Written by:  Louis Sherman

In the wake of the Canada vs. USA Olympic Gold Medal Final on Sunday, it’s time for some more hockey fun. Bentley is preparing for the first round of the Atlantic Hockey Tournament on Saturday at home vs. UConn.

Although most of you will be in various places for Spring Break, try to come watch this exciting team if you will be in the Watertown area. Hockey is our only Division 1 sport, so competition is tight and tough, which means the game will be worth attending.

Bentley finished the 2009-10 regular season with a record of 10-15-3 in the Conference, good for 23 points and eighth place in the ten-team Atlantic Hockey conference. The Falcons went 2-3-1 in non-conference games, including a win over UMass Amherst, the 15th best team in the nation.

All of the teams in the conference are eligible for the play-offs, no matter what their records are. The top six seeds get a first round bye. The first round is for seeds 7-10. The second round is the Quarter-final round, which is a best-of-three series consisting of the six teams with byes and the winning teams from the first round. The semi-final round is back to one game, with the final four teams playing for a berth into the final, championship game on March 20.

Air Force has won the past three conference tournaments, but our Falcons believe they have what it takes to take that crown away. The tournament champion is entered into the NCAA East Regional to face the likes of Michigan, Boston College and Northeastern.

Over the past week and a half, Bentley has closed out the final three games of their 34-game schedule with a win and a tie against conference foes to finish up a month that included some struggles. Momentum is important when entering the playoffs, however, and the Falcons are heading into the tournament with some nice momentum coming into the UConn game.

After losing five straight, Bentley bounced back with a 4-2 win over UConn on Saturday night of Family Weekend. Freshman Joe Campanelli scored a power play goal with 4:33 to secure the game with a two goal lead.

Bentley was down 1-0 early until freshman Dan Koudys slapped a one-timer past UConn’s goalie. Campanelli and sophomore Jamie Nudy each assisted on the goal which came with 2:25 left in the first period.

The Falcons scored another pair of goals in the second period. Senior Brendan Harrison scored with 7:10 left the period, with help from Nudy and sophomore defenseman Ryan Kayfes. Soon after that, senior defenseman Anders Olsen found the net with a wrist shot for the Falcons’ fourth goal of the game. Olsen was assisted by sophomore forward Herbie Kent and senior defenseman Bobby Preece.

Sophomore goalie Kyle Rank won his eighth game in net with 19 saves on the Huskies 21 shots. Rank finished the season with a .895 save percentage in 19 starts, allowed just 3.41 goals per contest.

Bentley closed out their season with a home-and-home series against Holy Cross. In the first game, The Falcons lost 4-1 in Worcester. In the second and final game of the season, Bentley and Holy Cross came out with a 1-1 tie in a very enticing battle.

It was fitting that, on senior night, senior star Marc Menzione scored Bentley’s sole goal. It was a shorthanded goal in the second period to equal the score at 1-1. He was assisted by fellow senior Brendan Harrison at the 4:43 mark.

Rank was magnificent in goal, stopping 34 shots. The one shot that slipped by came after two quick saves by Rank, who could not save the third attempt. Neither team scored in the overtime, with just a combined 5 shots between the two teams.

Bentley enters the Atlantic Hockey tournament as the eighth seed. They will play the ninth-seeded UConn Huskies in the first round of the tournament at 7:05 P.M. at Ryan Skating Arena in Watertown.

A win against UConn would send Bentley to the Quarterfinals versus top seed RIT, who have won 25 games this season. The Quarter-finals round is a best of three series starting on March 12. If they can pull the upset and continue to the Semi-finals, Bentley would play one game on March 19, with the championship final on March 20.

The Falcons are 3-1 this season against UConn, scoring 4 goals in each win. Two of the three wins came at home, the site of Saturday’s game. They hope to continue their success against Connecticut and face RIT.