Bulldogs fall to Bucknell on road, 7-5, Saturday afternoon

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Sophomore attack Tucker James (Essex Fells, N.J.) posted a game-high four points off a goal and three assists, but a stagnant Bryant offense was limited to just five goals in a 7-5 loss at Bucknell Saturday afternoon.

The Bulldogs (0-2) never led in the contest, as the Bison (1-1) jumped out to a 3-0 advantage through the opening two quarters. Sean Doyle's unassisted tally was the only goal of the first 15 minutes, while Thomas Flibotte teamed up with Ryan Joseph twice in the second frame for the halftime margin favoring Bucknell.

Bryant was held to just 13 first-half shots while junior goalie Gunnar Waldt (Freeland, Md.) was forced to make seven of his 11 stops in the opening 30 minutes.

James would get the Black and Gold on the board just 15 seconds into the third in unassisted fashion to close the deficit to 3-1, but Bucknell's Kyle Shanahan returned the favor just over two minutes later to renew the home side's three-goal edge.

Rookie Tom Kennedy (Farmingdale, N.Y.) scored the first goal of his collegiate career just over five minutes into the third, and fellow frosh Cam Ziegler (Carlsbad, Calif.) cut Bucknell's advantage to one, 4-3, just over a minute later. Both goals were assisted by James.

But the Bison would let the visiting Bulldogs get no closer, scoring the next three tallies spanning the final two quarters for a 7-3 lead in the final five minutes of the game. Doyle would net his second of the day to close out third-period scoring, and neither team would get on the board for the first half of the fourth until Brock Ghelfi broke through for the home side with 7:39 remaining on the clock.

Will Sands pushed Bucknell's lead to the 7-3 mark with 4:10 left in the contest, netting an unassisted score with the 30-second stall warning on.

Bryant would respond by scoring twice in the final minute of action – an unassisted goal from Collins Gantz (Denver, Colo.) with 54 ticks to go and a James-assisted Ryan Sharpe (Poway, Calif.) tally with 22 seconds remaining – but it was too little too late for the Black and Gold in the 7-5 defeat.

Senior faceoff specialist Kevin Massa (Huntington, N.Y.) went 12-for-16 from the X with a game-best seven ground balls, and the Bulldogs won the ground ball game, 33-27, on the day. Redshirt-freshman defenseman Chas South (Lincroft, N.J.) added six more while junior attack Shane Morrell (Glen Mills, Pa.) picked up five despite being kept off the scoreboard.

Bryant went just 10-of-16 on the clear and posted 19 turnovers and an 0-for-2 mark on extra man opportunities. Sam Grinberg made 13 saves for the Bison in the victory.

The Bulldogs will return home for their next outing and will go for their first victory of the season Saturday, Feb. 21 against the University of Hartford at the Bryant Turf Complex (1:00 p.m.).