Ice Hockey 2/19/2003 12:00:00 AM Canisius College Athletics

Hockey Jockeys For Playoff Position at Army and Iona

Canisius College Golden Griffins (11-16-4, 10-9-2 MAAC)
vs.
U.S.M.A. “Army” Black Knights (11-13-0, 9-11-0 MAAC) Friday, February 21, 2003 - 7:00 p.m. Tate Rink - West Point, N.Y.
Iona College Gaels (8-19-2, 8-12-1 MAAC) Saturday, February 22, 2003 - 5:00 p.m. Sports Plus at New Roc City - New Rochelle, N.Y.
This Weekend The Griffs hit the road to head downstate against the other two in-state MAAC opponents in Army and Iona. Canisius is coming off a 0-1-1 weekend at home against Holy Cross, which moved the Griffs into a tie for fourth place in the MAAC Hockey League with Bentley. With only three games remaining after this weekend, these four points will play a big role in the playoff seeding for the Griffs and the rest of the league.

Scouting Army Sitting four points behind the Griffs and in seventh place in the MAAC Hockey League, Army is looking to hold on to one of the final playoff spots in the conference. Sophomore Chad Mayfield leads the Black Knights with 21 points (8 goals, 13 assists), while senior Nic Serre adds five goals and 16 assists for 21 points as well. Freshman netminder Brad Roberts leads the defense with a 11-13-0 overall record, a 2.74 GAA and a .915 save percentage. Head Coach Rob Riley is in his 17th season behind the bench of the Black Knights, posting a 238-267-30 career record at Army.

Series History vs. Army Canisius leads the all-time series with the Black Knights, 7-6-1. However, the Griffs are 1-4-1 at West Point in Tate Rink. The Griffs won the earlier meeting this season between the two schools, a 3-2 win at the Buffalo State Sports Arena on Nov. 16.

Scouting Iona Sitting in eighth place and the final playoff spot in the MAAC Hockey League, Iona is only one point away from seventh-place Army. Junior Mark Hallam leads the Gaels with 22 points (8 goals, 14 assists), while sophomore Brent Williams adds 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points. Freshman netminder Ian Vigier tends the nets for Iona with a 6-14-2 overall record and a 2.97 GAA. Head Coach Frank Bretti is in his 6th season behind the bench of the Gaels, posting a 73-105-14 career record.
Series History vs. Iona Canisius leads the all-time series with the Gaels, 10-7-2. The Griffs won the earlier meeting this season between the two schools, a 5-3 win at the Buffalo State Sports Arena on Nov. 15.

Head Coach Brian Cavanaugh Brian Cavanaugh is in his 22nd season as head coach of the Canisius College ice hockey team and his third in a full-time capacity. He has led the Griffs to the postseason 16 times during his career, including a trip to the 2000 Easton/MAAC Championships after tying a school record with 21 wins (21-10-4). Last season, Cavanaugh joined college hockey's coaching elite as he earned his 300th win behind the Griffs' bench. Prior to accepting the head post at Canisius, Cavanaugh served as an assistant coach at Geneseo State (1976-77) and at Brockport State (1978-80). Before joining the coaching ranks, he played for the Brockport ice hockey team. Cavanaugh was named the Golden Eagles' MVP three times and held numerous Brockport scoring records upon graduation. He earned his bachelor's degree in physical education and health education from the school in 1976. Cavanaugh continued his studies, earning a master's degree from Brockport in 1980. His thesis, "Spectator Misbehavior at Sporting Events" was presented at an International Symposium of Sports in Trois Rivers, Quebec, and was published in 1981. Cavanaugh Coaching Highlights 1st Win 11-20-80 7-6 @ Niagara-Welland 50th Win 11-09-85 7-3 @ Hobart 100th Win 02-06-88 4-3 vs. Hobart 150th Win 10-02-92 5-2 @ Brockport 200th Win 02-25-95 10-5 vs. Hobart 250th Win 01-30-99 3-2 vs. Holy Cross 300th Win 11-02-01 9-2 vs. Bentley
Last Time Out Canisius took a 1-0 first-period lead, but could not hold on and settled for a 1-1 tie with visiting Holy Cross in MAAC Hockey League action Saturday afternoon at the Buffalo State Sports Arena. Freshman David Ovcjak gave Canisius a 1-0 lead at the 10:41 mark of the opening period, his third of the season with an assist from fellow frosh Dan Bognar. Ovcjak buried a shot from in front of the crease past Crusader goalie Ben Conway to give the Griffs a first-period edge for the second straight night. After a scoreless second period, Holy Cross came out firing from the opening face-off of the third period, scoring just 24 seconds into the stanza. Junior Greg Kealey, last week's ITECH MAAC Player of the Week, tallied his 10th of the season of a rebound from a shot by Brandon Doria. Both teams had ample opportunities during the remainder of the period and the overtime period, but could not finish the job. Canisius finished the game 0-for-8 on the power play, while Holy Cross was unsuccessful in six attempts. Bryan Worosz finished with 26 saves for the Griffs. Conway stopped 25 shots in for Holy Cross.

