jolt. That can happen in games. I really liked our response. When you can answer quickly, it’s a huge momentum boost. We just had to keep building. We had to keep getting better as the game went on and I was extremely proud with the effort of our guys as they were able to do that.”
Game Notes
• Friday’s game served as the 64th meeting between Canisius and AIC. The Griffs improved to 40-17-7 against the Yellow Jackets in the all-time series while also moving to 10-2-4 in its last 16 contests against AIC at home.
• Canisius picked up its second victory of the season when allowing the first goal of the contest, matching its total when doing so during the 2017-18 campaign. (2-16-1).
• Canisius was 1-for-6 on the power play on Friday as it recorded a man-advantage tally for the fifth time in six games.
• AIC was 0-for-5 on the power play as Canisius has now successfully killed off each of its last 12 shorthanded situations.
• McLaughlin recorded multiple points in a game for the third time this season and the 32nd time in his career. The Griffs improved to 26-5-1 when he notches two or more points in a game.
• McLaughlin’s three points also increased his career total to 116, moving him into sole possession of seventh place on the program’s Division I career scoring chart.
• Hoover’s goal was his eighth in 10 career games against the Yellow Jackets.
• Martan became the third different Canisius rookie to score a goal this season with his second-period tally.
Up Next
• The teams complete their two-game series Saturday with a 7:35 p.m. contest at Harborcenter.
• The contest will serve as faculty-staff night for Canisius College, sponsored by the Buffalo Hyatt Regency. All faculty-staff are welcome to four complementary tickets to the game.
• Tickets for the game are available. They can be purchased by visiting the tickets page on GoGriffs.com or by calling 716-888-TIXX.
