The Canisius Golden Griffins men's ice hockey team is a

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) Division I

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the go ...

program that represents

Canisius University Canisius University is a private Jesuit university in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1870 by Jesuits from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. Canisius offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors, and around 34 mas ...

. The Golden Griffins are members of

Atlantic Hockey America Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) is a college ice hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participates in NCAA Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. The conference was formed in 2023 by the merger of ...

, formed shortly after the 2023–24 season by the merger of their former hockey league, the Atlantic Hockey Association, with

College Hockey America College Hockey America (CHA) was a college ice hockey conference in the United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The conference's final membership featured six women's teams, with three in Pennsylvani ...

. They play at the

LECOM Harborcenter LECOM Harborcenter is an American mixed-use development in Buffalo, New York, developed by Pegula Sports and Entertainment. The building occupies a full 1.7 acre city block formerly known as the Webster Block, directly across from and connect ...

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

across the street from

KeyBank Center KeyBank Center is a multipurpose indoor arena located in Buffalo, New York, United States. Originally known as Marine Midland Arena, the venue has since been named HSBC Arena and First Niagara Center. Home to the Buffalo Sabres of the Nation ...

, home of the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

. Canisius has won an automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament twice, after winning the Atlantic Hockey title in the conference playoffs in both

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

and

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, but lost in the first round to the top-ranked team each time.

History

Early years

Canisius founded its hockey team, then known as the Ice Griffs, in the fall of 1971 as a

club sport Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises * ...

led by Dr. David Dietz. Two years later they joined their first conference and by 1976 had claimed two conference titles. Dietz resigned after the 1976 championship and allowed Mike Kelly to take over. Kelly kept the team performing at a high level but finished runner up two years running before reclaiming the title in 1979. Canisius join a new conference the following year and after claiming the championship, their fourth in a six-year span, the program was elevated to varsity status. With a new division to play in Canisius also received a new coach in Brian Cavanaugh. Their first two seasons in Division III went well for the Golden Griffins but when Cavanaugh took a year off in 1982 the program slumped to single-digit wins before rebounding after the coach's return. During Cavanaugh's tenure he kept the team mostly above .500 and aside from a dip in the early 1990s Canisius was a contender for the

ECAC West ECAC West was a college athletic conference which operated in the northeastern United States until 2017. It participated in the NCAA's Division III as a hockey-only conference. The conference ceased to exist after the end of the 2016–17 season wh ...

crown most years. Canisius was able to reach two ECAC West title game in the '90s but lost both contests by one goal.

Division I

When the MAAC announced it was forming an ice hockey division in 1997 only three member teams had extant programs, one of those was Canisius who became a founding member of the league that began play in 1998–99. The Golden Griffins played well in their first season, finishing with a winning record, but it was their play in the conference tournament, allowing them to reach the title match, that made Canisius stand out. Unfortunately that was the height of Canisius' time in the MAAC. Despite a 20-win season the following year the Griffs were bounced in the first round and won only one MAAC playoff game after their inaugural year in D-I. When two of the MAAC's teams ended their ice hockey sponsorship in 2003 the conference was able to end its support for the hockey division. The remaining nine schools simply reformed into a new conference called

Atlantic Hockey The Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) was an NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. Unlike several other ...

and continued on without much trouble. Canisius' trouble in the conference tournament continued throughout the decade and saw them win two out of their first ten games. During that streak, however, the Canisius program went through some upheaval. Long-time coach Brian Cavanaugh came under fire for his conduct through complaints from his players. In December 2004 he was fired when players threatened to sit out a game and he was soon replaced by assistant Clancy Seymour. The following season began with yet a third coach, Dave Smith and it took the new bench boss a few years to repair the program. In 2009–10 Canisius posted its first winning season in nine years and reach the conference semifinal. After a couple of modest seasons the Golden Griffins shocked Atlantic Hockey by winning the 2013 Tournament as a 7th-seed and made its first appearance in the NCAA tournament. The Golden Griffins played well but bowed out in their first game against top-seeded

Quinnipiac The Quinnipiac were a historical Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. They lived in present-day New Haven County, Connecticut, along the Quinnipiac River. Their primary village, also called Quinnipiac, was where New Haven, Connect ...

