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Canisius University Athletics

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Buffalo, N.Y. - Mike Penna cradles the ball during Canisius' contest versus Air Force at the Demske Sports Complex on March 2, 2019
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4
CAN-M CANISIUS 0-4
10
Winner Hartford HARTFORD 1-2
CAN-M CANISIUS
0-4
4
Final
10
Hartford HARTFORD
1-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
CAN-M CANISIUS 2 2 0 0 4
Hartford HARTFORD 2 2 4 2 10

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

Strong Second Half Sends Hartford Past Men’s Lacrosse

Hartford scored six unanswered goals in the second half to break open a 4-4 contest and defeat Canisius, 10-4, in collegiate men's lacrosse action Saturday at Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium in West Hartford, Conn.
 
Carter O'Connor scored four goals, including three during the second half, to pace the Hawks (1-2) attack. Christian Paley pitched in a goal and two assists while Ty Thompson added a goal and two helpers. Cam Logan finished with 12 saves in goal for the host.
 
Sophomore Mike Penna tallied two goals and pitched in an assist for the Golden Griffins (0-4), while seniors Mathieu Boissonneault and Carter Stefaniak added individual markers. Freshman goalie Otto Bergmann continued his stellar start to the 2020 campaign, finishing with a season-best 23 saves.  
 
Tied at 4-4 at the start of the third quarter, Thompson scored the eventual game-winning goal just 42 seconds into the frame before Hartford capitalized on a pair of O'Connell tallies bookending a goal from Paly during 1:38 stretch later in the frame to build an 8-4 cushion heading into the fourth.
 
O'Connell completed his second-half hat trick to open the fourth quarter and Owen Trepeta registered his first goal of the contest with 11:42 remaining to pull the game out of reach, as Hartford held Canisius off the scoreboard over the final 36:02 of the contest to earn its first victory of the season.
 
The teams traded goals during a back-and-forth first half as Penna opened the scoring at the 8:11 mark of the first before Tyler Corpora answered back for the Hawks less than two minutes later.
 
Stefaniak restored Canisius' lead with 5:30 remaining in the opening frame, but Hartford once again had an answer as Justin Tkachuk tied the game at 2-2 just 57 seconds later.
 
Boissonneault opened the second-quarter scoring with his team-leading ninth goal of the campaign to put the Griffs in front, only to see O'Connell get his first of the afternoon moments later to knot the score at 3-all.
 
Penna tallied his second of the contest with 6:02 to play until the halftime whistle to give the Griffs their fourth lead of the contest, but Paly got on the board with less than two minutes remaining in the frame to knot the score at 4-4, setting the stage for the Hawks' second-half surge.
 
Head Coach Mark Miyashita's Postgame Comments
"Our defense played by far its best game on that end of the field, holding Hartford to 10 goals with Otto Bergmann stout between the pipes with 20-plus saves.
 
Unfortunately, we put them in a bad position. That's too much defense to have to play in a game and it's on the offense and our faceoff guys to do a better job. They have to step up and that's what we're going to focus in on during the next few weeks because we need all three facets to be clicking and going at once. It cannot be one or the other. So, we've got some work to do.
 
"We have to change our intensity moving forward. We need to bring a high level of focus and effort into every game and understand that 30 minutes simply isn't good enough. We need our leaders to show the way. We are four games in now and our guys have gotten plenty of experience. We're going to do a deep dive here and get better and find the guys who are willing to step up.
 
"It was a great effort by Otto today. Twenty-three saves is an awesome performance. Unfortunately, we didn't do enough to support him and the rest of the defense on the offensive end. We've got to be able to capitalize when we get a great effort from those guys on the back end. That's what we'll focus on during next couple of weeks as we prepare for Air Force."
 
Game Notes
• Saturday's contest served as the fourth meeting between Canisius and Hartford. The Griffs moved to 1-3 versus the Hawks with Saturday's setback.
• Hartford out-shot Canisius, 49-25, for the contest, highlighted by a 27-12 advantage in the second half.
• Hartford won 12-of-18 faceoffs taken in the contest, including 6-of-8 contested at the faceoff X in the second half.
• Bergmann recorded double-digit saves for the fourth straight contest to open his collegiate career with his 23-save effort on Saturday.
• His 23 saves represented the first 20-plus save effort for a Canisius goalie since Thomas Kucharczak turned aside 21 shots at Butler back on March 1, 2003.
• Boissonneault extended his point-scoring streak to 28 games with his second-quarter goal.
• Penna established a career high for points with his three-point effort on Saturday.
 
Up Next
• Canisius concludes its five-game road swing to open the 2020 season on March 8, when it travels to Colorado to face Air Force.
• Opening faceoff between the Griffs and Falcons is set for 2 p.m. EST at the Cadet Lacrosse Stadium on the grounds of the United States Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs.
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