Bentley Heads Out to Colorado to Visit Air Force
The Matchup: After playing five of the first seven games at Bentley Arena, the Falcons head out on their furthest road trip of the season to take on another group of Falcons, Air Force, this weekend in Colorado. Friday's series opener begins at 9:05 PM, and Saturday's game is a 9:35 PM start.
Bentley split with Sacred Heart last weekend in a pair of 3-2 games. They won the second game in overtime on a goal by senior Drew Callin after they fell behind 2-0 in the first period. Senior goalie Jake Bryniarski came on after the 1st period, and made 22 saves to earn the win. They enter the weekend with a 2-2-1 Atlantic Hockey record.
Air Force meanwhile swept fellow service academy Army on the road last weekend by winning both games by a 4-2 score. They will enter the weekend with a 4-2 Atlantic Hockey record, which has them atop the standings with eight points.
Last Time Out: Bentley rallied past Sacred Heart for a 3-2 overtime win last Saturday night. The Pioneers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, but Bryniarski slammed the door shut after coming on to start the 2nd period with 22 saves to earn his first collegiate win. He made 9 saves in each of the 2nd and 3rd periods and 4 saves in overtime.
Freshman Dylan Pitera scored Bentley's first goal in the 2nd period at 2:35 to begin the rally. Junior Jake Kauppila tied it at 10:36 of the 3rd period.
In the first game of the series, a 3-2 SHU win, the Bentley goals came from Luke Santerno and Callin.
Pitera Claims AHA Rookie of Week Award: Pitera became the second Bentley player in as many weeks to claim AHA Rookie of the Week honors. He had 1 goal and 1 assist and was +3 in the Sacred Heart series. Teammate Jakov Novak earned the award on Oct. 30 after he had two goals in the 7-4 win over Holy Cross.
Bentley Featured on NESN: The Bentley University hockey team will be featured on the newest episode of NESN's New England Hockey Journal show. The episode will debut this Friday at 6:30 PM on NESN, with several other airings throughout the month.
The episode will provide an in-depth look at the Bentley hockey program as they embark on the first full season at its new home Bentley Arena. Camera crews were on-hand during the season's first game against Merrimack, and coaches were mic'd up to provide behind the scenes access.
Other airings this coming weekend are Saturday at 6:30 pm on NESN+, and Sunday at 5:00 pm on NESN.
Santerno Helping Out: Luke Santerno has been racking up the assists so far this season, with nine through seven games. That leads Atlantic Hockey, and his 10 points on the season is tied for the AHA lead. Nationally, he's tied for 2nd in total assists.
Two weeks ago in the 7-4 win over Holy Cross, he notched four assists, all in the 2nd period. That was one off the program record of five for assists in a game.
Series Notes: Bentley has done well at Cadet Ice Arena in recent seasons, one of the toughest trips in Atlantic Hockey. In the last 10 games at that building, going back to the 2011-12 season, Bentley is 4-4-2. Bentley did not go out there last season, but went twice in 2016-17. They split in the regular season, then Air Force won a quarterfinals series in the postseason, 2-0.
These teams met last season, just one week before the opening at Bentley Arena, in the final games played at the JAR. Bentley won the first game 2-0, but Air Force took the second game 4-2.
Up Next: The Falcons will return to Bentley Arena next weekend for a two game set against Army West Point on Nov. 16 at 7:05 pm and the 17th at 5:05 pm.
After that weekend, Bentley will next take on Boston College for the first time ever, on Friday the 23rd at Conte Forum. The game can be seen on ESPN3 at 3:00 pm.