2023–24 Canisius Golden Griffins men's ice hockey season

The 2023–24 Canisius Golden Griffins men's ice hockey season was the 44th season of play for the program, the 26th at the Division I level, and the 21st in Atlantic Hockey. The Golden Griffins represented Canisius College, played their home games at the LECOM Harborcenter and were coached by Trevor Large in his 7th season.

2023–24 Canisius Golden Griffins
men's ice hockey season
Conference8th Atlantic Hockey
Home iceLECOM Harborcenter
Rankings
USCHONR
USA HockeyNR
Record
Overall12–21–4
Conference10–12–4
Home7–8–4
Road5–13–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachTrevor Large
Assistant coachesDaniel Paille
Max Mobley
Canisius Golden Griffins men's ice hockey seasons
« 2022–23 2024–25 »

Season

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Canisius entered the year looking for new leaders both on the offensive side of the puck and in goal. Graduate transfer David Fessenden ended up earning the lion's share of the starts for the Griffins but, as the season progressed, freshman Ethan Robertson was given more and more opportunities to get up to speed at the college level. Fessenden and Robertson played about even with one another, however, neither was particularly outstanding. The goaltending tandem saw the team's goals against average increase by more than half a point. The offense quickly found its new leader in Matteo Giampa and the freshmen ended the year leading the team in scoring by a wide margin.

The Golden Griffins started out the year with a 4-game losing streak and never seemed to recover completely. The team was able to produce some bright moments during the season, including a win over a ranked RIT squad, but they were never able to put a consistent stretch of good hockey together. Fortunately, the team ended the regular season in eighth place and managed to earn a home site in the opening round of the conference tournament.

The team opened their postseason with one of their best games of the year, scoring the first four goals of the match to knock out Mercyhurst with relative ease. The Griffins then built a 2-goal lead in their quarterfinal match with Holy Cross to give them a chance at a deep run. However, after that their goaltending troubles cropped up again and the team surrendered three goals in the second half of the match to lose 3–4. Robertson got the nod for game 2 and he showed out, stopping 40 shots in the game. Unfortunately, the team's offense was stymied by an equally impressive game from the opposing netminder and the match was sent into overtime. Canisius held on until the start of the second extra session when a defensive lapse allowed an unguarded Holy Cross player to score the winning goal.[1]

Due to a snowstorm, the game against RIT scheduled on January 13 was postponed to a later date.[2]

Departures

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Player Position Nationality Cause
Jake Barczewski Goaltender   United States Graduate transfer to Michigan
Markus Boguslavsky Forward   Canada Graduation (retired)
Nick Bowman Forward   United States Graduation (retired)
Tyrell Buckley Defenseman   Canada Graduation (signed with EHF Passau Black Hawks)
Danny DiGrande Forward   United States Graduation (retired)
Lincoln Erne Defenseman   United States Graduation (signed with Tulsa Oilers)
Simon Gravel Forward   Canada Graduation (retired)
John Hawthorne Goaltender   Canada Graduation (retired)
Grant Loven Forward   United States Graduation (signed with Fayetteville Marksmen)
Keaton Mastrodonato Forward   Canada Graduation (signed with Texas Stars)
Ryan Miotto Forward   Canada Graduate transfer to Vermont
J. D. Pogue Forward   Canada Graduation (retired)

Recruiting

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Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Jack Budd Defenseman   Canada 20 Toronto, ON
Powell Connor Defenseman   Canada 23 Chilliwack, BC; transfer from Michigan State
Luke Farthing Defenseman   United States 24 Stoutsville, OH; transfer from Ferris State
David Fessenden Goaltender   United States 25 Parker, CO; graduate transfer from New Hampshire
Trey Funk Forward   Canada 21 Redwood Meadows, AB
Matteo Giampa Forward   Canada 20 Virgil, ON
Kyle Haskins Forward   United States 23 Huntington, VT; transfer from Michigan State
Killian Kiecker-Olson Forward   United States 22 Andover, MN; transfer from Maine
Robert Kincaid Defenseman   Canada 21 Barrhead, AB; transfer from Maine
Griffin Loughran Forward   United States 24 Orchard Park, NY; graduate transfer from Michigan State
Jackson Nieuwendyk Forward   United States 21 Dallas, TX
Grant Porter Forward   United States 21 Weston, MA; transfer from Providence
Ethan Robertson Goaltender   Canada 21 Courtice, ON

