2025–26 LIU Sharks men's ice hockey season

2025–26 LIU Sharks
men's ice hockey season
ConferenceIndependent
Home iceNorthwell Health Ice Center
Rankings
USCHONR
USA HockeyNR
Record
Overall14–18–1
Home2–3–1
Road10–15–0
Neutral2–0–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachBrendan Riley
Assistant coachesMikhail Bryan
C. J. Kusch
CaptainCasey McDonald
Alternate captain(s)Heath Armstrong
A.J. Casperson
Trevor Griebel
Brett Rylance
LIU Sharks men's ice hockey seasons
« 2024–25 2026–27 »

The 2025–26 LIU Sharks men's ice hockey season will be the 6th season of play for the program. The Sharks will represent Long Island University in the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, play their home games at the Northwell Health Ice Center and be coached by Brendan Riley, in his 1st season.

Season

After the end of the previous season, head coach Brett Riley was hired by Ferris State for the same position.[1] Less than two weeks later, Long Island announced that they had hired Brendan Riley, Brett's cousin, as his replacement.[2] Along with the change in head coach came an increase in roster turnover as five players followed the elder Riley to the Bulldogs. Among the untimely losses were the primary starter in goal and the top two goal scorers from last season. Brendan Riley was able to neutralize those losses in part thanks to the diminution of American International and take on four former Yellow Jackets.

As the season began, the roster turnover did the team no favors as they dropped five of their first six games. A lack of scoring was the primary reason for the defeats, however, as soon as the team was able to find the back of the next, they immediately went on a winning streak and brought themselves back up to .500. This pattern would repeat throughout the season as the Sharks oscillated stretches of good and bad play. Noah Serdachny and Brett Rylance, two of the AIC transfers, finished 1st and 4th in scoring respectively on an offense that wasn't quite as good as it had been a year before but was still a consistent threat. The biggest chance came in goal where Daniel Duris, who had been the third string netminder as a freshman, now found himself as the starter. There were several stretches during the season where the young goaltender was unable to rise to the occasion, however, he was also impacted by the fact that the LIU defense had worsened significantly since last year. Long Island allowed more than 200 additional shots over the course of their season and Duris could not shoulder the extra load all of the time. The increased pressure on goal resulted in the team finishing the year with a losing record.

At season's end, Long Island participated in the inaugural United Collegiate Hockey Cup. Their record against fellow independent clubs resulted in their being seeded #3 and meeting Lindenwood in the semifinal. The two battled hard in the game with LIU twice tying the score but fell behind for a third time with just 8 seconds to play and were sent into the consolation round.[3] Over their final two matches, Serdachny ran roughshod over Stonehill and Alaska Anchorage with five points to earn the Sharks a third place finish.[4]

Departures

Player Position Nationality Cause
Austin Brimmer Forward  Canada Transferred to RIT
Isaiah Fox Forward  Canada Graduation (signed with Adirondack Thunder)
John Gormley Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with San Jose Barracuda)
Connor Gregga Forward  Canada Graduation (signed with Savannah Ghost Pirates)
Aaron Grounds Forward  United States Graduation (retired)
Xan Gurney Defenseman  United States Graduation (retired)
Andrius Kulbis-Marino Defenseman  United States Graduation (signed with Utah Grizzlies)
Cade Mason Defenseman  Canada Transferred to Northern Michigan
Tyriq Outen Goaltender  United States Graduation (signed with Knoxville Ice Bears)
Chris Pappas Forward  Canada Graduation (retired)
Valtteri Piironen Defenseman  Finland Transferred to Ferris State
Carter Rapalje Forward  United States Transferred to Ferris State
Noah Rupprecht Goaltender  United States Transferred to Ferris State
Nick Trela Forward  United States Graduation (retired)
Riley Wallack Forward  Canada Transferred to Ferris State
Josh Zary Forward  Canada Transferred to Ferris State

