Canisius goaltender Dan Giffin made 45 saves and the visiting Golden Griffins ended an 11-game losing streak with a 2-0 shutout over Army Saturday night in front of 1,939 spectators at West Point’s Tate Rink.
The loss ended a three-game losing streak for the Black Knights (9-13-3, 7-8-3 Atlantic Hockey). Army maintains its hold on fourth place in the league standings by virtue of a 4-2 defeat to fifth-place Bentley at the hands of Sacred Heart. Canisius improves to 6-17-1 overall and 4-13-1 in the league.
“(Giffin) came up big today,” Army head coach Brian Riley said. “Anytime you can get 45 shots on goal, you think it will be enough to win. He really gained confidence as the game went on.”
The Black Knights outshot the Golden Griffins by a whopping 45-20 margin, but could not solve the freshman netminder.
“He gave us a chance to win today,” Canisius head coach Dave Smith said. “We were fortunate that Giffin was the best player on the ice tonight.
The Griffins’ Chris Angelo finally solved Army goalie Brad Roberts when he scored from right out in front at 8:28 of the third period. The goal ended a string of 202:19 scoreless minutes for the senior Black Knight.
Canisius sewed things up with eight seconds remaining when Michael Cohen skated into Army’s zone all alone and buried the puck into an empty net. The Black Knights had pulled Roberts in an attempt to score the equalizer.
Army’s best chance came during a two-on-one rush with Chase Podsiad and Luke Flicek streaking down the near-side boards. Podsiad’s initial shot was turned aside by Giffin, sliding right over to Flicek in the slot. However, the sophomore forward was denied on a spectacular sprawling save by Giffin.
The Black Knights took 25 shots on the power play, but finished 0-for-8 with the man advantage, including an 0-for-5 stint in the second period. Canisius finished 0-for-3 on the power play.
Roberts made 18 saves in a losing effort. Army will return to action next Friday and Saturday when they host fifth-place Bentley at Tate Rink. Each game is a 7 p.m. start and will be a battle for fourth place in the Atlantic Hockey standings.