Roster

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As of September 14, 2023.[3]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
4   Keegan Langefels Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-02-02 Eden Prairie, Minnesota New Mexico (NAHL)
5   Robert Kincaid Sophomore D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-05-13 Barrhead, Alberta Maine (HEA)
8   Matteo Giampa Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2003-09-03 Virgil, Ontario Bonnyville (AJHL)
9   Kyle Haskins Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-02-16 Huntington, Vermont Michigan State (Big Ten)
12   Luke Farthing Senior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-04-21 Stoutsville, Ohio Ferris State (CCHA)
13   Griffin Loughran Senior (RS) F 5' 6" (1.68 m) 141 lb (64 kg) 1998-11-13 West Seneca, New York Michigan State (Big Ten)
14   Trey Funk Freshman F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-04-11 Redwood Meadows, Alberta Bonnyville (AJHL)
15   Matt Vermaeten Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2001-01-04 Ottawa, Ontario Shreveport (NAHL)
20   Randy Hernández Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-01-12 Miami, Florida Robert Morris (AHA)
23   Cooper Haar Senior F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1999-04-26 Huntington Beach, California Aberdeen (NAHL)
24   Jackson Decker Senior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1999-03-19 Algonquin, Illinois Chippewa (NAHL)
25   Jackson Nieuwendyk Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-09-04 Dallas, Texas Penticton (BCHL)
26   Stefano Bottini Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-05-03 Lugano, Switzerland Penticton (BCHL)
27   Powell Connor Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2000-05-04 Chilliwack, British Columbia Michigan State (Big Ten)
30   Ethan Robertson Freshman G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2002-02-22 Courtice, Ontario Austin (NAHL)
32   Alex Houston Junior G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-03-21 Canton, Ohio Cornwall (CCHL)
37   Hunter Andrew Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2002-10-25 Virden, Manitoba Powell River (BCHL)
41   David Fessenden Graduate G 6' 6" (1.98 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1998-04-30 Parker, Colorado New Hampshire (HEA)
47   Grant Porter Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2002-02-21 Weston, Massachusetts Providence (HEA)
53   Jack Budd Freshman D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2003-08-29 Toronto, Ontario Bonnyville (AJHL)
55   Christian MacDougall Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 2001-03-13 Toronto, Ontario Coquitlam (BCHL)
57   Brenden Datema Graduate D 6' 5" (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1999-03-18 Sterling Heights, Michigan Michigan Tech (CCHA)
59   David Melaragni Graduate D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1998-03-30 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Cowichan Valley (BCHL)
61   Erik Urbank Graduate F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-03-28 Orchard Park, New York Dartmouth (ECAC)
72   Max Kouznetsov Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2000-12-06 Voorhees, New Jersey Johnstown (NAHL)
73   Cody Schiavon Senior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2000-07-01 West Kelowna, British Columbia Vermont (HEA)
77   Jack Lyons Senior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1999-07-04 Mississauga, Ontario Oakville (OJHL)
88   Killian Kiecker-Olson Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2001-01-19 Andover, Minnesota Maine (HEA)
91   Alton McDermott Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 2001-06-04 Oakville, Ontario Oakville (OJHL)
92   Oliver Tarr Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2002-01-20 Uxbridge, Ontario Haliburton County (OJHL)
94   Hudson Lambert Graduate D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-08-17 Richmond Hill, Ontario Brampton (OJHL)

Standings

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Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OW OL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#17 RIT †* 26 18 7 1 3 2 0 54 102 64 40 27 11 2 156 96
Holy Cross 26 13 10 3 0 3 1 46 78 62 39 21 14 4 116 93
Sacred Heart 26 14 10 2 2 2 1 45 75 70 36 14 19 3 91 113
Air Force 26 15 10 1 3 0 1 44 88 75 38 18 19 1 115 119
American International 26 12 10 4 1 1 2 42 79 68 40 20 16 4 119 111
Bentley 26 12 12 2 1 2 2 41 69 58 35 16 17 2 95 82
Niagara 26 13 10 3 3 1 1 41 78 79 39 18 18 3 111 122
Canisius 26 10 12 4 2 1 0 33 73 87 37 12 21 4 103 126
Mercyhurst 26 7 15 4 0 1 4 30 77 91 35 9 22 4 98 126
Army 26 8 16 2 0 1 1 28 66 96 35 10 23 2 93 139
Robert Morris 26 7 17 2 0 1 1 25 60 95 39 11 25 3 94 142
Championship: March 23, 2024
† indicates conference regular season champion (DeGregorio Trophy)
* indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy)
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

