BOSTON – Canisius and Niagara were picked tied for eighth in the Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) men’s preseason coaches poll, but both teams defied those expectations in their season openers. Canisius shut out visiting Ferris State, 4-0, while Niagara posted a 4-1 win over RIT in the first AHA conference game of the season.
SCOREBOARD
Canisius 4, Ferris State 0
Niagara 4, RIT 1
Maine 4, Holy Cross 1
Wisconsin 4, Robert Morris 2
Merrimack 3, Sacred Heart 1 (scrimmage)
RPI 5, Army West Point 4 (exhibition)
Omaha 4, Air Force 1 (exhibition)
Recaps available below
CANISIUS 4, FERRIS STATE 0
Box Score |
Game Highlights
Buffalo, N.Y. – Canisius converted on two first-period power plays and freshman goaltender Jack Lisson (Oakville, Ont.) stopped all 23 shots in his collegiate debut as the Golden Griffins posted a 4-0 win over Ferris State Friday night.
Seniors Jimmy Goffredo (Mount Laurel, N.J.) and Noah Quinn (Nelson, B.C.) scored the first-period goals as Canisius went 2-for-3 on those early power plays and outshot the visitors 12-4 in the period. Two goals in a 90-second span of the second period – from Ethan Wolthers (Valencia, Calif.) and L-P Fontaine (Chambly, Que.) – secured the season opening win.
|
Scoring |
Shots |
Pen/Min |
PP |
New Record (Conf.) |
| Ferris State |
0-0-0–0 |
23 |
7/14 |
0/2 |
0-1-0 (0-0-0) |
| Canisius |
2-2-0–4 |
23 |
4/19 |
2/6 |
1-0-0 (0-0-0) |
NIAGARA 4, RIT 1
Box Score |
Game Highlights
Niagara University, N.Y. – Senior Jack Richard (Stoney Creek, Ont.) celebrated his return to the Niagara lineup with two goals, helping lift the Purple Eagles to a 4-1 win over RIT in the first AHA conference game of the season. Richard – who had transferred to Merrimack after his freshman year at Niagara, but returned this year – had the game-winner and a third-period insurance goal on the power play.
Niagara also got goals from Mitch Young (Elmira, Ont.) and Hunter Wallace (Oak Lake, Man.), while goaltender Charles-Edward Gravel (Levis, Que.) stopped 17 of 18 shots he faced.
The two teams head to Rochester for Saturday’s series finale.
|
Scoring |
Shots |
Pen/Min |
PP |
New Record (Conf.) |
| RIT |
1-0-0–1 |
18 |
4/8 |
0/3 |
0-1-0 (0-1-0) |
| Niagara |
1-2-1–4 |
31 |
4/8 |
1/3 |
1-0-0 (1-0-0) |
MAINE 4, HOLY CROSS 1
Box Score
Worcester, Mass. – Maine took advantage of a first-period five-on-three power play that included a five-minute major to build a 2-0 lead they would never relinquish in the first of this two-game series in Worcester. Tanner Klimpke scored both first-period goals for the Black Bears.
Junior Matthew Kursonis (Worcester, Mass.) got one back for Holy Cross while shorthanded in the second period, but Maine answered with two more goals, including an empty netter, in the third.
The two teams head downtown Saturday for the series finale, being held at the DCU Center.
|
Scoring |
Shots |
Pen/Min |
PP |
New Record (Conf.) |
| Maine |
2-0-2–4 |
30 |
4/8 |
2/7 |
1-0-0 (0-0-0) |
| Holy Cross |
0-1-0–1 |
19 |
5/13 |
0/4 |
0-1-0 (0-0-0) |
#6/6 WISCONSIN 4, ROBERT MORRIS 2
Box Score
Madison, Wis. – Robert Morris scored twice in the third period but it wasn’t enough to overcome No. 6/6 Wisconsin in the season opener for both teams, a 4-2 Badger win.
Four different Badgers scored goals and Wisconsin held a 38-18 shot advantage. Junior defenseman Dominic Elliott (Allendale, Mich.) recorded RMU’s first goal of the season on the power play, and senior forward George Krotiris (Markham, Ont.) added the second in the final minute.
|
Scoring |
Shots |
Pen/Min |
PP |
New Record (Conf.) |
| Robert Morris |
0-0-2–2 |
18 |
3/6 |
1/2 |
0-1-0 (0-0-0) |
| Wisconsin |
1-2-1–4 |
38 |
4/19 |
1/2 |
1-0-0 (0-0-0) |
MERRIMACK 3, SACRED HEART 1 (SCRIMMAGE)
Box Score
Fairfield, Conn. – Merrimack’s Jacob Frasca scored twice as the Warriors posted a 3-1 win at Sacred Heart in a scrimmage tune-up for both teams. The Pioneers host Carleton for an exhibition game on Sunday.
|
Scoring |
Shots |
Pen/Min |
PP |
| Merrimack |
1-0-2–3 |
28 |
6/12 |
1/6 |
| Sacred Heart |
0-1-0–1 |
23 |
7/14 |
1/5 |
RPI 5, ARMY WEST POINT 4 (EXHIBITION)
West Point, N.Y.. – Army West Point scored twice in both the second and third periods but fell to RPI, 5-4, in a Friday night exhibition at Tate Rink. The Black Knights open the regular season Saturday night against another ECAC Hockey foe, Union.
|
Scoring |
| RPI |
2-1-2–5 |
| Army West Point |
0-2-2–4 |
OMAHA 4, AIR FORCE 1 (EXHIBITION)
Box Score
U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo. – Air Force, which travels to St. Thomas to open the regular season next weekend, dropped an exhibition to Omaha, 4-1, Friday at Cadet Ice Arena.
|
Scoring |
Shots |
Pen/Min |
PP |
| Omaha |
1-2-1–4 |
27 |
5/10 |
0/1 |
| Air Force |
1-0-0–1 |
31 |
2/4 |
1/4 |
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Saturday, October 3
Union at Army West Point, 4 p.m. ET
Ferris State at Canisius, 5 p.m. ET
Niagara at RIT, 5:05 p.m. ET
Carleton at Bentley, 6 p.m. ET (Exhibition)
Maine at Holy Cross, 7 p.m. ET (DCU Center)
Robert Morris at #6/6 Wisconsin, 7 p.m. CT
Sunday, October 4
Carleton at Sacred Heart, 2 p.m. ET (Exhibition)
ABOUT ATLANTIC HOCKEY AMERICA
Atlantic Hockey America is in its third season in 2026-27 following the merger of the Atlantic Hockey Association and College Hockey America. The conference fields nine Division I men’s teams and seven women’s teams representing 14 institutions. For more information, visit
atlantichockeyamerica.com or follow the conference on X (
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