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Canisius University Athletics

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Canisius defenseman David Melaragni and Air Force forward Austin Schwartz battle for position during game action at LECOM Harborcenter on Nov. 25, 2023
Lindy Feider
2
Air Force AIR 7-8-1, 4-3-1
2
Canisius CAN 4-7-2, 4-3-2
Air Force AIR
7-8-1, 4-3-1
2
Final
2
Canisius CAN
4-7-2, 4-3-2
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 OT 1 OT 2 F
Air Force AIR 0 0 2 0 0 2
Canisius CAN 1 1 0 0 0 2

Game Recap: Ice Hockey |

Air Force Rallies in Third to Tie Hockey, Claims Extra Point in Shootout

Air Force scored twice in the third period to rally from a two-goal deficit and tie Canisius, 2-2, In Atlantic Hockey Association action Saturday at LECOM Harborcenter in downtown Buffalo.
 
Will Gavin and Clayton Cosentino accounted for the third-period goals for the Falcons (7-8-1, 4-3-1 AHA), who won the best-of-three shootout, 1-0, to pick up the extra point. Guy Blessing made 17 saves in goal for the visitors as Air Force outshot Canisius by a 43-19 margin for the contest.
 
Senior Kyle Haskins and sophomore Grant Porter scored for the Golden Griffins (4-7-2, 4-3-2 AHA) while senior goaltender David Fessenden made 41 saves between the pipes for Canisius.  
 
Trailing 2-0 at the start of the third, Gavin got Air Force on the board with a power-play goal at the 6:37 mark of the final frame, one-timing a feed from Chris Hedden past Fessenden from the right face-off circle to make it a 2-1 contest
 
The Griffs remained in front until the final minute of regulation, when Cosentino snuck a slap shot over the left shoulder of Fessenden from the bottom of the left face-off circle with Blessing pulled to tie the game at 2-2.
 
After neither team was able to break the deadlock in overtime, the game was declared a tie and headed to a shootout. During the shootout, Blessing and Fessenden stopped the first four shooters they faced before Cosentino notched the only goal to give the Falcons the third point. Earlier in the contest, Haskins staked Canisius a 1-0 lead at the 15:41 mark of the first period, beating Blessing on the rush with a wrist shot over the right pad for his second goal of the campaign. Porter doubled the Griffs advantage with 15:41 elapsed in the middle frame, redirecting senior Randy Hernandez's feed into the Air Force goal for his first collegiate tally to make it a 2-0 contest, setting the stage for Air Force's third-period comeback.   POSTGAME COMMENTS GAME NOTES
• Air Force was 1-for-9 on the power play while Canisius was 0-for-5 with the man advantage on Saturday.
• Canisius was held to 20 shots or fewer for the second time this season (18 at Miami (Ohio) on Oct. 14)
• Canisius took part in its second shootout of the season and moved 0-2 with Saturday's shootout setback.
• Canisius tallied the first goal of the game for the seventh time in nine league games and moved to 3-2-2 when doing so.
• Canisius carried a lead into the third period for the fourth time this season and moved to 3-0-1 in those contests.
• Fessenden recorded 40 or more saves for the first time this season and the third time in his career.
• Hernandez extended his point-scoring streak to three games as his picked up his third assist in as many contests with a helper on Porter's second-period tally.
• Junior Matt Vermaeten stretched his point-scoring streak to five games with the secondary assist on Porter's second-period goal. He now has five points (4g/1a) during that stretch.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius opens a home-and-home series against Mercyhurst Dec. 1 with a 7 p.m. contest at the LECOM Harborcenter.
 
Tickets for the game are still available. They can be purchased by calling the Canisius ticket office at 716-888-TIXX, visiting the tickets page on GoGriffs.com or at the ticket kiosk at the LECOM Harborcenter on gamedays.
 
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