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Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 8 3:00 pm at Niagara* Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York (Rivalry, Exhibition) FloHockey Fessenden W 5–2  28
Regular Season
October 13 7:00 pm at Miami* Steve Cady ArenaOxford, Ohio   Fessenden L 2–4  1,534 0–1–0
October 14 7:00 pm at Miami* Steve Cady ArenaOxford, Ohio   Fessenden L 1–4  1,524 0–2–0
October 19 7:00 pm at #8 Michigan State* Munn Ice ArenaEast Lansing, Michigan   Fessenden L 3–6  5,992 0–3–0
October 20 7:00 pm at #8 Michigan State* Munn Ice ArenaEast Lansing, Michigan   Robertson L 3–4  6,492 0–4–0
November 3 6:00 pm Holy Cross LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Robertson W 5–3  826 1–4–0 (1–0–0)
November 4 7:00 pm Holy Cross LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Fessenden T 3–3 SOL 1,152 1–4–1 (1–0–1)
November 10 7:00 pm at Sacred Heart Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Robertson L 1–4  2,527 1–5–1 (1–1–1)
November 11 7:00 pm at Sacred Heart Martire Family ArenaFairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Fessenden L 2–3  2,493 1–6–1 (1–2–1)
November 17 7:00 pm at Army Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Fessenden W 6–4  1,600 2–6–1 (2–2–1)
November 18 7:00 pm at Army Tate RinkWest Point, New York FloHockey Fessenden L 1–2  1,670 2–7–1 (2–3–1)
November 21 7:00 pm Robert Morris LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Fessenden W 5–1  790 3–7–1 (3–3–1)
November 24 1:00 pm Air Force LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Fessenden W 3–1  731 4–7–1 (4–3–1)
November 25 1:00 pm Air Force LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Fessenden T 2–2 SOL 621 4–7–2 (4–3–2)
December 1 7:00 pm Mercyhurst LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Fessenden T 3–3 SOL 719 4–7–3 (4–3–3)
December 2 7:00 pm at Mercyhurst Mercyhurst Ice CenterErie, Pennsylvania FloHockey Fessenden L 1–5  635 4–8–3 (4–4–3)
December 15 7:00 pm American International LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Robertson W 3–2  982 5–8–3 (5–4–3)
December 16 5:00 pm American International LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Robertson L 1–6  652 5–9–3 (5–5–3)
December 29 3:00 pm Rensselaer* LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Fessenden L 3–6  719 5–10–3
December 30 1:00 pm Rensselaer* LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Robertson L 1–2  735 5–11–3
January 5 7:00 pm St. Lawrence* LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Robertson W 5–1  792 6–11–3
January 6 7:00 pm Clarkson* LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Fessenden L 3–4  1,332 6–12–3
January 11 7:00 pm Mercyhurst LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Fessenden W 4–1  569 7–12–3 (6–5–3)
January 16 7:05 pm at #20 RIT Gene Polisseni CenterHenrietta, New York FloHockey Fessenden W 3–2 OT 2,038 8–12–3 (7–5–3)
January 19 7:00 pm Niagara LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York (Rivalry) FloHockey Fessenden L 2–4  1,161 8–13–3 (7–6–3)
January 20 7:00 pm at Niagara Dwyer ArenaLewiston, New York (Rivalry) FloHockey Robertson L 4–6  902 8–14–3 (7–7–3)
January 26 9:00 pm at Air Force Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado FloHockey Robertson L 1–5  2,318 8–15–3 (7–8–3)
January 27 7:00 pm at Air Force Cadet Ice ArenaColorado Springs, Colorado FloHockey, Altitude Robertson W 5–3  2,424 9–15–3 (8–8–3)
February 6 6:00 pm Niagara LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York (Rivalry) FloHockey Robertson L 2–3  792 9–16–3 (8–9–3)
February 9 7:00 pm Bentley LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Robertson L 0–3  898 9–17–3 (8–10–3)
February 10 6:00 pm Bentley LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Fessenden T 2–2 SOL 890 9–17–4 (8–10–4)
February 16 7:00 pm at Robert Morris Clearview ArenaNeville Township, Pennsylvania FloHockey Fessenden W 5–3  619 10–17–4 (9–10–4)
February 17 5:00 pm at Robert Morris Clearview ArenaNeville Township, Pennsylvania FloHockey, SNP Robertson W 5–4 OT 1,008 11–17–4 (10–10–4)
February 23 7:05 pm at #20 RIT Gene Polisseni CenterHenrietta, New York FloHockey Fessenden L 2–9  4,233 11–18–4 (10–11–4)
February 24 7:00 pm #20 RIT LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York FloHockey Robertson L 2–3  1,335 11–19–4 (10–12–4)
Atlantic Hockey Tournament
March 2 6:05 pm Mercyhurst* LECOM HarborcenterBuffalo, New York (First Round) FloHockey Fessenden W 5–2  388 12–19–4
March 8 7:00 pm at Holy Cross* Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts (Quarterfinal Game 1) FloHockey Fessenden L 3–4  444 12–20–4
March 9 7:00 pm at Holy Cross* Hart CenterWorcester, Massachusetts (Quarterfinal Game 2) FloHockey Robertson L 1–2 2OT 559 12–21–4
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[4]

