Walkom Scores Twice to Help Bentley to 5-1 Win and Sweep of RMU
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bentley (7-11-2; 6-7-1 AHA) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
|
Robert Morris (8-13-1; 7-8-1 AHA) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Pittsburgh, Pa. – Freshman and Pittsburgh native Brendan Walkom scored two goals in his hometown to help the Bentley hockey team to a 5-1 win over Robert Morris on Saturday and a series sweep. The win came in the 600th career game behind the bench for head coach Ryan Soderquist.
Walkom scored in the 2nd and 3rd periods, and the Falcons also received goals from Tanner Jago (Brandon, Manitoba), Luke Santerno (Smithers, B.C.) and Jake Kauppila (Gurnee, Ill.).
Bentley got on the board just 2:27 into the game on Santerno's 2nd goal of the weekend. Defenseman Luke Orysiuk (Edmonton, Alberta) helped make the goal happen by chasing down a loose puck into the offensive zone. He retrieved it behind the net and quickly hit Santerno with a backhand pass, who one-timed the pass for the goal.
Jago made it 2-0 with his 5th goal of the year the 8:03 mark. He exploded out of the left corner and drove in on net to have his initial shot saved, but scored on the rebound.
Santerno had a goal overturned later in the period, but Bentley still led 2-0 at the first intermission.
Kauppila gave Bentley a 3-0 lead with just over six minutes gone in the 2nd period. After taking a short pass from junior Matt Riggleman (Milford, Mich.) in the slot, Kauppila snapped off a wrist shot that beat goalie Francis Marotte low for the goal.
With under three minutes to go in the 2nd period, the teams traded goals. Walkom scored his first of the night at 17:05, but RMU finally got on the board 52 seconds later on a goal by forward Nick Jenny.
The score stayed 4-1 well into the 3rd period, until Walkom tallied his second goal of the night at the 15:11 mark. He broke into the offensive zone down the right wing and unleashed a shot from the right face-off circle that beat Marotte to his stick side on the left.
Bentley, which improved to 6-7-1 in Atlantic Hockey games this season, outshot the Colonials 30-25 on the night. They outscored their opponents 10-3 for the weekend. Junior goalie Aidan Pelino (Oakville, Ontario) made 24 saves to pick up the win.