2020–21 Canisius Golden Griffins men's ice hockey season
Conference	4th Atlantic Hockey
Home ice	LECOM Harborcenter
Rankings
USCHO.com	NR
USA Today/ US Hockey Magazine	NR
Record
Overall	11–6–0
Conference	8–5–0–1–1–0
Home	6–1–0
Road	4–5–0
Neutral	1–0–0
Coaches and captains
Head coach	Trevor Large
Assistant coaches	Martin Hlinka Taylor Nelson Daniel Paille
Captain(s)	Grant Meyer
Canisius Golden Griffins men's ice hockey seasons « 2019–20 2021–22 »

The 2020–21 Canisius Golden Griffins men's ice hockey season was the 41st season of play for the program, the 23rd at the Division I level, and the 18th season in the Atlantic Hockey conference. The Golden Griffins represented Canisius College and were coached by Trevor Large, in his 4th season.

The start of the college hockey season was delayed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. As a result, Canisius's first scheduled game was in late-November as opposed to early-October, which was the norm.

As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the entire college ice hockey season was delayed. Because the NCAA had previously announced that all winter sports athletes would retain whatever eligibility they possessed through at least the following year, none of Canisius' players would lose a season of play.^[1] However, the NCAA also approved a change in its transfer regulations that would allow players to transfer and play immediately rather than having to sit out a season, as the rules previously required.^[2]

Even after being delayed, Canisius had the start of their season disrupted by cancellations and postponements. The Golden Griffins played two games over a 62-day period. In February the team was finally able to put a string of games together and showed themselves to be one of the better teams in the western pod of Atlantic Hockey teams. After a four-game winning streak, Canisius was nearing their first top-20 ranking in years but the team was swept by a down Air Force club.^[3] Due to Canisius having so few games on their schedule, the losses to Air Force meant that the team had little chance of making the NCAA Tournament without winning their conference tournament.

After the Golden Griffins dispatched RIT in the quarterfinals, they had to get past a very strong Army team to reach the championship. The two teams battled through a close game, needing overtime to decide the winner, and J. D. Pogue's marker sent the Griffs to the title game. Canisius was unable to overcome American International despite the Yellow Jackets facing their own COVID problems and had to settle for second place. Canisius had a slim chance of being selected as an at-large bid but when the tournament teams were released, Atlantic Hockey was essentially disregarded, with league-leading AIC being given the 16th and final space in the bracket.^[4]

The program has a great deal to be proud of from this season. The runner-up finish was the second best performance the team had ever achieved and, despite playing less than half as many games as the year before, Canisius won more games. With sophomore Jacob Barczewski establishing himself as the team's starting goaltender, the Golden Griffins are well-placed for next season.

John Stampohar and MacGregor Sinclair sat out the season.

Player	Position	Nationality	Cause
Matt Hoover	Forward	United States	Graduation (Signed with Utah Grizzlies)
Nick Hutchison	Forward	United States	Graduation (Signed with Adirondack Thunder)
Casey Jerry	Forward	United States	Graduation
Jesse Pereira	Forward	Canada	Graduation
Will Scherer	Defenseman	United States	Graduation
Matt Stief	Defenseman	United States	Graduation (Signed with Macon Mayhem)
Daniel Urbani	Goaltender	Canada	Graduation

Player	Position	Nationality	Age	Notes
Jackson Decker	Defenseman	United States	21	Algonquin, IL
Cooper Haar	Forward	United States	21	Huntington Beach, CA
Max Kouznetsov	Forward	United States	19	Voorhees, NJ
Jack Lyons	Defenseman	Canada	21	Mississauga, ON
Niclas Puikkonen	Forward	Sweden	21	Stockholm, SWE
Jami Virtanen	Forward	Finland	20	Pori, FIN
Connor Zilisch	Forward	United States	21	Appleton, WI

