BANGOR, Maine- Despite a late fourth quarter comeback tallying five unanswered goals, the Husson Eagles just barely fell short to the Saint Joseph's (Maine) Monks, 10-8, in the season opener under the lights on Wednesday at Boucher Field.

THE STORY

Both teams saw an eventful first quarter with the Eagles (0-1, 0-0 NAC) finding the scoreboard first, off a deep shot by Brandon Bosse to kick off his senior year on a hot streak after hitting the back of the net twice in the span of nine minutes. Assisting both of his goals was Brooks Gay finding Bosse at just the right time for a clear shot. The Monks (1-1, 0-0 GNAC) went back-and-forth with the Eagles taking turns scoring in the first 15 minutes of play. Netting the two goals for St. Joseph's were Dan Cunningham off a pass from Glenn Dion and an unassisted goal by Shane Puleo dodging and dipping his way closer to net.

Husson had a close scare with five minutes left to play in the opening quarter when a loose ball was bouncing around the crease before goaltender Matt Martin snatched it up to close out the first quarter tied, 2-2.

Adding on a pair of goals to give the Monks a 4-2 advantage closing out the first half, Cody Sevigny received a pass from Puleo in the first three minutes. Followed by an up-goal by Dion barely a minute later. Husson defended well in the following 13 minutes, holding St. Joseph's scoreless until 17 seconds into the third quarter when Dion tallied his second up-goal of the night. Since the final 2:42 of the first quarter, the Monks attack appeared unstoppable, netting six unanswered goals to extend their lead to 7-2 with 8:58 remaining in the third quarter.

In the face-off following a pair of goals by Michael Finn for the Monks, Zach Glazier swooped into the center circle boxing out Shane Fors from grabbing the win in the face-off against Owen Richmond. He sprinted to goal deking out several Monks on his way before whipping a shot past Connor Trainor in net with 8:46 on the clock to cut the deficit to 7-3.

Another seven minutes passed as Finn added on his third and fourth goal of the match with Bosse notching his third to leave the Eagles trailing 9-4 advancing into the final quarter of the night.

Coming out on the field with fire under their cleats, Husson began a steady climb back to the top, catching up within one point away from the Monks thanks to four unanswered goals. With just five minutes remaining, Tyler Brewster added on an extra goal to separate the Monks by two as St. Joseph's rolled to a 10-8 victory.

LEADERS- HUSSON

• Tying his career-high and the school record for the most saves in a single game for the third time, junior net-minder Martin earned 23 saves on the night.
• Senior Bosse tied his career-high of four goals scored in a single game while vying for the most in the match.
• Grabbing a team-high of 11 ground balls, senior Gay also dished out a trio of assists.
• Junior Glazier, sophomore Blane Miller, and rookie Gunner McAllister each added on a goal and two ground balls.

LEADERS- Saint Joseph's (Maine)

• Tying for the most goals by a single player in the match, junior Finn netted four on the night.
• Leading all players in ground balls, freshman Puleo snatched up 12 throughout the match while also tallying a goal and an assist.
• Rookie Dion helped out with a pair of each, two goals and two assists to help capture the win.
• Defensively, senior Liam Skinner was all over the Eagles causing five turnovers.
• In net for the Monks, senior Trainor turned away 13 shots.

TEAM STATS                    

St. Joseph's outshot Husson 33-21 on frame, while the Eagles posted the advantage in face-off wins 12-9 and barely grabbed more ground balls, 45-44. The Monks took full advantage of the extra man on the field, scoring three up-goals to the Eagles one by Matt Verrill.

UP NEXT

The Eagles will kick off five consecutive games on the road next week, facing-off against UMass Boston on Thursday, March 8th with a 4:30 p.m. start.