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Canisius defenseman FJ Buteau skates to the bench with a friend after scoring the opening goal in the Griffs 4-2 victory versus RIT at LECOM Harborcenter on Dec. 6, 2025
Lindy Feider
2
RIT RIT 10-7-0, 7-5-0
4
Winner Canisius CAN 8-8-2, 4-6-2
RIT RIT
10-7-0, 7-5-0
2
Final
4
Canisius CAN
8-8-2, 4-6-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
RIT RIT 0 2 0 2
Canisius CAN 1 1 2 4

Game Recap: Ice Hockey |

Strong Third Lifts Hockey to Victory Versus RIT

Canisius scored twice in the third period to break a 2-2 tie and defeat RIT, 4-2, in Atlantic Hockey America action Saturday at LECOM Harborcenter in downtown Buffalo.
 
Senior Killian Kiecker-Olson scored the game-winning goal and junior Rhys Chiddenton added an empty netter during the final frame for the Golden Griffins (8-8-2, 4-6-2 AHA). Freshmen FJ Buteau and Cole Miller accounted for the first two Canisius tallies while senior Grant Porter dished out three assists and sophomore Carter Patterson added a pair of helpers.
 
Sophomore goaltender Petter Wickström stopped 27 shots in his season debut.
 
Phillippe Jacques and Christian Catalano scored the two goals for the visiting Tigers (10-7-0, 7-5-0 AHA). Jakub Krbecek recorded 22 saves between the pipes for the visitors.
 
With the score tied at 2-2 at the start of the third period, Kiecker-Olson put Canisius back in front just 1:34 into the frame when he collected a loose puck in the slot and beat Krbecek to the glove side for his fifth goal of the season. Chiddenton put the game out of reach, finding the empty net in the final minute of regulation to give the Griffs the victory. Earlier in the contest, Buteau opened the scoring at the 9:03 mark of the first period, depositing a cross-ice feed from sophomore Carter Patterson past a sprawling Krbecek for his second goal of the season. Jacques tied the game at 1-1 moments before the five-minute mark of the second when he snuck a backhand past Wickström while on the rush.
 
Catalano gave the Tigers the lead near the midway point of second, jamming home a loose puck after Wickström made the initial save on a shot from the point from Tyler Mahan.
 
Miller brought the Griffs level with 14:24 elapsed in the middle frame, putting a shot past the glove of Krbecek while on the rush during 4-on-4 play, setting the stage for Canisius' third-period surge. POSTGAME COMMENTS GAME NOTES
• Saturday's game served as the first-ever Teddy Bear Toss, with fans throwing stuffed animals on the ice after the first Canisius goal to donate to Oishei Children's Hospital. 
• RIT outshot Canisius by a 29-23 margin for the contest, highlighted by a 12-5 edge in the second period.
• Canisius was 1-for-4 on the power play while RIT was 0-for-6 with the man advantage.
• Canisius improved to 5-0-0 this season when scoring four-or-more goals in a game.
• The Griffs also moved to 7-3-0 in 2025-26 when notching the first goal of the game.
• Kiecker-Olson extended his point streak to a career-best four games with his two-point performance. He notched multiple points in a game for the third time in the last four outings with his two-point effort.
• Kiecker-Olson also recorded his first career game-winning goal with his third-period tally on Saturday.
• Porter's three assists established a career high in that category and matched his career high in points, set at Niagara last February.
• Porter also tallied multiple points in a game for the fourth time this season and sixth time in his career with his three-point effort.
• Patterson recorded multiple points and assists for the first time in his career with his two-point performance.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius takes its traditional end-of-semester break before returning to action Jan. 2-3 with a non-conference series at Lindenwood.
 
The opener between the Griffs and Lions is slated for 8:30 p.m. EST while the finale will be a 4:30 p.m. EST start at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo.
 
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