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Canisius University Athletics

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Members of the Canisius hockey team celebrate after scoring a goal during the Griffs 5-3 victory over Holy Cross at LECOM Harborcenter on Feb. 14, 2026
Lindy Feider
3
Holy Cross HOL 14-14-2, 12-8-2
5
Winner Canisius CAN 15-13-2, 10-10-2
Holy Cross HOL
14-14-2, 12-8-2
3
Final
5
Canisius CAN
15-13-2, 10-10-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
Holy Cross HOL 0 2 1 3
Canisius CAN 2 1 2 5

Game Recap: Ice Hockey |

Zacher’s Late Goal Pushes Hockey Past Holy Cross

Junior Walter Zacher scored with 2:46 remaining in the third period to break a 3-3 tie and propel Canisius to a 5-3 victory over Holy Cross in Atlantic Hockey America action Saturday at LECOM Harborcenter in downtown Buffalo.
 
Senior Killian Kiecker-Olson tallied a goal and two assists for the Golden Griffins (154-13-2, 9-10-2 AHA) while fellow senior Grant Porter and freshman Carter Anderson each finished with a goal and an assist. Senior Robert Kincaid accounted for the first goal for Canisius, who earned a split of the weekend series with Saturday's victory.
 
Sophomore Petter Wickström Stumer made the start between the pipes for the Griffs and finished with 20 saves.
 
Matthew Kursonis and Owen Kim registered a goal and an assist each for the Crusaders (14-14-2, 12-8-2 AHA). Michael Agrall notched the third Holy Cross goal while Danick Leroux made 24 saves for the visitors.
 
With the score tied in the later stages of the third, Zacher put Canisius in front for the third and final time in the contest when he fired a shot over the right shoulder of Leroux for his team-leading 16th goal of the campaign. Kiecker-Olson closed out the scoring as he notched an empty-net goal with less than 10 seconds remaining to determine the two-goal margin of victory. Earlier in the contest, Canisius raced out to a 2-0 lead in the first period as Kincaid opened the scoring just before the seven-minute mark of the opening frame with a wrist shot past the blocker of Leroux before Porter doubled the Griffs advantage moments after the 16-minute mark of the first when he collected a loose puck and out-waited Leroux before putting it into the Crusaders cage for his 11th goal of the season. Holy Cross responded with two goals in the opening eight minutes of the second period to tie the game. Kursonis got the Crusaders on the board with a power-play goal at the 2:41 of the middle frame as he beat Wickström Stumer with a one-timer from the right face-off circle before Abgrall tied the game with 7:39 gone in the second as he whipped a wrister past the left shoulder of Wickström Stumer from the middle of the slot.
 
Anderson restored the Griffs lead with a power-play goal with a little more than a minute remaining in the second as he put home a loose puck to give Canisius a 3-2 lead. Kim brought Holy Cross level for the second time in the game with 12:53 elapsed in the third with a power-play goal as he fired home a loose puck after the Crusaders' initial attempt was blocked, tying the game at 3-3 and setting the scene for Zacher's late-game heroics.
 
POSTGAME COMMENTS GAME NOTES
• Canisius out-shot Holy Cross by a 29-23 margin for the contest, highlighted by a 13-8 edge in the second period.
• Both teams struck for multiple power-play goals in the contest as the Griffs was 2-for-7 while the Crusaders were 2-for-5 with the man advantage.
• Canisius scored four-or-more goals in a game for the 13th time this season and improved to 12-1-0 when doing so.
• The Griffs also improved to 11-2-0 this season when carrying a lead into the third period.
• Kiecker-Olson recorded a career-high three points (1g-2a) as he posed multiple points in a game for the second straight contest and sixth time this season.
• Porter tallied multiple points in a game for the eighth time this season with his two-point effort.
• Anderson notched multiple points in a game for the third time this season with his two-point performance.
• Zacher scored his team-leading third game-winning goal of the season with his third-period tally.
• Zacher's game-winning goal also set a career high for the winger, breaking his previous mark of 15 established last season while at Robert Morris.
 
UP NEXT
Canisius wraps up its four-game homestand Feb. 20-21 as it welcomes Robert Morris to LECOM Harborcenter for a pair of Atlantic Hockey America contests.
 
The opener between the Griffs and Colonials is slated for a 7 p.m. start while the finale is scheduled for a 4 p.m. puck drop.
 
Tickets for both games are still available. They can be purchased by visiting the tickets page on GoGriffs.com, calling 716-888-TIXX or by visiting the ticket kiosk at LECOM Harborcenter on gameday.
 
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