COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Junior Tommy Heller (Livingston, N.J./Livingston) and sophomore Brian Kolen (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) scored back-to-back goals at the start of the fourth quarter to break a deadlock and help propel No. 5 Gettysburg College past Ursinus College 8-7 in the Centennial Conference opener.
 
Gettysburg (8-1) won its conference opener for the ninth consecutive season and improved to 19-0 all-time against Ursinus (1-6, 0-1 CC).
 
Heller tallied a pair of goals and three assists to pace the offense. Kolen turned in a hat trick, marking his team-best fifth game of the season with three or more scores. Junior Andrew Garstka (Springfield, Va./Paul VI Catholic) added a pair of goals.
 
Hakan Atillasoy paced the Bears with three goals. Bobby McClure added two scores and Gerard Brown dished out three assists.
 
Gettysburg never trailed as Kolen and Garstka staked the team to a 2-0 lead in the first quarter. Heller assisted on Garstka's goal and added another helper to freshman Jack Fletcher (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) 18 seconds into the second quarter.
 
Ursinus sliced the deficit by netting three of the next four goals in the second period. Brown dished it off to Joe Mercurio to pull the Bears within a goal (4-3) with 7:11 remaining before the break. Heller provided the last goal of the opening half to send the Bullets into the locker room with a 5-3 lead.
 
The hosts seized the momentum with a pair of goals to start the third quarter. McClure tossed in his team-leading 19th goal and Atillasoy added a man-up goal to tie the game 5-5 with 11:44 left in the third frame.
 
Gettysburg's defense stood tall in the final 26 minutes, allowing just one tally before the final seconds of the game while forcing the Bears into seven turnovers. Senior goalie Tim Brady (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day School) posted seven of his 10 saves in the final 30 minutes of the game.
 
Atillasoy accounted for the final goal of the third quarter, scooping up a loose ball and firing it quickly into the net to tie the game. Brady posted a pair of saves in the final 50 seconds of the third quarter to preserve the tie.
 
Following another stop by the Bullets goalie, Heller came back on the other end with the go-ahead score with 12:44 left. Kolen completed his hat trick with a man-up goal to make it 8-6 with 7:16 on the clock.
 
A pair of saves by Brady and a trio of turnovers kept Ursinus off the board until Peter DeSimone snuck one past the goalie with just three seconds remaining.
 
Gettysburg led in shots (36-33) and committed six fewer turnovers. Ursinus held a 34-25 advantage in ground balls and won 12-of-18 face-offs.
 
Senior Geoff Fulgione (North Andover, Mass./Brooks School) picked up four ground balls and senior Cullen Minion (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) scooped three. Senior Nick Hill (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) posted a ground ball and three caused turnovers.
 
Gettysburg returns home to face No. 11 Franklin & Marshall College on Wednesday, March 28, at 3:30 p.m.