WALTHAM, Mass. – Bentley University defeated Mercyhurst 3-1 on Saturday night for its 5^th straight win and second straight series sweep.

The Falcons closed out the first half of their season with a 10-7 overall record and 8-4 record in Atlantic Hockey games for 23 points, which has them in first place in the standings. The team will now be off until January 5^th when they visit UMass-Lowell.

Graduate student goalie Evan DeBrouwer (Blenheim, Ontario) made 35 saves to extend his personal winning streak to five games. He made 16 saves in the 3^rd period to help the Falcons secure the win.

A scoreless first period saw Bentley outshoot Mercyhurst 13-7, but the 2^nd period saw three goals scored and two by Bentley.

Sophomore defenseman Drew Bavaro (Bradenton, Fla.) got the scoring started with his 6^th of the season at the 4:20 mark of the period with a long range shot from just inside the blue line that beat Lakers goalie Kyle McClellan through traffic.

The Falcons then made it 2-0 at 9:56 on Eric Linell's (Great Neck, N.Y.) 3^rd goal of the season. Grad student defenseman Matt Lombardozzi (Leominster, Mass.) had a slap shot from the point saved by McClellan, but Linell was there on the far post to score off the rebound for the goal.

Mercyhust pulled one back with a goal by Jonathan Bendorf at the 14:08 mark of the 2^nd period, but from that point on DeBrouwer slammed the door, including on two penalty kills in the 3^rd period.

Bentley's 4^th successful penalty kill of the night featured a shorthanded goal by freshman Harrison Scott (San Jose, Calif.) with 2:02 remaining in the game to seal the win.

Scott made a steal in the neutral zone, spun away from two Mercyhurst defenders and scored with a shot from just inside the left faceoff circle for his first NCAA goal.

That made it 3-1 and Bentley saw out the remaining two-plus minutes for the victory.