By: Connor Pohlman
Jake Ricketts, Liam McLinksey and Tyler Ghirardosi scored for the Crusaders (2-7-0, 2-3-0 AHA). Thomas Gale stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced, including a penalty-shot attempt by the Golden Griffins in the second period, to earn his first win of the season.
Senior Ryan Miotto accounted for the lone goal for Canisius (2-8-0, 0-3-0 AHA). Senior Jacob Barczewski recorded 34 saves in goal.
Miotto gave the Griffs a 1-0 lead 6:43 into the contest with a power-play goal, depositing senior Keaton Mastrodonato's cross-ice feed past a diving Gale for his third of the campaign.
Holy Cross struck twice in the final three minutes of the first to take a 2-1 lead.
Ghirardosi extended the Holy Cross advantage to 3-1 near the midway point of the third period, putting home a loose puck from in front of the Canisius goal after a shot-pass by Jonathan Balah from the point off the end boards went uncovered.
In the second tilt of the series, Seniors Keaton Mastodonato and Ryan Miotto scored to pace Canisius in a 2-2 tie against Holy Cross in Atlantic Hockey Association action Saturday at LECOM Harborcenter.
Senior John Hawthorne made 30 saves in goal for the Golden Griffins (2-8-1, 0-3-1 AHA).
Conner Jean and Jack Ricketts accounted for the two goals for the Crusaders (2-7-1, 2-4-1 AHA), who won the best-of-three shootout, 2-0, to pick up the extra point. Thomas Gale made 33 stops in goal for the visitors.
Jean opened the scoring at the 7:28 mark of the first period, depositing a rebound off the end boards into the Canisius goal to put Holy Cross in front.
The teams traded goals during a 31-second span in the second period. Miotto tied the game at 1-all with 9:10 elapsed in the second period, tucking home a pass from sophomore Alton McDermott for his second of the series before Ricketts restored the Crusaders advantage on the following shift, finishing off a 2-on-1 rush with a shot over the blocker of Hawthorne.
Holy Cross maintained its 2-1 lead until the final minutes of the third, as Mastrodonato sent the game to overtime on a power-play goal. With the goalie pulled, Mastrodonato received a pass from junior Jackson Decker and fired a wrist shot from the slot that deflected off a Holy Cross defender and went between the legs of Gale to knot the score at 2-2.
After neither team was able to get on the board during five minutes of 3-on-3 overtime, the game headed to a shootout.
In the shootout, Lucas Thorne and Tyler Ghirardosi were both successful on their attempts for the Crusaders, while Gale stopped Miotto and junior Max Kouznetsov on their tries for the Griffs, giving Holy Cross the extra point in the league standings.
Canisius continues its six-game homestand next weekend when it welcomes defending AHA regular season and tournament champion AIC to LECOM Harborcenter for a pair of games. The opener is slated for a 7 p.m. puck drop on Nov. 11 while the finale will take place at 3 p.m. the following day.
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