Waltham, Mass. – The Bentley University hockey team has two candidates for the 2019-20 Men's Hockey Senior CLASS Award, in seniors Jonathan Desbiens (Montreal, Quebec) and Aidan Pelino (Oakville, Ontario), it was announced Wednesday.

Bentley is one of just four schools to have two student-athletes named among the 20 candidates. Desbiens and Pelino are also two of the five candidates that are from Atlantic Hockey.

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as a NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.

Desbiens, a forward, has been one of the top scorers in Atlantic Hockey throughout his career. He has 40 goals and 46 assists for 86 points, in 127 games played. Last season he was named 3^rd team All-Atlantic Hockey, and so far this season has four goals and 10 assists for 14 points.

Pelino, a goaltender, has made 85 starts in his career at Bentley, and recently moved into 3^rd place on the program's all-time saves list with 2,224. He also ranks T-3^rd in wins with 33, and has the 3^rd lowest goals against average in the program's ranks, at 2.71. He was named second team All-Atlantic Hockey last season, and this season has made 13 starts with a 2.98 goals against average.

Academically, Desbiens majors in computer information systems with a minor in marketing. Pelino majors in finance, with a minor in management, and has been named to the AHA All-Academic team for three years running.

The Bentley hockey program has had several student-athletes recognized by the Senior CLASS Award in recent years. Last season, Tanner Jago was named one of the five finalists. Other alumni that were named candidates include Max French (2016-17) and Andrew Gladiuk (2015-16).

The list of 20 candidates will be narrowed down to 10 finalists in February. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced at the Frozen Four in April.