Game Notes

The Matchup: After opening up Atlantic Hockey play last weekend, Bentley goes back into non-conference action when they take on No. 15 ranked Harvard on Saturday night for the team's only game of the weekend. Puck drop is set for 8:00 pm from the Bright Hockey Center in Cambridge.

The Falcons are coming off a split of last weekend's home and home series against Holy Cross. Bentley won on the road 4-2, but fell at home 3-2. They sport a 3-3 record overall and 1-1 in the AHA as the first month of the season closes after Saturday's game.

The Crimson will open their season on Friday at Dartmouth. And when they do it will be their first game in 601 days after the Ivy League did not complete last season. Harvard did play two exhibition games last week, a 4-0 win over Dartmouth and an 8-2 victory over Brown.

Follow the Game: Saturday's game will be streamed on ESPN+, which requires a subscription.

Tickets can be purchased here: https://tickets.gocrimson.com/Online/mapSelect.asp?doWork::WSmap::loadMap=Load&createBO::WSmap=1&BOparam::WSmap::loadMap::performance_ids=1842D41A-5F8B-45BD-BCBA-8A972EB31370

And if you are planning to attend, please note Harvard's spectator policy: https://gocrimson.com/news/2021/10/1/general-harvard-athletics-announces-updated-vaccination-requirements-for-home-indoor-contests.aspx

Last Time Out: Bentley rallied from an early 2-0 deficit to win at Holy Cross 4-2 on Oct. 21. Three of the four goals came from defensemen; freshmen Tanner Main and Tucker Hodgson and sophomore Drew Bavaro, who scored early in the 2nd period for what was the game-winner. Junior Matt Gosiewski added a late empty-net goal to seal the win.

In Saturday's game at Bentley Arena, Bavaro scored again for his 3rd straight game with a goal. Grad student Phil Knies also lit the lamp, his first in a Bentley uniform.

Scoring Their Firsts, Back-to-Back: In the win over Holy Cross, defensemen Main and Hodgson scored their first career goals. Not only was it in the first period, but it happened back-to-back and less than five minutes apart from each other.

Looking at the Leaders: With the first month of the season almost in the books, Knies leads Bentley with six points, on one goal and five assists. He has five points, one goal and four assists, in the last three games.

Behind Knies are sophomore Cole Kodsi with five points, on two goals and three assists, and senior Dylan Pitera with five points on one goal and four assists.

Drew Bavaro leads the team with three goals.

Sophomore goalie Nicholas Grabko, already a two-time AHA Goalie of the Week, has a 3-2 record with a .928 save percentage and 2.55 GAA.

Series History: Saturday's game will be the 6^th all-time meeting between Bentley and Harvard. The Falcons will be looking for their first win in the series. The first four games were hosted by Harvard, and the first occurred in the 2012-13 season. The last meeting was in the 2018-19 season at Bentley Arena, but the Crimson emerged 2-1 winners.

Six players on Bentley's 2021-22 roster played in that game, Brendan Hamblet, Dylan Pitera, Will Schlagenhauf, Matt Lombardozzi, Luke Orysiuk and Michael Zuffante.

Hamblet had Bentley's goal in that game.

Up Next: Bentley will be back at home next weekend and return to Atlantic Hockey play when they host Canisius on Friday, Nov. 5 (7:05 PM) and Saturday, Nov. 6 (4:05 PM).