Detroit 5, Canisius 9

This game was more even than the final score indicates, but a late collapse by UDM gave Canisius a relatively stress-free end to the game.

Tempo Free

From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:

There was an efficiency gap here, no doubt, but the bigger story was the difference in possession, from this observer’s perspective. Detroit didn’t win enough faceoffs, and couldn’t clear, and that let the Griffins run away late.

Notes

The timing of the possession disparity coincided with Canisius running away with the game late, which underscores the issue (especially since a healthy possession advantage in the fourth allowed them to get momentum at home). Through three quarters, Canisius had a 22-17 possession advantage, then dominated the fourth 8-3 in possession and 4-1 on the scoreboard. Detroit failed a clear and went 1/6 on faceoffs in the frame, and that was all she wrote.

Jason Weber had a pedestrian performance, saving 50% of shots he faced, and against a Canisius team that shot only .262 on the year. An excellent goalie, even one put in tough circumstances, should do better than that. Canisius did assist on six of its nine goals, with attack Ryan McKee and midfielder Jeff Edwards each contributing a pair (Edwards also contributed a goal). Attackmen Vince Gravino (4G) and Connor Kearnan (3G, 1A) did the bulk of the finishing for the Griffins. Two of Canisius’s goals (including a relatively meaningless one with 30 seconds left) came assisted on the EMO.

If the possession game in the fourth didn’t tell the majority of the story, the keeper battle may have. Canisius’s Liam Ganzhorn only faced one fewer shot than Weber, but made 12 saves to give his team an advantage there.

Detroit was led offensively by Andy Hebden (2G, 1A) and JD Hess (1G, 1A), with Mark Anstead contributing an assist and Brad Harris and Sean Birney each scoring a goal. The Titans didn’t launch a ton of shots – thanks in part, of course, to a slow game at a severe possession deficit.

Ben Gjokaj didn’t have his best day on faceoffs, even though Canisius’s Steven Coss wasn’t as good over the course of the year. There’s something to be said for the fourth quarter momentum (which accounted for more than the difference between the two FOGOs), and probably wing play – each only picked up two ground balls for the game.

Detroit committed a fair number of penalties (Canisius went 2/3 on the EMO, but UDM committed five total penalties), but they didn’t have a huge effect on the game overall – other than that momentum factor. Canisius’s go-ahead goal in the third was on EMO, as was their final goal with 31 seconds remaining. Some of those penalties were desperation or frustration in the fourth trying to mount a comeback.

Elsewhere

Boxscore. Detroit recap. Canisius recap. Highlights.

Up Next

With their MAAC playoff hopes all-but dashed, Detroit had one last chance to finish the season on a strong note at home against Marist.