Bentley-Harvard Set to Rekindle Rivalry Saturday Night
The Matchup: Bentley and Harvard will rekindle their rivalry after a year off on Saturday night at the Bright-Landry Hockey Center in Cambridge. The game will be televised live on One World Sports TV and will get underway at 7:30. The action can also be seen on the Ivy League Digital Network.
Bentley is coming off a split against Mercyhurst at home last weekend. Both games ended 2-1, with the Falcons winning the finale on Saturday night. Bentley will enter Saturday's game with a 3-5-3 overall record, and 2-4-2 in Atlantic Hockey games.
Harvard comes into the weekend ranked 9th in the latest USCHO poll and sports a 5-2-1 overall record, 2-1-1 in the ECAC. Most recently the Crimson defeated Boston College at home 5-2 on Nov. 18, and were beaten at Boston University 5-3 on Tuesday night. They also have wins over ECAC foes Cornell (4-3, Nov. 5) and Princeton (5-2, Nov. 11).
Follow the Game: Click on the following link to see which channel One World Sports is with your provider. The game will also be on the Ivy League Digital Network, which charges $9.95 for a day pass. Live stats will also be available.
Last Weekend Recap: Bentley and Mercyhurst split a pair of hard-fought 2-1 games last weekend at the JAR. On Friday night, freshman Matt Riggleman scored his 1st career goal in the 1st period, but Mercyhurst scored the next two goals, including the go-ahead goal from defenseman Philippe Drouin on the power play at 5:44 of the 3rd period. That was the team's first defeat this season when holding the opposition to two goals or less (3-1-3).
On Saturday, all three goals in the game came in the 2nd period. Bentley led 1-0 through defenseman Mike Berry's goal at 8:13, then padded its lead to 2-0 as Riggleman scored a power play goal a little under six minutes later. It was the team's first win this season when scoring two goals or less (1-3-3).
Goalie Jayson Argue was stellar all weekend for the Falcons. He stopped 62 of 65 shots faced, for a.954 save percentage and 1.52 GAA.
Stellar Run Continues: Argue's two strong games against Mercyhurst was the continuation of strong performances in the AIC series two weeks ago, where he allowed just three goals in the two games, which both ended in ties. Over the last four games, Argue has a .955 save percentage (128-134) and a 1.46 GAA in 247 minutes.
Solid Defensively: Through the first 11 games this season, Bentley's defense has been its strong point. They have the 3rd best scoring defense in Atlantic Hockey at 2.82. Plus, the Falcons have allowed two or fewer goals in seven games this season. The team is 3-1-3 in those games.
Series Notes: Bentley and Harvard played in three straight seasons from 2012-14, with the Crimson winning all three. The teams did not play last season. Bentley has played 9 of the 12 ECAC schools in its Division I history, and has wins over Princeton (2006-07), Brown (2009-10) and Rensselaer (2008-09, 2014-15). They have never played St. Lawrence, Cornell or Union.
Non-Conference This Season: Bentley is 1-1-1 in its three previous NC games this season. They started with a 5-1 victory at UNH on opening night behind goals from three freshmen playing in their first game; Connor Brassard, Dino Balsamo and Jonathan Desbiens. The following weekend, the Falcons tied and lost to Northeastern. They tied 1-1 at the JAR as defenseman Alexey Solovyev scored a shorthanded goal, Argue made 34 saves, and Bentley's PK went 12-13. The Huskies won at Matthews Arena 7-3 the next night. Bentley will play its final two non-conference games at Vermont on Dec. 30 and 31.
Up Next: The Falcons return to Atlantic Hockey play the weekend of Dec. 2 for a series at Canisius at the HarborCenter in Buffalo.