"It was good to see him get the shutout," Canisius head coach Brian Cavanaugh said. "Not only is he a straight-A student, he is a real competitor and he knew he wanted to win the game because of the win we put on the board last night. He was our ace in the hole coming into today."

All that considering that before game time, it wasn't even clear that Weaver would play, due to a shoulder problem.

"I was a little nervous before the game because my shoulder was really sore," Weaver explained. "I was honestly thinking about pulling myself out of the lineup, but I got the trainers to work on it and it loosened up a little bit."

While Weaver's shoulder loosened up, the game remained tight throughout the opening period. Findlay executed a close-checking game, shutting down the Griffs' six minutes worth of power-play opportunities.

It wasn't until 9:45 of the second period that Canisius got on the board first. With the Oilers' Troy Martin serving a tripping penalty, Ice Griff defenseman Tim Warrilow shot the puck from the point. Junior Todd Bisson was in front of Findlay goaltender Jim Brunner to set up the screen, and deflected it into the net.

"We had to get an early lead on these guys because they came out flying," Bisson said. "Coach preaches working hard, so we got out there and got lucky on the power play. I just went to the net and tipped it."

Findlay had a chance to tie the game with 3:19 remaining in the second period, but the shot rang off the crossbar and the Oilers headed to the dressing room down by a goal.

The game stayed within Findlay's grasp until Ice Griff sophomore Steve Birch put it away for Canisius. On an end-to-end rush, Birch broke in on Brunner and placed a backhander into the net at 19:10 of the third period, giving the Ice Griffs a 2-0 advantage and solidifying the victory.

"It was a big goal because they came back when we were up two goals yesterday," Birch said. "It was good to get an extra goal under a minute left just to secure the victory for us."

"The game could have gone either way," said Cavanaugh. "They hit a post and a crossbar and we were fortunate enough at the end to score that goal. I don't think the game was won until we scored the second goal as far as I was concerned, especially after last night's game."

Findlay's overall record drops to 6-8-0 on the year with the loss, while the Ice Griffs extend their winning streak to six games with an overall record of 8-4-3. They will not be back in action until January 7, but the long break does not seem to pose a threat to the team's momentum.

"The guys are going to be working out and skating [over the break]," Weaver said. "We can use it as a rest because it is a hectic time of year with exams and the holidays. Everyone goes home, takes a little breather and comes back refreshed."

"[The win] is a big high for us," added Birch. "We are looking to come back on a strong note."

Copyright 1999 U.S. College Hockey Online. All rights reserved.