Ice Hockey 3/6/2023 3:30:00 PM

This Week in Canisius Athletics: March 6-12

A home AHA Postseason series against Battle of the Bridge rival Niagara for hockey, MAAC Tournament play for both men's and women's basketball, the start of conference play for men's lacrosse and busy road weeks for baseball and softball highlight This Week in Canisius Athletics.

Baseball
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram

March 8: at West Virginia |3 p.m.
Live Stats | ESPN+

March 10: at Marshall | 2 p.m.
Live Stats

March 11: at Marshall | 1 p.m.
Live Stats

March 12: at Marshall | 1 p.m.
Live Stats

• The Canisius baseball team plays in its first midweek contest of the season when it travels to Morgantown to face West Virginia on Wednesday. First pitch against the Mountaineers is slated for 3 p.m. and will be broadcasted on Big 12 Now through ESPN+. The Griffs will stay in the Mountain State for a three-game set against Marshall, beginning Friday at 2 p.m.
• The Griffs dropped all three of their contests at the Central Virginia Classic, falling to Richmond, 12-2 in eight innings, West Virginia, 3-2 and William & Mary, 5-3.
• Junior Matt Duffy pitched 6.1 innings against the Mountaineers, holding the opponent to just three hits while striking out six in his second no-decision of the season. Graduate Kyle Kush recorded a hit in all three contests over the weekend, including a two-run blast on Sunday against The Tribe. Kush has a base hit in six of the seven games in 2023 and paces the team with a .381 batting average.

Hockey
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram

March 10: vs Niagara | 7 p.m.
Live Stats | FloHockey | Tickets

March 11: vs Niagara | 7:35 p.m.
Live Stats | FloHockey | Tickets

March 12: vs Niagara | 7 p.m. (if necessary)
Live Stats | FloHockey | Tickets

• The hockey team continues its quest for the Jack Riley Memorial Trophy this weekend as it squares off against Battle of the Bridge rival and No. 6 seed Niagara in the semifinal round of the Atlantic Hockey Association Postseason this weekend at LECOM Harborcenter.
• Game one of the best-of-three series will be played on Friday at 6 p.m. Game two is slated for Saturday at 7:35 p.m. and if necessary, a winner-takes-all game three will be played Sunday at 7 p.m. Tickets for all three games of the series are now available. They can be purchased by calling 716-888-TIXX or by visiting the tickets page on GoGriffs.com.
• Canisius advanced to the semifinal round of the AHA Postseason for the seventh time in the last 11 seasons with a 2-1 series victory over Army in the quarterfinal round last weekend at LECOM Harborcenter. Graduate student Erik Urbank paced the Griffs attack during the series with two goals and two assists while senior Jacob Barczewski fashioned a 0.97 goals against average and a .970 save percentage between the pipes as he held the Black Knights to just three goals during the series.
• The winner of the best-of-three series between the Griffs and Purple Eagles will face either top-seed RIT or seventh-seeded Holy Cross in the AHA Postseason Championship on March 18. The higher remaining seed will serve as the host of the contest.

Men's Basketball
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram

March 7: vs Mount St. Mary's | 5 p.m.
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets

• The men's basketball team opens the 2023 Hercules Tires MAAC Men's Basketball Championship on Tuesday at 5 p.m., when the ninth-seeded Griffs take on No. 8 seed Mount St. Mary's at Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+, and the audio call can be heard exclusively through GoGriffs.com.
• Graduate student Jordan Henderson was named to the All-MAAC Third Team and redshirt-freshman Tahj Staveskie was a unanimous decision to the MAAC All-Rookie Team, it was announced on Monday. The Canisius duo are the eighth and ninth different Griffs to earn All-MAAC honors under seventh-year head coach Reggie Witherspoon, and they are the first all-league honorees for the program since the 2020-21 campaign. Henderson is the 14th player in program history to earn All-MAAC Third Team honors and Staveskie is the 12th Canisius player to be named to the conference's top rookie team since the school joined the MAAC prior to the start of the 1989-90 academic year.
• The winner of Tuesday's first-round matchup advances to the quarterfinals, where they will face top-seed Iona Wednesday. Tip-off for that contest is slated for 7 p.m. at Jim Whalen Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

