Game Notes

The Matchup: Bentley will close out the month of January when they host the Canisius Golden Griffins this weekend at the JAR, in what is the second to last series to be played for Bentley in Watertown. Friday's game gets underway at 7:05 pm, and Saturday is a 4:05 pm matinee.

Bentley played two overtime games with Robert Morris out in Pittsburgh last weekend. The Colonials took the first game 3-2, while the second game ended in a 3-3 tie after freshman Luke Santerno scored for the Falcons with 1:21 left in regulation to tie the score.

This weekend will be the second time this season these two teams have played, after a series in mid-November up in Buffalo. Canisius, which comes into the weekend tied for first in Atlantic Hockey with Holy Cross with 24 points, split with RIT last weekend on the road with a 5-4 win and 2-0 defeat.

Follow the Games: Both games this weekend can be seen on AtlanticHockey.TV, starting at 6:45 on Friday and 3:45 on Saturday.

Live stats for Friday and Saturday can be found by clicking on the links.

Bentley Arena Opening Feb. 16: The countdown is on to the first games at the brand new on-campus Bentley Arena. The Falcons will play their first games in their new home on Feb. 16 and 17 vs. Army West Point, with both games getting underway at 7:05. They will also take on AIC on Feb. 24 in the final game of the regular season.

Last Time Out: Bentley went to overtime twice with Robert Morris last weekend, the eighth and ninth times this season they've played bonus hockey. In the first game, Bentley led 2-1 after second period goals from defenseman Connor Brassard and freshman Michael Zuffante, on the power play. However, RMU's Michael Louria scored an extra-attacker goal with just 52 seconds left in regulation, then they won it on a goal by Alex Tonge 27 seconds in OT. Sophomore goalie Aidan Pelino made 28 saves on the night.

On Saturday, it was Bentley's turn to score a late goal. RMU took a 3-2 lead with 6:29 left in regulation on a goal by Brady Ferguson, but Santerno scored an extra-attacker goal for Bentley with 1:21 to play. Neither team scored in OT, but Bentley did have a power play chance. The Falcons had a 34-30 edge in shots on the night, and senior Jayson Argue made 27 saves.

Special Teams Matchup: Bentley and Canisius come into the weekend with some of the top special teams units in the nation. Bentley's power play percentage of 21.2 (25-118) is 16^th best in the nation, and they'll go up against Canisius' 11^th ranked penalty kill, which is at 84.3 percent (97-115).

Bentley scored a power play goal in each game last weekend, after going three straight games without one. During the team's seven game unbeaten streak, they went 10-30 (33.3%).

Santerno Having an Impact: Santerno, a center, is having a big impact in his freshman season. The Smithers, B.C. product leads the team with 19 points, is second in goals with seven and third in assists with 12. He's tied for second in points in Atlantic Hockey among freshman, tied for first in goals, and is tied eighth nationally in points per game among freshmen (0.83).

Schmidt Closes In: Team captain Kyle Schmidt scored his 49^th career goal in Saturday's game at RMU. The goal came on a breakaway just 30 seconds into the contest. He's now one away from 50 for his career, which would make him the seventh player in Bentley's Division I history to reach that milestone.

That goal was featured this week as the No. 5 Hockey Play of the Week on NCAA.com

Schmidt is also on the fan ballot for the 2018 Hobey Baker Award, given to the most outstanding player in Division I men's hockey. Head over to the following link to cast your vote: Hobey Baker Fan Vote

Schmidt is currently ninth in Division I career points at Bentley with 106. With seven more points, he'll jump into the top six.

Bentley's Career Division I Points Leaders

1. Brett Gensler-167
2. Andrew Gladiuk-153
3. Max French-143
4. Alex Grieve-128
5. Dain Prewitt-126
6. Anthony Canzoneri-112
7. Jeff Gumear-112
8. Brett Switzer-110
9. Kyle Schmidt-106
10. Steve Weinstein-104

Series History: Canisius leads the all-time series 31-24-6. Bentley largely dominated the series from 2004-13 with a 19-10-1 record. But since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Griffs have gone 8-2-3, including two wins in Buffalo earlier this season. Bentley last beat Canisius in game one of the 2014 Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals, 4-3 in overtime.

These two programs first played in the 1981-82 season, a 4-1 Bentley win. They were both original members of the MAAC Hockey league and then Atlantic Hockey.

Up Next: Bentley will play its final road games of the regular season next weekend when they travel up to RIT for the first games of the season between the Falcons and Tigers. Bentley swept RIT on the road last season at end of January by 3-2 and 6-3 scores. Following that series, Bentley is at home for the rest of the regular season. The weekend of Feb. 9-10 vs. Air Force in the final games at the JAR, and games vs. Army Feb. 16-17 and AIC Feb. 24 at the new Bentley Arena.

Tale of the Tape