Recruiting

Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Nate Benoit Defenseman  United States 22 Bow, NH; transfer from Quinnipiac; selected 182nd overall in 2021
Carter Bickle Goaltender  Canada 21 Brooklin, ON
Blake Dangos Defenseman  United States 23 St. Louis, MO; transfer from American International
Jack Darby Defenseman  United States 21 New Hartford, NY
Jaden Dyke Forward  Canada 21 St. John's, NL
Trevor Griebel Defenseman  United States 24 Tampa, FL; transfer from Merrimack
Luke Hause Defenseman  United States 21 Saint Paul, MN
Dylan Kinch Forward  Canada 20 Salzburg, AUT
Blake Matheson Defenseman  United States 20 Everett, WA
Casey McDonald Forward  Canada 24 Kindersley, SK; transfer from American International
John McMahon Forward  United States 21 Oceanside, NY
Lukas Renaud Goaltender  Canada 21 Montréal, QC
Brett Rylance Forward  Canada 24 Edmonton, AB; transfer from American International
Noah Serdachny Forward  Canada 22 Edmonton, AB; transfer from American International

Roster

As of September 19, 2025.[5]

No. Nat. Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
1 Michael Polston Sophomore G 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2004-10-07 Cedarburg, Wisconsin Provo Predators (NCDC) —
2 Trent Powell Sophomore D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2004-03-09 Soldotna, Alaska Anchorage Wolverines (NAHL) —
3 A. J. Casperson (A) Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2001-07-19 Flower Mound, Texas Janesville Jets (NAHL) —
4 Blake Dangos Senior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2002-04-08 St. Louis, Missouri American International (AHA) —
5 Trevor Griebel (A) Senior D 5' 10" (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2001-03-07 Tampa, Florida Merrimack (HEA) —
6 Blake Matheson Freshman D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 2005-06-06 Everett, Washington Winkler Flyers (MJHL) —
7 Jack Darby Freshman D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2004-04-29 New Hartford, New York Anchorage Wolverines (NAHL) —
9 Daniel Baldassarra Senior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2002-03-15 Woodbridge, Ontario North York Rangers (OJHL) —
10 Heath Armstrong (A) Sophomore F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 2002-05-12 Calgary, Alberta Brooks Bandits (AJHL) —
11 John McMahon Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2004-05-25 Oceanside, New York New Jersey Titans (NAHL) —
12 Brennan Nelson Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2003-03-21 Edmonton, Alberta West Kelowna Warriors (BCHL) —
15 Luca Leighton Sophomore F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2003-08-13 Old Brookville, New York Rochester Jr. Americans (NAHL) —
17 Sixten Jennersjö Sophomore F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 179 lb (81 kg) 2003-04-18 Ekerö, Sweden Northeast Generals (NAHL) —
18 Anthony Lucarelli Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2003-10-16 Chatham, Ontario Powell River Kings (BCHL) —
19 Chad Muller Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2003-07-13 Kingston, Ontario Minot Minotauros (NAHL) —
22 Nate Benoit Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 2002-11-26 Bow, New Hampshire Quinnipiac (ECAC) MIN, 182nd overall 2021
24 Luke Hause Freshman D 6' 4" (1.93 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 2004-03-24 Saint Paul, Minnesota Kenai River Brown Bears (NAHL) —
26 Isaac Lambert Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2003-08-28 Victoriaville, Quebec Salmon Arm Silverbacks (BCHL) —
27 Dylan Kinch Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2004-12-25 Salzburg, Austria Nanaimo Clippers (BCHL) —
28 Garrett Valk Junior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2002-10-20 North Vancouver, British Columbia Langley Rivermen (BCHL) —
29 Jaden Dyke Freshman G 6' 4" (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2004-08-06 St. John's, Newfoundland Rochester Jr. Americans (NAHL) —
30 Daniel Duris Sophomore G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2003-08-15 Martin, Slovakia Oklahoma Warriors (NAHL) —
31 Carter Bickle Freshman G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2004-05-27 Brooklin, Ontario Milton Menace (OJHL) —
37 Lukas Renaud Freshman G 6' 2" (1.88 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 2004-01-06 Montréal, Quebec Calgary Canucks (AJHL) —
38 J. R. Perdion Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 181 lb (82 kg) 2003-06-25 Strongsville, Ohio Prince George Spruce Kings (BCHL) —
48 Nick Bernardo Sophomore D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2003-05-13 Hauppauge, New York Maine Nordiques (NAHL) —
52 Onni Leppänen Junior F 5' 8" (1.73 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2003-12-01 Helsinki, Finland Jokerit U20 (U20 SM-sarja) —
55 Brett Rylance (A) Senior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 167 lb (76 kg) 2001-08-03 Edmonton, Alberta American International (AHA) —
67 Casey McDonald (C) Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2001-05-10 Plenty, Saskatchewan American International (AHA) —
91 Noah Serdachny Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2003-03-09 Edmonton, Alberta American International (AHA) —

