Bentley, like many Atlantic Hockey schools, expects to feel some growing pains early in the season.
It will take time to gel with 13 new players on the roster.
The Falcons took a big step last Saturday, defeating Maine 5-1 at Bentley Arena in front of a packed house. The impact of new players was on display with rookie goaltender Connor Hasley winning his first collegiate start with 33 saves, and goals by three new players: senior Josh Latta (a transfer from UMass Lowell) as well as freshmen Stephen Castagna and Nicholas Niemo.
Sophomore Harrison Scott scored two goals, getting the Falcons on the board in the first period, and adding an insurance goal in the second.
After opening the season with losses on the road at Boston University and Union, home ice provided a welcome pickup.
“It was great to see this new group get the win,” said Bentley coach Ryan Soderquist. “Getting back to our home environment and getting the energy and support of our fans.”
Hasley, in his first start, played well.
“He did a really nice job of playing simple and squared to the puck,” said Soderquist. “He had a lot of pucks hit him through traffic because his positioning was good. He stayed very poised throughout the game.”
Bentley is in the midst of a stretch of seven non-conference games to open the season. Soderquist says he expects to evaluate his team over that stretch, including goaltending.
“It’s been planned over the course of the first seven games to see multiple goalies,” he said. “We recruited Connor knowing that he can be a starter in Division I. He showed that.”
Bentley is among several Atlantic Hockey teams to play the majority of their non-conference games early in the season. While that gives coaches an opportunity to tinker with lineups without league points on the line, they must strike a balance between the important PairWise implications of out-of-conference games.
“I do like to have at least four (non-conference games) to start the year,” said Soderquist. “We knew when scheduling this season that we’d have a big turnover, with nine freshmen and four transfers. We had the chance to slip in some additional non-conference games early.”
As far as the importance of non-conference games to the league overall, Soderquist said, “My job is to give Bentley the best advantage. We are always trying to win, but these games also give us a chance to see what we have. With new guys, it’s a two-way street. New players are adjusting to us, and coaches have to adjust to new guys to see how they play, who they play best with, and find their roles.”
Next up for the Falcons is a Thursday-Friday series at Ohio State. Football tends to drive the athletic schedule at schools like OSU, and there’s a home game for the football Buckeyes on Saturday.
“I don’t mind the Thursday-Friday,” said Soderquist. “Ohio State is a veteran team with skilled forwards who are pretty tenacious. It’s a great opportunity for us to show who we are.”
Around the league
– You hear it all the time for Atlantic Hockey coaches: “Anyone can beat anyone in this league”. An example was this past Tuesday when visiting Holy Cross defeated American International, 7-3. The Crusaders were picked to finish tenth in the pre-season coaches’ poll; the four-time regular season champion Yellow Jackets were picked to finish first.
– Attendance is up across college hockey this season, and we saw some good crowds in AHA barns this past weekend. Rochester Institute of Technology played its annual Brick City Homecoming game at downtown Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena, defeating Union on Saturday, 8-5, in front of 8,766 fans. Mercyhurst drew 1,100 (85 percent capacity) at the Mercyhurst Ice Center for a 4-1 loss to Penn State. And Bentley’s win over Maine was in front of 1,600 fans at Bentley Arena.
– The league went 4-6 in non-conference play last weekend, not spectacular but better than the previous two weekends. Canisius’ 3-2 win over Rensselaer on Tuesday also helps. Non-conference games this weekend include Bentley at Ohio State, Miami at Canisius, Mercyhurst at Clarkson, Lindenwood at AIC, Holy Cross at Vermont, and Army West Point at New Hampshire.
