Looking at Canisius’ season to date, the word that comes to mind is “consistency.”
The Golden Griffins (12-10-3) have taken points in every Atlantic Hockey series they’ve played so far, which puts them in a tie for third place, trailing Bentley by a point and first-place American International by 11 with eight games to go.
That consistency has carried over to Canisius’ nonconference schedule as well this season, with splits against Penn State, Ferris State and Rensselaer.
But looks can be deceiving, according to coach Trevor Large.
“At surface level, it can seem that way, but I think that internally, to our players and staff, we’ve been inconsistent,” he said. “It’s very difficult to get points every weekend in this league, and we have done that, but night to night we’ve been inconsistent in terms of our energy and executing our game plan.”
Looking at it that way, the Golden Griffins have been able to string together consecutive victories only once, a four-game winning streak in late November.
“It’s about working on our culture and that can be tough sometimes to reach consistency, when you need a game plan to fit the different styles of your opponent,” said Large. “But we’re mostly focusing on us and what we need to do.”
Large has not been afraid to call his team out in postgame comments to the media when he felt something was lacking.
“It’s the same things I say to the team after the game, good or bad,” he said. “I’m calling a spade a spade. If we’re not at our standard, it would be counterproductive not to be honest about it. But there’s plenty to be positive about.”
A positive is goaltender Jacob Barczewski, who has been a mainstay in net, currently ranked fourth in Atlantic Hockey in GAA (2.53) and third in save percentage (.923).
A balanced offense has been powered by junior Keaton Mastrodonato (22 points), senior Lee Lapis (18) and graduate student Austin Alger (a team-leading 11 goals).
The remaining schedule looks friendly to the Griffs, who will host six of their remaining eight games, with short road trips to Mercyhurst and Niagara.
“We love playing at the HarborCenter,” said Large. “We had some long road trips earlier in the season, a trip to Air Force and back-to-back weekends out East. Now we’re in the home part of our schedule. We’ve got to be ready and build momentum in these games.”
Things kick off with a series against Air Force this weekend.
“We’re at that point in the season where everybody tends to watch the standings; it’s a natural thing to do,” said Large. “And the teams are so close, it’s the same thing every year.
“We’re seeing a lot of splits, as usual. Six points are available every weekend and that can make a big difference.”
Large says that if his team sticks to the culture it’s established, things will take care of themselves.
“We’re trying to be in the present,” he said. “We can’t worry about the past or worry about the future. If we have everyone on our team doing that, we’ll be successful.”
