Fairfield University stormed back in the third period to defeat St. Bonaventure, 4-3, in the opening game of pool play at the AAU College Hockey National Tournament at Jacksonville, Florida.

The Bonnies (13-9-1) led, 3-1, heading into the third period, but the Stags (9-8) scored three times in the final frame and held off several SBU chances in the final minute after the Bonnies had pulled goalie Kyle Karoleski.

The Bonnies, ranked No. 7 in the 16-team tournament, play No. 15 Auburn at 11:15 a.m. Thursday. SBU plays No. 2 Tampa at 8 p.m. Friday. The games will be streamed here.

The Bonnies could still advance out of pool play by winning their next two games if No. 10 Fairfield loses one, but they’d need to win tiebreakers to do so.

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.

Carson Schlager scored on a nice 2-on-1 feed from Tyler Benz to open the scoring at 13:47 of the first. After Fairfield tied it 5 minutes later, Tyler Kelley scored late in the period on a poke check off a bad Fairfield pass in front of its own net to give SBU a 2-1 lead after the first.

Michael Clouden gave the Bonnies a 3-1 lead with 3:55 left in the second period off assists from Menz and Schlager.

But special teams proved to be the Bonnies’ undoing.

They were unable to score on several power play opportunities, including a 5-on-3 for about a minute when leading 3-2; gave up a breakaway shorthanded goal in the first period; and allowed a power play goal early in the third to flip the momentum to the Stags.

Fairfield then scored on deflections 77 seconds apart midway through the period to take the 4-3 lead.

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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).