The 2020–21 Canisius Golden Griffins men's ice hockey season was the 41st season of play for the program, the 23rd at the Division I level, and the 18th season in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Golden Griffins represented Canisius College and were coached by Trevor Large, in his 4th season.
| 2020–21 Canisius Golden Griffins men's ice hockey season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | 4th Atlantic Hockey |
| Home ice | LECOM Harborcenter |
| Rankings | |
| USCHO.com | NR |
| USA Today/ US Hockey Magazine | NR |
| Record | |
| Overall | 11–6–0 |
| Conference | 8–5–0–1–1–0 |
| Home | 6–1–0 |
| Road | 4–5–0 |
| Neutral | 1–0–0 |
| Coaches and captains | |
| Head coach | Trevor Large |
| Assistant coaches | Martin Hlinka Taylor Nelson Daniel Paille |
| Captain(s) | Grant Meyer |
| Canisius Golden Griffins men's ice hockey seasons « 2019–20 2021–22 » | |
The start of the college hockey season was delayed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. As a result, Canisius's first scheduled game was in late-November as opposed to early-October, which was the norm.
Season
editAs a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the entire college ice hockey season was delayed. Because the NCAA had previously announced that all winter sports athletes would retain whatever eligibility they possessed through at least the following year, none of Canisius' players would lose a season of play.[1] However, the NCAA also approved a change in its transfer regulations that would allow players to transfer and play immediately rather than having to sit out a season, as the rules previously required.[2]
Even after being delayed, Canisius had the start of their season disrupted by cancellations and postponements. The Golden Griffins played two games over a 62-day period. In February the team was finally able to put a string of games together and showed themselves to be one of the better teams in the western pod of Atlantic Hockey teams. After a four-game winning streak, Canisius was nearing their first top-20 ranking in years but the team was swept by a down Air Force club.[3] Due to Canisius having so few games on their schedule, the losses to Air Force meant that the team had little chance of making the NCAA Tournament without winning their conference tournament.
After the Golden Griffins dispatched RIT in the quarterfinals, they had to get past a very strong Army team to reach the championship. The two teams battled through a close game, needing overtime to decide the winner, and J. D. Pogue's marker sent the Griffs to the title game. Canisius was unable to overcome American International despite the Yellow Jackets facing their own COVID problems and had to settle for second place. Canisius had a slim chance of being selected as an at-large bid but when the tournament teams were released, Atlantic Hockey was essentially disregarded, with league-leading AIC being given the 16th and final space in the bracket.[4]
The program has a great deal to be proud of from this season. The runner-up finish was the second best performance the team had ever achieved and, despite playing less than half as many games as the year before, Canisius won more games. With sophomore Jacob Barczewski establishing himself as the team's starting goaltender, the Golden Griffins are well-placed for next season.
John Stampohar and MacGregor Sinclair sat out the season.
