West Springfield, MA – Zac Sirota posted a goal and two assists and Filip Schlyter was outstanding making a career-high 46 saves as the No. 3 seeded SUNY Canton men's hockey team captured the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Commissioner's Cup with a 5-2 upset win v. No. 1 seeded Albertus Magnus College (16-7-1) on Saturday afternoon.

Jake Mayette was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, while Filip Schlyter and Sean Shepard made the All-Tournament Team.

The GNAC Commissioner's Cup Tournament, hosted by Anna Maria College at the Olympia Ice Center in West Springfield, Mass., featured the four independent teams that compete in NCAA Division III men's ice hockey.

THE BASICS

• Result: SUNY Canton 5, Albertus Magnus 2  
• Location: Olympia Ice Center – West Springfield, MA
• Records: SUNY Canton (10-11-2) | Albertus Magnus (16-8-1)

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Roos got on the board first at the 5:00 mark of the opening period. Sebastien Paquette dumped the puck deep behind the net off an offensive zone face off win. Sam Martin poked the puck loose at the end boards to Zac Sirota. He circled behind the net out to the left circle firing a wrist shot that was initially saved by Falcons netminder Logan Bateman. Martin charged the net and put the loose puck into the back of the net.
• Albertus Magnus knotted the game at one at 7:32 of the opening period off the stick of Cameron Weitzman. Harley Michaels and Ryan Colwell earned assists on the play.
• Canton regained the lead at 17:26 with the skater advantage. Sirota won an offensive zone draw at the right circle to Filip Jakobsson. He exchanged a pair of passes with Brady Morrison at the point with Morrison ripping a one-time slapshot past the blocker of Bateman. The goal was the team-leading fourth power play marker for Morrison.
• The Falcons held a slim 12-11 shots advantage in the opening period but Schlyter turned aside 12 shots as Canton led 2-1 after one.
• The Roos took a 3-1 lead at 17:06 of the second period when Matthew Headland skated into the offensive zone and ripped a shot that went left post, right post and in. Lucas Roy started the breakout to Gino Deblasiis through the neutral zone as the duo picked up assists on the play.
• Albertus Magnus trimmed the lead to one at 11:36 of the third period as Ryan Malko lit the lamp off passes from Charles Risk and Dino Antoniadis.  
• Canton added an important insurance goal with 2:35 to play. Jakobsson hit Mayette with a breakout pass through the neutral zone. Mayette skated in and his initial shot was saved but Colton Sipperley picked up the rebound and put home his second goal in as many games.
• The Roos added an empty-netter with 17 seconds remaining as Paquette won the puck forward in the Canton defensive zone to Sirota who fired it from his D zone blue line into the open net.

 
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• The Falcons outshot Canton 48-28 with the Roos holding a 30-26 edge in draws.
• Canton was 3-for-3 on the penalty kill, and 1-for-2 on the power play.
• Schlyter was impressive making 46 saves on 48 shots for a .958 save percentage. He made at least 11 saves in every period including a remarkable 23 in the third period to keep Canton ahead for good.
   

WHAT'S NEXT?
This concludes the Roos 2021-22 season.  
 


About SUNY Canton
As Northern New York's premier college for career-driven bachelor's degrees, associate degrees and professional certificate programs, SUNY Canton delivers quality hands-on programs in digital design, engineering technology, health, management and public service. Faculty members are noted for their professional real-world experience in addition to outstanding academic credentials. As SUNY's leader in online education, SUNY Canton OnLine offers hundreds of flexible and convenient courses as well as 23 online degree programs. The college placed first in 14 categories in a SUNY-Wide Student Opinion Survey, most notably in career services, tutoring, library resources, and classroom facilities. The SUNY Canton Kangaroos 15 traditional athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division III level as part of the North Atlantic Conference. SUNY Canton also features varsity esports and cheerleading.