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

College ice hockey team season

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


Conference	8th Atlantic Hockey
Home ice	LECOM Harborcenter
Rankings
USCHO	NR
USA Hockey	NR
Record
Overall	12–21–4
Conference	10–12–4
Home	7–8–4
Road	5–13–0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Trevor Large
Assistant coaches	Daniel Paille Max Mobley
Canisius Golden Griffins men's ice hockey seasons « 2022–23 2024–25 »

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.

Season

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.

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

Departures

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

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

As of September 14, 2023.

No.	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

2023–24 Atlantic Hockey Standings v t e
	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

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

Scoring statistics

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

Goaltending statistics

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

Main article: 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings

Poll	Week
Poll	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.
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

Awards and honors

Player	Award	Ref
Matteo Giampa	Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Year
Matteo Giampa	Atlantic Hockey Second Team
Matteo Giampa	Atlantic Hockey Rookie Team

References

"WATCH: Holy Cross Wins Game 2 In Double Overtime Thanks To Jack Seymour And Liam McLinskey". FloHockey. 9 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
"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.
"2023–24 Hockey Roster". Canisius Golden Griffins. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
"2023–24 Ice Hockey Schedule". Canisius Golden Griffins. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
"Canisius College 2023-2024 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
"USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
"Atlantic Hockey Announces 2023-24 Regular Season Awards". Atlantic Hockey. 19 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
^ "Atlantic Hockey unveils three all-conference teams, one all-rookie team for 2023-24 season". USCHO.com. 12 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.

v t e Canisius Golden Griffins men's ice hockey
Formerly the Canisius Ice Griffs
Playing venues	Dann Memorial Ice Rink (1980–1991) Buffalo State Sports Arena (1991–2014) LECOM Harborcenter (2014–present)
Head coaches	Brian Cavanaugh (1980–1982, 1983–2004) Carl Koeppel (1982–1983) Clancy Seymour (2004–2005) Dave Smith (2005–2017) Trevor Large (2017–present)
Seasons	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Conference affiliations	NYCHA (1982–1986) ECAC West (1987–1998) MAAC (1998–2003) Atlantic Hockey (2003–2024) Atlantic Hockey America (2024–Present)
Rivalries	Niagara Purple Eagles Battle of the Bridge RIT Tigers
All-time leaders	Mike Torrillo (265 Points) Mike Torrillo (121 Goals) Derek Slater (45 Wins)
NCAA Tournament appearances	2013 2023
Conference Tournament titles	Atlantic Hockey: 2013 2023
Canisius University Buffalo, New York

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