Air Force (4-4, 4-2 AHC) vs. Bentley (2-4-1, 2-2-1 AHC)
7:05 p.m. Friday, 7:35 p.m. Saturday at Cadet Arena
Radio / Webcast: AM 1300 / atlantichockey.tv (subscription)
Series: Air Force leads 29-13-6
Last meeting: The teams split a series at Watertown, Mass., last season
Overview
Atlantic Hockey’s annual battle of the Falcons sees Bentley come to Colorado Springs fresh off of a split with Sacred Heart. It also gained a split during the previous weekend, beating Holy Cross but losing a non-conference game against UMass-Lowell. … Sophomore Luke Santerno has 10 points in five AHC games while senior captain Tanner Jago has seven points overall. … Bentley has yet to win on the road. … Senior defenseman Matt Koch leads Air Force with six points (all assists), while freshman Kieran Durgan (team-high four goals, also tied for the most by a freshman in AHC) and senior Evan Feno (three goals) have five points apiece. … Air Force is 1-2 at home.
Three keys
Power surge – Both teams have solid power plays – Air Force’s is successful 24 percent of the time while Bentley’s makes good 23 percent of the time. But neither team takes many penalties – Air Force averages 9 minutes per game, while Bentley takes 11. So it follows that whichever team makes the most of the man advantages it does get likely will have an edge.
75 percent chance – Some early season trends are emerging for Air Force. It is 3-1 when it scores first. It has a power-play goal in three of four wins. And it’s 3-1 when it wears its new alternate gray jerseys.
Masked men – Atlantic Hockey Goalie of the Week Billy Christopoulos has allowed 2, 2 and 1 goals during Air Force’s winning streak. Prior to that? 4-6-3-2-4. A combination of his play settling in and Air Force’s team defense improving has helped. Can that continue against one of the conference’s top-scoring teams? Counterpart Aidan Pelino has allowed four or more goals in four of seven starts, but he, too, was very solid last weekend, allowing a total of just five goals in the split with Sacred Heart.
Want more Air Force hockey? Check out our latest Falcon Hockey Podcast.
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