2002-03 NCAA Frozen Four The NCAA Men's Frozen Four has sold out for the fourth consecutive year. The 56th annual event will be held at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York, April 10 and 12, 2003. It marks the sixth time in the last seven years that the event has sold out. This will be the 10th time the semifinals and finals have been in the state of New York, the second most of any state. The state of Colorado has hosted the Men's Frozen Four 14 times. The MAAC, Canisius College and Niagara University are co-hosts of the 2003 event. "The Frozen Four has become one of the biggest events in college athletics, and we're excited about hosting it in a city that is very passionate about hockey," said Tim Dillon, athletic director at Canisius. "We're also expecting around 10,000 out-of-town fans so it's an excellent opportunity for Western New York and Southern Ontario to be the center of college hockey for a weekend." Buffalo is hoping to build off a successful 2002 Frozen Four, which was held in St. Paul, Minnesota, at the Xcel Energy Center. Attendance records were set in 2002 for a single game (19,324 for the championship game), and three-game total (57,957). HSBC Arena, the home of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres, has a capacity of 18,600.

Hall of Fame Former Griff forward Mike Sisti was inducted into the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame Saturday Sept. 28, joining three other former Golden Griffin Hockey players (Mike Torrillo, Gary Roessler and Kevin Sykes) and Canisius ice hockey founder Dr. David Dietz. A four-year letter winner in ice hockey, Michael Sisti ranks fourth at Canisius in career scoring (163 points), third in career goals (74), and sixth in career assists (89). He shares the school record for single-game goals with four and holds the mark for single-season hat tricks with six. Sisti posted 13 goals and 19 assists to help the Griffs to a 21-11 record in 1986-87. He led Canisius in goals (33) and points (57) in 1988-89 and was named the team's top forward. Sisti served as an assistant coach at Canisius and Mercyhurst before becoming the first Mercyhurst women's ice hockey coach. He owns a 61-30-4 record in three seasons.

He Shoots, He Scores Sophomore Fred Coccimiglio scored on a penalty shot this season beating UConn netminder Jason Carey during the second period of the Griffs' 3-3 tie with the Huskies at the Buffalo State Sports Arena Jan. 17.

All In The Family Several members of the 2002-03 Golden Griffins have interesting connections to the professional sports world. They include: Ryan Corcoran - nephew of Lou Nanne (player/coach/general manager with the Minnesota North Stars from 1968-78, captain of the U.S. Olympic Team in 1967-68 and inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998) Joe D'Urzo - cousin of John Massara (former captain at University of Maine, member of Italian National Team) Andrew Dawe - cousin of Jason Dawe (1991 second-round draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres, played with Buffalo, Montreal, and the New York Islanders and New York Rangers) son of Mike Dawe (played for Cornell University) Jon Durno - brother of Chris Durno (three-year letter winner and senior center for Michigan Tech in the WCHA) Tim Songin - son of Paul Songin (played defense for the University at Buffalo hockey team) cousin of Tom Songin (played right wing for the Boston Bruins) cousin of Ed “Butch” Songin (played quarterback for the Boston Patriots) Jeremy Redquest - son of Greg Redquest (fourth-round selection of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1976 NHL Draft) Home Sweet Home Enjoying a 35-10-9 record within the confines of Buffalo State Sports Arena over their four-plus seasons, Canisius complete the home portion of the 2002-03 schedule with a Feb. 28 contest against American International at 7:00 p.m..

MAAC Bits The 2003 Easton/MAAC Hockey Championships will be held March 21-23 at Tate Rink on the campus of the United State Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. This is the third year that the NCAA will grant an automatic berth to the winner of the MAAC Championships into the NCAA Hockey Tournament. Last season, Quinnipiac became the second team to represent the MAAC in college hockey's "Big Dance."

