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Canisius University Athletics

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Canisius attackman Jacob Buck cradles the ball with a St. Bonaventure defender guarding him during game action at the Demske Sports Complex on April 6, 2021
Lindy Feider
9
St. Bonaventure SBUM 2-4 (1-4 MAAC)
11
Winner Canisius CAN 3-2 (2-2 MAAC)
St. Bonaventure SBUM
2-4 (1-4 MAAC)
9
Final
11
Canisius CAN
3-2 (2-2 MAAC)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
St. Bonaventure SBUM 2 2 2 3 9
Canisius CAN 0 4 3 4 11

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

Men’s Lacrosse Beats St. Bonaventure In Tuesday Tilt

Junior Mike Penna and freshman Keegan Kozack both recorded hat tricks to pace Canisius in an 11-9 victory over Little Three rival St. Bonaventure in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's lacrosse action Tuesday at the Demske Sports Complex in downtown Buffalo.
 
Junior Jacob Buck scored a goal and matched his career high with four assists for the Golden Griffins (3-2, 2-2 MAAC). Graduate Dan Kritkausky and freshman Hunter Parucki tallied two goals apiece while sophomore Jackson Naylor dished out two assists.  
 
Senior keeper Matt Vavonese, making his first career start, recorded nine saves to earn the victory. Sophomore faceoff specialist Connor Beals matched his career high with 17 faceoff wins as he was a dominant 17-of-24 at the faceoff X.  
 
Sean Weatley notched four goals while Jake Rosa tallied three goals and added an assist for the visiting Bonnies (2-4, 1-4 MAAC). Mark Belles added a goal and an assist while Brett Dobson made 15 saves between the pipes for SBU.
 
Trailing 2-0 at the start of the second quarter, Canisius used a pair of tallies from Kozack in the opening 5:06 of the frame to knot the score at 2-2. The teams traded goals over the remainder of the half, with two goals from Penna neutralizing markers from SBU's Westley and Rosa to send the game into the break tied at 4-4.
 
Kritkausky opened the second half scoring exactly four minutes into the third to give Canisius its first lead of the evening and spark a 3-0 spurt that put the Griffs in front, 7-4. The Bonnies had an answer, however, as goals from Rosa and Blumbergs capped the stanza and made it a one-goal contest heading into the fourth.
 
Kritkausky once again started the scoring for Canisius in the fourth, beating Dobson from distance to restore the Griffs' two-goal cushion, 8-6. Westley notched his second of the game less than two minutes later to once again pull SBU within one, but Parucki and Kozack responded with goals less than a minute apart to push Canisius back in front by three just before the midway point of the final frame.
 
Westley completed his hat trick with less than six minutes remaining to keep the Bonnies within striking distance, but Penna finished off his hat trick just 57 seconds later to once again make it a three-goal game again. An unassisted tally from Westley with under two minutes on the clock determined the final margin.
 
Head Coach Mark Miyashita's Postgame Comments
"It was a great team effort. It started today with the attitude that the guys came to the KAC with. Something that we discussed as a team after last week was that every man, one-through-48, has a role to play on game day and it starts with our warm up, making sure that we have good energy and a good flow going and then have that carry into the game for the guys that are stepping on the field while also maintaining that on the bench. So, hats off to the guys that were on the sidelines that were just going absolutely nuts for their teammates all night. It just shows that when we've got all the guys pulling in the same direction what we're capable of. I'm very proud of the way these guys bounced back here this evening.
 
"We just got into a rhythm (after the first quarter). Early on in the game, we had a very slow start on the offensive end, just missed timing and some miscommunication. They made a couple of great trail checks on our guys and we threw the ball away twice early on that kind of had us on our heels a little bit. The defensive guys weathered the storm and the offensive guys really came together, just kind of buckled down, kept it close there in the first quarter and after that we kind of settled in, got some big plays and sort of just took a big collective sigh of relief and were able to dictate the pace for ourselves the rest of the game."
 
Game Notes
• Tuesday's contest served as the second meeting between the two Little Three rivals since SBU reinstated its program in 2019.
• Canisius out-shot St. Bonaventure by a 43-32 margin, highlighted by a 36-21 advantage over the final three quarters.
• The Griffs were 1-of-5 in man-up situations while St. Bonaventure was 0-for-3 with the extra attacker.
• Canisius improved to 10-2 under Miyashita when holding opponents to single-digit goals. The Griffs also moved to 10-9 under the fourth-year head coach in games decided by two goals or less.
• The hat tricks by Penna and Kozack were the first of both players during their respective collegiate careers.
• Buck dished out four assists in a game for the third time in his career with his four-assist effort on Tuesday.
• Parucki recorded multiple goals in a game for the first time in his career with his two-goal performance on Tuesday.
• Beals matched his career high for faceoff wins, established against Siena on March 20.
• Vavonese and Beals led the team with six ground balls apiece.
 
Up Next
• Canisius is scheduled to return to action April 11 with a road contest at preseason favorite Marist.
• Opening faceoff between the Griffs and Red Foxes is set for 1 p.m. at Tinney Stadium in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
 
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