Air Force (5-4-1, 1-1 AHA) vs. Bentley (2-7, 0-2)

7 p.m. Friday, 8 p.m. Saturday at Cadet Arena

TV / Streaming / radio: Altitude2 (Saturday) / Flohockey.tv / 1300 AM

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Air Force returns to Atlantic Hockey play after winning three of four non-conference games and potentially getting a bit healthier in the process. The decimated defense could see the return of captain Luke Rowe and assistant captain Luke Robinson. That would be a boost to a group that has had to rely heavily on three underclassmen, but freshmen Chris Heddon and Brett Oberle, and sophomore Jasper Lester all have acquitted themselves quite well. Seniors Brandon Koch (eight points) and Andrew Kruse, and sophomore Mitchell Digby have been rocks for the group.

Bentley opened Atlantic Hockey play by getting swept by Niagara by a cumulative 10-2, but the Falcons (yes, it’s a Falcon-vs.-Falcon matchup) defeated Maine, 5-1, earlier in the season. Air Force lost their opener to the Black Bears, 4-1, at the Ice Breaker Tournament, which it co-hosted with Denver. Defenseman Nick Grochen leads Bentley with six points, while Air Force has seven players with at least that many points, led by forwards Will Gavin (11 points, 5 goals) and Willie Reim (9, 4).

Air Force is scoring 3.6 goals per game, while Bentley has averaged just 2.11. Both teams have allowed four or more goals per game (4.0 for AFA and 4.6 for Bentley). A big difference could be special teams because Bentley has scored on just 4.9 percent of its power plays (61st of 62 teams) and its penalty kill is successful 72 percent of the time (58th). Air Force, meanwhile, has a strong power play (25.6 percent) and an improving PK (76.7 percent). The big keys for Air Force are scoring first – it’s 3-1-1 when it does so – and hitting the magic three-goal mark – it’s 5-1-1 when it hits that plateau.

There won’t be many secrets between the teams because Frank Serratore and Bentley’s Ryan Soderquist have faced each other for the past 21 seasons.

©First Line Editorial 2022