WALTHAM, Mass. – No. 15 ranked NYIT clipped Bentley 10-9 in overtime on Saturday afternoon in the Falcons' season-opener. Four different players for Bentley had at least three points.

The Falcons were going up against a Bears team that was playing its fifth game of the season already, while their season was just getting underway. NYIT improved to 2-3 on the season with the victory.

Bentley led 9-7 with 6:55 left in the fourth quarter after a goal by sophomore Matt Brooks (Brunswick, Maine/Phillips Exeter) was the team's third goal in a row. But NYIT scored two goals in a row just 45 seconds apart to tie the score at nine. The first goal of the run was scored by Michael Trainor at the 5:54 mark, and the game was then tied by Mike Sofia.

Both teams had a chance to score in the final minute of regulation. Senior Matt Sanford (Stratham, N.H./Bow) had a shot saved by NYIT goalie Brian Jockers with 42 seconds left. NYIT then got the ground ball and clear, and called timeout to setup a final possession with 21 seconds left, but came up empty to send the game to OT.

NYIT won the first face-off of overtime. Falcons goalie Robert Hamerman (Manhasset, N.Y./Manhasset), who stopped 10 shots on the day, made two big saves on NYIT's Andrew Zito, but the Bears retained possession after each shot. On their third possession, the Bears' Matt Chanenchuk scored at the 1:51 mark to give them the win.

NYIT led 3-1 after the first quarter, but Bentley outscored them 4-1 in the second quarter to lead 5-4 at halftime. Bentley went 3-3 in man-up situations in that quarter, and the goals came from Alex Astarita (Bedford, N.H./Bishop Guertin), Sam Hurley (Medfield, Mass./Medfield) and Sanford.

The Bears scored three of the first four goals of the second half to take a 7-6 lead early in the fourth quarter, but a man-up goal by Sanford started Bentley's 3-0 run. Freshman Timmy Day (Westfield, N.J.) and Brooks also had goals during the run to give them the 9-7 lead.