Departures
edit| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Hoover | Forward |  United States |
Graduation (Signed with Utah Grizzlies) |
| Nick Hutchison | Forward | United States |
Graduation (Signed with Adirondack Thunder) |
| Casey Jerry | Forward | United States |
Graduation |
| Jesse Pereira | Forward |  Canada |
Graduation |
| Will Scherer | Defenseman | United States |
Graduation |
| Matt Stief | Defenseman | United States |
Graduation (Signed with Macon Mayhem) |
| Daniel Urbani | Goaltender | Canada |
Graduation |
Recruiting
edit| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson Decker | Defenseman | United States |
21 | Algonquin, IL |
| Cooper Haar | Forward | United States |
21 | Huntington Beach, CA |
| Max Kouznetsov | Forward | United States |
19 | Voorhees, NJ |
| Jack Lyons | Defenseman | Canada |
21 | Mississauga, ON |
| Niclas Puikkonen | Forward |  Sweden |
21 | Stockholm, SWE |
| Jami Virtanen | Forward |  Finland |
20 | Pori, FIN |
| Connor Zilisch | Forward | United States |
21 | Appleton, WI |
Roster
editAs of September 17, 2020.[5]
| No. | S/P/C | Player | Class | Pos | Height | Weight | DoB | Hometown | Previous team | NHL rights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 
|
Logan Gestro | Senior | D | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | 1996-02-09 | South Lyon, Michigan | Corpus Christi (NAHL) | — |
| 5 | 
|
David Melaragni | Sophomore | D | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | 1998-03-30 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Cowichan Valley (BCHL) | — |
| 8 | 
|
Keaton Mastrodonato | Sophomore | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | 2000-09-24 | Powell River, British Columbia | Alberni Valley (BCHL) | — |
| 9 | 
|
J. D. Pogue | Junior | F | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 1997-06-23 | Montreal, Quebec | Cornwall (NAHL) | — |
| 10 |
|
Nick Parody | Sophomore | D | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 1998-01-02 | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | Islanders (NCDC) | — |
| 14 | 
|
John Stampohar | Sophomore | D | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | 1998-09-24 | Grand Rapids, Minnesota | Fairbanks (NAHL) | — |
| 15 | 
|
Grant Meyer (C) | Senior | F | 5' 8" (1.73 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | 1996-03-21 | Genoa, Ohio | Fargo (USHL) | — |
| 20 | 
|
David Baskerville | Junior | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | 1997-04-01 | Buffalo, New York | Corpus Christi (NAHL) | — |
| 23 | 
|
Cooper Haar | Freshman | F | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | 1999-04-26 | Huntington Beach, California | Aberdeen (NAHL) | — |
| 24 | 
|
Jackson Decker | Freshman | D | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | 1999-03-19 | Algonquin, Illinois | Chippewa (NAHL) | — |
| 25 |
|
Matt Long | Senior | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 1997-08-06 | Orland Park, Illinois | Springfield (NAHL) | — |
| 27 | 
|
Ryan Miotto | Sophomore | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1999-07-11 | Thorold, Ontario | Alberni Valley (BCHL) | — |
| 28 |
|
Lee Lapid | Junior | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 1998-01-11 | Thornhill, Ontario | Toronto Patriots (OJHL) | — |
| 30 | 
|
Jacob Barczewski | Sophomore | G | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | 1999-01-07 | O'Fallon, Missouri | Tri-City (USHL) | — |
| 32 |
|
Tucker Weppner | Senior | G | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 1996-06-09 | Williamsville, New York | Buffalo (OJHL) | — |
| 33 |
|
Matt Ladd | Junior | G | 6' 3" (1.91 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 1998-07-11 | Getzville, New York | New Jersey (NAHL) | — |
| 37 | 
|
Kevin Obssuth | Junior | F | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | 1997-07-09 | Morristown, New Jersey | Powell River (BCHL) | — |
| 40 |
|
Niclas Puikkonen | Freshman | F | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 198 lb (90 kg) | 1999-01-23 | Stockholm, Sweden | Amarillo (AJHL) | — |
| 44 | 
|
Connor Zilisch | Freshman | F | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 212 lb (96 kg) | 1999-08-07 | Appleton, Wisconsin | Topeka (NAHL) | — |
| 52 |
|
Blake Wareham | Senior | D | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 1997-03-05 | Park Ridge, Illinois | Janesville (NAHL) | — |
| 53 |
|
Lincoln Erne | Sophomore | D | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 1998-09-26 | Blaine, Minnesota | Minot (NAHL) | — |
| 58 |
|
Derek Hamelin | Junior | D | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | 1997-01-21 | Mercier, Quebec | Langley (BCHL) | — |
| 71 | 
|
MacGregor Sinclair | Sophomore | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 1998-08-28 | Irma, Alberta | Battlefords (SJHL) | — |
| 72 |
|
Max Kouznetsov | Freshman | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | 2000-12-06 | Voorhees, New Jersey | Johnstown (NAHL) | — |
| 77 |
|
Jack Lyons | Freshman | D | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | 1999-07-04 | Mississauga, Ontario | Oakville (OJHL) | — |
