Canisius' rally falls a goal short

By Budd Bailey

If it’s not the oldest quote in hockey history from a losing team, it’s in the top 10.

“We didn’t play 60 minutes.”

With so few scores in a game, relatively speaking, a couple of mistakes can be crucial in hockey. Canisius was reminded of that Friday night at the HarborCenter.

The Golden Griffins gave up three goals in the first 11 minutes to fall behind, 3-0. They picked up their level of play from there, but still lost a 4-3 decision to Holy Cross.

“Really, really frustrating,” Canisius coach Trevor Large said. “I don’t want to call it a trend, because each game is singular. There’s not a lot of momentum that exists from game to game or weekend to weekend. But the trend we’re on is that we’re spotting teams goals early, and then trying to find out if we have resolve – which we do – and fight back.

“I did like our fight back, but I’m really disappointed in the beginning. … I did like how we answered, but way too tough of a start.”

It’s not as if the Crusaders were swarming the net in the early stages of the first period. They only had five shots in that flurry. Holy Cross scored its first goal off a turnover in the Canisius zone. The second came when a player was left open in the top of the faceoff circle. The third was a result of an unguarded player knocking home a rebound.

“I do credit Holy Cross,” Large said. “They are very aggressive, and when they get a turnover, they go right to the net. They have some high-skill players that can go right to the net. They can take advantage of opportunities, and they did tonight. But that’s hockey.”

Large did change goalies at that stage, which usually is a message that translates to “don’t blame him, blame yourself” to the skaters on the team. Petter Wickstrom Stumer did a nice job of holding down the fort. He allowed only one goal on 23 shots to give his team a chance to rally.

That’s exactly what they did. Alton McDermott had two goals in the game, including one in the third period that cut the margin to 4-3. McDermott has had a difficult season because of injuries, but maybe this night was a sign that he’s returning to form.

“It’s been great to have him back,” Large said. “In the second half he wasn’t in some of the games, but he was primed to have a great year. He looked really good. Then in literally his first shift of the season, he ended up breaking his wrist on a fluky play. It’s been a tough year for him. He’s dealt with injuries in the past, but obviously watching him, he’s able to produce.”

Canisius did have some opportunities to tie the game in the final minutes. The Griffins had a power play with 3:37 left, and then pulled the goalie in the last two minutes. The puck bounced around the goal a few times, but never did enter the net.

It’s the third straight loss for Canisius, as its record fell to 14-13-2, 9-10-2 in Atlantic Hockey play. The Golden Griffins are in the middle of the pack as the regular season winds down. In some conferences in college sports, that might mean that the team is in a desperate fight to secure a berth in the postseason playoffs.

But in the AHA, all 10 teams reach the playoffs. That means coaches are more concerned with trying to help their teams peak at the right time of the season instead of worrying about reaching the tournament.

“One of the things that we’re trying to accomplish as a staff is that our team is playing the best we can at the right time of the year, which is the playoffs,” Large said. “We want to position ourselves to have to beat as few teams as possible. We’re still in a good position to get the bye (which goes to the top six teams in a 10-team league). Do we want to be playing on Tuesday (in a first-round game)? No. If we have to bring it on.

“Our goal is to be playing the best we can with the guys we have come playoff time. We’re not quite there yet but that’s the goal.”

At least Canisius can’t spend too much time dwelling on Friday night’s outcome. The Griffins again play Holy Cross on Saturday afternoon at the HarborCenter. Maybe this time they will show up for those opening minutes that they missed on Friday night.

“If you talk to every guy on our team, they want to play right now,” Large said. “Because of the way we played in those 49 minutes, we’ll focus on the positives. We have to get after a really good opponent. I believe in them, I trust them, and I know they’ll be ready.”

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