Canisius Golden Griffins men's ice hockey

Canisius Golden Griffins men's ice hockey
Current season
University	Canisius College
Conference	AHA
Head coach	Trevor Large 5th season, 55–65–13 (.463)
Captain	J.D. Pogue[1]
Arena	LECOM Harborcenter Capacity: 1,800 Surface: 200' x 85'
Location	Buffalo, New York
Colors	Blue and gold[2]
NCAA Tournament appearances
2013
Conference Tournament championships
2013
Conference regular season championships
2017
Current uniform

The Canisius Golden Griffins men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey program that represents Canisius College. The Golden Griffins are a member of Atlantic Hockey. They play at the LECOM Harborcenter in Buffalo, New York across the street from KeyBank Center, home of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League.^[3] Canisius won an automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship after winning the Atlantic Hockey title in the conference playoffs, but lost in the first round to top-ranked Quinnipiac.^[4]

History[]

Early years[]

Canisius founded their hockey team, then known as the Ice Griffs, in the fall of 1971 as a club sport led by Dr. David Dietz.^[5] 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 crown most years.^[6] 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 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 of 2004 he was fired when players threatened to sit out a game and he was soon replaced by assistant Clancy Seymour.^[7] 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. Over the next few years Smith pushed the program to better results, culminating in their first conference title in 2017. Smith was hired away by Rensselaer soon after^[8] but the Golden Griffins continue to perform well under new coach Trevor Large.

Season-by-season results[]

Source:^[6]

All-time coaching records[]

As of the completion of 2020–21 season^[9]

Tenure	Coach	Years	Record	Pct.
2017–Present	Trevor Large	4	52–62–13	.461
2005–2017	Dave Smith	12	172–223–59	.444
2004–2005	Clancy Seymour	1†	9–8–3†	.525
1982–1983		1	9–16–1	.365
1980–1982, 1983–2004‡	Brian Cavanaugh	24‡	342–306–56	.526
Totals	5 Coaches	41 Years	583–617–132	.487

† interim head coach
‡ fired mid-season

Awards and honors[]

Source:^[10]

NCAA[]

AHCA First Team All-Americans

• 2016-17: Charles Williams, G

MAAC[]

Individual Awards[]

MAAC Goaltender of the Year

• : 2000

All-Conference Teams[]

First Team All-MAAC

Second Team All-MAAC

• 1998–99: , F

MAAC All-Rookie Team

Atlantic Hockey[]

Individual Awards[]

All-Conference Teams[]

First Team All-Atlantic Hockey

Second Team All-Atlantic Hockey

Third Team All-Atlantic Hockey

Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team

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 parenthesis).^[10]

Statistical leaders[]

Source:^[11]

Career points leaders[]

Player	Years	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
	1984–1988	117	121	144	265	N/A
	1984–1988	104	114	120	234	N/A
	1994–1998	103	67	105	172	49
	1986–1990	120	74	89	163	156
	1980–1984	90	68	84	152	N/A
	1992–1996	107	55	93	148	127
Cory Conacher	2007–2011	129	62	85	147	156
	2015–2019	151	58	89	147	28
	1987–1991	115	59	86	145	21
	1991–1995	103	46	98	144	114

Career goaltending leaders[]

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

Minimum 2000 minutes

Player	Years	GP	Min	W	L	T	GA	SO	SV%	GAA
Charles Williams	2016–2017	34	2009	21	7	5	61	6	.943	1.82
	2012–2015	45	2422	18	15	6	84	3	.930	2.08
	2010–2014	101	5858	39	47	10	265	8	.920	2.72
	2019–Present	39	2069	15	13	6	94	2	.912	2.73
	2016–2020	42	2433	17	22	3	115	1	.915	2.84

Statistics current through the start of the 2021-22 season.

