BUFFALO, N.Y. – Justin Kendall accounted for two goals, but couldn't lift the Niagara men's hockey team past Canisius on Friday evening. The Purple Eagles outshot the Golden Griffins, 40-24, but were outscored, 4-2.
 
Game Recap

• On the power play midway through the opening frame, Eric Cooley camped in front of the Canisius net and put a short, centering feed on net but was stopped at the doorstep.
• Justin Kendall opened the scoring 16 minutes in. After Veltri made a great save in the Niagara zone, Ryan Naumovski got hold of the puck and dished it up ice to Kendall. The junior then carried the puck in from the right side, made a slick move to get around his defender, and ripped a shot low and through the five-hole to make it 1-0.
• Again on the man advantage 11 minutes into the second period, Niagara piled on the pressure, looking to tie things up. The Purple Eagles managed eight shot attempts – including five on net – but couldn't find an opening before the penalty expired.
• Moments later, Canisius came streaking down the ice in a 2-on-1, but Chad Veltri played things perfectly, and squared up to the shot to deny the Griffs a third goal.
• Early in the third, a clearing attempt by Niagara came up short and the Golden Griffins were able to turn and rush. Zac Herrmann stayed in position, wrapped up his man, and escorted him into the boards, allowing his teammates to recover and neutralize the chance.
• Naumovski dinged a shot off the pipe while on the power play, but the puck scooted out instead of in and couldn't cut into the 4-1 deficit.
• Down by three with 3:38 left in regulation, Niagara went on a 5-on-3 power play with Canisius serving a major and a minor simultaneously. 10 seconds into the advantage, Kendall netted his second of the game from the right of the Canisius goal.

 
Beyond The Boxscore

• With a secondary assist on Kendall's goal, Chad Veltri earned the first point of his collegiate career. The last Purple Eagle to notch an assist was Jackson Teichroeb, who did so on March 5, 2017 in a 4-1 win at RIT.
• This was the first multi-goal game of Kendall's career. The Holmen, Wisconsin native came into the contest with 15 career goals in 83 games, but had not lit the lamp twice in a single outing prior to tonight.

 
Up Next

• The series resumes at Harborcenter tomorrow afternoon. Puck drop between the Purple Eagles and Golden Griffins will be at 4:05 p.m.

 
 
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