Bentley Heads to Mercyhurst for Second Matchup of Season
The Matchup: Bentley and Mercyhurst will take the ice for the second time this season, when the two clubs face off at the Mercyhurst Ice Center for a two game set in Erie, Pa., beginning Friday night. A matchup between two teams in the top-five of the Atlantic Hockey standings, they are separated by two points.
The Falcons (9-7-3 AHC) split with RIT last weekend at home. They won the first game 2-1 behind 32 saves by junior goalie Gabe Antoni, and goals by freshmen Ryan McMurphy and Matt Sieckhaus. The Tigers though claimed a split with a 5-2 win the next night, as they scored three times in the final 6:47 to break a 2-2 tie and pull away late. Antoni made 38 saves, and the Bentley goals came from captain Alex Grieve and defenseman Matt Blomquist.
The Lakers (10-5-3 AHC) traveled east last weekend for two at Sacred Heart, and came away with just a point with a 2-2 tie and a 5-1 defeat. In the first game, the Lakers let a 2-1 lead slip away late on a Sacred Heart goal with 3:16 left in regulation.
Follow the Games: Newly rebranded AtlanticHockey.TV will carry every Bentley AHA game this season. Season ($150), monthly ($35) and single game ($10) passes are available. Live stats will be available on Bentleyfalcons.com and in-game updates will be on Twitter @BentleyFalcons.
Where They Stand: Bentley enters the weekend fifth in Atlantic Hockey with 21 points, one ahead of RIT for a coveted top-five finish, which ensures a bye to the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Hockey playoffs. Robert Morris (31 points) and Canisius (27 points) remain atop the standings, but it gets tighter after those two teams. Mercyhurst (23), Air Force (22), Bentley and RIT are all separated by four points in the third-sixth places.
Earlier This Season: The two teams already played this season in a two game series at the JAR the weekend of Nov. 14 that saw both games go to overtime. The first game ended in a 4-4 tie and featured four lead changes. Bentley trailed 3-2 midway through the second period after a goal by Mercyhurst's Jack Riley. But Bentley scored the next two goals, from senior Brett Switzer with 4:35 remaining in the second period, and from Grieve early in the third period. Mercyhurst though tied it 4-4 with a goal from senior Chris Bodo just past the halfway point of the third period.
The Falcons won the next night 5-4 in OT after rallying from 4-2 down in the second period. The rally was started with a goal by Andrew Gladiuk, who had already scored in the first period, at 15:19 of the second. Defenseman Chris Buchanan tied it for the Falcons just 4:17 into the third. Gladiuk sent Bentley home winners with his third goal of the night with 33 seconds left in OT for a hat trick.
Up Next: The schedule turns to February, and the Falcons open with a home-and-home with rival Holy Cross. The series begins in Watertown at the JAR next Friday night before shifting to the Hart Center in Worcester. The two teams have only played once this season, a 5-2 Holy Cross win on Nov. 25.