YourHub's College Hockey Weekly

A look at your college hockey programs in Western New York: Canisius, Niagara and Buffalo State College.

Division I

USCHO.com men's poll: 1.) Miami; 2.) Michigan; 3.) North Dakota; 4.) Michigan State; 5.) Denver; 19.) Niagara

USCHO.com women's poll: 1.) New Hampshire; 2.) Wisconsin; 3.) Mercyhurst; 4.) Minnesota-Duluth; 5.) St. Lawrence

Canisius men's ice hockey
(1-4-2, 1-2-1 Atlantic Hockey)

GoGriffs.comreports: "The Canisius hockey team split a pair of games against defending Atlantic Hockey regular season champion, falling 4-3 in the opener before dominating the Tigers for a 6-2 victory in the Griffs' home opener. A total of 1,131 fans came out to see Canisius defeat the Tigers, just 104 people shy of the Buffalo State Sports Arena record.

Seniors David Kasch (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) and Bryce Luker (Rigaud, Quebec) led the Griffs to the victory in the series finale. Kasch tallied two goals and recorded his first multiple-point effort since posting two assists against RIT on Feb. 2, 2007. Luker recorded 36 saves and earned his first victory with the Blue and Gold. Luker had recorded four previous victories in his career, all as a member of Michigan Tech.

The duo helped the Griffs' hand the Tigers its biggest Atlantic Hockey defeat. The four-goal margin of defeat also tied the Tigers' worst defeat since moving to Division I.

The dominating victory came after a tight 4-3 loss in the opener. The Tigers won the game by scoring on a penalty shot in the third period. It was the first time that a Canisius opponent attempted a penalty shot since Nov. 9, 2003 and the first time an opponent has made one since the Griffs moved to Division I. The game was also the fifth-consecutive contest decided by one or fewer goals for Canisius. It was the longest streak for the Griffs since moving to Division I.

Freshman Derek Danowski (Detroit, Mich.) and junior Spencer Churchill (Brantford, Ontario) both extended their points streaks to a career-best five games. Danowski tallied an assist in the opener against RIT before missing the finale. Churchill recorded an assist on Friday and added two assists in the victory on Saturday. Through just seven games, Churchill has recorded six assists on the season, which is one shy of his career-high total and is tied for the Atlantic Hockey lead.

The Griffs hit the road for a pair of league games next weekend. Canisius plays at Holy Cross on Friday at 7:05 p.m. and on Saturday at 4:05 p.m."

Niagara men's ice hockey
(5-2-0, 1-1-0 CHA)

From PurpleEagles.com: "The praise continues from around the country as national college hockey polls are being released this afternoon. The country's major polls, USCHO/CSTV, USA Today, and Inside College Hockey (INCH) Power Rankings have all taken notice of the Niagara Purple Eagles once again.

After a tough road trip this weekend for Niagara (5-2-0, 1-1-0), traveling to Bemidji, Minn., to take on the Bemidji State Beavers, the Purple Eagles ended the week with a series split on the opening weekend of CHA play. Niagara is now ranked for the second week in a row on the USCHO/CSTV poll now at No. 19, stepping back from last week's No. 17. The USA Today poll has Niagara receiving eight votes, just one spot away from being ranked in the top 15, and the INCH Power Rankings poll lists the Purple Eagles also at the No. 19 spot in the country."

Last season, the Purple Eagles were mainstays in the polls, spending six weeks in the USCHO.com/CSTV poll and one week in the USA Today rankings, while garnering votes in all but one week of play from USCHO.com. The rankings mark the third season in the program's history that Niagara has been ranked nationally."

Niagara women's ice hockey
(3-2-1)

PurpleEagles.comnotes: "Despite her two power-play goal game, Ashley Riggs (Pickering, Ont.), and the rest of the Purple Eagles fell to Cornell with a 6-2 loss Saturday afternoon.

Niagara (3-2-1) started off the game trailing 4-0 in the first period, before Riggs put the Purple Eagles on the board late in the first period off a pass from Marie Linander Henriksen (Ballerup, Denmark) and Shannon Moulson (Mississauga, Ont).

'Anytime you have mental lapse, any team can capitalize on it,' head coach Margot Page said. 'It is tough to come back from a four goal deficit.'

A goalie change late in the first period tried to help Niagara turn things around. Nikki Rudy (Port McNeill, B.C.) stopped a total of 17 shots, only allowing two goals by her for the remainder of the game.

'Rudy came in and performed incredibly well,' Page said. 'That was a tough position for any goaltender to walk into.'

Niagara continues their home stand next weekend when the Purple Eagles take on Bemidji State in the friendly confines of Dwyer Arena."

Division III
USCHO.com men's poll: 1.) Middlebury; 2.) Manhattanville; 3.) Wisconsin-River Falls; 4.) Norwich; 5.) Plattsburgh

USCHO.com women's poll: 1.) Plattsburgh; 2.) Middlebury; 3.) Wisconsin-Stevens Point; 4.) Amherst; 5.) Elmira

Buffalo State men's ice hockey
(2-3-1, 1-0-1 SUNYAC)

Buffalostate.eduhas news: "Buffalo State freshman Nick Petriello (St. Catharines, ON/Holy Cross) was named the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Men's Hockey Rookie of the Week for the second time in three weeks.

Petriello led the Bengals to a 4-3 win over Geneseo on Friday with a two goals and assisted on the overtime game-winner. The childhood education major also picked up a goal in a 4-4 tie against Brockport the following night, putting him tied for the conference lead with five goals. He leads the Bengals with nine points in six games.

Buffalo State will host Plattsburgh, the No. 5-ranked team in the nation, this Friday at 7 p.m."

Buffalo State women's ice hockey
(1-0)

From Buffalostate.edu: "Women's hockey player Melissa Jeckovich (Niagara Falls/ Niagara Falls) was named the Buffalo State Athlete of the Week. The junior mathematics major netted her first career hat trick in the 3-1 victory over Concordia (MN) on Sunday in the Bengals' first NCAA game of the season. All three goals were scored in the third period."