Game Notes

The Matchup: One of the best rivalries in Atlantic Hockey renews this weekend when Bentley and Holy Cross square off for a two game series this weekend in Worcester, Mass. The series gets underway Friday night at 7:05 at the Hart Center, and concludes Saturday night at the same time.

Bentley has played just once so far this season, which was a 3-3 tie with AIC at the JAR on Oct. 10. The Crusaders, meanwhile, got their season underway last weekend with a series at home against Mercyhurst, that resulted in two ties. The first game ended 1-1, and the second game 4-4.

This weekend will be the only two meetings of the season between the two programs. The two rivals have played twice each season in each of the last three seasons. This will also be Bentley's first visit to the Hart Center since the 2014-15 campaign.

Follow the Games: All Bentley Atlantic Hockey games, home and away, will air on AtlanticHockey.TV, powered by Stretch Internet. The cost for a regular season pass is $104.99, and a day pass is $10.99.

New this season, the service can be accessed using Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.

Last Time Out: Bentley and AIC played to a 3-3 tie at the JAR in the Falcons' season-opener on Oct. 10. Sophomore center Jake Kauppila had two bookend goals, and fellow sophomore Jonathan Desbiens had the other.

Kauppila scored a power play just 1:43 into the first period. AIC scored the next two goals, at 5:50 of the 1^st and 5:56 of the second. Desbiens however, got Bentley tied with a power play goal with just seven seconds left in the second frame. AIC took the lead back with a goal by Shawn McBride 3:17 into the 3^rd period. Kauppila though, was the hero, as he scored his second of the night with 2:04 left in regulation to tie the score 3-3.

Falcons goalie Jayson Argue came up big in overtime with four of his 33 saves on the night.

Both teams had success on the power play. Five of the game's six goals were scored on the PP, with two for Bentley and three for the Yellow Jackets.

Last Season vs. Holy Cross: The Falcons and Crusaders played twice last season at the JAR on the final weekend of the regular season. Both games went to overtime. Holy Cross won the first game on a goal by Johnny Coughlin 3:10 into the extra session. Tyler Deresky had two goals in that one for the Falcons, while Max French and Ryner Gorowsky had first period goals.

The second game ended in a 2-2 tie. French scored a power play goal in the second period, after Holy Cross struck first in the opening period. The Crusaders led 2-1 in the third period, but a power play goal by Bentley's Kyle Schmidt tied things up at two.

Series History: Holy Cross leads the all-time series 33-20-9, while Bentley will be looking for its first win in five games in the series, as the Crusaders are 3-0-2 in the last five meetings, all played at the JAR.

Bentley won the last game at the Hart Center, 5-2, on Feb. 7, 2015. Five different players scored for the Falcons, including Schmidt and Andrew McDonald, who were in their freshmen seasons. That was part of a weekend sweep for Bentley. They won 4-3 at the JAR the previous night. McDonald had two goals that night.

In the last 10 games at the Hart Center, going back to the 2009-10 season, Holy Cross has a slight 6-4 edge. Among current players on the roster, Schmidt and senior defenseman Chris Buchanan have faced Holy Cross the most with 8 games each. Schmidt as two goals and four assists against them. McDonald has three goals in five career games. Argue is 1-1-1 vs. the Crusaders, with a 1.95 GAA and .929 save percentage.

The first ever meeting between these two programs dates all the way back to the 1981-82 season.

Up Next: Bentley returns to the JAR next weekend for a two game series against Mercyhurst.

Tale of the Tape