No.	S/P/C	Player	Class	Pos	Height	Weight	DoB	Hometown	Previous team	NHL rights
4		Logan Gestro	Senior	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1996-02-09	South Lyon, Michigan	Corpus Christi (NAHL)	—
5		David Melaragni	Sophomore	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1998-03-30	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Cowichan Valley (BCHL)	—
8		Keaton Mastrodonato	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	2000-09-24	Powell River, British Columbia	Alberni Valley (BCHL)	—
9		J. D. Pogue	Junior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1997-06-23	Montreal, Quebec	Cornwall (NAHL)	—
10		Nick Parody	Sophomore	D	6' 3" (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1998-01-02	Harrisburg, Pennsylvania	Islanders (NCDC)	—
14		John Stampohar	Sophomore	D	6' 2" (1.88 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1998-09-24	Grand Rapids, Minnesota	Fairbanks (NAHL)	—
15		Grant Meyer (C)	Senior	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1996-03-21	Genoa, Ohio	Fargo (USHL)	—
20		David Baskerville	Junior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1997-04-01	Buffalo, New York	Corpus Christi (NAHL)	—
23		Cooper Haar	Freshman	F	6' 3" (1.91 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1999-04-26	Huntington Beach, California	Aberdeen (NAHL)	—
24		Jackson Decker	Freshman	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1999-03-19	Algonquin, Illinois	Chippewa (NAHL)	—
25		Matt Long	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1997-08-06	Orland Park, Illinois	Springfield (NAHL)	—
27		Ryan Miotto	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-07-11	Thorold, Ontario	Alberni Valley (BCHL)	—
28		Lee Lapid	Junior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1998-01-11	Thornhill, Ontario	Toronto Patriots (OJHL)	—
30		Jacob Barczewski	Sophomore	G	6' 1" (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	1999-01-07	O'Fallon, Missouri	Tri-City (USHL)	—
32		Tucker Weppner	Senior	G	6' 2" (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1996-06-09	Williamsville, New York	Buffalo (OJHL)	—
33		Matt Ladd	Junior	G	6' 3" (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1998-07-11	Getzville, New York	New Jersey (NAHL)	—
37		Kevin Obssuth	Junior	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1997-07-09	Morristown, New Jersey	Powell River (BCHL)	—
40		Niclas Puikkonen	Freshman	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	1999-01-23	Stockholm, Sweden	Amarillo (AJHL)	—
44		Connor Zilisch	Freshman	F	6' 1" (1.85 m)	212 lb (96 kg)	1999-08-07	Appleton, Wisconsin	Topeka (NAHL)	—
52		Blake Wareham	Senior	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1997-03-05	Park Ridge, Illinois	Janesville (NAHL)	—
53		Lincoln Erne	Sophomore	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	1998-09-26	Blaine, Minnesota	Minot (NAHL)	—
58		Derek Hamelin	Junior	D	5' 11" (1.8 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1997-01-21	Mercier, Quebec	Langley (BCHL)	—
71		MacGregor Sinclair	Sophomore	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1998-08-28	Irma, Alberta	Battlefords (SJHL)	—
72		Max Kouznetsov	Freshman	F	5' 11" (1.8 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	2000-12-06	Voorhees, New Jersey	Johnstown (NAHL)	—
77		Jack Lyons	Freshman	D	6' 1" (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1999-07-04	Mississauga, Ontario	Oakville (OJHL)	—
81		Mitchell Martan	Junior	F	5' 8" (1.73 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1998-06-30	Whitby, Ontario	Wellington (OJHL)	—
83		Austin Alger	Senior	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1997-09-23	Livonia, Michigan	Miami (NCHC)	—
89		Simon Gravel	Sophomore	F	5' 10" (1.78 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1999-04-10	Boucherville, Quebec	Brooks (AJHL)	—
91		Jami Virtanen	Freshman	F	6' 0" (1.83 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	2000-08-07	Pori, Finland	Ässät U20 (Nuorten SM-liiga)	—
94		Hudson Lambert	Sophomore	D	6' 0" (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1998-08-17	Richmond Hill, Ontario	Brampton (OJHL)	—

^[6]

^[7]

USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.^[8]