2002-2003 MAAC Standings http://www.collegehockeystats.com/standings/maac 2002-2003 Overall MAAC Statistics http://www.collegehockeystats.com/overallstats/maac 2002-2003 MAAC Conference Statistics http://www.collegehockeystats.com/confstats/maac 2002-2003 Canisius Schedule/Results/Box Scores http://www.collegehockeystats.com/schedules/cnsm
MAAC Rankings Canisius is tenth in the MAAC in scoring offense with 2.39 goals per game. The Griffs are seventh in scoring defense, allowing 3.52 goals-per-game. Canisius is the second-highest penalized team in the conference with 19.6 minutes per game. The Griffs' power-play, 22-for-150 (14.7%) ranks ninth in the MAAC. Canisius' penalty kill, 121-of-156 (77.6%) is seventh.
Climbing the Charts Sophomore Bryan Worosz has posted 1,111 career saves to moving into ninth place on the all-time save list at Canisius. Former Griff Stephen Fabiilli (1997-01) is in eighth place with 1,265 stops. Worosz has already broken the Canisius single-season marks with 1,722 minutes played (old mark - 1,509-Bob Janosz) and 30 games played (old mark - 27-Derek Slater and Janosz).

Nationwide Rankings Red-shirted freshman Todd Bowler ranks 25th in the country in point-per-game for rookies with 0.76 points-per-contest. Sophomore goalie Bryan Worosz ranks seventh in the country in minutes played with 1722:49.
In The Sin Bin Freshman Jon Durno set a new team record for most penalty minutes by a forward in a single game with 26 minutes against Niagara University Jan. 25, 2003. He broke the old mark of 20 set by Paul Sullivan on Nov. 16, 1993 against Elmira. Junior Daryl Pierce set a new record earlier this season for penalty minute by a defenseman in a single game with 24 against Quinnipiac Oct. 25, breaking the old standard of 20 set by Adam Stoltman on March 6, 1993 against Elmira.

100+ Club Senior forward Marc Bouffard (Sturgeon Falls, Ont.) played in his 100th career game on Jan. 11, against Lake Superior State. Bouffard joins defenseman Tom Wnuk as the only current Golden Griffins to hold that distinction. Last season, the Griffs graduated four players, David Deeves, Steve Birch, Corey Lucas and Todd Houston, who broke the century mark in games played.
Against the CCHA The Griffs are 0-3-2 all-time against opponents from Central Collegiate Hockey Association. This season, the Blue and Gold picked up the first ever points by a MAAC Hockey League team against a CCHA opponent, skated to a pair of ties with Lake Superior State Jan. 10-11. Canisius and the Lakers played to a 2-2 tie Friday night and a 4-4 draw on Saturday. Last season, Canisius dropped a pair of non-conference games in Kalamazoo, Mich. against Western Michigan. The Griffs fell 4-2 on Nov. 23, and 4-3 in Saturday's closer. In 2000-01, Canisius lost 3-1 to Nebraska-Omaha in the championship game of the SCI Holiday Shootout in Huntsville, Ala.

Against the CHA The Griffs are 9-9-1 all-time against opponents from College Hockey America, which is the NCAA's newest D-I hockey conference, formed in 1999. This season, the Griffs are 1-4-0 against the CHA, falling 4-1 to Niagara in the consolation game of the Xerox Punch Imlach College Hockey Showcase and dropping two games to Findlay by scores of 3-1 and 8-1. Canisius and Niagara also split a home-and-home series in January with each team winning on their home ice. The Griffs won 4-3 Thursday, Jan. 23, while the Purple Eagles gained revenge with a 6-2 victory at Dwyer Arena Saturday, Jan. 25.

Against the ECAC The Griffs are 0-3-0 all-time against members of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, with all three losses against Colgate. Canisius fell 7-2 to the Raiders on February 5 at Colgate's Starr Rink. There are no games on the 2002-03 schedule against ECAC members. Against the WCHA The Griffs are 0-3-0 against teams from the WCHA. Canisius fell to North Dakota 8-0 in the Xerox Punch Imlach College Hockey Showcase Oct. 11. The Blue and Gold also fell to the Fighting Sioux two more times, 6-0 and 8-2, Dec. 13-14, in Grand Forks.

