# 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.

## 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.

## Standings

2023–24 Atlantic Hockey Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall 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 $^{SOL}$ | 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 $^{SOL}$ | 621 | 4–7–2 (4–3–2) |
| December 1 | 7:00 pm | Mercyhurst | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | FloHockey | Fessenden | T 3–3 $^{SOL}$ | 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 $^{OT}$ | 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 $^{SOL}$ | 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 $^{OT}$ | 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 $^{2OT}$ | 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

| Poll | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | 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 |
| Matteo Giampa | Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Year |
| Matteo Giampa | Atlantic Hockey Second Team |
| Matteo Giampa | Atlantic Hockey Rookie Team |