Nov. 17, 2006

Stats

Amherst, NY - Canisius snapped a five-game losing streak against Mercyhurst and stretched the Lakers' skid to four straight, all in Atlantic Hockey (AH), with a hard-fought 3-1 win Friday night in the opener of a home-and-home series. The Griffs, 3-9-0 overall, won their second successive AH game and improved to 3-5-0 in league play. Mercyhurst fell to 2-7-0 and 2-5-0 respectively.

Although Canisius outshot Mercyhurst 14-7 in the first period, neither team could light the lamp. The Golden Griffins were assessed two minor penalties in the stanza while the Lakers killed four minor infractions.

Canisius senior winger and assistant captain Joey Coccimiglio scored the lone goal of the middle frame when he cashed his third of the season at 5:59. Freshmen Alec Wright and Carl Hudson assisted. Canisius owned a 10-5 advantage in shots in the second.

The Griffs extended the lead to 2-0 when senior forward Michael Cohen parked one behind Mercyhurst netminder Tyler Small just 1:50 into the third. But the Lakers got back into the game at 13:45 when sophomore winger Brett Robinson scored his first career shorthanded goal with freshman defenseman Derek Fisher notching his first career point. It was Robinson's third goal of the season and the team's first shorthanded marker. Mercyhurst tried valiantly to get the equalizer in the final minutes, but Canisius freshman and leading scorer Josh Heidinger slid one into an empty net with just four seconds left. The Lakers had a slight 12-11 margin in third period shots.

Canisius freshman netminder Andrew Loewen made 23 saves in picking up his third win of the year in five decisions. Small, who has played in eight of the first nine contests for Mercyhurst, made 32 saves as his record dropped to 2-6-0.

Both teams were whistled for seven minor penalties and both finished 0 for 6 with the man advantage. Canisius outshot Mercyhurst 35-24.

The Lakers still lead the all-time series 28-13-4, but their four successive conference setbacks represent the longest such streak since the program moved to Division I in 1999.

The two teams will conclude the weekend series Saturday night at the Ice Center. The opening face-off is scheduled for 7:00pm.