| 81 |
|
Mitchell Martan | Junior | F | 5' 8" (1.73 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | 1998-06-30 | Whitby, Ontario | Wellington (OJHL) | — |
| 83 |
|
Austin Alger | Senior | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | 1997-09-23 | Livonia, Michigan | Miami (NCHC) | — |
| 89 |
|
Simon Gravel | Sophomore | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 1999-04-10 | Boucherville, Quebec | Brooks (AJHL) | — |
| 91 |
|
Jami Virtanen | Freshman | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 192 lb (87 kg) | 2000-08-07 | Pori, Finland | Ässät U20 (Nuorten SM-liiga) | — |
| 94 |
|
Hudson Lambert | Sophomore | D | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 1998-08-17 | Richmond Hill, Ontario | Brampton (OJHL) | — |
Standings
edit| Conference record | Overall record | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | OW | OL | SW | PTS | PT% | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
| #15 American International †* | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | .889 | 47 | 18 | 19 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 67 | 40 | |
| Army | 15 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 30 | .667 | 42 | 33 | 22 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 71 | 48 | |
| Robert Morris | 15 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 29 | .644 | 58 | 48 | 24 | 15 | 9 | 0 | 85 | 69 | |
| Canisius | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 24 | .615 | 42 | 34 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 59 | 46 | |
| RIT | 13 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23 | .590 | 43 | 40 | 20 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 68 | 70 | |
| Sacred Heart | 13 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 20 | .513 | 35 | 38 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 43 | 59 | |
| Mercyhurst | 16 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 23 | .479 | 54 | 50 | 21 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 64 | 67 | |
| Bentley | 15 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 16 | .356 | 35 | 48 | 16 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 42 | 51 | |
| Niagara | 15 | 3 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 15 | .333 | 39 | 53 | 22 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 57 | 70 | |
| Air Force | 13 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | .231 | 32 | 49 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 35 | 56 | |
| Holy Cross | 12 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | .194 | 22 | 38 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 0 | 30 | 52 | |
| Championship: March 20, 2021 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll | ||||||||||||||||||
Schedule and Results
edit| Date | Time | Opponent# | Rank# | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season | |||||||||||
| November 27 | 5:05 PM | at Robert Morris | Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | Barczewski | W 5–2 | 0 | 1–0–0 (1–0–0) | ||||
| November 28 | 7:05 PM | vs. Robert Morris | Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | Barczewski | L 4–5 | 0 | 1–1–0 (1–1–0) | ||||
| January 2 | 4:35 PM | vs. Mercyhurst | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | Ladd | W 3–2 | 0 | 2–1–0 (2–1–0) | ||||
| January 3 | 3:00 PM | at Mercyhurst | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | Ladd | W 3–0 | 127 | 3–1–0 (3–1–0) | ||||
| January 30 | 5:00 PM | at RIT | Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York | Ladd | L 3–0 | 0 | 3–2–0 (3–2–0) | ||||
| February 9 | 7:05 PM | at Mercyhurst | Mercyhurst Ice Center • Erie, Pennsylvania | Barczewski | W 3–1 | 0 | 4–2–0 (4–2–0) | ||||
| February 12 | 7:05 PM | vs. Robert Morris | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | Ladd | W 5–3 | 0 | 5–2–0 (5–2–0) | ||||
| February 13 | 7:05 PM | vs. Mercyhurst | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | Barczewski | W 3–0 | 0 | 6–2–0 (6–2–0) | ||||
| February 16 | 7:05 PM | vs. Mercyhurst | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | Ladd | W 5–4 OT | 0 | 7–2–0 (7–2–0) | ||||
| February 19 | 9:05 PM | at Air Force | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | Barczewski | L 3–4 OT | 100 | 7–3–0 (7–3–0) | ||||
| February 20 | 7:00 PM | at Air Force | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | Ladd | L 1–5 | 100 | 7–4–0 (7–4–0) | ||||
| February 26 | 7:30 PM | at Niagara | Dwyer Arena • Lewiston, New York | Barczewski | W 5–1 | 0 | 8–4–0 (8–4–0) | ||||
| February 27 | 7:05 PM | vs. Niagara | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | Ladd | L 0–4 | 0 | 8–5–0 (8–5–0) | ||||
| Atlantic Hockey Tournament | |||||||||||
| March 12 | 7:05 PM | vs. RIT* | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York (Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals game 1) | Barczewski | W 5–2 | 89 | 9–5–0 | ||||
| March 13 | 7:05 PM | vs. RIT* | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York (Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals game 2) | Barczewski | W 6–2 | 109 | 10–5–0 | ||||