Current roster[]

As of August 23, 2021.^[12]

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
4		Keegan Langefels	Freshman	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2001-02-02	Eden Prairie, Minnesota	New Mexico (NAHL)	—
5		David Melaragni (A)	Junior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1998-03-30	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Cowichan Valley (BCHL)	—
8		Keaton Mastrodonato (A)	Junior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	2000-09-24	Powell River, British Columbia	Alberni Valley (BCHL)	—
9		J. D. Pogue (C)	Senior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1997-06-23	Montreal, Quebec	Cornwall (CCHL)	—
10		Nick Parody	Junior	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1998-01-02	Harrisburg, Pennsylvania	Islanders (NCDC)	—
12		Jake Witkowski	Graduate	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1996-08-26	Melrose, Massachusetts	Boston University (HEA)	—
14		Daniel DiGrande	Junior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1997-08-05	Macomb, Michigan	RPI (ECAC)	—
15		Joey Matthews	Graduate	D	5' 10" (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1997-06-24	Columbia, Illinois	Dartmouth (ECAC)	—
20		Randy Hernandez	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1999-01-12	Miami, Florida	Robert Morris (AHA)	—
23		Cooper Haar	Sophomore	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1999-04-26	Huntington Beach, California	Aberdeen (NAHL)	—
24		Jackson Decker	Sophomore	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1999-03-19	Algonquin, Illinois	Chippewa (NAHL)	—
25		Matthew Vermaeten	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2001-01-04	Ottawa, Ontario	Shreveport (NAHL)	—
27		Ryan Miotto	Junior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-07-11	Thorold, Ontario	Alberni Valley (BCHL)	—
28		Lee Lapid	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1998-01-11	Thornhill, Ontario	Toronto Patriots (OJHL)	—
29		John Hawthorne	Junior	G	6' 2" (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1998-09-02	Chemainus, British Columbia	Northern Michigan (WCHA)	—
30		Jacob Barczewski	Junior	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1999-01-07	O'Fallon, Missouri	Tri-City (USHL)	—
33		Matt Ladd	Senior	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1998-07-11	Getzville, New York	New Jersey (NAHL)	—
37		Cory Thomas	Graduate	D	6' 5" (1.96 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1998-03-19	St. Brieux, Saskatchewan	Vermont (HEA)	—
40		Niclas Puikkonen	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	1999-01-23	Stockholm, Sweden	Amarillo (NAHL)	—
44		Connor Zilisch	Sophomore	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	212 lb (96 kg)	1999-08-07	Appleton, Wisconsin	Topeka (NAHL)	—
53		Lincoln Erne	Junior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1998-09-26	Blaine, Minnesota	Minot (NAHL)	—
58		Derek Hamelin	Senior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1997-01-21	Mercier, Quebec	Langley (BCHL)	—
71		Alex Ambrosio	Graduate	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1997-03-12	Burnaby, British Columbia	Lake Superior State (WCHA)	—
72		Max Kouznetsov	Sophomore	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2000-12-06	Voorhees, New Jersey	Johnstown (NAHL)	—
77		Jack Lyons	Sophomore	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1999-07-04	Mississauga, Ontario	Oakville (OJHL)	—
81		Mitchell Martan	Senior	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1998-06-30	Whitby, Ontario	Wellington (OJHL)	—
83		Austin Alger (A)	Graduate	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1997-09-23	Livonia, Michigan	Miami (NCHC)	—
89		Simon Gravel	Junior	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-04-10	Boucherville, Quebec	Brooks (AJHL)	—
91		Alton McDermott	Freshman	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	2001-06-04	Oakville, Ontario	Oakville (OJHL)	—
94		Hudson Lambert	Junior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1998-08-17	Richmond Hill, Ontario	Brampton (OJHL)	—

Notable former players[]

Notable alumni include:

• Cory Conacher: NHL player currently playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning
• Carl Hudson: Signed to an NHL contract by the Florida Panthers
• Ryan Stewart: Current Director of Pro Scouting and Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago Blackhawks

See also[]

Canisius Golden Griffins

References[]

http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=83001

External links[]

• Canisius Golden Griffins