Kyle Schmidt
Kyle Schmidt

Bentley Set For Home and Home Series With AIC

Game Notes

The Matchup: Bentley will look to bounce back this weekend when they take on the AIC Yellow Jackets in a home and home Atlantic Hockey series. The series opens Friday night at the JAR, before shifting to Springfield and the Olympia Ice Center on Saturday night. Both games are set for 7:05 and can be seen live in HD on EverSport.

The Falcons (6-9-2 AHC) suffered a sweep to RIT last weekend at home, dropping both contests by scores of 3-2 and 6-3. Bentley was within a goal in the 3rd period of both games, but the Tigers held off a rally from 3-0 down Friday night, and on Saturday pulled away with two goals in the final 8:03 after Bentley was within 4-3 after a goal by Max French.

AIC (5-11-1 AHC) was swept by Air Force out in Colorado last weekend by scores of 8-2 and 5-1. They were also beaten by Holy Cross 2-0 earlier in the week, which snapped a four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1) they had been on.

Follow the Games: Both games this weekend can be seen live and in HD 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.

Recapping the Weekend: Sophomore right winger Kyle Schmidt led the Bentley offense with three goals in the series with RIT. He struck for two goals in the second game and had one in the series opener. Captain Andrew Gladiuk had four assists in the series, with three coming in the second game. That marked the 3rd time this season a Bentley player has had three assists in a game; French and defenseman Tanner Jago each had three in a 6-2 win over Army West Point at the Barclays Center (Nov. 1).

RIT led the first game 3-0 after a goal by Todd Skirving at 5:05 of the 3rd period. But Bentley then fought back with goals just 1:03 apart, coming from Schmidt and defenseman Matt Blomquist, cutting the deficit to 3-2 with just under 12 minutes remaining. However, they were unable to find the tying goal despite a good chance in the final minute with the extra-attacker on the ice.

On Saturday, Bentley led 1-0 after the 1st period on a goal by Schmidt. But RIT scored three unanswered in the 2nd period, before Schmidt closed the period with another goal, cutting the deficit to 3-2 entering the final period. The teams traded goals over the first 8:08 of the 3rd period, with French scoring for Bentley to make the score 4-3 for the visitors. RIT though got the next two goals to pull away for the win.

Where They Stand: Entering the weekend Bentley is in 8th place in the Atlantic Hockey standings with 14 points, four points out of the top-five and a potential first round bye in the AHC Playoffs. AIC is currently in 10th with 11 points.

Gladiuk Moves Up: After four points in the RIT series, Gladiuk continues to move up Bentley's career Division I rankings. He's now T-2nd in points (128) with Alex Grieve, T-2nd in goals (62) with Jeff Gumaer and T-5th in assists (66) with Dain Prewitt.

In the NCAA, Gladiuk is 2nd among active players in career goals, 4th in points and 1st in power play goals (30), which he holds the school's overall record for.

Earlier This Season: Bentley won the first meeting this season against AIC, 1-0 on Dec. 1 at the JAR. Senior Gabe Antoni posted his first career shutout with 30 saves, while Gladiuk scored the game's only goal, coming just 3:07 into the 1st period.

Series History: Bentley leads the all-time series 28-21-5 and is 9-4-2 vs. the Yellow Jackets since the start of the 2010-11 season. The Falcons are 6-4 in the last 10 games at the JAR vs. AIC, and 4-4-2 in the 10 last ten at the Olympia Center. The series dates back to the 1980-81 season, a 5-4 Falcons victory in the first ever meeting.

Both French and Gladiuk have put up big career numbers against their weekend opponents from Springfield. They have both gone for a 4-7-11 scoring line, with Gladiuk doing it in 7 games and French 6.

Up Next: Bentley welcomes in Sacred Heart for two games at the JAR, the only two meetings of the season between the schools. The teams split four games last season, with each winning on the others home-ice once.