Bentley-Harvard Tussle on Tap for Friday Night

Posted: Nov 19, 2014

Bentley-Harvard Tussle on Tap for Friday Night

The Matchup: For the third straight season the Bentley hockey team will make the short trek to Cambridge to take on the Harvard Crimson of the ECAC at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center. Face off is set for 7:00 pm and the game can be seen live online on the Ivy Digital Network.

This matchup pits two of the highest scoring teams in the country. Bentley's 3.64 goals per game average is fourth, while Harvard's average of 3.43 is ninth. The Falcons' power play, which is tops in the nation at 36.4% (16-44) will be tested against the Crimson's penalty kill units, which are a perfect 26-26 on the season and leads the country. The Crimson also boast the sixth ranked power play at 25.0% (6-24).

Bentley enters the weekend at 5-5-1 overall and 3-2-1 in Atlantic Hockey play after taking three of four points from Mercyhurst at home last weekend. They tied Friday's game 4-4, and won in overtime on Saturday 5-4. Harvard is 4-1-2 overall and 3-1-2 in the ECAC. They posted a 2-0 win at Dartmouth Tuesday night, and over the weekend beat Brown 6-2 and lost to Yale 2-1, both at home.

Follow the Game: Tickets are still available for the game. If you can't make it to the Bright Center, the subscription based Ivy Digital Network will carry the game live online. In-game updates will also be on Twitter @BentleyFalcons.

Co-Leaders: Junior Andrew Gladiuk and sophomore Max French are among seven players in the NCAA tied for most goals in the country with nine. Gladiuk is also in a five-way tie for the national points lead with 16, while French is right behind him with 15.

After scoring four goals and dishing two assists in the Mercyhurst series, Gladiuk was named the Co-Atlantic Hockey Player of the Week for the second time this season and third time in his career. He previously earned the award on Oct. 21 after scoring three goals in the Sacred Heart series. He was also given the award on Dec. 10, 2013 after two-goal, three-assist game against Robert Morris.

Hat Tricks: Gladiuk netted a hat trick, and scored the winner in overtime, in Saturday's 5-4 victory. It was the second hat trick by a Falcon this season after French did it against Niagara on Nov. 7. It was the 10th hat trick by a Bentley player since the start of the 2008-09 season.

Dustin Cloutier at Canisius; 1/9/09

Jeff Gumaer vs Canisius; 3/15/09

Bobby Preece at RIT; 1/30/10

Brett Gensler vs Holy Cross; 1/24/12

Brett Gensler vs UConn; 2/18/12

Alex Grieve vs Robert Morris; 12/6/13

Brett Gensler vs Holy Cross; 12/28/13

Alex Grieve vs RIT; 1/10/14

Max French vs Niagara; 11/7/14

Andrew Gladiuk vs Mercyhurst; 11/15/14

Three Straight In OT: Bentley has now played three straight games in overtime and has come away with every possible result. A 3-2 loss to Niagara on Nov. 7, a 4-4 tie and a 5-4 win over Mercyhurst last weekend.

Nine Straight for the Power Play: Bentley has scored at least one power play goal in nine straight games and 10 of 11 this season. The only game they didn't score on the man-advantage was at Sacred Heart on Oct. 17, a 4-1 win.

French is tied for second in the country with four power play goals. Gladiuk and defenseman Matt Maher are tied for sixth with three each.

Series History: This will be third all-time meeting between Bentley and Harvard. The Crimson have won both, 5-0 on Oct. 27, 2012 and 3-0 on Oct. 26, 2013.

Other Notes: With two points on Friday, captain Alex Grieve moved into 7^th place on the program's all-time points list (122). His 53^rd career goal on Friday moved him into 9^th all-time. Defenseman Steve Weinstein notched his 80^th career assist and 90^th career point on Saturday. He's 7^th all-time in assists. Freshman defenseman Chris Buchanan scored his first career goal on Saturday, tying the game 4-4 in the third period. He's the 16^th different player already this season to score a goal.

Up Next: Bentley is off Saturday, but they return to the ice on Tuesday when they visit Holy Cross to reignite the two programs' rivalry. They return home on Friday, Nov. 28 to begin a series with Army.