. Over the next few years Smith pushed the program to better results, culminating in their first conference title in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

. Smith was hired away by Rensselaer soon after but the Golden Griffins continue to perform well under new coach

Trevor Large Trevor Large (born June 8, 1980) is a Canadians, Canadian former ice hockey player who is currently the head coach at Canisius College, Canisius. Career Large played his college hockey at Ferris State Bulldogs men's ice hockey, Ferris State for ...

. The Golden Griffins finished fourth in the 2022–23 Atlantic Hockey division standings. Canisius defeated fifth seeded

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

in three games to advance to the conference tournament semifinals, where they defeated sixth seeded Niagara in three games and advanced to their second straight conference championship game, their first as hosts. The Golden Griffins went on to defeat seventh seeded

Holy Cross Holy Cross or Saint Cross may refer to: * the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus * Christian cross, a frequently used religious symbol of Christianity * True Cross, supposed remnants of the actual cross upon which Jesus was crucified * Feast o ...

by a score of 3–0 to clinch the program's second appearance in the NCAA tournament. Canisius faced the No. 1 seeded

Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college athletics, college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 21 (9 men's, 12 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and com ...

in the opening round of the tournament. Canisius maintained a 2–1 lead early in the second period thanks to goals by forwards Daniel DiGrande and Nick Bowman, before allowing two goals to make the score 3–2 heading into the third period. The Golden Griffins would end up losing to the Golden Gophers by a score of 9–2, finishing the season with a 20–19–3 record. Shortly after the 2023–24 season, the Atlantic Hockey Association and College Hockey America merged to form Atlantic Hockey America. The predecessor conferences had operated with a single commissioner and shared conference staff since 2010.

Season-by-season results

Source:

All-time coaching records

As of the completion of 2024–25 season † interim head coach
‡ fired mid-season

Awards and honors

Source:

NCAA

AHCA First Team All-Americans *2016-17: Charles Williams, G

MAAC

Individual awards

MAAC Goaltender of the Year *

Sean Weaver Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Hiberno-English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angl ...

: 2000

All-Conference teams

First Team All-MAAC *1998–99:

Derek Gilham Derek is a masculine given name. It is the English language short form of Diederik, the Low Franconian form of the name Theodoric. Theodoric is an old Germanic name with an original meaning of "people-ruler" or "lead the people". Common variant ...

, D *1999–00:

, G Second Team All-MAAC *1998–99: David Deeves, F MAAC All-Rookie Team *1998–99:

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, D; David Deeves, F *2002–03: Tim Songin, D

Atlantic Hockey

Individual awards

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year. In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is held on b ...

Cory Conacher Cory Conacher (born December 14, 1989) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. Undrafted, Conacher played for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, and the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). ...

: 2010 * Charles Williams: 2017 *

Dylan McLaughlin Dylan McLaughlin (born December 2, 1993) is an American actor. He has appeared in television series including '' ER'' and ''Bones'' as well the motion pictures '' Alice Upside Down'', ''Georgia Rule'', and '' Kicking & Screaming''. He has also a ...

: 2018 Rookie of the Year * David Kostuch: 2009 *

Matteo Giampa Matteo is the Italian form of the given name Matthew. Another form is Mattia. The Hebrew meaning of Matteo is "gift of god". Matteo can also be used as a patronymic surname, often in the forms of de Matteo, De Matteo or DeMatteo, meaning " escenda ...

: 2024

Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

* Dave Smith: 2017 Best Defensive Forward * David Kasch: 2008 * Ryan Schmelzer: 2017 Best Defenseman *

Cameron Heath Cameron may refer to: People * Clan Cameron, a Scottish clan * Cameron (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Cameron (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) ;Mononym * Cam'ron (born 19 ...

: 2017 Regular Season Scoring Trophy *

, LW: 2010 *

: 2018 Regular Season Goaltending Award * Keegan Asmundson: 2015 * Charles Williams: 2017 * Jacob Barczewski: 2021 Individual Sportsmanship Award *

: 2019 Most Valuable Player in Tournament *

Kyle Gibbons Kyle or Kyles may refer to: Name * Kyle (given name), a Gaelic given name, usually masculine * Kyle (surname), a surname of Scottish origin * Kyle (musician), a hip hop artist from California * Kyle (Child's Play), played by Christine Elise * ...

