Canisius Hockey takes down nationally ranked Clarkson en route to 2–0 start.

By: Peter Neville, Assistant Sports Editor

Canisius hockey started its season 2–0 for the first time since 1998-99 as they took down Clarkson, ranked no. 20 in the nation, on opening night 3–1, and the St. Lawrence Saints 4–2 two days later. The win against Clarkson marked the first time Canisius has beaten a ranked opponent since they took down No. 20 RIT in overtime in 2024.

Coming into the new year, the identity of Canisius hockey was unknown. In the offseason, Canisius lost its best offensive player in Matteo Giampa – who recorded 65 points over two seasons – to Miami of Ohio, as well as one of their most consistent defensive players in Dominic Payne to UMass Lowell and their captain, Matt Vermaeten, who now plays professionally in France for the Valenciennes Red Devils.

In the past, this many significant blows in one offseason would generally seem insurmountable, but the portal goes both ways, and the Golden Griffins added their own share of talent to the team in the spring.

Between the pipes, Canisius brought in their highest-touted prospect in years with Chase Clark, a 6-foot-7 goaltender from Williamsville, N.Y., who was drafted in the sixth round by the Washington Capitals in 2021.

Clark talked about how special it was to take down a nationally ranked opponent in his first start back in WNY in his postgame interview: “This is everything I wanted back home, first game of the season with the guys I love so much. Just grateful and happy to be here. I'm just so happy that we came together as a team and we pulled through.”

Clark certainly showed why he was brought in against Clarkson, recording 31 saves against the high-powered Golden Knights offense, which tallied 121 goals a season ago.

Staying on the defensive end, another one of their highly touted newcomers in sophomore Jason Gallucci also got his season off to a good start against Clarkson, with the former Penn State Nittany Lion notching his first career collegiate point against the Golden Knights.

Walter Zacher, Hunter Andrew and Grant Porter found the back of the net against Clarkson, with Zacher notching his goal on the power play, Andrew scoring at even strength and Porter tallying his goal on an empty net.

Against St. Lawrence, the Griffs continued their strong play from Friday, jumping out to an early 2–0 lead in the second period off goals from Rhys Chiddenton and Stefano Bottini, before Trey Funk and Grant Porter notched a pair of goals in the third period to close out the win on Sunday night.

The team continues their early season homestand against Long Island University this weekend as they play the Sharks in a two-game set on Friday and Saturday, with the puck dropping both nights at 7 p.m. at the LECOM Harborcenter.

Photo Courtesy of Mikayla Boyd