Standings

2025–26 NCAA Division I Independent ice hockey standings
Overall record
GP W L T GF GA
Alaska* 33 15 15 3 96 99
Alaska Anchorage 33 5 27 1 57 134
Lindenwood 30 15 15 0 105 114
Long Island 33 14 18 1 105 112
Stonehill 35 10 22 3 88 118
Championship: March 7, 2026
* indicates tournament champion
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 3 5:00 pm at Army* Tate Rink • West Point, New York (Exhibition) FloHockey Duris W 3–0  1,573
Regular Season
October 4 6:00 pm at #2 Boston University* Agganis Arena • Boston, Massachusetts ESPN+, TSN+ Duris L 2–4  5,170 0–1–0
October 10 7:00 pm at Canisius* LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York FloHockey Bickle L 2–3  670 0–2–0
October 11 7:00 pm at Canisius* LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York FloHockey Duris W 6–1  467 1–2–0
October 17 7:00 pm at #6 Penn State* Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania BTN+ Duris L 4–5 OT 6,449 1–3–0
October 18 6:00 pm at #6 Penn State* Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania BTN+ Duris L 0–3  6,428 1–4–0
October 24 7:00 pm at New Hampshire* Whittemore Center • Durham, New Hampshire ESPN+ Duris L 2–3 OT 5,234 1–5–0
October 25 7:00 pm at Merrimack* J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts ESPN+ Duris W 5–2  1,787 2–5–0
October 27 2:00 pm Simon Fraser* Northwell Health Ice Center • East Meadow, New York (Exhibition) FloHockey Duris W 3–2   
October 30 7:00 pm Maryville* Northwell Health Ice Center • East Meadow, New York (Exhibition) FloHockey Bickle W 9–3  250
October 31 7:00 pm Maryville* Northwell Health Ice Center • East Meadow, New York (Exhibition) FloHockey Renaud W 3–1  127
November 7 7:00 pm at Robert Morris* Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania FloHockey Duris W 6–3  675 3–5–0
November 8 7:00 pm at Robert Morris* Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania FloHockey Duris W 2–0  581 4–5–0
November 14 8:00 pm at Minnesota* 3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota   Duris W 6–2  8,708 5–5–0
November 15 6:00 pm at Minnesota* 3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota   Duris L 3–6  8,704 5–6–0
November 21 7:00 pm Merrimack* Northwell Health Ice Center • East Meadow, New York FloHockey Duris L 2–6  600 5–7–0
November 22 5:00 pm at Sacred Heart* Martire Family Arena • Fairfield, Connecticut FloHockey Bickle L 2–7  2,543 5–8–0
November 28 8:40 pm at Lindenwood* Centene Community Ice Center • St. Charles, Missouri   Duris L 2–5  901 5–9–0
November 29 7:10 pm at Lindenwood* Centene Community Ice Center • St. Charles, Missouri   Duris W 5–2  894 6–9–0
December 5 2:30 pm Assumption* Northwell Health Ice Center • East Meadow, New York FloHockey Duris W 8–3  150 7–9–0
December 13 6:00 pm at Merrimack* J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts ESPN+ Duris L 2–4  1,738 7–10–0
December 28 5:00 pm Army* Northwell Health Ice Center • East Meadow, New York FloHockey Duris T 4–4 OT 600 7–10–1
December 31 3:00 pm at #11 Connecticut* Toscano Family Ice Forum • Storrs, Connecticut ESPN+ Duris L 1–4  2,513 7–11–1
January 3 2:00 pm #11 Connecticut* Northwell Health Ice Center • East Meadow, New York FloHockey Duris L 1–3  656 7–12–1
January 11 3:00 pm Stonehill* Bridgewater Ice Arena • Bridgewater, Massachusetts NEC Front Row Duris W 3–2  239 8–12–1
January 23 11:00 pm at Alaska Anchorage* Avis Alaska Sports Complex • Anchorage, Alaska   Duris W 6–2  771 9–12–1
January 24 9:00 pm at Alaska Anchorage* Avis Alaska Sports Complex • Anchorage, Alaska   Duris W 4–0  835 10–12–1
January 27 11:00 pm at Alaska Anchorage* Avis Alaska Sports Complex • Anchorage, Alaska   Duris W 4–3  273 11–12–1
January 30 11:00 pm at Alaska* Carlson Center • Fairbanks, Alaska FloHockey Duris L 1–5  1,887 11–13–1
January 31 11:00 pm at Alaska* Carlson Center • Fairbanks, Alaska FloHockey Duris L 1–5  2,185 11–14–1
February 13 2:00 pm Stonehill* Northwell Health Ice Center • East Meadow, New York FloHockey Duris L 1–3  519 11–15–1
February 14 2:00 pm Stonehill* Northwell Health Ice Center • East Meadow, New York FloHockey Duris W 5–3  627 12–15–1
February 20 7:00 pm at Stonehill* Warrior Ice Arena • Boston, Massachusetts NEC Front Row Duris L 1–5  185 12–16–1
February 21 7:00 pm at Stonehill* Warrior Ice Arena • Boston, Massachusetts NEC Front Row Duris L 2–3  232 12–17–1
United Collegiate Hockey Cup
March 5 8:00 pm at Lindenwood* Centene Community Ice Center • St. Charles, Missouri (UCHC Semifinal) FloHockey Duris L 4–5  512 12–18–1
March 6 8:00 pm vs. Alaska Anchorage* Centene Community Ice Center • St. Charles, Missouri (UCHC Consolation Semifinal) FloHockey Duris W 4–3 OT 486 13–18–1
March 7 4:00 pm vs. Stonehill* Centene Community Ice Center • St. Charles, Missouri (UCHC Third Place Game) FloHockey Duris W 4–3  378 14–18–1
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[6]

