Coming off a week of losses after losses, Buffalo State sports needed to flip the script before Thanksgiving break. The men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s hockey, and women’s hockey teams had the opportunity to do so, eyeing victories all around. Did the Bengals achieve their goal of a bounce-back week? Here’s where we find out.

Women’s Basketball:
After a pair of losses on the road to open the season, the women’s basketball team settled into a three-game homestand, with their first test being against the 2-2 Keuka College Wolves this past Wednesday night.

While the Bengals trailed for the entirety of the first quarter, they went bucket for bucket with the Wolves, making it a four-point game. The Bengals went out in front, for a brief moment, in the second quarter, but the Wolves jumped right back into the driver’s seat with a 10-2 run to end the half.

The third quarter was Buffalo State’s best, scoring 20 points, nine of them coming from junior forward Imani McNeil, in the ten minutes to cut their deficit to five. In response, Keuka had their best quarter when it mattered most, outscoring the Bengals 21-15 in the fourth to seal a 68-57 road win. The loss drops the Bengals to 0-3 in the early season.

The women’s basketball team continues to show their competitiveness each game, but it has yet to result in a win. The team’s next chance at victory comes Monday evening, in the second game of the three-game homestand, against Thiel College.

Men’s Hockey:
For a third consecutive weekend, the men’s hockey team hopped on the bus for a trip, with this week’s destination being Fredonia for a “Battle By The Lake” clash against the winless Blue Devils.

This was the perfect match-up for the struggling Bengals, in the midst of a three-game losing streak, as the Blue Devils were not on the same level, though they gave it their best effort.

The opening period saw the Bengals strike first on a power-play opportunity, with junior forward Vadim Kiriakov scoring his first of three goals on the night. From there, Fredonia took their cracks at tying the game up, but were denied on all eight tries.

The Bengals broke it open in the second period, scoring three goals to extend their lead to four with 20 minutes still left to be played. Another power-play goal by Kiriakov made the score 5-0, however, the Blue Devils avoided the shutout with their one and only goal at the 17:11 mark.

Regardless, Buffalo State grabbed a much-needed rivalry win before an eleven-day break from action. The men’s hockey team will be back on the ice on Dec. 2, travelling to Ohio to play Hiram College.

Women’s Hockey:
Sitting with their own losing streak, the women’s hockey team was determined to change their luck, and they had two chances to do just that this past weekend, starting against the SUNY Canton Roos on home ice.

The Bengals got their fair share of shots on goal in the opening period, keeping the puck away from the Roos in doing so. Coming off a Canton blocked shot, the Bengals finally cashed in at the 17:10 mark, taking a 1-0 lead into the first break of the game.

SUNY Canton reversed the situation in the second period, shooting at will on Buffalo State goalie Alexa Todd while keeping the Bengals’ scoring opportunities few and far between. Despite that, at the 12:05 mark of the period, Bengals senior forward Vanessa Willick netted her second goal of the game to extend their lead. The Roos would hold them off on a late power-play to keep the score 2-0 heading into the final 20 minutes.

At the 11:04 mark of the third and final period, SUNY Canton started their comeback bid with a power-play goal, giving the team another nine minutes to level the game. When it got down to crunch time, the Roos resorted to the empty net, giving way for the Bengals to nail the dagger. The night closed with Buffalo State snapping their losing skid, earning their first State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) win of the season, with a chance to get a winning streak started the following afternoon.

Back on home ice, the Bengals had their work cut out for them against the Oswego State Lakers, though it didn’t seem that way in the first period. The Bengals played neck and neck with the Lakers, keeping them off the board while maintaining possession of the puck for a solid chunk of the period. It was knotted at zero when both teams hit the locker room for the first break.

It was the same story in the second period, as neither team could find the back of the net due to great goaltending and hard-fought defensive efforts. There was still no score after the first forty minutes – a feather in Buffalo State’s cap.

The first goal of the game came at the 5:47 mark of the third period when the Lakers’ Leah Coley broke the scoreless tie with her second goal of the season. Soon after, the Lakers took advantage of a power-play opportunity to take a commanding two-goal lead with little time remaining. And though the Bengals hung tough throughout, the Lakers capped off their road win with another goal, making the final score 3-0.

The women’s hockey team may have split their games this weekend, but there was a plethora of positives to come out of each outing. They’ll be back in two weeks for a weekend series on the road against Hilbert College.

Men’s Basketball:
The men’s basketball team hit a rough patch at last weekend’s Rochester Tournament, stumbling after their season-opening win over Keuka College. Like every Buffalo State squad in action this past week, they were eager to shake off the struggles and right the ship.

In Tuesday’s contest against Alfred State, the Bengals fell behind early, but stuck with the Pioneers throughout the 20-minute half, making it a two-point game at the break. Bengals sophomore guard Ephraim Strong did a lot of the heavy lifting, scoring 13 of his team-high 16 points in the opening half.

The early stages of the second half mirrored much of the first half, until a 10-0 run midway through put them in prime position for a win. The Pioneers battled, though Buffalo State was a team on a mission, outscoring the opposition 36-26 in the half to pick up a win in the home opener.

On Saturday, the Bengals returned to the road to take on Houghton University. The Highlanders built a significant lead early, reaching as high as 13 with three minutes left in the first half. A buzzer-beating layup for the Bengals cut their deficit to nine heading into the locker room. This time, it was freshman guard Hali Shabazz who kept the Bengals within striking distance with a team-high 11 first-half points.

In need of another excellent second half, the Bengals answered every Houghton bucket, staying in range for a late-game comeback. With 3:46 left to go, Buffalo State had the game all tied up, as both teams would go on to trade the lead multiple times over the final few minutes. Tremendous free-throw shooting, accompanied by clutch defensive stands, allowed the Bengals to complete the comeback with a 75-72 win over the Highlanders.

Just as they set out to do, the men’s basketball team is right back on the winning side of things with a pair of gutsy wins over the last week. They’ll celebrate Thanksgiving and then be right back on the court Tuesday, Dec. 2, to face Alfred University at the Sports Arena.

Talk about a bounce-back – what a momentum-building week for Buffalo State sports. No Buffalo State Sports Round-up next week, but stay tuned for when it returns, right here at The Record. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!