Bentley Closes Out First Half With Trip to No. 8 Maine on Saturday
WALTHAM, Mass. – Bentley closes out the first half of the season on Saturday when they take on No. 8 ranked Maine in Portland at the Cross Insurance Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM and the game can be seen on ESPN+
The Road So Far
Saturday's game is not only the end of the first half of the season, but also the end of a six-game road trip that has taken the team to AIC, UMass Lowell, Merrimack and Air Force. The Falcons are 8-9 on the season and 5-6 in Atlantic Hockey. That has them in 5th place in the AHA standings with 16 points.
Maine is coming off a 3-1 non-conference win at Union on Wednesday, the team Bentley plays on Dec. 30 when they return from the winter break. The Black Bears are 9-3-1 overall and 5-2-1 in Hockey East. That has them tied for second in the standings.
Stingy D
Bentley is allowing just 2.10 goals per game, a number that ranks as the 5th best in Division I.
They've allowed three goals or more in just seven of 17 games. Two of those were the first two games of the season against BU and Northeastern and two of the seven were overtime games against BU and Air Force, last weekend.
Going further, Bentley allows just 23.4 shots per game, the third best number in the country. There has been five games where Bentley has allowed 20 shots or fewer. The lowest was 13 shots allowed against Holy Cross on Nov. 18. UMass Lowell mustered just 15 shots on Nov. 24.
Two in the Top-20
Goalies Nicholas Grabko and Connor Hasley both rank in the top-20 nationally in goals against average. Grabko is 11th (2.02) and Hasley is 16th (2.25). Grabko is also 17th in save percentage (.919).
The duo have combined for three shutouts this season. Grabko has two, including in Saturday's 3-0 win at Air Force, and Hasley has one. The three shutouts are already the team's most in a season since 2014-15.
Bochen Ranks Highly
Defenseman Nick Bochen is tied for 11th nationally in +/- at +13.
Bochen leads the team in both assists (9) and points (12). He's tied for 5th in the AHA in assists.
Series History
Saturday's game is the fourth all-time meeting between the Falcons and Black Bears.
Bentley won last season's game at home, 5-1. The other two meetings were at Alfond Arena. A 3-1 Bentley win in the 2008-09 season and a 2-1 Maine win in the 2013-14 season.
Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action on Dec. 30 when they host Union. Following that game, they visit Army West Point on Jan. 2 for the resumption of Atlantic Hockey play.