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St. Bonaventure’s club hockey team has endured more than enough heartache at the last two national tournaments.

Coach Mike Granger is hoping that’s more than enough motivation to get the Bonnies past the pool play round this year.

St. Bonaventure (13-8-1) opens Pool B play vs. Fairfield (8-8) at 10:15 a.m. Wednesday in the 16-team at Jacksonville, Florida. The Bonnies are ranked 7^th overall in the tournament; the Stags are 10^th.

Two years ago, in a game to decide the pool winner, the Bonnies lost to Georgia in overtime. Last year, with the game knotted 1-1 and ������������ needing only a tie to advance to the championship stage, the University at Buffalo scored with less than 30 seconds to play.

“The juniors and seniors are pretty frustrated with the way the last two seasons have ended so I know they will do all they can to avoid that happening again,” Granger said.

All tournament games can be . Games will be played at Community First Igloo.

The Bonnies play No. 15 Auburn at 11:15 a.m. Thursday and No. 2 Tampa at 8 p.m. Friday. The four pool winners will play semifinal games at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. The championship game is at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Once again, the Bonnies bring to the tourney a balanced offensive attack, this year featuring 10 players with at least five goals and six with eight or more. Owen Hughes (34 points), Michael Clouden (33) and Michael Robertson (26) lead the Bonnies in scoring.

“We can still roll four lines so I think we’re probably one of the deepest teams in the tournament,” said Granger, who’s hoping his club will be close to full health by the tourney opener.

“We normally dress 22 and we were down to only 18 against Brockport (Feb. 14) so we’ve been battling a lot of injuries,” Granger said. “Right now, (defenseman) Miles Brown

Kyle Karolseki and Tyler Kirk played most of the games in goal this season for the Bonnies, who head into the tournament on a bit of a slide. They lost their final three games, including an Upstate New York Collegiate Hockey League playoff game to Binghamton.

But Granger knows his club has what it takes to make a deep run in Florida.

“We just need to do a better job of putting together a complete game. I’ve lost count of how many games we’ve had this year that we’ve had a two- or three-goal lead going into the third period and lost,” Granger said. “The biggest issue we’ve had is staying out of the penalty box. If we can do that, and play solid for 60 minutes, I think we can play with anyone.”

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure is a community committed to transforming the lives of its students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a commitment to academic excellence and lifelong civic engagement. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #6 for value and #14 for innovation by U.S. News and World Report (2024).