Ledyard's two goals give UB quick start in win over Canisius

By: Melissa Brawdy of icingthefed.com 

                Ryall Ledyard scored twice in the first two and a half minutes and Max Battistoni made 24 saves as UB defeated cross-town rival Canisius 6-4 on Thursday night (Oct. 20). It was the Bulls' first league game, and the win was a boost of confidence, especially with a game against an even bigger rival coming on Friday. 

"We were just trying to show that we were the best team in Buffalo right now, considering Canisius, Niagara's in the area, so we just really wanted to focus on winning," said Austin Pieniaszek, who scored his first goal in the win. 

The quick start provided by Ledyard was key for UB on Thursday night. His first goal came just 35 seconds into the first period. "The first one's always really important when you're away," Ledyard said. "It kind of puts them on their heels, you coming in their barn and kind of put the pressure on them. It really makes a difference, sets the momentum for the game, and I was just lucky enough to be the one who got that one."  He scored again less than two minutes later. Ledyard was only slightly disappointed to miss out on a hat trick, but he was thankful to his teammates for mahjong his job easy on both goals he did score. 

"That one makes you feel good," Ledyard said. "That was just an addition, and I wish we could have got the third, but the guys really worked hard tonight. I got to give it to them because those were two of the easiest goals I've had in a while, so they really contributed there."

"It's great," Coach Jeremy Kersten said of the quick lead. "It's almost like a curse because the guys get back on their heels a little bit, but to keep on playing, to come back and put a couple more in. And for [Ledyard] to score -- I don't think he's scored all that much this year."

Canisius got one back later in the first, but Pieniaszek scored less than five minutes later to take back the two-goal lead. "Came in a little late because I chipped the puck out to Guay, came high in the slot, Paradowski passed it out in front, and the net was wide open," Pieniaszek explained. "It felt pretty good. Scoring's always fun, but the first one's always a special one."

Pieniaszek didn't play the first few games of the season, but Kersten had a good feeling about the forward from the beginning, and now he's beginning to find his place in the lineup.

"It's great, anytime you get your first goal," Kersten said. "He's only played in three or four games, so to get one early -- he's been buzzing all year. During tryouts, he kind of disappeared a little bit, but he looked like a hockey player. He's a hockey player. He's always moving. He's always around the puck. Good things happen when he's on the ice, and he's really starting to play himself into a role. When you look at guys and say, 'Who do we have to play this weekend?' he's on that short list the last couple weeks."

The second period started much like the first, with Bobby Piotrowicz scoring just 34 seconds in and AJ Marinelli adding his team-leading fifth goal (Ledyard is just behind him with four) of the season just 1:53 into the period. "We had a great start," Pieniaszek said. "Leddy had two quick ones, which really got the momentum swinging our way, and then we just started the second, we scored two quick ones again, and I think it really got the momentum just going our way."

Canisius defenseman Matt Canada scored a couple minutes later before Cole Schiffman gave the Bulls a 6-2 lead just before the halfway mark of the period. Two more Canisius goals in the third weren't the strong finish UB wanted, but it was too little, too late for the Griffs as the Bulls came away with a 7-4 win. 

Sophomore goalie Max Battistoni made 24 saves, including a big save on a Canisius breakaway with 7:24 remaining in the third. It was that one, of course, that Battistoni remembered after the game. "I guess the breakaway is always a little challenge. Just got to get out to your spot and sort of just play goalie." Battistoni laughed. "It was sort of a cross-ice pass, just got turned over, just a quick transition, so you just got to always be ready and come out and sort of just follow the guy."

Like many of his teammates, Battistoni saw some familiar faces on the other team, which gave the win a little more emphasis. "I saw a couple familiar faces out there. It's always fun playing against buddies from high school and everything, so definitely a fun game," he said. "It's a great feeling, especially first league game. We haven't really had the start we wanted, so this was definitely a good way to get us on track for the upcoming week."

"It's always good to beat not only a league opponent but a team where your guys know most of the guys on the team," Kersten said. "A little extra pride, a little extra fun for the weekend. Anytime you can beat a team that's 15 minutes away and start your league that way, it's a good start for league play."

Kersten has done his best to give each of his four goalies a fair look this season. Thursday was Battistoni's second start, and he played a period of another game as well. Kersten has been impressed with what he's seen from Battistoni. "He never gives up; he's always battling," Kersten said. "He's been arguably one of our better goalies this early in the season, and it's good for a sophomore to step up and try and push [goaltender Tyler] Stark a little bit and maybe even take over the second spot or even the first spot. We didn't help him out much on those goals, but he makes saves that you don't think he should make. He's a battler. I like it."

In addition to Battistoni's strong performance in net and his own two goals, Ledyard liked what he saw from his teammates, especially their puck movement. "We were moving our feet," he said. "The puck movement really helped with that ice. It's such a big ice surface that when you move your puck well, it speeds up the game, and their D was on their heels all night, which I really liked. I liked the way our forwards pressured and our D got the puck to our forwards."

And he wanted to talk more about the win than his goals anyway. 

"It feels good, but the thing I'm happy with is that win," Ledyard said. "It kind of puts us on track, and I'm not really happy with our record right now, so it's a boost for confidence, but I want to see that record go up and up here."

UB has perhaps its biggest game of the season approaching on Friday (Oct. 28). The Bulls take on another Buffalo area team in Niagara University, and the energy among the team and crowd is always high. "It's exciting every time we play Niagara," Kersten said. "It's always our biggest crowd. It's even better that it's the first game of the weekend on a Friday. We have to play hockey when we play Niagara. We can't get caught up in our emotions and in the hype of the game. We're going to battle with them and Syracuse for that automatic bid, and we need that right now. We need to take care of league play business and get some help from out-of-league teams."

Pieniaszek kept it simple. "We're hoping to keep the winning streak going and go after Niagara and get the win," he said.