GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The skies were clear and the sun was shining on a beautiful, crisp day at Shirk Field at Musselman Stadium, but eighth-ranked Ursinus College was left feeling a bit gray after 60 minutes of action as senior Blake Gray (Reisterstown, Md./McDonogh School) torched the Bears for five goals to lead No. 9 Gettysburg College to a 13-9 victory in the Centennial Conference opener for both teams Saturday afternoon.
 
Gettysburg (7-2, 1-0 CC) opened conference play with a victory for the 10th consecutive season and improved to 20-0 all-time against Ursinus (6-1, 0-1 CC), which suffered its first loss of 2019. The Bullets dominated the action through the first three quarters before a late 5-0 run by the Bears.
 
Gray posted his third hat trick of the season, tying his career high for goals and dishing out an assist. He also scored his 100th career point on his second goal late in the first quarter. Junior Brian Kolen (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) and sophomore Kadin Kightlinger (Purcellville, Va./Bishop O'Connell) each posted two goals and one assist, while sophomore Jack Fletcher (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day School) tallied a goal and three assists.
 
Freshman goalie Scott MacMillan (Berwyn, Pa./Conestoga) logged nine saves and two ground balls for Gettysburg. Senior defenseman PJ Dettor (Annapolis, Md./Severn School) recorded three caused turnovers and picked up two ground balls, while junior Christian Atalese (Long Valley, N.J./West Morris Central) corralled four ground balls.
 
Bobby McClure led Ursinus with three goals. Hakan Atillasoy turned in a goal, assist, and two caused turnovers and Peter DeSimone scooped five ground balls. Matt Nunziata logged a dozen saves over the game's final 46:55.
 
Gettysburg took control from the outset, winning the opening face-off and posting two shots in the opening 46 seconds. The Bullets scored the game's first goal on their third attempt as Kolen tickled the twine 1:16 into the game. Following a turnover by the Bears, freshman Kieran Ward (Malvern, Pa./Malvern Prep) fired in a goal to make it 2-0.
 
Atillasoy scored the first goal for Ursinus just under five minutes into the game and the Bears were poised for another after a penalty on the Bullets less than a minute later. Gettysburg's man-down defense set a strong tone that would remain throughout the game as MacMillan picked up a save to thwart the extra-man opportunity. The Bears would finish just 1-of-9 on man-up chances in the contest.
 
Gray picked up his first point on assist to Kolen before dunking home his first goal on a baseline drive just before the possession clock expired with 2:53 left in the quarter. The goal marked the senior's 100th career point.
 
McClure pulled Ursinus to 4-2 on the board with a goal early in the second period, but Kightlinger responded with the next two goals for the Bullets, twice scooping the ball on missed shots and firing the rebound back into the cage for a 6-2 lead. Gray tacked on two more goals to give Gettysburg an 8-2 advantage with 4:36 left in the half.
 
MacMillan picked up a delay of game penalty in the final minutes and was forced to the sideline for 30 seconds, but the Bears were unable to take advantage of the starting goalie's absence as junior Chris Crowley (Madison, N.J./Delbarton) came up with a big save on a shot by Joe Mecurio.
 
Gettysburg maintained the upper-hand in the third quarter with the defense holding Ursinus to seven shots and forcing eight turnovers, while the offense put up five more goals. Junior Michael McCormick (Lorton, Va./Paul VI Catholic) flipped a shot from the right side into the goal to hand the hosts a 13-4 lead heading into the final stanza.
 
Nunziata posted five saves in the final quarter to keep the Gettysburg attack at bay, while the Bears steadily chipped away at the lead, eventually posting their only man-up goal of the game on a shot by Ben Goetz with 24 seconds left. MacMillan saved another shot by Goetz to close out the contest.
 
Gettysburg finished with the edge in shots (50-41) and ground balls (45-33). The teams split 24 face-offs and the Bullets committed six less turnovers (15-21).
 
The Orange and Blue head to No. 17 Franklin & Marshall College (5-3, 1-0 CC) on Wednesday, March 27. Game time is 7 p.m. The series dates back to Gettysburg's first as a varsity program in 1958 and the Bullets lead the Diplomats 38-25.