The Canisius College hockey team unveiled its 2015-16 schedule on Tuesday, highlighted by 17 home games, including non-conference contests at First Niagara Rink at HAROBRCENTER versus Penn State, Bowling Green and Merrimack.
“It’s another exciting and challenging schedule this year,” said Canisius head coach Dave Smith. “Hosting teams at HARBORCENTER from power conferences such as the Big Ten, Hockey East and WCHA showcases a matchup of top college programs for Western New York hockey fans. Atlantic Hockey continues to raise the bar and we have put together our non-conference schedule to best prepare us for another strong postseason run in March.”
After a home exhibition game against Ontario Institute of Technology, the Griffs open the regular season on Friday, Oct. 10 when Penn State makes the trip to Buffalo. It marks the second-straight season that Canisius opens its schedule at HARBORCENTER with a Big Ten opponent and the first time the Griffs and Nittany Lions meet on the ice since Penn State started its varsity program in 2012.
Canisius continues its homestand with a matchup against Bowling Green of the WCHA on Oct. 16, while welcoming Merrimack of Hockey East to Buffalo on Nov. 7. The Griffs are also set to travel to Ohio State for a two-game non-conference series (Nov. 13-14), while returning the trip to Merrimack on Dec. 20.
The Griffs play 28 of their 34 games against Atlantic Hockey foes during the 2015-16 season. Canisius squares off with Air Force, Holy Cross, Robert Morris and Sacred Heart four times during the campaign – with two home games and two road games against each school. The Griffs also host two-game series against Army West Point, Mercyhurst and Niagara, while playing at AIC, Bentley and RIT.
Canisius is set to meet Battle of the Bridge rival, Niagara, at HARBORCENTER for the first time with games scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 14 and Saturday, Jan. 16.
After advancing to the Atlantic Hockey Final Four in each of the last three seasons, the Griffs will look to continue its strong postseason play when the league’s tournament begins on March 4. The top five teams in the regular-season standings receive a bye in the first round, which is a best 2-of-3 series from March 4 to March 6. After an additional best 2-of-3 quarterfinal series (March 11-13), the four advancing teams will meet on March 18 and 19 in Rochester, New York to determine the league’s champion.
Season tickets packages for all 18 home games at HARBORCENTER (including an exhibition game) start at $100. To purchase tickets, call the Canisius College ticket office at (716) 888-2885 or online by clicking here.
Canisius ended the 2014-15 season with an 18-12-7 record and matched the program’s best Atlantic Hockey finish with a two seed for the conference tournament. The Griffs then advanced to the conference final four for the third-consecutive year – a first in the program’s history.
