Box Score Box Score

GENEVA, N.Y.—Hobart junior attackman Sam Miller logged his third straight hat trick, but No. 19 Bucknell hung on for an 11-9 win over the Statesmen in a non-league game at Boswell Field at the Caird Center for Sports and Recreation.

Junior attackman Chris Pedersen shared game-high honors with four points on two goals and two assists for the Statesmen, while first-year midfielder Alex Love chipped in two goals and an assist. Junior midfielder Bobby Dattilo won 14-of-23 faceoffs, scooped up a game-high nine ground balls, and scored a goal.

First-year Todd Heritage recorded two goals and two assists to lead Bucknell. Senior Mike Danylyshyn contributed two goals and a helper, while junior Charlie Streep and junior Billy Eisenreich scored twice.

Bucknell (4-1) jumped out to a 4-0 lead, scoring three goals in the opening quarter and starting off the second with another. Heritage struck first at 8:21 in the opening quarter. Nick Gantsoudes had an unassisted goal with 3:50 remaining, and with 44 seconds left on the clock, Danylyshyn put the Bison up by three. Eisenreich scored the first goal of the second quarter.

The Statesmen (1-4) got on the scoreboard at 11:46. Pedersen collected a pass from Mike White and fired into the back of the net to make it 4-1. Danylyshyn scored his second of the day at the 9:29 mark, and less than two minutes later, a no angle shot by Bucknell was headed through the Hobart crease, until a defenseman tried to scoop up the ball, but instead knocked it into the Statesmen goal to make it a 6-1.

Hobart was hit with a slashing penalty at the 4:58 mark, but the Statesmen turned the negative into a positive. Hobart gained possession, but a missed pass seemed headed out of bounds in front of the home team's bench. Senior defenseman Paul Reintjes found an extra gear and ran the loose ball down just before it reached the sideline. He carried the ball into the box and dished to Love who fired home a man-down goal, starting a 4-0 run over the next 1:33.

Love scored again just 1:09 later to make it 6-3. With 2:53 remaining, Love had his hand in another tally, setting up Miller's first goal of the day to cut the Hobart deficit to two. Dattilo won the ensuing faceoff and scored his second goal of the year, just six seconds after Miller's strike.

The Bison opened the second half scoring with a man-up goal by Streep just 1:24 into the third. Hobart responded with the next three goals to take its first lead of the game. Sophomore attackman Tyler Simmons found the back of the net at 10:54. Miller followed with back-to-back goals, assisted by Pedersen and senior attackman Tim Bigelow, respectively, giving the Statesmen an 8-7 lead.

The Bison took back the momentum, however, with a 4-0 run of their own. Streep tied the game with 2:45 remaining in the third. Eisenreich put Bucknell back in front for good 1:35 into the final quarter. Goals by Heritage and Chase Bailey gave Bucknell an 11-8 lead with 10 minutes left. Pedersen scored his second goal of the game with 1:00 remaining off an assist from Tyler Smith, but that was as close as Hobart could get.

In goal, the Bucknell platoon of Kyle Feeney (7 GA) and Josh Briskman (2 GA) combined for five saves, while senior Evan Kirk made a career-high 15 saves for Hobart.

The Bison outshot the Statesmen 37-24, but Hobart had a slim 29-28 edge in ground balls. Bucknell was successful on 18-of-19 clearing attempts, while the Statesmen were 12-of-17.

Hobart will be back in action at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 19 when they host Bryant for the second game of a five-game homestand.