Scoring statistics

Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Noah Serdachny F 33 13 16 29 31
J. R. Perdion F 33 11 14 25 27
Sixten Jennersjö LW 33 8 17 25 4
Brett Rylance C/W 30 11 13 24 10
Dylan Kinch RW 33 9 15 24 6
Trevor Griebel D/F 30 2 18 20 18
Nick Bernardo D 30 8 9 17 14
Isaac Lambert C 32 10 5 15 22
Nate Benoit D 31 4 9 13 29
Anthony Lucarelli C 30 5 7 12 10
Trent Powell D 33 1 10 11 16
Onni Leppänen C/W 24 4 6 10 35
Casey McDonald F 31 4 6 10 37
Jaden Dyke C/W 33 3 7 10 8
Luca Leighton F 20 4 2 6 18
Daniel Baldassarra C 16 3 2 5 4
Brennan Nelson F 27 2 3 5 10
Garrett Valk D 31 1 4 5 30
Chad Muller RW 13 1 2 3 16
Blake Matheson D 24 0 3 3 2
Blake Dangos D 32 0 3 3 37
John McMahon F 6 1 0 1 0
Jack Darby D 13 0 1 1 0
Carter Bickle G 3 0 0 0 0
Lukas Renaud G 5 0 0 0 0
Heath Armstrong F 10 0 0 0 0
Daniel Duris G 31 0 0 0 0
Total 105 172 277 398

[7]

Goaltending statistics

Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals against Saves Shut outs SV % GAA
Lukas Renaud 7 113:28 0 0 0 5 39 0 .886 2.64
Daniel Duris 31 1769:45 14 16 1 97 870 2 .900 3.29
Carter Bickle 5 104:00 0 2 0 9 43 0 .827 5.19
Empty Net - 10:49 - - - 1 - - - -
Total 33 1998:02 14 18 1 112 952 2 .895 3.36

Rankings

Main article: 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings
Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 (Final)
USCHO.com NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR – NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
USA Hockey NR NR NR NR NR NR RV NR NR NR NR NR – NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 12.[8]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

References

  1. ^ "Ferris State tabs LIU's Riley as its next head coach". USCHO. March 28, 2025. Retrieved March 29, 2025.
  2. ^ "Brendan Riley Named Head Men's Ice Hockey Coach". LIU Sharks. April 9, 2025. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  3. ^ "Lions Advance to UCHC Final with Dramatic Win Over LIU". Lindenwood Lions. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  4. ^ "Noah Serdachny Leads LIU Past Stonehill, Sharks Claim 3rd Place at Inaugural UCHC". LIU Sharks. March 8, 2026. Retrieved March 15, 2026.
  5. ^ "2025-26 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". LIU Sharks. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  6. ^ "2025-26 Men's Ice Hockey Schedule". LIU Sharks. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  7. ^ "Long Island Univ. 2025-2026 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  8. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
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