Bentley Begins Road Trip Friday at Niagara
Game Notes
THE MATCHUP: Bentley will begin a four-game road trip this weekend with a series at Niagara University starting on Friday night at 7:05 pm. The series concludes on Saturday at 5:05 PM.
The Falcons enter the final month of the regular season in second place in the Atlantic Hockey standings with 31 points with a 10-7-1 record. Bentley will head to Sacred Heart next week before they return home to face Air Force on the weekend of Feb. 18.
This weekend will be the first games between Bentley and Niagara since a series on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 of 2020, which Bentley swept at home by scores of 3-2 and 4-2. Prior to that the last four series took place at Niagara from the 2015-16 season through 2018-19.
FOLLOW THE GAMES: Both games can be seen live on FloHockey.TV. A subscription is required.
Live stats for each game can be found at https://bentleyfalcons.com/sports/mice/2021-22/schedule
LAST TIME OUT: Bentley tied and lost to RIT last weekend at home. The Tigers took the series opener 2-1 behind two second period goals and a 29-save effort by goaltender Tommy Scarfone. The second game ended in a 3-3 tie, but RIT won the shootout 1-0.
The Falcons led 1-0 after the first period on a goal by Lucas Vanroboys, his 3rd of the season. They scored twice in the 2nd period from Matt Lombardozzi and Harrison Scott to lead 3-1 after 40 minutes. RIT though scored twice in the 3rd period to send the game to overtime. Neither team scored in the 3-on-3 overtime, and RIT took the shootout 1-0 with a goal in the third round.
AHA STANDINGS: With the final month of the regular season underway, AIC is atop the standings with 41 points from a 13-5-0 record. Bentley is in second place with 31 points with a 10-7-1 record. Behind them is a pack of teams chasing, with Canisius and RIT tied for third place with 30 points and Army West Point in fifth with 28 points. Air Force, winners of five of six games, have climbed into sixth place with 27 points, one ahead of Sacred Heart in seventh.
The top six teams at the end of the regular season receive a bye to the quarterfinals.
TEAM NOTES: Matt Lombardozzi scored his 7th power play goal of the season on Sunday vs. RIT. That's tied for 5th most in the nation and is the most in the AHA.
Goaltender Evan DeBrouwer saw his personal seven game winning streak snapped with Friday's 2-1 defeat vs. RIT. DeBrouwer is still 9th nationally in save percentage at .926. His goals against average of 2.22 is tied for 17th best nationally and the best in Atlantic Hockey.
Team captain, senior defenseman Ethan Roswell, ranks 6th nationally with 57 blocks.
Sophomore Drew Bavaro is tied for 9th nationally in points among defensemen with 22. That's tied for the second most in Atlantic Hockey. He leads Bentley in each of goals (9), assists (13) and points (22).
Bavaro's 9 goals are 4th nationally among defensemen.
SERIES NOTES: Niagara leads the all-time series 11-6-3. Bentley though has won three of the last four in the series.
The last time these teams played, Bentley swept at home on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, 2020. The first game was won 3-2 in overtime on a goal by Jonathan Desbiens. Bentley then won the second game 4-2, with Matt Gosiewski and Michael Zuffante among the goal scorers.
UP NEXT: Bentley is on the road again next weekend. They visit Sacred Heart for a Thursday-Friday series. This will be the second series of the season between the two teams, after a split at Bentley Arena on Jan. 14-15.