| Canisius Won Series 2–0 | |||||||||||
| March 19 | 7:05 PM | vs. #19 Army* | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts (Atlantic Hockey Semifinals) | Barczewski | W 4–3 OT | 0 | 11–5–0 | ||||
| March 20 | 7:00 PM | at #15 American International* | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts (Atlantic Hockey Championship) | Barczewski | L 2–5 | 0 | 11–6–0 | ||||
| *Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. | |||||||||||
Scoring statistics
edit| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keaton Mastrodonato | C | 17 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 4 |
| Mitchell Martan | LW | 16 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 21 |
| Grant Meyer | RW | 13 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 8 |
| Lee Lapid | C | 17 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 10 |
| Simon Gravel | C/RW | 13 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
| Matt Long | F | 15 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 10 |
| Ryan Miotto | F | 15 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 8 |
| J. D. Pogue | LW | 13 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 6 |
| Logan Gestro | D | 17 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 12 |
| Max Kouznetsov | C/LW | 17 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 8 |
| Jami Virtanen | LW/RW | 17 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 |
| Austin Alger | F | 17 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 6 |
| David Melaragni | D | 17 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 12 |
| Cooper Haar | RW | 13 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Kevin Obssuth | LW | 16 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 19 |
| Jackson Decker | D | 14 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Derek Hamelin | D | 15 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Blake Wareham | C | 17 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Lincoln Erne | D | 17 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| Niclas Puikkonen | C/W | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Hudson Lambert | D | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Jacob Barczewski | G | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Jack Lyons | D | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Tucker Weppner | G | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Parody | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Connor Zilisch | F | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| David Baskerville | C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Ladd | G | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bench | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| Total | 17 | 59 | 96 | 155 | 154 |
Goaltending statistics
edit| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tucker Weppner | 1 | 1:25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.00 |
| Jacob Barczewski | 11 | 653 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 25 | 315 | 1 | .926 | 2.30 |
| Matt Ladd | 7 | 376 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 189 | 1 | .913 | 2.87 |
| Empty Net | - | 6 | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 17 | 1037 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 46 | 505 | 2 | .917 | 2.66 |
Rankings
edit| Poll | Week | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 (Final) | ||||
| USCHO.com | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | - | NR | |||
| USA Today | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | |||
USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.[8]
Awards and honors
edit| Player | Award | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| Jacob Barczewski | Atlantic Hockey Regular Season Goaltending Award | |
| Jacob Barczewski | Atlantic Hockey First Team | [9] |
| Keaton Mastrodonato |
References
edit- ^ "NCAA approves blanket waiver for 2020 fall sports athletes to retain year of eligibility". CBS Sports. August 21, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ "DI Council grants waiver to allow transfer student-athletes to compete immediately". NCAA. December 16, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll - February 15, 2021". USCHO. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
- ^ "Bracket Analysis: Success against best teams in your league guided NCAA Selection Committee; travel wasn't major consideration". USCHO. March 22, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
- ^ "2020–21 Ice Hockey Roster". Canisius College. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
- ^ "Canisius Golden Griffins (Men) 2020-2021 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ "Canisius College 2020-2021 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
- ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
- ^ "Atlantic Hockey Announces All-Conference and All-Rookie Winners". Atlantic Hockey. March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.