Category: Canisius Golden Griffins

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Posted on Posted in Atlantic Hockey, Canisius Golden Griffins, Niagara Purple Eagles
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The Canisius and Niagara men’s hockey teams currently compete within Division I in the Atlantic Hockey America conference. The New York schools are only separated by 21 miles and the hockey programs have been Division I conference foes since 2010. Yet the hockey history between the teams didn’t start there. The Niagara men’s hockey program began in 1996 within the Division III conference of ECAC West after the club program was promoted to varsity status. Canisius, on the other hand, promoted its club hockey team to varsity status in 1980 and joined ECAC 3 in Division III. Two years later it made the jump to Division II when it became a member of the New York College Hockey Association. The Ice Griffs moved to ECAC West several years later and joined Niagara.

Niagara won the 1997-98 regular season title and sat atop the ECAC West standings ahead of five other teams. Canisius finished in fourth place and just barely made the ECAC West conference playoffs as the last two teams were left out of the postseason. This meant Niagara would host the Griffins in the opening round of the tournament.

The Purple Eagles welcomed Canisius to NU Ice Complex in early March for playoff hockey. Bob Janosz made a total of 37 saves for Canisius, but it wasn’t enough as the Purple Eagles won 4-1 and advanced to the championship game against RIT. This ended the 1997-98 hockey season for Canisius along with its tenure in Division III. The following season the Golden Griffins would move up to Division I to compete in the MAAC conference. The Purple Eagles would go on to defeat RIT 5-2 the following night, ending its Division III tenure on a high note.

A black and white photo of a Canisius Griffin player driving to the net with two Niagara players in white sweaters around him.

This March 6, 1998, game between Canisius and Niagara would be its last meeting as conference foes within Division III. However, the teams would reunite within the same conference in 2010 when Niagara joined Atlantic Hockey after College Hockey America folded. It’s worth noting that these teams played at least one non-conference game every season except for one between 1998 and 2010. The Battle of the Bridge rivalry, as it’s known, is played between these New York schools and includes 14 different sports. The champion of this rivalry brings home the Canal Cup every year since it was created in 2007.

These two hockey teams will play a home-and-home series this weekend. It’ll be games 75 and 76 in the series that began in 1997. Historically, it’s been an evenly matched series as Canisius currently leads it 35-33-6.

Photo Credit: The Griffin, March 13, 1998.

Posted on Posted in Atlantic Hockey, Canisius Golden Griffins, Holy Cross Crusaders
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The first season of hockey in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference began in the fall of 1998. The MAAC fielded eight teams in that inaugural year. The conference hosted a single-elimination postseason tournament with the semifinals and championship game taking place in Worcester, Massachusetts.

When the first MAAC regular season ended, Quinnipiac was at the front of the pack and earned the top seed in the postseason tournament. Two other teams that were also in the upper half of the seeding were Holy Cross at two and Canisius at four. As with other MAAC hockey programs, this was the first year in Division I for both Holy Cross and Canisius. The Holy Cross Crusaders entered the postseason with a 19-9-4 overall record and a five-game unbeaten streak. The Canisius Golden Griffins entered with a 14-14-5 overall record and had just completed a sweep at Fairfield the weekend before the tournament.

In the opening round of the tournament, Canisius hosted American International and defeated the Yellow Jackets 7-4. Holy Cross hosted Sacred Heart and defeated the Pioneers 3-1. This win guaranteed home-ice advantage for the Crusaders throughout the remainder of the playoffs due to Holy Cross hosting the final three games of the tournament at the Hart Center. Canisius drew the top-seed Quinnipiac Braves. (The school would change the nickname to the Bobcats in 2001). The Golden Griffins put up five goals on Quinnipiac – with one being a short-handed goal – and came away with the 5-2 upset. In the other semifinal, the Crusaders took down three seed UConn 4-3 in overtime.

The first MAAC championship hockey game was held March 20, 1999. Coming into the game, Holy Cross held the season series lead at 3-0-1. It was an even title game through two periods with the score tied 3-3. Mike Maguire scored at the beginning of the third period in what ultimately ended up being the game-winning goal for the Crusaders. When it was all said and done, Holy Cross defeated Canisius 4-3 to capture the MAAC title. It was the first time in school history the hockey program had won a conference title. Junior Chris Fattey led the team with 46 points throughout the season. This would be the last game of the season for both teams. The MAAC was a new conference and had yet to earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Division I national tournament.

Canisius players on the ice during and after the loss against Holy Cross in the MAAC championship game on March 20, 1999.

Flash forward to the beginning of the 2002-03 season. The MAAC fielded 11 teams at that point. However, two teams (Iona and Fairfield) ceased hockey operations following the season. The nine remaining teams decided to break away from the MAAC to create a new conference: Atlantic Hockey Association.

The old division foes will face off again at the Hart Center this weekend when Canisius visits Worcester. Coming into this season, Holy Cross has won the Atlantic Hockey tournament twice (2004, 2006) and Canisius once (2013). The teams have yet to meet this season.

Photo Credit: (Featured Image) Holy Cross Crusader Nation Magazine, Winter 2009. (Second Image) The Griffin, March 26, 1999.