, F:

* Jacob Barczewski, G:

All-Conference teams

First Team All-Atlantic Hockey *2004–05:

Bryan Worosz Bryan may refer to: Places in the United States * Bryan, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Bryan, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Bryan, Ohio, a city * Bryan, Texas, a city * Bryan, Wyoming, a ghost town * Bryan County, Georgia * ...

, G *2009–10:

, F *2014–15: Chris Rumble, D *2015–16: Shane Conacher, F *2016–17: Charles Williams, F *2017–18:

, F;

, F *2018–19:

, F *2020–21: Jacob Barczewski, G; Keaton Mastrodonato, F *2021–22: Jacob Barczewski, G Second Team All-Atlantic Hockey *2009–10: Carl Hudson, D *2010–11:

, F *2014–15: Keegan Asmundson, G; Ralph Cuddemi, F *2015–16: Ralph Cuddemi, F *2016–17:

, D; Ryan Schmelzer, F *2017–18: Lester Lancaster, D *2019–20:

Matt Hoover Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

, F; Nick Hutchison, F *2021–22: Keaton Mastrodonato, F *2023–24:

, F Third Team All-Atlantic Hockey *2008–09: Carl Hudson, D;

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, F *2009–10: Vincent Scarcella, F *2012–13:

, F *2015–16: Ben Danforth, D *2016–17:

, F *2017–18: Ryan Schmelzer, F *2019–20: Matt Stief, F *2021–22: David Melaragni, F *2022–23: Jacob Barczewski, G; Keaton Mastrodonato, F Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team *2005–06: Dan Giffin, G *2006–07: Josh Heidinger, F *2007–08:

Vincent Scarsella Vincent (Latin: ''Vincentius'') is a masculine given name originating from the Roman name ''Vincentius'', which itself comes from the Latin verb ''vincere'', meaning "to conquer." People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003) ...

, F *2008–09: David Kostuch, F *2016–17:

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, F *2017–18: Grant Meyer, F *2023–24:

, F

Canisius Hall of Fame

The following is a list of Canisius' men's ice hockey players who were elected into the Canisius College Hall of Fame (induction year in parentheses). *Derrick Bishop (2013) *Andre Bourgeault (2006) *Dr. David Dietz (2001) *Joe Federico (2005) *Josh Oort (2010) *Gary Roessler (1998) *Mike Sisti (2002) *Kevin Sykes (1999) *Mike Torrillo (1999) *Brian Worosz (2016)

Statistical leaders

Source:

Career points leaders

Career goaltending leaders

''GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% =

Save percentage Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various Goal (sports), goal-scoring sports that track Save (goaltender), saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse and association football, it is a sta ...

; GAA =

Goals against average Goals against average (GAA), also known as average goals against (AGA), is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on spo ...

'' Minimum 2000 minutes Statistics current through the end of the 2022-23 season.

Current roster

As of August 7, 2024.

Notable former players

Notable alumni include: *Dylan McLaughlin '19: Signed to an

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

contract by the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

* Carl Hudson '10: Signed to an

contract by the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

*Ryan Stewart '98: Current Senior Advisor for the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

and 3x

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

champion as Director of Pro Scouting with the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

Golden Griffins in the NHL

As of July 1, 2024. File:Cory Conacher 2013-05-17 2.JPG,

References

External links

* {{Atlantic Hockey America College ice hockey teams in New York (state) NCAA Division I men's ice hockey teams 1980 establishments in New York (state) Ice hockey clubs established in 1980

History

Early years

Division I

Season-by-season results

All-time coaching records

Awards and honors

NCAA

MAAC

Individual awards

All-Conference teams

Atlantic Hockey

Individual awards

All-Conference teams

Canisius Hall of Fame

Statistical leaders

Career points leaders

Career goaltending leaders

Current roster

Notable former players

Golden Griffins in the NHL

See also

References

External links