BUFFALO, NY (03/12/03) - Saint Joseph's Brian Mullan recorded six assists and goalie Dan Morrissey posted 21 saves as the visiting Hawks defeated Canisius College 9-7 in MAAC Lacrosse League action at the Demske Sports Complex on a cold and snowy Wednesday evening. Canisius falls to 0-4, 0-1 in the MAAC, while Saint Joseph's improves to 2-4, 2-0 in the league. Mullan's six assists were just one short of tying the school record set in this season's opener when freshman Keegan Wilkinson dished seven against Delaware. The Hawks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on goals by senior Alex Heidenberger and junior Ryan Madairy, both assisted by Mullan. Canisius battled back to tie the score at 2-2 before the end of the first quarter on a goal by Mark Panniccia at the 12:23 mark and a tally by Rick Neward with 1:33 remaining in the opening quarter. The Hawks would outscore the Griffs 3-1 in the second quarter to take a 5-3 lead into the halftime break. St. Joe's junior Mark Lipscomb made the score 3-2 at the 1:20 mark, but Canisius' Greg Campbell knotted the score with a tally just over two minutes later. SJU came back with goals by Madairy with 5:43 left and a man-up tally by junior Mike Pagliaro just 27 seconds later. St. Joe's would tack on two more goals in the opening minutes of the third quarter before Canisius' Steve Muskopf scored a man-up goal with 9:16 left to cut the Hawks' lead to 7-4. Another man-up tally by Jonathan Duggan with 7:02 remaining pulled the Griffs within two goals and Neward tallied his second of the night with 16 seconds left in the quarter to cut the deficit to 7-6. That would be as close as the Griffs would get, however, as St. Joe's scored two goals in the final quarter before Campbell's second tally, a man-up goal with 38 seconds remaining, closed out the scoring. SAINT JOSEPH'S 9, CANISIUS 7 By Quarters 1 2 3 4 OT Final Record Saint Joseph's 2 3 2 2 -- 9 (2-4/2-0 MAAC) Canisius 2 1 3 1 -- 7 (0-4/0-1 MAAC) Goals Canisius - Greg Campbell (2), Rick Neward (2), Jonathan Duggan (1), Steve Muskopf (1), Mark Paniccia (1). Saint Joseph's - Alex Heidenberger (2), Ryan Madairy (2), Mike Pagliaro (2), Mark Lipscomb (1), Brian Ponne (1), Chris Spay (1). Assists Canisius - Mark Miyashita (2), Steve Muskopf (1), Rick Neward (1). Saint Joseph's - Brian Mullan (6), Kevin McGrann (1). Unofficial Statistics Shots - Canisius 41, Saint Joseph's 36. Ground Balls - Canisius 34, Saint Joseph's 30. Face-offs Won - Canisius 8, Saint Joseph's 12. Goalie Saves - Canisius 11 (Tom Kucharczak 11, 60:00) Saint Joseph's 21 (Dan Morrissey 21, 60:00). Clears - Canisius 16 of 22 attempts, Saint Joseph's 11 of 23 attempts. Extra Man Scoring - Canisius 3 of 7, Saint Joseph's 2 of 6. Penalties - Canisius 6 for 4:30, Saint Joseph's 7 for 5:30.