Five Things to Know – Men’s Lacrosse Hosts Air Force Saturday

Five Things to Know Before Men's Lacrosse Hosts Southern Conference Foe Air Force in its Home Opener Saturday

1) Demske Debut
• Canisius makes its home debut Saturday when it welcomes Southern Conference foe Air Force to the Demske Sports Complex for a Noon matchup. The Griffs will look to improve its 2018 record on its home turf as they were just 2-5 at the Demske last season.

2) Welcome to Buffalo
• Saturday's contest marks the sixth meeting between Canisius and Air Force, but just the first outside the state of Colorado. The Griffs and Falcons have played twice at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., and three times in neutral-site matchups at the University of Denver's Faceoff Classic. Air Force holds a 4-1 edge in the series, winning each of the last two meetings at the Faceoff Classic in 2015 and 2017, respectively.

3) SoCon Rubber Match
• Canisius will square off against a Southern Conference opponent for the third time this season with Saturday's matchup against Air Force. The Griffs are 1-1 versus SoCon competition in 2019, posting a 13-10 victory at Mercer on Feb. 16, before suffering a 12-10 setback at Furman three days later.

4) Nordstrom Named MAAC Defensive Player of the Week
• Senior goalie Brad Nordstrom was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. Nordstrom recorded 28 saves while also pitching in seven ground balls and two caused turnovers to help guide Canisius to a 1-1 record last week against Furman and Hartford. In his first season at Canisius, Nordstrom has recorded double-digit saves in all four contests for the Griffs. He begins the week ranked eighth in the nation in saves per game (14.25).

5) Balawejder Shines in Victory over Hartford
• Junior face-off specialist Daniel Balawejder had a career day in Canisius' 16-12 victory over Hartford last Saturday, recording 17 victories at the face-off X to go along with 11 ground balls and an assist. Balawejder's 17 face-off wins were the most by a Canisius face-off specialist since Mike Moran tallied 17 at Jacksonville on April 20, 2013. His 11 ground balls were also the most by a Canisius player since Moran scooped up 11 at Marst on April 28, 2012.

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Players Mentioned

#15 Daniel Balawejder: FO/D; 6' 0"; Junior

#16 Brad Nordstrom: GK; 5' 9"; Redshirt Senior

Players Mentioned

#15 Daniel Balawejder
: 6' 0"; Junior
: FO/D

#16 Brad Nordstrom
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Senior
: GK

Players Mentioned

#15 Daniel Balawejder

#16 Brad Nordstrom

Players Mentioned

#15 Daniel Balawejder

#16 Brad Nordstrom