YourHub's College Hockey Weekly

A look at your college hockey programs in Western New York: Canisius, Niagara and BuffaloStateCollege.

Division I

USCHO.com men's poll: 1.) Michigan; 2.) Miami; 3.) Colorado College; 4.) Denver; 5.) Michigan State; 23.) Niagara

USCHO.com women's poll: 1.)Harvard; 2.) New Hampshire; 3.) Minnesota-Duluth; 4.)St. Lawrence; 5.) Minnesota

Canisius men's ice hockey
( 5-10-4, 3-6-3 Atlantic Hockey)

GoGriffs.com reports: Sophomore goalie Andrew Loewen earned Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Week honors after helping lead the Griffs to two ties against the league's top team, Air Force. Loewen recorded 72 saves in the two games and earned the Atlantic Hockey accolades for the second time this season.

The Winnipeg, Manitoba native stopped 32 shots in the series opener to help lead the Griffs to the tie. He also held the Falcons with a power play score in seven attempts. In the finale, Loewen stopped a season-best 42 shots, including 20 in a scoreless third period and three in overtime. After a slow start, Loewen stopped the last 30 shots he faced to help the Griffs rally from an early two-goal deficit. The Falcons converted just one-of-six extra-man opportunities in the game, with its lone power-play goal coming on a 5-on-3 power play.

For the weekend, Loewen recorded a save percentage of .923 against the league's top-scoring team. He also helped the Griffs successfully kill 12-of-13 power-play opportunities. Air Force entered the weekend converting 44.4 percent of its extra-man advantages during its last three contests.

During Atlantic Hockey play this season, Loewen has posted a goals against average of 2.51 and a save percentage of .919 while helping the Griffs earn a point in five-of-eight games. For the season, the sophomore has recorded a goals against average of 3.33 and a save percentage of .898.

Loewen also earned the league's goaltender of the week honors on Nov. 12 after stopping 28-of-30 shots against Holy Cross. During his freshman season, Loewen was named the Atlantic Hockey Goalie of the Week once and the league's Rookie of the Week twice.

Loewen and the Griffs are off for the next three weeks before resuming play on Dec. 30 against Niagara. The two rivals meet at the Buffalo State Sports Arena in a Battle of the Bridge contest

Niagara men's ice hockey
( 8-4-1, 2-3-1 CHA)

From PurpleEagles.com: Niagara University Athletics announced that it will be holding a toy drive to support local families and charities. On Dec. 14-15 the men's hockey team will be hosting conference opponent Wayne State, and toys will be collected at each game.

Both Friday, and Saturday during one of the intermissions, fans will be asked to toss their toys onto the ice to donate the items to charities. If a toy is brought to the game that may get broken, there will be a table with a toy box located on the concourse to collect the delicate toys.

Toys will also be for sale at Dwyer Arena during the game, for fans who may have forgotten their toy. These can be purchased, and then donated to this good cause.

Niagara women's ice hockey
(6-8-2, 0-2-0 CHA)

PurpleEagles.com notes: Niagara's womens hockey team allowed two special teams goals during the first period en route to losing the non-conference game 3-0. Niagara now is at 6-8-2 (0-2-0 CHA), while Colgate improves to 6-8-2 (3-2-1 ECAC).

Despite a tough first period, the Purple Eagles hung tough and never backed down.

"It was like we were two different teams today," stated head coach Margot Page. "We didn't play so well in the first half of the game, but we played strongly in the second half of the game. With this upcoming break, we will be able to come back better and eliminate the inconsistent play."

In the first frame, Colgate dominated play thanks to four power-plays that led to the Raiders winning the shot battle 18-4. Six minutes into the game, Jessi Waters was set up perfectly by Kara Leene and Mallory Johnston to give Colgate the 1-0 lead. With less then two minutes left in the period, Leene scored her second point of the night by beating sophomore Jill Zelonis (Ashburn, Va.) to increase their lead to 2-0 heading into the intermission.

The second period saw plenty of back and forth hockey, with Niagara holding the 10-9 shot advantage. While they had plenty of quality scoring chances, Colgate made it 3-0 at the 17 minute mark, when Hannah Milan scored. Niagara needed a strong third period, already down 3-0 and 28-13 in shots.

Niagara came out strong, outshooting the Raiders by a 22-3 margin, but just couldn't beat freshman netminder Lisa Plenderleith. Plenderleith stood on her head during the third period to stop the Purple Eagle onslaught and to record her first career shutout.

Zelonis made 27 saves out of 30 shots during the game and made 57 saves out of 62 shots during the series. The Purple Eagles will now get a few weeks off before they head to the Nutmeg Classic hosted by Quinnipac on December 29 and 30.

Division III
USCHO.com men's poll: 1.) St. Norbert; 2.) Elmira; 3.) Plattsburgh; 4.)St. Thomas; 5.) Manhattanville

USCHO.com women's poll: 1.) Plattsburgh; 2.) Wisconsin-Stevens Point; 3.) Middlebury; 4.) Amherst; 5.) RIT

BuffaloState men's ice hockey
( 4-8-2, 1-4-2 SUNYAC)

Buffalostate.edu reports: Three Buffalo State (4-8-2) players registered a goal and an assist as the Bengals completed the weekend sweep of Lebanon Valley (1-11), defeating the Flying Dutchmen, 3-2, in a non-conference game at the Ice Arena.

D'Arcy Thomas (Gatineau, PQ/Philemon Wright), Kerry Barchan (Oakville, ON/Queen Elizabeth Park) and Nick Petriello (St. Catharines, ON/Holy Cross) all finished with two points. Connor King (Brentwood, TN/Brentwood) and Nick Lynch (Depew, NY/St. Joe's) each chipped in an assist.

Buffalo State opened the scoring midway through the first period on a power play goal by Thomas and added a second goal when Barchan scored with the man advantage late in the period to give the Bengals a two-goal lead. The two teams traded goals in the second frame, including the game winner by Petriello. The Flying Dutchmen attempted a late rally, scoring at the 18:32 mark of the third stanza but couldn't complete the comeback.

Buffalo State held a 33-20 advantage in shots with Kyle Gunn-Taylor (W. Seneca, NY/Orchard Park) making 18 saves for Buffalo State.

Buffalo State will break for the holidays and will return to action on Jan. 4 when the Bengals travel to Morrisville for a 7 p.m. game.

BuffaloState women's ice hockey
( 2-5-2, 1-5-2 ECAC West)

Buffalostate.edu notes: No. 6 Elmira scored twice in the first 5:16 and cruised to a 6-1 win over visiting Buffalo State (2-5-2/1-5-2) in an ECAC West contest today.

The Soaring Eagles extended their lead to 4-0 after two periods, before Jackie Blanchard (Delmar, NY) put the Bengals on the board with assists from Kelsey Truran (Berkley, MI) and Tonya Ford (Williamsville, NY). Elmira added two more goals in the third and outshot the Bengals 52-12 for the game.

Buffalo State will return to game action on January 11 when it will host Adrian.