Senior Grant Porter scored with one minute remaining in overtime to lift Canisius to a 3-2 victory over LIU in collegiate men’s ice hockey action Friday at LECOM Harborcenter in downtown Buffalo.
Senior Oliver Tarr and freshman Carter Anderson also scored for the Golden Griffins (3-0-0), who remained undefeated on the young season. Senior goaltender Chase Clark made 29 saves to post his third victory of the season.
Noah Serdachny and Trent Powell accounted for the two goals for the Sharks (0-2-0). Carter Bickle finished with 24 saves between the pipes for the visitors.
Porter’s game-winning goal came off the rush as he batted a loose puck out of midair over the right shoulder of Bickle after junior Walter Zacher’s initial attempt from the middle of the slot was deflected by a LIU defender.
Canisius trailed 2-1 at the start of the third period before Tarr tied the score less than five minutes into the frame, chipping sophomore Jason Gallucci’s centering feed past Bickle while on the rush to knot the score at 2-2.
Earlier in the contest, Anderson opened the scoring with a power-play goal at the 17:05 mark of the first period, beating Bickle to the blocker side from the right face-off circle for his first collegiate tally.
Serdachny brought the Sharks level just past the 12-minute mark of the second period, shoveling home a backhand from the middle of the slot for his first goal of the campaign.
Powell gave LIU the lead with 14:55 elapsed in the second period, depositing Sixten Jennersjo centering feed into the Canisius goal from close range during a 4-on-3 power play to put the Sharks in front, setting the stage for the Griffs comeback.
GAME NOTES
• Friday’s contest served as the inaugural meeting between the two programs.
• LIU outshot Canisius by a 31-27 margin for the contest, highlighted by a combined 13-7 edge over the third period and overtime.
• Both teams were 1-for-2 on the power play in the contest.
• The Griffs improved to 3-0-0 this season and 87-38-12 under head coach Trevor Large when scoring the first goal of the game.
• Canisius also improved to 3-0-0 in 2025-26 and 88-17-10 under Large when holding their opponent to two goals or fewer.
• The Griffs picked up their first overtime victory since a 5-4 overtime triumph at Robert Morris back on Feb. 17, 2024.
• Porter scored the first game-winning goal of his career with the overtime winner. He also extended his goal-scoring streak to three games with the extra-session marker.
• Anderson is the first member of the freshman class to score a goal this season. He also extended his point-scoring streak to two games with his power-play marker.
• Clark picked up his third career assist with the secondary helper on Tarr’s third-period equalizer.
• Senior Robert Kincaid and junior Walter Zacher both notched their first assists of the season on Friday.
UP NEXT
The teams complete their two-game series Saturday with a 7 p.m. contest at LECOM Harborcenter.
Tickets for the game 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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Porter’s Overtime Heroics Lift Hockey to Victory over LIU first appeared on Canisius University Athletics.