March 15, 2016 Final Stats
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Villanova used strong defensive play and hat tricks from Devin McNamara and Johnny Gallaway to lead the Wildcats past Bucknell, 12-8, on Tuesday afternoon.
The Wildcats forced 12 turnovers as the defense played outstanding to top the Bison on their home turf. Netminder Dan Willis registered a season-high 11 saves while defenseman John Moderski grabbed a career-high eight ground balls as Villanova improved to 8-6 all-time against Bucknell.
With the win, the Wildcats move to 5-1 overall on the season while Bucknell fell to 4-3.
McNamara led Villanova in the first quarter with offensive firepower, tallying all three of his goals in the period. Johnny Gallaway earned his first start of the year and added an additional score as the Wildcats took a 4-2 lead on the hosts in the first quarter.
After Will Sands opened scoring in the second stanza, Villanova rattled off five straight goals to bridge the second and third quarters as the Wildcats pulled away, 9-3, just over four and a half minutes into the second half.
Bucknell's Tommy O'Connor went on to score four of the next five to close the Villanova lead at 10-7 with 7:48 left to play in the contest.
Villanova's Christian Cuccinello and Jack Curran, who each led the Wildcats with four points on the day, broke the Bison's run with consecutive goals to pull ahead 12-7.
Bucknell notched the final score of the game to conclude the contest at 12-8.
The Bison were led by O'Connor's five goals while goalkeeper Christian Klipstein was peppered by Villanova's 55 shots for the contest. He finished the game with 23 saves.
The win marked the fifth-straight for the 6th-ranked Wildcats as they'll have an extended break 11 day break before their next contest on March 26th. Game time is slated for 1 p.m. vs. the Fairfield Stags at Villanova Stadium.
