LAKEWOOD, NJ (March 22, 2023) - Georgian Court had a hot start and a hot finish and that carried them to a 15-7 win over St. Thomas Aquinas. Five Lions scored multiple goals with three recording hat tricks in the win. Georgian Court is now 4-5 on the season with conference play on deck.

How it Happened
• The biggest difference in the game was in net where Vincent Burkhart made 19 saves on 26 shots on goal while the Lions also put 26 shots on net with 15 going in. 
• Georgian Court led in total shots 42-39 giving them a shot-on-goal percentage of 62% and a shot percentage of 36%.
• St. Thomas Aquinas had a big advantage on the draw. They won 17-of-26 face-offs.
• Each team turned the ball over 18 times. Georgian Court was 32-34 on clear attempts and the Spartans 19-22.
• Both teams committed three penalties and each times capitalized with two man-up goals.
• Out of the gates it was all Georgian Court. They scored the first five goals with the first three coming from Joe Zerr in a 3:39 span.
• Michael Ventresca added two more and GCU led 5-0 with 4:33 left to play in the first quarter.
• STAC got on the board to end the first with the Lions up 5-1.
• After a pair of Baiden Struss man-up goals for the Spartans, Ventresca completed the hat trick with his third goal of the game midway through the second.
• The Spartans tallied another and the Lion lead was down to two, 6-4, at the break.
• STAC climbed all the way back from down five to get to within one, 6-5, but the Lions made sure they got no closer.
• Daniel Burnham gave GCU some breathing room with a man-advantage goal early in the third. Then the Lion defense held up their end keeping the Spartans off the board for 21:31 between the third and fourth quarters.
• Finally the GCU offense broke through once again as Brett Bridges ended the third with a goal. Two Tallen Smith goals and one from Doug Mckenzie brought the lead to a game-high six, 11-5, with 9:41 to play.
• St. Thomas Aquinas threatened to make things closer getting two goals to close the gap to four. But Vincent Giunta single-handedly stopped that rally scoring three times 1:08 apart in the final three minutes. Bridges added another goal in the closing seconds to get to the 15-7 final.  

Lion Stat Leaders
• Vincent Giunta led the Lions scoring five points with three goals and two assists. All three goals came in the final three minutes.
• Michael Ventresca ripped seven shots and scored three times.
• Joe Zerr started the party with the first three goals of the game.
• Daniel Burnham added three points with a goal and two assists. He grabbed four ground balls as well.
• Tallen Smith and Brett Bridges each scored two goals.
• Max Dennington scooped five grounders and caused three turnovers.
• Garrett Kenny won nine face-offs and finished with four ground balls.
• Joe Murphy caused a pair of turnovers and picked up two ground balls.
• Vincent Burkhart made 19 saves in goal with a 73.1 save percentage.

For the Spartans
• Braiden Struss led STAC with three goals. He nabbed two grounders as well.
• Ryan Christensen scored twice with a caused turnover and two ground balls.
• Steven Apicella added a goal and two assist with four ground balls.
• Austin Palen was 17-26 on face-offs with eight ground balls.
• James Staeckeler and Daniel Smith each grabbed five balls on the ground.
• Craig Peavy stopped 11 GCU shots. 

News and Notes
• The Lions improve to 9-0 all-time against St. Thomas Aquinas.
• Michael Ventresca tied Tanner Lee for most goals in GCU history with 89. He needs one more to break the record.
• Daniel Burnham moves into a tie for second all-time with 11 man-up goals. Joe Zerr is tied for sixth with eight.
• Burnham also moved into the all-time top-10 in games played with his 57th.
• Joe Murphy and Max Dennington each played in their 25th career game. 
• Georgian Court is finished with their nonconference scheduled for 2023. They went 4-5 and now will play only CACC games over their final seven of the regular season.

Up Next
• Georgian Court is off the rest of the month. They'll be back in actin Saturday, April 1 against Post for Senior Day starting at 11 a.m.