Bentley Heads to Steel City for Robert Morris Series
The Matchup: Following a trip to Colorado, the Bentley hockey team is back on the road this weekend when they visit the Steel City for a series at Robert Morris. The series from 84 Lumber Arena is set for Friday-Saturday at 7:05 each night and can be seen live on EverSport.
The matchup will pit Bentley's top-ranked Atlantic Hockey defense against Robert Morris' top-ranked Atlantic Hockey offense. The Falcons are allowing just 2.58 goals per game, while the Colonials are scoring at a 4.30 goals per game clip.
The Falcons (6-5-2 AHC) are coming off a split at Air Force and are in 4th place in Atlantic Hockey with 14 points, while Robert Morris (8-3-3 AHC) is in 2nd with 19 points. They were beaten by ECAC teams Dartmouth (5-1) and Union (5-4) last weekend at the Ledyard Classic, after beating both Penn State (6-4) and UMass-Lowell (5-3) at the Three Rivers Classic the previous weekend.
Follow the Games: This weekend's games can be seen live on EverSport. The cost for a day pass is $6.99, while the cost for a season pass is $99. Visit this page to sign up.
In addition, live stats can be found on Bentleyfalcons.com, and live game updates are on Twitter @BentleyFalcons.
Last Time Out: The Falcons split out in Colorado over the weekend vs. Air Force with a 3-2 defeat in the first game and a 5-3 victory in the finale. In the first game, Air Force jumped ahead with three goals in the 2nd period and held off Bentley's rally in the 3rd with two goals. Andrew Gladiuk scored at 10:45 and defenseman Matt Blomquist had an extra-attacker goal with 1:02 left.
In the 2nd game, defenseman Tanner Jago fired in the game-winning goal on a slap shot with 1:06 left in the 3rd period to break a 3-3 tie. Sophomore Kyle Schmidt then potted an empty-net goal to seal the deal. Freshman Jake Ahlgren scored Bentley's first shorthanded goal of the season in the 2nd period.
French 4th Nationally: French tallied one goal and four assists in the two games at Air Force and now boasts an 11-13-24 scoring line in 15 games. That gives him an average of 1.60 points per game, which is T-4th nationally with Robert Morris' Zac Lynch. In overall points he's 4th in Atlantic Hockey, T-4th in goals and T-5th in assists.
Schmidt is the other Falcon in the top-10 in Atlantic Hockey in points; he's T-10th with 19 and also T-10th in goals (8).
Antoni Goalie of the Month: Senior Gabe Antoni was named the Atlantic Hockey Goalie of the Month for December. He started all five of Bentley's games during the month and went 2-2-1, while posting a 1.77 goals against average and a .937 save percentage, as he stopped 134 of 143 shots faced.
Antoni followed up his strong December by helping the Falcons to a 5-3 victory at Air Force Sunday night with 30 saves. On the season, he has five wins and is playing to a 2.44 GAA and .924 save percentage in 11 starts. He's currently 2nd in Atlantic Hockey in save percentage and 3rd in GAA.
Sophomore Jayson Argue returned in the series opener at Air Force after having not played since Nov. 13 at RIT. He still leads Atlantic Hockey with a .937 save percentage.
Gladiuk Moves Up: Gladiuk's goal on Saturday at Air Force was his 62nd career goal, moving him into a tie for 2nd on the program's Division I career goals ledger with Jeff Gumaer '09. With 124 career points, he's in 4th, two behind Dain Prewitt '09 in 3rd and four behind Alex Grieve '15 in 2nd for Division I.
Gladiuk is also 2nd among active NCAA players in career goals, T-4th in points and 1st in power play goals (30).
Series History: Bentley leads the all-time series over the Colonials 7-5-2 and is 3-4-1 in games played in Pittsburgh. The teams split a series in the Steel City last season. Robert Morris won the first game 3-0, but Bentley responded with a 1-0 victory in the finale as Argue posted his first career shutout with 29 saves. French scored the winning goal with 5:26 left in the 3rd.
Up Next: Bentley returns to the JAR next weekend when they host RIT. It will be the team's first game at home in five weeks. It will be the 2nd series of the season between the two squads. Bentley swept the Tigers in Rochester the weekend of Nov. 13, winning both games in OT 3-2. French had the winner the first night and Gladiuk the second.