March 1, 2008

Stats

Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst and Canisius skated to a 5-5 overtime tie Saturday evening at the MIC. Mercyhurst's record stands at 11-18-7 overall, 11-10-7 in Atlantic Hockey, while Canisius is 11-18-6 and 10-13-5, respectively.

The game was back and forth the entire evening. The Griffs scored first as Chris Forsman scored his first of two goals on the power play just five minutes into the game. Mercyhurst scored twice to take the lead on tallies from Scott Pitt and Matt Fennell, both even strength.

Canisius tied the contest at two as Vincent Scarsella lit the lamp. Mercyhurst scored twice once more to take a 4-2 lead midway through the second period as Chris Risi used his speed to score on the breakaway and Matt Pierce scored on the power play.

But Canisius scored three unanswered goals, two in the third period, to take a 5-4 lead on markers from Ryan Klusendorf (2) and Forsman.

Ben Cottreau scored the eventual game tyer while short-handed on a breakaway backhander that beat goaltender Andrew Loewen at the 13:40 mark of the third period. Both teams could not convert the rest of the game or overtime.

Mercyhurst held a slim 25-21 lead in shots. Mercyhurst was 1-for-5 on the power play, while Canisius was 2-for-6.

Loewen stopped 20 shots for the Griffs while freshman Ryan Zapolski stopped 16.

It was Senior Night at Mercyhurst as Kerry Bowman, Jamie Coghlan, Ben Cottreau and Ryan Toomey were honored. Bowman was also honored with the Bill Smith Award.

With Canisius' one point tonight along with Bentley's loss at RIT, the Griffs will return to Erie next weekend to face Mercyhurst in the Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals, best two out of three. Game one is set for Friday, March 7 at 7:05 p.m., while game two will be the following evening at the same time. Game three, if necessary, will be held on Sunday at 7:05 p.m. The winner will head to Rochester, N.Y. for the AHA Semifnals and Finals.

The Pairings For the AHA Quarterfinals:
#10 AIC at #1 Army
#9 Holy Cross at #2 RIT
#8 Bentley at #3 Air Force
#7 Connecticut at #4 Sacred Heart
#6 Canisius at #5 Mercyhurst