By Peter neville, Assistant Sports Editor
Despite being swept and falling to 1-6 on the season this weekend, Canisius hockey showed improvement against fourth-ranked Michigan State.
The Griffs lost 3-0 on Friday night – a score unfair to the effort the players put in. The Spartans were only leading 1–0 with five and a half minutes remaining in the third period, before a five-minute major was called against Carter Patterson, leading to the game unraveling from there.
“I don't think I would call it a step forward, but we definitely learned some good things,” said Coach Large. “I thought on Friday we did play very well. We played hard and together, and that gave us a good chance to win the game.”
Sophomore goalie Ethan Robertson made 32 saves on Friday, marking the seventh time he's eclipsed the 30-save mark in his two years with the Griffs. On Saturday, freshman Petter Wickström Stumer made his first start at Canisius, making 38 saves on 42 shots faced in the 4–1 loss.
“For Petter, that's his first taste of college hockey for real,” explained Coach Large, “so I think he settled into his game pretty quickly in his career; I thought he was excellent.”
It was a scrappy weekend between the Spartans and the Griffs, with 22 penalties called between the two teams. The Spartans, despite being nationally ranked, have struggled on the power play this season, scoring on just three of their 12 attempts with the man advantage. Canisius continued its struggles on the power play, going just 1-for-8 over the weekend against one of the best penalty kill units in the nation.
With the majority of their non-conference schedule finished, Canisius heads into conference play as the Atlantic Hockey season kicks into high gear later this week. The Griffs, who are already 1–0 in AHA play after beating Mercyhurst earlier this season, were picked to finish eighth in the AHA coaches poll last month.
“What we learned in those [non-conference] games is vital,” said Coach Large. “We learn where we have holes, we learn our deficiencies, we learn what we’re good at, and then we strategically try to re-attack all those areas. Can we double down on anything we’re doing well to expose teams? Can we see where our holes are and, you know, fill those gaps as quickly as possible? So that's what we got an opportunity to learn.”
Canisius hosts Army for a two-game set this Thursday and Friday at 6 p.m. at the LECOM Harbor Center.
Photo Courtesy of Chloe Breen.
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