Air Force Academy
Bentley
Bentley beats Air Force, 6-1
10/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - Bentley scored on the first shift of the game and never trailed in a 6-1 win over Air Force in an Atlantic Hockey Conference game Saturday, Oct. 22, at the Academy's Cadet Ice Arena.
Bentley (2-2-1 overall and 1-1-0 in AHC) jumped on the board in the first 21 seconds when Matt Riggleman skated in on a 2-on-1 and set up Max French for a 1-0 lead. Late in the period, Andrew McDonald took a shot that was saved and then Kyle Schmidt chased down the loose puck behind the net. His centering pass was right on the tape of McDonald for his first of the season at 15:06. Late in the period, it appeared the Falcons got on the board when Pierce Pluemer crashed the net and slid the puck past Jayson Argue. A goal was called on the ice, but after video review, the goal was disallowed due to goaltender interference.
Midway through the second period, Air Force got on the board on A.J. Reid's first goal of the game. Dan Bailey kept the puck in the zone and Evan Feno made pass through the slot to Reid on the weak side. Reid's goal at 11:20 cut the Bentley lead to 2-1. Bentley answered in the final 90 seconds of the period as Ryan McMurphy created a turnover behind the Air Force net and fed Kyle Schmidt out front with 1:14 left in the second to make the score 3-1.
Bentley scored three goals in the third period, including two empty-netters. Midway through third, Andrew McDonald skated the puck deep into the Air Force zone and waited for his teammates on a line change. Jake Kauppila dropped a puck in the slot to Jonathan Desbiens who gave Bentley a 4-1 lead. Late in the game, Air Force pulled its goalie while on the power play for a 6-on-4 advantage. However, Bentley scored two empty-net goals as Connor Brassard scored at 13:05 and French scored at 18:00.
Bentley outshot Air Force, 31-28. Air Force was 0-for-5 on the power play while Bentley was 0-for-2. Shane Starrett made 25 saves for Air Force while Jayson Argue made 27.
"They made a statement on the first shift of the game," head coach Frank Serratore said. "From the first shift of the game, they were on their toes. Much of the evening, it was men among boys and in a lot of ways they imposed their will on us. Every time there was a moment that a team needed the next goal, they got it. That is a darn good team. They were on a mission. I'm not saying we didn't show up, they were just that strong. "
Air Force is now off until Nov. 4-5 when the Falcons travel to Army West Point for a two-game conference series.
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