Men's Lacrosse
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram

March 11: at Quinnipiac | 12 p.m.
Live Stats | Video

• The men's lacrosse team opens conference play Saturday with a 12 p.m. road contest versus Quinnipiac at the Quinnipiac Lacrosse and Soccer Stadium in Hamden, Conn.
• The Griffs fell in their most recent contest, suffering an 18-12 setback at Cleveland State on March 4. Junior Keegan Kozack recorded his first hat trick of the season while fellow junior Hunter Parucki also finished with three points as he tallied two goals and an assist.
• Canisius returns home to host Little Three rival St. Bonaventure on March 14 at 7 p.m. at the Demske Sports Complex. The matchup between the Griffs and Bonnies serves as the second half of a men's and women's doubleheader as the women entertain Robert Morris in their home debut at 3 p.m.

Softball
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram

March 10-12: at Beach Chicken Brawl | Conway, S.C.

March 10: vs Ohio State | 10:00 a.m.
Live Stats

March 10: at Coastal Carolina | 3:30 p.m.
Live Stats

March 11: vs Ohio State | 10 a.m.
Live Stats

March 11: at Coastal Carolina | 3:30 p.m.
Live Stats

March 12: vs Houston Christian | 9:00 a.m.
Live Stats

• The softball team travels to Conway, S.C., for the Beach Chicken Brawl, Friday through Sunday. The Blue and Gold will play Ohio State, Houston Christian and host Coastal Carolina during its visit to the Palmetto State.
• The Griffs recorded a pair of wins during the Campbell Invitational last weekend, defeating NC Central, 8-0, and Furman, 5-3. Junior Christie McGee-Ross stole her 43rd career base on Sunday, tying her with Morgan Altman (2017-21) for the ninth-most in program history. Fellow third year Gianna Fazzolari recorded an RBI in four of the five games at the Campbell Invitational.
• Canisius will close out its tournament play when it travels to University Park, Pa., for the Penn State Invitational. The Griffs will play UMBC, Cornell, Binghamton and the Nittany Lions March 17-19.

Women's Basketball
Social Media: Twitter | Instagram

March 7-11: at Hercules Tires MAAC Women's Basketball Tournament

March 7: vs Mount St. Mary's | 10:30 a.m.
Live Stats | ESPN+ | Tickets

• The women's basketball team opens the 2023 Hercules Tires MAAC Women's Basketball Championship Tuesday with a first-round contest against conference newcomer Mount St. Mary's Opening tip-off from Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., is set for 10:30 a.m., with the game airing on ESPN+.
• The Griffs picked up a pair of postseason awards on Monday as junior guard Dani Haskell was selected to the All-MAAC Third Team and freshman forward Sisi Eleko was named to the All-MAAC Rookie Team. Haskell averaged 11.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while amassing 59 assists and 86 steals. Eleko had a memorable first season in Buffalo, N.Y., averaging a team-best 5.7 rebounds per game to compliment her 9.0 points-per-game average.
• The winner of Tuesday's first-round matchup between the Golden Griffins and Mountaineers will face top-seed Iona in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Tip off from Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall is slated for 1 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#30 Jacob Barczewski: G; 6' 1"; Senior; L

#61 Erik Urbank: F; 6' 2"; Graduate Student

#3 Jordan Henderson: G; 6' 5"; Graduate Student

#44 Tahj Staveskie: G; 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman

#22 Dani Haskell: G; 5' 6"; Junior

#14 Sisi Eleko: F; 6' 2"; Freshman

#21 Gianna Fazzolari: C/INF; 5' 6"; Junior; R/R

#5 Christie McGee-Ross: OF; 5' 8"; Junior; L/R

#39 Keegan Kozack: A; 6' 1"; Junior

#23 Hunter Parucki: M; 5' 10"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#30 Jacob Barczewski
: 6' 1"; Senior; L
: G

#61 Erik Urbank
: 6' 2"; Graduate Student
: F

#3 Jordan Henderson
: 6' 5"; Graduate Student
: G

#44 Tahj Staveskie
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman
: G

#22 Dani Haskell
: 5' 6"; Junior
: G

#14 Sisi Eleko
: 6' 2"; Freshman
: F

#21 Gianna Fazzolari
: 5' 6"; Junior; R/R
: C/INF

#5 Christie McGee-Ross
: 5' 8"; Junior; L/R
: OF

#39 Keegan Kozack
: 6' 1"; Junior
: A

#23 Hunter Parucki
: 5' 10"; Junior
: M