Canisius head coach Dave Smith announced that senior Geoff Fortman will serve as team captain for the 2016-17 season, while junior Ryan Schmelzer will serve as alternate captain.
“With Geoff and Ryan, we have two veteran guys who understand what it means to be captains of the Canisius College hockey program,” Smith said. “Both Geoff and Ryan understand that chemistry, leadership and communication in the room, in the classroom and on the ice are crucial to our team’s success in every facet. I am proud to name these two young men as our captains because they both have done an excellent job in setting the tone for this program from day one.”
Fortman, a two-time Atlantic Hockey Top Scholar Athlete, has played 98 games for the Golden Griffins over the previous three seasons. Last year, the Crystal Lake, Illinois native was one of four players to play in all 39 of Canisius’ games, where he tallied a career best six assists from his defensive position.
Schmelzer, the team’s top returning scorer from a season ago, closed out his sophomore campaign by scoring 10 goals to go with 22 assists for 32 points in 38 games played. The Buffalo, New York native was a plus-4 in 2015-16, and he closed out his sophomore campaign with at least one point in 17 of his last 22 games, including a career-best seven-game stretch from Dec. 13 through Jan. 16.
Canisius will open its exhibition season on Sunday, Oct. 2, when the Griffs play host to Guelph at KeyBank Rink at HARBORCENTER. Faceoff is set for 5:05 p.m. The team will officially open the 2016-17 season Oct. 7, when the Blue and Gold travel to play at defending national champion North Dakota.
