SYRACUSE – St. Bonaventure's attempt at a rally came up just short as the Bonnies came back from three down with two minutes and change to play, putting a shot on net with a chance to tie that was turned away at the final buzzer as host Le Moyne held on, 10-9, on a wintry day at Ted Grant Field.
Le Moyne scored its 10th – and eventual winning – tally off the stick of Zachary Delaney with 3:26 to go.
With their backs against the wall, the Bonnies gave a final charge as Patrick Shanahan scored unassisted with 2:45 left and Kellen Pulera found the net off an assist from Conor Murphy with 39 seconds showing on the clock.
Le Moyne (2-1) won the next faceoff, but the Bonnies defense forced a turnover as the clock wound under 10 seconds.
Bona immediately transitioned down the field, racing into position for a try at the tie. As time expired, Jake Kucinski fired a shot right on net that was denied by Le Moyne's Carter Ruhm to preserve the victory for the Dolphins.
Ruhm was key for Le Moyne, making 10 saves in net including multiple outstanding stops to deny outstanding Bonaventure chances.
Kyle Pepper's hat trick and four total points led the Bonnies while Kucinski registered a goal and an assist and Murphy had two points as well with a pair of helpers.
Offense would be at a premium, but the Bonnies got the scoring started early as Pepper shoveled a shot around a defender while falling to the ground, finding the back of the net for a 1-0 lead just under 90 seconds in.
Despite several strong chances for the Bonnies, neither team scored again for almost 11 minutes as the Bonnies kept the Dolphins off the scoreboard until the 2:59 mark when Ethan Loun tied it up for a 1-1 deadlock after 15.
Le Moyne turned the opening possession of the second period into a goal for the Dolphins' first lead of the day, but John Boomer soon evened the ledger with an absolute rocket over the shoulder of the goalie for another tie. The redshirt freshman scored his first two career goals on the afternoon.
Halfway through the second quarter, the Bonnies moved in front again as Jaxon Dillon and Pepper teamed up on the man-up for a 3-2 advantage.
The next three goals were off the sticks of Dolphins, however, as Le Moyne led by one at intermission and pulled ahead by a 5-3 score early in the second half.
Pepper's second of the day ended the Le Moyne run, but the Dolphins immediately responded to lead by two once more.
That began a continuing trend throughout the third as whenever the Bonnies pulled within a goal, the Dolphins answered to gain breathing room back.
Boomer's second of the afternoon made it a 7-6 score under a minute to play in the third, but the Dolphins took an 8-6 edge to the fourth as they answered just 12 seconds before the quarter buzzer.
Early in the fourth, Jake Kucinski joined the scoring party to again draw the Bonnies within a tally and still over 14 minutes to go.
A costly penalty three minutes later resulted in a man-up strike from the Dolphins, though, and another two-goal lead for the hosts.
Bona soon had a chance for a power play answer, but a point-blank fastball from Pulera was stopped by the Dolphins goalie to end the threat.
Delaney's score with 3:26 to play gave the hosts their largest lead of the day at three before the Bonnies tried to rally back.
The Bonnies (2-4) outshot the Dolphins 36-32 and had 14 turnovers to Le Moyne's 20. The Dolphins claimed 13 faceoffs to Bona's 10, though freshman Jeremy Askin found traction at the faceoff dot in the second half and recorded nine of the team's wins.
Isaac Farmer made seven saves for the Bonnies.
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH RANDY MEARNS
"Feeling a lot of emotions after today's back-and-forth contest. We're frustrated for sure; we are so close. We had some great looks offensively but hit the pipes seven times. It really is a game of inches. If a couple fall, it's a different outcome."
"Defensively we had a strong effort with our young group. They get better with each experience and that is exciting as we continue to build toward the A-10 schedule. I was impressed with our grit and our no-quit attitude. Shoutout to PJ Shanahan who came up with some really tough groundballs to give us key possessions."
"We got the back back on a timely double late and had a chance to send the game into OT but to no avail. We'll persevere and get ready for Mercer."
UP NEXT
The Bonnies have a busy week coming up, hosting two games in a 48-hour span beginning by welcoming Mercer to the Marra Athletics Complex on Thursday at noon before Cleveland State comes to town next Saturday.
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