Against the Hockey East The Griffs are 0-1-0 against Hockey East members, falling to Maine 6-3 in 1999-2000 at the JC Penney Black Bear Classic. There are no games on the 2002-03 schedule against the Hockey East.
USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll?(February 17)
Team Record Pts LW 1 Colorado College (30) 23-4-5 589 1 2 Cornell (10) 20-4-1 553 3 3 Maine 22-5-5 505 2 4 New Hampshire 19-7-4 466 6 5 Boston College 19-8-3 406 4 6 Minnesota 17-7-7 384 7 7 North Dakota 22-6-4 375 5 8 Ferris State 23-8-1 313 9 9 Boston University 20-10-2 268 11 10 Michigan 21-8-1 256 8 11 Ohio State 21-7-3 190 10 12 MSU-Mankato 14-7-9 131 12 13 Denver 18-9-5 121 14 14 St. Cloud State 14-11-3 85 15 15 Harvard 16-8-1 78 13 USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Division I Men's Poll?(February 17)

Team Record Pts LW 1 Colorado College (11) 23-4-5 249 1 2 Cornell (5) 20-4-1 225 5 3 Maine (1) 22-5-5 219 2 4 Boston College 19-8-3 194 6 5 North Dakota 22-6-4 190 3 6 New Hampshire 19-7-4 169 4 7 Minnesota 17-7-7 145 7 8 Michigan 21-8-1 128 8 9 Ohio State 21-7-3 123 10 10 Ferris State 23-8-1 117 11 11 Boston University 20-10-2 79 12 12 Harvard 16-8-1 62 13 13 MSU-Mankato 14-7-9 52 14 14 Denver 18-9-5 34 9 15 St. Cloud State 14-11-3 32 15 Teams Canisius have played during 2002-03 season in bold italic.
The Last Time... Weekend Sweep in Buffalo, N.Y.: By Canisius - 11/15-16/02 vs. Iona/Army (5-3, 3-2) same team: 2/1-2/02 vs. Army (4-1, 4-3 ot) By Opponent - 10/25-26/02 vs. Quinnipiac/AIC (3-6, 2-6) same team: 10/18-19/02 vs. Findlay (1-3 & 1-8)
Weekend Sweep on the Road: By Canisius - 2/7-8/03 at Fairfield/Sacred Heart (4-2, 3-1) same team: 2/11-12/00 at Connecticut (3-2 ot, 5-3) By Opponent - 1/3-4/03 at Quinnipiac (0-2, 3-4 ot) same team: - 1/3-4/03 at Quinnipiac (0-2, 3-4 ot)
The Griffs won in overtime: Buffalo State Sports Arena - 11/3/02 vs. Sacred Heart (3-2) On the Road - 3/2/01 at Sacred Heart (3-2)
The Griffs lost in overtime: Buffalo State Sports Arena - Has not occurred On the Road - 1/4/03 at Quinnipiac (3-4)
The Griffs registered an overtime tie: Buffalo State Sports Arena - 2/15/03 vs. Holy Cross (1-1) On the Road - 1/11/03 at Lake Superior State (4-4)

