Game Notes

The Matchup: The Falcons return to Bentley Arena this weekend to start a two weekend home stand. The Niagara Purple Eagles are the opponent this weekend, and puck drop for both games on Friday and Saturday nights is at 7:05 pm.

Bentley is coming off a road sweep of Mercyhurst last weekend by scores of 4-3 and 7-4. That improved the team's Atlantic Hockey record to 8-11-2 and moved them up to a tie for 7^th in the standings with 26 points. Niagara is coming off a sweep as well last weekend, as they defeated Army West Point at home in two games by scores of 4-1 and 3-2 in overtime. The Purple Eagles are 6-8-4 in the AHA and are in 9^th place with 24 points.

Follow the Games: The games will be broadcast live on FloHockey.TV, which requires a subscription.

Fans can also follow live stats at the following link: https://bentleyfalcons.com/sports/mice/2019-20/boxscores/20200131_aea5.xml

Tickets for both games are available at https://www.etix.com/ticket/v/12892/the-bentley-arena

Last Time Out: Bentley erupted for 11 goals combined last weekend, including a season high seven on Saturday, in the sweep of Mercyhurst.

Bentley overcame 2-0 deficits in both games. On Friday they erased the deficit by scoring three goals in a span of under six minutes in the 2^nd period, and four goals in six minutes. In that spurt were goals by seniors Jonathan Desbiens and Connor Brassard, and the first career goal for freshman Lucas Vanroboys. Defenseman Charlie Marchand scored the game-winning goal after he broke a 3-3 tie at the 8:51 mark of the 2^nd.

On Saturday, the Falcons erased a 2-0 deficit in the 1^st period with goals by Desbiens and Brassard that came just over two minutes apart in that period. Bentley then scored three more unanswered goals in the 2^nd period to take a 5-2 lead. The goals came from defenseman Ethan Roswell, freshman Matt Gosiewski and Vanroboys. Desbiens added his 3^rd goal of the weekend in the 3^rd period and sophomore Brendan Walkom also scored.

Brassard Named Defenseman of the Week: Connor Brassard was named the AHA Defenseman of the Week on Tuesday, for the 2^nd time this season. He had a combined two goals and two assists last weekend at Mercyhurst. On the season, Brassard's 13 points (4g, 9a) is 8^th most among d-men in Atlantic Hockey.

Series History: This weekend will be just the 19^th and 20^th meetings all-time between Bentley and Niagara. They have never played more than one series in a season, since Niagara joined Atlantic Hockey in 2010.

This will be the Purple Eagles' first visit to Bentley Arena, and their first games at Bentley since the 2014-15 season when the teams split a series at the JAR in Watertown.

In last season's series played in upstate New York, Bentley won the first game 3-1, which extended their winning streak to eight games and unbeaten streak to 12 games, which at the time was the longest in the nation.

Things to Know: After scoring three goals last weekend Desbiens now has 43 for his career. That puts him in 11^th place for most goals in the program's Div. I history, and one out of breaking into the top 10. He has 89 career points which is 15^th most in Div. 1, and he is now 11 points away from reaching 100 for his career.

Senior goalie Aidan Pelino won both games last weekend and now has 35 career wins. That is tied for 2^nd most in program history with Barratt Davison '84. Pelino also recently moved into 3^rd place on the program's all-time saves list.

Sophomore Jakov Novak had three assists last weekend to raise his total to 26 points on the year. That is 4^th most in the AHA, and his 14 goals scored is tied for 3^rd.

Freshman Matt Gosiewski's 9 goals on the year is the most in the AHA among freshmen, and his 18 points is 2^nd most among rookies.

Up Next: Bentley is back at home next weekend for a split weekend. They host Army West Point on Friday night for the 4^th and final meeting of the season with the Black Knights. They then take on Arizona State on Saturday night in the first ever meeting between the two programs.