BUFFALO, N.Y. – A year after Canisius delivered Bellarmine a frustrating loss in their home opener, the Knights returned the favor Saturday at the snowy Demske Sports Complex in western New York. Both teams had to battle the wintery conditions, but it was Bellarmine who would hand the Golden Griffins a 13-8 loss to even their early-season record at 2-2.
 
"This was one of those games where we just had to stay the course and trust our training in a very difficult environment and circumstances," said head coach Andrew Whitley.
 
A pair of junior middies keyed the offensive performance for the Knights. John Alie led all scorers with four goals while Justin Wescoat added his third career hat trick and a helper to boot. Alie ran his team-leading total to 12 (3.0 per game) as Wescoat doubled his total on the season from three to six.
 
"John is doing a nice job leading the offense and we got another 10 points out of the starting attack," Whitley said. "Being the focal point of the offense is new for John and he's to continuing to grow and develop in that role. We're still at the beginning for this group."
 
"Justin Wescoat leads a corps of midfielders who do the dirty work that makes our team go," Whitley added. "He's probably our top defensive midfielder and contributed four points today. He embodies the ideals of our program because he will do whatever is asked whenever it is needed."
 
Alie's younger brother, Joe Alie, added his second brace in the past three games and Michael Blaymires recorded multiple scores for the third time in four games this year. As a team, the Knights connected on 36.1 percent of their shots.
 
Freshman attack Ezra Moore did not find the back of the net, but did hand out a career-high three assists.
 
On defense, senior Brady Long picked up a career-high five groundballs while Matt Kirton and Robert Pope each caused a pair of turnovers.
 
"The defense is really starting to gel and find chemistry," said Whitley. "Brady and Matt both stepped up on the faceoff wing today and are two of a legion of poles we have available to contribute when called upon."
 
Nolan Hudnut made 10 saves in the cage, stopping 55.6 percent of the Golden Griffins' shots on goal.
 
The teams played to an even 3-3 tie after one quarter as snowfall began blanketing the field. John Alie tossed in the Knights' second goal over his shoulder from a seemingly impossible angle nearly even with the pipes while Blaymires and Ty Washington also added goals. All three scores in the first were with assists—two from Moore and one from Blaymires.
 
The Knights added goals from Blaymires and Wescoat in the second, but were outscored by Canisus 3-2, bringing the halftime score to 6-5 in favor of the Golden Griffins.
 
"Canisius goalie Tommy Kunz has had our number the last couple of seasons and was tremendous in the first half," said Whitley. "I thought we were playing great offense and 15 of our 17 shots were on cage. We just told our guys at halftime not to get discouraged and keep shooting the open looks and they would eventually fall. Coach Marks made a couple of schematic tweaks to get guys in their sweet spots after halftime and we shot the ball at a 42 percent clip in the second half."
 
The Knights made those adjustments quickly. Wescoat netted the equalizer just over a minute in out of the break and John Alie put the Knights ahead for good with 9:27 left in the third. Bellarmine outscored the Golden Griffins 6-1 overall in the period to take an 11-7 lead into the final quarter.
 
In a relatively quiet final period, Bellarmine outscored Canisius 2-1, limiting them to just six shots (two on goal) to put the game away. Ian Kohut connected on his first career goal and John Alie added on his final score with 8:16 left to bring the contest to its final tally of 13-8.
 
A big part of the Knights' success on Saturday was the clearing game, as they were successful on 29 of 31 attempts on the afternoon.
 
"We rode the ball very well in the second half when we got into our 10 man and that allowed us to control possession and carry play," said Whitley.
 
For the Golden Griffins, sophomore attack Mason Wofford recorded his fourth career hat trick while Jordan Reed and Carson Christy each recorded a pair of helpers. Christy added a goal to match Wofford with a team-high three points.
 
Bellarmine will be back with a midweek game for the second straight week on Tuesday, visiting former ASUN foe Cleveland State at 3 p.m. ET.
 
"We've got some things to correct after this one, but this is another step in the right direction for our guys," Whitley concluded.
 
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