Falcons fall at Bentley in AHA playoffs

WALTHAM, Mass. – Bentley goalie Nicholas Grabko made 28 saves, including 14 in the third period, in a 7-3 win over Air Force in the first round of the Atlantic Hockey playoffs, Tuesday, March 9, at the Bentley Ice Arena in Waltham, Mass.

Bentley advances to the AHA quarterfinals against top-seeded AIC. Air Force ends the season with a 3-10-1 overall record.

Air Force struck quickly on the first shift of the game. Air Force turned the puck over in its own end, but Willie Reim regained it and skated down the left side on a breakaway. Reim scored his team-leading sixth of the season 20 seconds into the game. Bentley answered with five goals in the next 5:21.

Bentley's Cole Kodsi scored with a shot from the half boards to tie the game at 8:41. Three minutes later, Bentley took a 2-1 lead as Jakov Novak scored on a mini-breakaway at 11:39. Just after Air Force killed a Bentley power play, the home team scored on the rush. Joe Winkelman put back a rebound off of a shot by Will Schlagenhauf at 14:02. Late in the first period, Air Force lit the lamp again. Freshman Thomas Daskas created a turnover and then drew a penalty, putting the Falcons on the power play. Reim was then taken down on a cross-checking major on Bentley senior Charlie Marchand. It took Air Force just 16 seconds to score on the 5-on-3 as Brandon Koch scored with a wrister from the top of the right circle at 17:40. Jake Levin assisted on the play.

Air Force tied the game early in the second period on the power play. Koch took a shot from the center point that was tipped in by Max Harper at 2:11. However, Bentley scored two goals in a span of 91 seconds. Brendan Walkom put Bentley ahead with 7:45 remaining in the period as he tipped in a centering pass from Novak. After a penalty on Air Force, Bentley's Matt Gosiewski scored on the power play with a shot from the bottom of the right circle with 6:14 left. Following the goal, Alex Schilling replaced Zach LaRocque in the Air Force net.

Air Force was all over Bentley for most of the third period, outshooting Bentley 10-3 at one point, but Grabko kept the net clean for the home team. With 2:43 left, Air Force pulled the goalie in favor of the extra attacker. Bentley's Matt Gosiewski scored an empty-netter with 1:43 left for a 6-3 lead. The Falcons pulled the goalie again with 41 seconds left, but Walkom scored an empty-netter with nine seconds left.

Air Force outshot Bentley, 31-27, in the game. Air Force was 2-for-4 on the power play while Bentley was 1-for-2.

"We did a lot of good things tonight, but we just weren't good enough in every aspect of our game to win," said head coach Frank Serratore. "After getting that first goal and then falling behind, our guys found a way to come back and tie it. We needed to get that next one. We made some mistakes tonight and they cost us dearly. This team was a joy to be around every day. Our seniors showed great leadership through a challenging season and they are leaving this program in great shape. The culture of our program has never been better."

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Team Stats

Brandon Koch

Max Harper

Willie Reim

Jake Levin

Players Mentioned

Thomas Daskas

Max Harper

Brandon Koch

Zach LaRocque

Jake Levin

Willie Reim

Alex Schilling

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