Team scored 10 or more goals: Canisius - 12/4/98 at Sacred Heart (10-2) Opponent - 10/23/98 at MSU-Mankato (3-11)
Player recorded a hat trick: Canisius - 3/3/00, Marc Bouffard vs. Fairfield (3) Opponent - 10/11/02, Zach Parise (North Dakota) (3)
Canisius' Record When: Leading after first period 4-4-1 Trailing after first period 1-10-2 Tied after first period 6-2-1 Leading after second period 8-0-1 Trailing after second period 1-13-3 Tied after second period 2-3-0 Overtime games 1-1-4 CC out-shoots opponent 4-5-1 Opponent out-shoots CC 7-10-3 Tied in shots on goal 0-1-0 CC scores 3 or more 11-3-2 CC scores 2 or less 0-13-2 Opponent scores 3 or more 2-14-2 Opponent scores 2 or less 9-2-2 CC scores first 7-4-1 Opponent scores first 4-12-3 CC has power-play goal 7-6-1 CC has short-handed goal 0-0-0 CC in October 0-6-0 CC in November 5-2-0 CC in December 1-2-0 CC in January 3-3-3 CC in February 2-3-1 CC in March 0-0-0 CC on Tuesdays 0-1-0 CC on Fridays 6-6-2 CC on Saturdays 4-9-2 CC on Sundays 1-0-0 CC at Buffalo State 7-6-2 CC at neutral sites 0-2-0 CC on the road 4-8-2 CC vs. the CCHA 0-0-2 CC vs. the CHA 1-4-0 CC vs. the ECAC 0-0-0 CC vs. Hockey East 0-0-0 CC vs. the MAAC 10-9-2 CC vs. the WCHA 0-3-0
Current Griffs vs. Army GP G A PTS #2 Tim Songin 1 0 0 0 #4 Josh Zavitz 2 0 1 1 #5 Tom Wnuk 6 1 0 1 #6 Joe D'Urzo 7 0 2 2 #8 Todd Bowler 1 0 1 1 #9 Jeff Street 5 0 2 2 #10 Marc Bouffard 6 3 4 7 #12 Jon Durno 1 0 0 0 #14 Justin Carr? 3 0 1 1 #16 Robert Carroll 0 0 0 0 #19 Ryan Corcoran 4 0 0 0 #20 Rob Martin 7 3 2 5 #21 Fred Coccimiglio 4 0 3 3 #23 Daryl Pierce 4 0 2 2 #24 Kyle Bostic 1 1 0 1 #25 Andrew Dawe 1 0 1 1 #26 Dan Bognar 0 0 0 0 #27 David Ovcjak 1 1 0 1 #28 Mark Persick 4 1 0 1 #29 Brendan Mulhern 0 0 0 0 #32 Josh Henry 1 0 1 1 #37 James LeCuyer 4 1 0 1
GP GA SV MIN #30 Bryan Worosz 2 3 51 120:00
G.A.A Save % Record #30 Bryan Worosz 1.50 .944 2-0-0
Current Griffs vs. Iona GP G A PTS #2 Tim Songin 1 0 1 1 #4 Josh Zavitz 4 0 2 2 #5 Tom Wnuk 11 0 3 3 #6 Joe D'Urzo 6 0 1 1 #8 Todd Bowler 1 0 1 1 #9 Jeff Street 6 2 3 5 #10 Marc Bouffard 9 1 1 3 #12 Jon Durno 1 0 1 1 #14 Justin Carr? 2 1 1 2 #16 Robert Carroll 2 0 0 0 #19 Ryan Corcoran 3 1 1 2 #20 Rob Martin 6 3 1 4 #21 Fred Coccimiglio 4 3 1 4 #23 Daryl Pierce 7 1 1 2 #24 Kyle Bostic 1 1 1 2 #25 Andrew Dawe 1 0 0 0 #26 Dan Bognar 0 0 0 0 #27 David Ovcjak 1 0 0 0 #28 Mark Persick 4 1 3 4 #29 Brendan Mulhern 0 0 0 0 #32 Josh Henry 1 0 0 0 #37 James LeCuyer 1 0 0 0 GP GA SV MIN #30 Bryan Worosz 2 8 36 118:06
G.A.A Save % Record #30 Bryan Worosz 4.07 .818 1-1-0

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Players Mentioned

#26 Steve Birch: D; 5' 11"; Senior

#25 David Deeves: F; 5' 7"; Senior

#27 Todd Houston: F; 5' 8"; Senior

#8 Corey Lucas: F; 6' 4"; Senior

#26 Dan Bognar: F; 6' 4"; Freshman

#24 Kyle Bostic: F; 5' 10"; Junior

#10 Marc Bouffard: F; 6' 1"; Senior

#8 Todd Bowler: F; 6' 1"; Freshman

#16 Robert Carroll: F; 6' 2"; Senior

#21 Fred Coccimiglio: F; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#19 Ryan Corcoran: F; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#6 Joe D'Urzo: D; 5' 9"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#26 Steve Birch
: 5' 11"; Senior
: D

#25 David Deeves
: 5' 7"; Senior
: F

#27 Todd Houston
: 5' 8"; Senior
: F

#8 Corey Lucas
: 6' 4"; Senior
: F

#26 Dan Bognar
: 6' 4"; Freshman
: F

#24 Kyle Bostic
: 5' 10"; Junior
: F

#10 Marc Bouffard
: 6' 1"; Senior
: F

#8 Todd Bowler
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: F

#16 Robert Carroll
: 6' 2"; Senior
: F

#21 Fred Coccimiglio
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: F

#19 Ryan Corcoran
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: F

#6 Joe D'Urzo
: 5' 9"; Junior
: D