Bentley Draws Sacred Heart as Postseason Gets Under Way Saturday
WALTHAM, Mass. – After 33 regular season games the postseason gets under way for Bentley University Saturday night as they host Sacred Heart in the first round of the 2011 Atlantic Hockey Tournament.
Bentley enters the tournament with an overall record of 10-17-6 and 9-13-5 in the conference. They're the 10th-seed overall and the fourth-seed in the Eastern pod. Sacred Heart finished the regular season at 5-23-6 overall and 5-16-6 in Atlantic Hockey. The Pioneers are the 11th-seed overall and fifth in the Eastern pod.
The winner will play either top-seeded RIT or second-seeded Air Force in a best two-out-of-three quarterfinal series beginning March 11, depending on the result of the other first round game in the Eastern pod, which pits Army (ninth-seed overall, third in East) against AIC (12th-seed overall, sixth in East).
The other first round games are Canisius (eighth-seed overall, sixth in West) at Niagara (fourth-seed overall, third in West) and Mercyhurst (seventh-seed overall, fifth in West) at Robert Morris (fifth-seed overall, fourth in West). RIT, Air Force, Holy Cross and UConn earned byes from their respective pods.
The Falcons come into the weekend 4-4-2 in their last 10, including a split with Sacred Heart in a home-and-home series on the weekend of Feb. 4. Last weekend they lost and tied against Holy Cross, rallying from 3-0 down over the final 10 minutes of the third period to tie 3-3 on Saturday, the second time this season they've come back from three goals down in the final period.
This will be the fourth meeting of the season between the two teams and third at Ryan Skating Arena. The Falcons won the season-series 2-1 and the teams split the two prior games in Watertown.
Bentley won the first meeting 6-2 at home on Nov. 3 behind two goals each from Erik Peterson (Shorewood, Minn./Sioux Falls Stampede) and Dan Koudys (Grimsby, Ontario/Burlington Cougars). The Pioneers took the second game 6-3 on Feb. 4 in Watertown after scoring five unanswered goals, including three in a four-minute span in the second period to erase a 3-1 deficit.
One of the Falcons' best wins of the season came one day later in Bridgeport, Conn., in the final regular season matchup. Trailing 4-1 entering the third period, Dustin Cloutier (Berkley, Mich./Mahoning Valley Phantoms) and Zach Ledford (Folsom,Calif./Wichita Falls Wildcats) scored early in the period to make it a 4-3 game, and Mike Switzer (Calgary, Alberta/Olds Grizzlys) netted an extra-attacker goal with 1:01 left in regulation to tie it. Joe Campanelli (Pierrefonds, Quebec/Westminster Prep) then scored 47 seconds into OT for the win.
Peterson (12-13-25) and February's Atlantic Hockey Rookie of the Month Brett Gensler (St. Charles, Mo./Youngstown Phantoms) (13-10-23) finished the regular season as Bentley's leading scorers. Gensler (5-7-12) led the team in scoring over the last 10 contests, while Campanelli (2-3-5) led Bentley in the three games against Sacred Heart this season.
Goalie Kyle Rank (Islip, N.Y./Markham Waxers), who came on strong over the final month of the season with a 3-1 record and a 2.87 goals against average, is 2-0-1 in his career against the Pioneers with a 1.66 GAA. His only action against Sacred Heart this season was playing the third period and overtime in the Feb. 5 game, keeping Bentley in the game as they rallied. Joe Calvi (New Lenox, Ill./New England Jr. Huskies) started that afternoon and the Nov. 3 contest, while Branden Komm (Williamsville, N.Y./Northfield Mount Herron) started on Feb. 4.
Sacred Heart, 2-7-1 over its last 10 and just 1-13-3 on the road this season, will be looking to get out of the first round after advancing to the Atlantic Hockey finals last season as the second-seed before losing to RIT 6-1.
Forward Eric Delong (9-18-27) led the team in scoring during the regular season while Matt Gingera had the most goals with 16, tied for eighth in the conference. Goalie Steven Legatto played 28 games during the regular season and faced Bentley on Nov. 3, allowing five goals. Olivier St. Onge played in 16 games and started the last two against Bentley.