Canisius Golden Griffins men's ice hockey

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. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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 but the Golden Griffins continue to perform well under new coach Trevor Large.

All-time coaching records
As of the completion of 2018–19 season † interim head coach ‡ fired mid-season

==Awards and honors ==

NCAA
AHCA First Team All-Americans
 * 2016-17: Charles Williams, G

Individual Awards
MAAC Goaltender of the Year
 * Sean Weaver: 2000

All-Conference Teams
First Team All-MAAC


 * 1998–99: Derek Gilham, D
 * 1999–00: Sean Weaver, G

Second Team All-MAAC
 * 1998–99: David Deeves, F

MAAC All-Rookie Team


 * 1998–99:Joel Tarvudd, D; David Deeves, F
 * 2002–03: Tim Songin, D

Individual Awards
Player of the Year
 * Cory Conacher, LW: 2010
 * Charles Williams, G: 2017
 * Dylan McLaughlin, C: 2018

Rookie of the Year
 * David Kostuch, LW: 2009

Coach of the Year
 * Dave Smith: 2017

Best Defensive Forward
 * David Kasch: 2008
 * Ryan Schmelzer: 2017

Best Defenseman
 * Cameron Heath: 2017

Regular Season Scoring Trophy
 * Cory Conacher, LW: 2010
 * Dylan McLaughlin, C: 2018

Regular Season Goaltending Award
 * Keegan Asmundson: 2015
 * Charles Williams: 2017

Most Valuable Player in Tournament
 * Dylan McLaughlin, F: 2019

Most Valuable Player in Tournament
 * Kyle Gibbons, F: 2013

All-Conference Teams
First Team All-Atlantic Hockey


 * 2004–05: Bryan Worosz, G
 * 2009–10: Cory Conacher, F
 * 2014–15: Chris Rumble, D
 * 2015–16: Shane Conacher, F
 * 2016–17: Charles Williams, F
 * 2017–18: Cameron Heath, F; Dylan McLaughlin, F
 * 2018–19: Dylan McLaughlin, F

Second Team All-Atlantic Hockey


 * 2009–10: Carl Hudson, D
 * 2010–11: Cory Conacher, F
 * 2014–15: Keegan Asmundson, G; Ralph Cuddemi, F
 * 2015–16: Ralph Cuddemi, F
 * 2016–17: Cameron Heath, D; Ryan Schmelzer, F
 * 2017–18: Lester Lancaster, D

Third Team All-Atlantic Hockey


 * 2008–09: Carl Hudson, D; Jason Weeks, F
 * 2009–10: Vincent Scarcella, F
 * 2012–13: Kyle Gibbons, F
 * 2015–16: Ben Danforth, D
 * 2016–17: Dylan McLaughlin, F
 * 2017–18: Ryan Schmelzer, F

Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team


 * 2005–06: Dan Giffin, G
 * 2006–07: Josh Heidinger, F
 * 2007–08: Vincent Scarsella, F
 * 2008–09: David Kostuch, F
 * 2016–17: Nick Hutchinson, F
 * 2017–18: Grant Meyer, F

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).


 * Derrick Bishop (2013)
 * Andre Bourgeault (2006)
 * Dr. David Dietz (2001)
 * Joe Federico (2005)
 * Josh Oort (2010)
 * Gary Roessler (1998)
 * Mike Sisti (2002)
 * Kevin Sykes (1999)
 * Mike Torrillo (1999)
 * Brian Worosz (2016)

==Statistical leaders ==

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

Minimum 2000 minutes Statistics current through the start of the 2018-19 season.

Current roster
As of September 17, 2020.

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