Bentley Returns Home to Face Canisius This Weekend
The Matchup: Coming off a sweep of Niagara last weekend, Bentley is back on home ice this weekend to take on the Canisius Golden Griffins. Friday's game begins at 7:05 PM and Saturday's game is a 4:05 PM puck drop.
Six weeks are left in the regular season and Bentley and Canisius are battling for a playoff spot in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament. This series will be the only two games of the season between these teams.
Follow the Games: Both games this weekend can be seen on FloHockey.TV. A subscription is required.
Live stats can be found at https://bentleyfalcons.com/sports/mice/2022-23/schedule
Tickets for both games are available at https://www.etix.com/ticket/v/12892?cobrand=BentleyHockey
Last Time Out: Bentley swept Niagara on the road last weekend by scores of 6-3 and 6-1. Sophomore Danny Pearson had a hat trick in Friday's win. Bentley fell behind 2-0 in the first period but stormed back with four goals in the second period to take a 4-3 lead. Pearson had two goals in the 2nd frame and completed the hat trick with a power play goal in the 3rd period. Captain Dylan Pitera added a goal in the 3rd period.
On Saturday the Falcons never trailed in the 6-1 victory. Six different skaters scored, including the first NCAA goals for senior defenseman Hunter Toale and freshman forward Arlo Merritt. Freshman Nicholas Niemo had a game high four points, with one goal and three assists. Pearson scored a power play goal in the 2nd period for his 4th goal of the weekend.
Freshman goalie Connor Hasley, a native of North Tonawanda, NY, made 26 saves to earn the win. He was playing just minutes away from his hometown.
Players of the Week: Pearson was named the AHA Player of the Week on Monday for his four-goal weekend. His hat trick was the first by a Bentley player since Jonathan Desbiens on February, 7, 2020.
Niemo was named the Rookie of the Week after he had six points combined in the two games, with one goal and five assists.
Vanroboys Hits 100 Games: Senior center Lucas Vanroboys played in his 100th career game last Saturday. He notched one goal and one assist in the 6-1 victory. He is the second Bentley player this season to reach 100 career games after Matt Gosiewski hit that number against Northeastern on Dec. 30.
Series History: The all-time series between Bentley and Canisius couldn't be much closer with the Griffs holding a slight edge at 34-33-8. The teams played four times last season and split 2-2, with each team winning once at home and once away.
Bentley has gotten the better of the series recently, with a 9-2-2 record over the last 13 games.
Bentley and Canisius have met in the postseason five times. The most recent was in the 2020 first round with Bentley sweeping.
Penalty Kill Succeeding: Bentley's penalty kill has gone 26-28 (92.3 percent) over the last six games.
Up Next: Bentley is back on the road next weekend to take on Mercyhurst for the first time this season.