No. 20 Bentley Tops SNHU 16-14 in Regular Season Finale
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bentley (7-5, 6-4) | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 16 |
|
Southern N.H. (7-5, 5-5) | 1 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 14 |
MANCHESTER, N.H. – No. 20 ranked Bentley scored two late goals in the 4th quarter in quick succession to break a 14-14 tie to defeat Southern New Hampshire 16-14 on Tuesday night in the final game of the regular season.
With the game tied at 14 and the clock down to under three minutes, sophomore Conor Segreti (North Potomac, Md.) scored to put the Falcons in front 15-14 with 2:39 remaining
After a faceoff win by sophomore Cam Bartolomeo (Meriden, Conn./Xavier), one of his 12 on the night, sophomore Devin Smith (Maynard, Mass./Concord) scored at the 2:15 mark to give the Falcons a two-goal cushion. Senior Clay Moseman (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow) had the assist on the goal.
Bentley then caused a turnover on SNHU's next possession and were able to run out the clock to secure the victory.
The win gives Bentley a final regular season record of 7-5 and 6-4 in the NE10. They will be the No. 5 seed in the NE10 playoffs and will play the No. 4 seed Pace in the first round on Saturday.
The Falcons never trailed in this game and had an 8-5 lead at halftime. The Penmen pulled to within 9-8 late in the 3rd quarter, but Bentley responded with a 3-0 run over the final 2:01 of the quarter. The goals came from Matty O'Brien (Rockland, Mass./Rockland), Segreti and freshman Nathan Alviti (New Fairfield, Conn./New Fairfield), who had a hat trick on the night, to give the Falcons a 12-8 lead after three quarters.
A 5-1 run by the Penmen over the first nine-plus minutes of the 4th quarter tied the game 13-13. But a goal by Bentley's Ryan Birch (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) at 4:57 gave him a hat trick for the second straight game and put the team ahead 14-13. The lead was short-lived however as SNHU's Gennaro Marra scored right off the ensuing faceoff to tie the game just seven seconds later.
Bartolomeo won the next faceoff, which led to a shot by Segreti that was saved by SNHU goalie Ronan Depaul with 3:42 remaining. The Penmen though couldn't covert the clear and the ball went back to the Falcons, which led to Segreti's goal-ahead goal at the 2:39 mark.
Bentley's first round game at Pace will begin at 4:00 pm on Saturday.