Scoring statistics

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Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Matteo Giampa F 36 18 17 35 8
Max Kouznetsov C/LW 36 8 15 23 39
Randy Hernández RW 37 8 14 22 4
Jackson Decker D 35 7 10 17 28
Kyle Haskins F 35 4 11 15 10
Oliver Tarr RW 37 7 8 15 23
Griffin Loughran F 21 6 9 15 78
David Melaragni D 32 2 11 13 16
Erik Urbank RW 34 4 9 13 37
Trey Funk F 34 7 6 13 6
Matt Vermaeten F 30 7 5 12 20
Stefano Bottini LW/RW 23 4 6 10 10
Brenden Datema D 35 1 8 9 30
Cody Schiavon D 28 3 5 8 21
Jackson Nieuwendyk F 34 2 5 7 16
Grant Porter F 16 4 3 7 4
Powell Connor D 35 1 6 7 39
Cooper Haar LW 25 1 5 6 16
Killian Kiecker-Olson F 21 2 3 5 15
Jack Budd D 15 2 2 4 6
Luke Farthing D 15 0 4 4 6
Hudson Lambert D 13 1 2 3 6
Robert Kincaid D 18 2 1 3 4
David Fessenden G 22 0 3 3 8
Jack Lyons D 26 1 1 2 10
Christian MacDougall F 7 1 0 1 4
Hunter Andrew F 16 0 0 0 4
Keegan Langefels D 7 0 0 0 2
Alex Houston G 1 0 0 0 0
Ethan Robertson G 19 0 0 0 0
Total 118 204 322 539

[5]

Goaltending statistics

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Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Alex Houston 5 0:13 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.000 0.00
Ethan Robertson 20 979:29 5 10 0 53 498 0 .904 3.25
David Fessenden 22 1254:42 7 11 4 70 610 0 .897 3.35
Empty Net - 32:16 - - - 3 - - - -
Total 37 2266:40 12 21 4 126 1109 0 .898 3.34

Rankings

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Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 (Final)
USCHO.com NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
USA Hockey NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 and 25.[6]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

Awards and honors

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Player Award Ref
Matteo Giampa Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Year [7]
Matteo Giampa Atlantic Hockey Second Team [8]
Matteo Giampa Atlantic Hockey Rookie Team [8]

References

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  1. ^ "WATCH: Holy Cross Wins Game 2 In Double Overtime Thanks To Jack Seymour And Liam McLinskey". FloHockey. 9 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Niagara-Mercyhurst, Canisius-RIT men's hockey games scheduled for Jan. 13 postponed due to inclement weather". USCHO. 13 January 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  3. ^ "2023–24 Hockey Roster". Canisius Golden Griffins. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  4. ^ "2023–24 Ice Hockey Schedule". Canisius Golden Griffins. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Canisius College 2023-2024 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  6. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  7. ^ "Atlantic Hockey Announces 2023-24 Regular Season Awards". Atlantic Hockey. 19 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Atlantic Hockey unveils three all-conference teams, one all-rookie team for 2023-24 season". USCHO.com. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.