Bentley Flies West for Weekend Series at Air Force
The Matchup: Bentley plays its first Atlantic Hockey games of the 2016-17 season this weekend out West when they head to Colorado to take on the US Air Force Academy at Cadet Ice Arena. Both games this weekend get underway at 9:05 eastern time.
Bentley is 1-1-1 on the season after opening with three games against Hockey East teams. After they defeated UNH 5-1 in the season-opener on Oct. 8, Bentley is coming off a hard-fought series with Northeastern. The first game at the JAR ended in a 1-1 tie, while the Huskies came away with a 7-3 win when the series shifted to Matthews Arena.
Air Force will also be playing its first Atlantic Hockey games of the season this weekend. Air Force opened its season in a big way by winning the IceBreaker Tournament in Denver, which included a 2-1 upset over Boston College, and a shootout win over Ohio State. Last weekend, Air Force split with Arizona State at home, with a 4-3 win and a 5-2 defeat.
Follow the Games: Both games this weekend can be seen on the new Atlantic Hockey Digital Network. Click on the link to learn about the various price options that are available this season. An audio only broadcast, and live stats will be available as well.
Last Time Out: The Falcons and Huskies battled to a 1-1 tie last Friday in Bentley's home opener at the sold out JAR. Sophomore defenseman Alexey Solovyev scored a shorthanded goal, and junior goalie Jayson Argue was sharp with 34 saves. On Saturday night, Northeastern erupted for three early first period goals, and did not look back. The Bentley goals came from Solovyev, senior Tyler Deresky and freshman Jake Kauppila.
Defenseman of the Week: Solovyev was named the Atlantic Hockey Defenseman of the Week on Tuesday. He scored in both games against Northeastern, and has opened the season with a goal in each of Bentley's first three games. After scoring just once as a freshman, he has already surpassed that total after just three games in 2016-17 and leads the team. He's the first Bentley defenseman to win the award since Matt Blomquist last season on Oct. 20.
Shorthanded Goals: Bentley has scored a shorthanded goal in each of its first three games this season. Kyle Schmidt had a shorthanded goal against UNH, while Solovyev and Deresky had the shorthanded goals last weekend against Northeastern. The Falcons scored just one SH goal last season, and have already surpassed that total after three games in 2016-17.
All-Time Series: Air Force leads the all-time series 23-11-6 in a series that began in 1998-99, but has been tilted more in Bentley's favor recently. Over the last five seasons, Bentley is 5-2-3 against Air Force, which included a sweep at the JAR in the 2014-15 season.
Bentley has also played well at Cadet Ice Arena in recent seasons. They are 3-1-2 in its last six games in Colorado, which spans three seasons (2011-12, 2013-14, 2015-16). The teams split last season's series out West. Air Force won the first game 3-2 after they jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Bentley tried to rally with 3rd period goals from Andrew Gladiuk and Matt Blomquist, but could not complete the comeback. Bentley then won the 2nd game 5-3. With the game tied 3-3 late, defenseman Tanner Jago scored the tiebreaking goal with just 1:06 remaining. Kyle Schmidt then added an empty net goal with 30 seconds left.
Up Next: The Falcons return home next weekend for a series against RIT. The teams traded sweeps on the other's home-ice last season. Bentley swept in Rochester in mid-November, as they won both games in overtime 3-2. The Tigers though returned the favor in mid-January with a sweep at the JAR, with wins of 3-2 and 6-3.