WORCESTER, Mass -- The Buccaneers traveled to Central Mass on Saturday for a non-conference matinee with the Clark Cougars. A tight game all the way, the third quarter was the difference maker for the hosts as the Cougars beat the Bucs 15-13.

The Basics

Final: Cougars 15, Buccaneers 13

Records: Clark (2-1)

               Maritime (1-1)

Between the Pipes

Clark: Dylan Harloff (W, 2-1): 11 Sv | 13 Ga | 24 Sh | 60 Min

Maritime: Eddie Keller (L, 1-1): 7 Sv | 15 Ga | 22 Sh | 60 Min

Inside the Numbers

Maritime

• For the second straight game, Daniel Kane led the Buccaneers scoring with a game-high four goals. 
• Cooper Barrett and freshman Quinn Mucha each scored three times. 
• Freshman Joe Vricella scored twice and Jack Iversen added one score.
• Mucha led the way with three helpers, Seamus Buckley had two assists. 
• Ryan Cameron, Iversen, Barrett, and Vricella all had one assist in the loss.
• Andy Aguado-Scheyer and Chris Sullivan both scooped up six ground balls. 
• On the faceoff, Aguado-Scheyer won 15-of-29 faceoffs. 
• Defensively, Sullivan caused a game-high six turnovers. 
• In total, the Buccaneers picked up 34 ground balls, were successful on 22-of-26 clears, won 15-of-31 faceoffs, and took 40 total shots in the game.

Clark

• Matt Wells scored four times in the Cougars win. Matthew Minkwitz and Colin Howard both scored three times. 
• Mason Kaufmann scored twice with three other Cougars scoring once. 
• Attillo Lavecchia had three assists in the game and Sean Braunwart added two. Five other Clark players were credited with assists.
• Byron Palmieri picked up a team-high four ground balls.
• On the faceoff, Patrick O'Rourke won 13-of-21 faceoffs he took.
• Defensively, Braunwart led the Cougars with three caused turnovers.
• In total, Clark picked up 28 ground balls, were successful on 26-of-27 clears, won 16-of-31 faceoffs and took 35 shots in the victory.

How It Happened

Maritime scored first in the non-conference affair with Kane's first two minutes in to the game. Clark answered two minutes later on a Howard goal to bring the game even at 1-1. After a Clark turnover, the Bucs went down the field and Mucha broke the tie with his first of the day, putting the Bucs up, again, 2-1. The teams traded goals with Clark scoring at 6:16 in the first and the Bucs getting another four minutes later to retake the lead at 3-2. Vricella added a goal with 23 second left in the opening quarter to give the Bucs a two-goal, 4-2, advantage at the end of one.

In the second, Clark cut the deficit back to one a minute into the quarter and then tied the game at 4-4 at 11:53 of the second. Again, Maritime would take the lead, 5-4, with 7:17 left before the break and Clark answered almost immediately to make it 5-5. Clark took their first lead of the game 11 seconds after tying the game a 5-5 and led 6-5 with 4:52 left in the quarter. 11 seconds after the Cougars took their first lead, the Buccaneers erased it to make the score 6-6. Each team scored one more time in the final two minutes and the teams went to the break tied at 7-7.

The third quarter was the turning point of the game for the Cougars as they outscored the Buccaneers 5-2 in the period. They opened the scoring at 13:37 to go up one, then scored less than a minute later to make the score 9-7. In the longest scoring run of the game, Clark made it three unanswered giving them a three-goal, 10-7 lead. Vricella scored the end the run at 9:32 and got the Buccaneers back within two goals. Wells went on to score again for the hosts and extended the lead back to three which Kane erased with a goal of his own at 6:15. With the score 11-9 Cougars, the home team scored one more time in the period at 2:32 to give themselves a 12-9 advantage heading to the fourth quarter. 

Maritime outscored Clark in the fourth, 4-3, with goals from Barrett, Kane, and two from Mucha but it wasn't enough to catch up and erase the three-goal deficit and the Bucs fell to the Cougars by a final score of 15-13.

What's Next

The Buccaneers are scheduled to host Manhattanville next weekend at Clean Harbors Stadium. Official date and time are to be announced.