The Canisius hockey team completes the second half of its home-and-home series against ECAC Hockey foe Clarkson Saturday at KeyBank Rink at Harborcenter. 

Opening faceoff for the matchup between the Golden Griffins and Golden Knights is set for 7:35 p.m.

Scouting Canisius • Canisius completes a three-game homestand Saturday after opening the stretch by splitting a league series against AIC last weekend.• Senior forward Dylan McLaughlin continues to lead the Canisius attack, pacing the squad in both goals (5) and points (10).  McLaughlin, who has factored into half of the Griffs' goals this season, was named the Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week on Tuesday after a four-point weekend (3g, 1a) versus the Yellow Jackets.• Fellow senior Jimmy Mazzais second on the team's scoring chart with seven points (2g, 5a).  The defenseman has registered a point in each of the team's last three contests.• Junior defenseman Matt Stief leads the squad with six assists.  Five of Stief's six helpers this season have come while the Griffs were on the power play.• Canisius will look to get its power play on track this weekend as the Griffs are just 6-for-37 (.162) with the man advantage this season.  Canisius has scored a power-play goal in all but one of its seven games this season.• The penalty kill has been an area of steady improvement as Canisius has not allowed a power-play goal in each of its last 15 shorthanded situations after opening the season by surrendering goals in five of its first 12 shorthanded opportunities against. 

Canisius Splits AHA Series with AIC to Open November• Canisius opened the November portion of its schedule with a split of its Atlantic Hockey series against visiting AIC last weekend at Harborcenter.• The Griffs took the opening game of the series by a 4-2 margin on Nov. 2 before the Yellow Jackets rebounded for a 6-1 triumph in the finale the following night.• Senior Dylan McLaughlin scored two goals, including the game winner, and added an assist to pace Canisius in the opener.  Junior Matt Hoover and freshman Mitchell Martan also found the back of the net while sophomoreTucker Weppner stopped 26-of-28 shots faced.• In the finale, Kyle Stephan tallied two goals and Stefano Durante stopped 34 shots to pace AIC to the five-goal triumph.  McLaughlin was responsible for the lone Griffs' tally, scoring a power-play goal early in the third period.• Canisius was 2-for-10 on the power play for the series while AIC was 0-for-8 with the man advantage.• Defensemen Jimmy Mazza and Matt Stief assisted on both of McLaughlin's power-play tallies against the Yellow Jackets. 

Scouting Clarkson• Clarkson enters Saturday's non-conference contest with a 4-3-0 overall record after opening conference play last weekend with a split of its league games at Capital District foes RPI (W 6-0) and No.  17 Union (L 3-2).• Nico Sturm continues to pace the Golden Knights offense, recording four goals and five assists for nine points.• Junior Haralds Egle (3g, 5a) and freshman Josh Dunne (4g, 3a) have provided scoring depth in the early going.  Both players scored in the first matchup between the teams on Oct. 27 in Potsdam. •  Jake Kielly is back between the pipes following a breakout sophomore campaign that saw him garner 2018 Mike Richter Award Finalist recognition a season ago.  The ECAC Goaltender of the Month for October, Kielly has started all seven games for the Golden Knights, posting a .924 save percentage and a 2.16 goals against average. 

Canisius-Clarkson Series Notes• Saturday's contest between Canisius and Clarkson serves as the eighth all-time meeting between the two Empire State foes.  The Golden Knights hold a 3-1-3 edge over the Griffs heading into the tilt.• Clarkson has won each of the last three meetings, including a 4-1 triumph at Cheel Arena in Potsdam two weeks ago that saw Josh Dunne score two goals and Jake Kielly stop 15-of-16 shots faced.• Four of the previous seven contests between the Griffs and the Knights have gone to overtime, with Canisius holding a 1-0-3 edge in those games.• The Griffs lone win in the series came in their first visit to Cheel Arena, a 4-3 overtime triumph back on Nov. 28, 2008. 

Up Next• Canisius travels to Rochester Tuesday for a single contest against RIT.  The game is the first half of an Atlantic Hockey series that will see the Griffs travel back to Rochester for the finale on March 2.• Puck drop for the midweek contest between the Griffs and the Tigers is set for 7 p.m. at the Gene Polisseni Center. 

Canisius hockey completes home-and-home series with Clarkson
Reviewed by All WNY
on
Thursday, November 08, 2018
Rating: 5