Sweeps have traditionally been hard to come by in Atlantic Hockey.
Before this past week, there was just one so far this season.
But we had four last weekend, including Bentley’s pair of regulation wins against Niagara.
Friday’s 6-2 victory featured a hat-trick from A.J. Hodges and a pair of goals from Josh Latta.
Saturday was a much closer contest that saw defenseman Samuel Duerr’s goal late in the second period stand as the game-winner in a 2-1 victory over the Purple Eagles.
Bentley, picked to finish last in the AHA preseason poll, currently sits in third place, three points ahead of American International and four points behind Sacred Heart. The Falcons are 4-2 in league play, 6-4 overall.
For new coach Andy Jones, there’s been a lot to process: his first head coaching position, two new assistant coaches which he brought on in the offseason, and a new team that features seven freshmen and four transfers.
Jones has the Falcons trending in the right direction, but he knows it will be a long, deliberate process to foster long-term success.
“We’re trying to build something sustainable,” he said. “To be honest, we’re not talking a lot about wins and losses at this point. Our goal is every night to be really hard to play against.
“Our competitive level is further along than I would have anticipated. The guys are super hungry to have a winning culture. I don’t know if I’ve had a timeline in mind, more of a vision for what this program could be, a consistent contender.”
That was evident in last weekend’s sweep of Niagara.
“I was proud of our effort,” said Jones. “There were long stretches in both games where we got outplayed. Through some extra effort and puck luck, we were able to navigate those stretches and not have them turn into two or three goals against.
“All the teams we’re playing play are good, so there are going to be stretches that we’re not in control. Good teams level off those valleys, it speaks to maturity. I think we won the moments we needed to.”
Hodges, a transfer from Michigan State, leads the Falcons in scoring with five goals and eight points. Right behind him at four goals is another transfer, Nik Armstrong-Kingkade, who played for Jones at UMass Lowell last season. Jones was an assistant for the River Hawks for eight years before landing the head coaching job at Bentley.
In net, senior Nicholas Grabko (.960 save percentage, 1.60 GAA) and sophomore Connor Hasley (.908 save percentage, 2.39 GAA) have rotated time.
“I like our goalies,” said Jones. “(Sophomore) Josh Seeley hasn’t played a minute yet this season and he’s very capable as well. The competition (between goalies) has been healthy. They’ve excelled when given the opportunity.
“For now, we’ve made a plan to split the duties. That could change at some point, but it’s working well for us.”
When asked about the differences between being a head coach and his assistant stints at Division III Amherst, Clarkson, and UMass Lowell, Jones said that “(head coaching) is a different role with more responsibilities and a different view of things. I’ve had to learn when to step out of the moment and when to stay in it.”
So far, it seems to be working. The atmosphere at Bentley Arena has been electric right from the Falcons’ first home game, a 3-2 overtime loss to Boston University. That’s the only home defeat for the Falcons so far – they’re currently 5-1 on home ice.
“The support has been tremendous,” said Jones. “The students have been great – loud and engaged. The support in general has been great from the Bentley community. There are lots of people willing to help make this program successful.”
Next up for Jones and the Falcons is a home-and-home series with Holy Cross this weekend. The Crusaders have had a similar trajectory: a new coach, picked to finish last in 2022-23 but went on to make it to the Atlantic Hockey championship game.
“It’s impressive in what they’ve accomplished,” said Jones. “We know we’ll need to play well to have results. The competition in this league is so close, you need to be prepared every night.”
