Air Force travels to Bentley, Nov. 22-23

THE GAMES
Game 1: Friday, Nov. 22, at Bentley, 7:05 pm ET, Bentley Ice Arena, Waltham, Mass.
Game 2: Saturday, Nov. 23 at Bentley, 4:05 pm ET, Bentley Ice Arena, Waltham, Mass.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Television: None
Stream:              Both games on FloHockey
Radio:                 Both games on XtraSports 1300 AM / xtrasports1300.com;
Live Stats Link is on AF hockey schedule

THE BREAKDOWN
Quick Facts: Air Force Bentley
Record:              8-6-0, 5-1-0 AHA (5th) 7-4-1, 6-2-0 AHA (2nd)
Streak:                W 4 W2
Last Series: Nov. 15-16, Swept Mercyhurst            Nov. 15-16, Swept AIC
Next Series: Nov. 29-30, at Brown Dec. 1 at Northeastern

THE COACHES
Head Coach:                 Frank Serratore Andy Jones
School Record:             464-442-99 (28th yr)                 23-21-1 (2nd yr)
Career Record:             513-534-108 (32nd yr)              23-21-1 (2nd yr)

THE SERIES
Overall:              AF Leads 40-20-7
Last Meeting: AF swept Bentley, 3-1 and 7-3, Jan. 5-6. 2024, at Bentley
Streak: AF W 2

One Timers
* Air Force earned its second consecutive sweep of the season and third of the season with wins over Mercyhurst, Nov. 15-16
* The four-game winning streak ties the longest since a five-gamer early in the 2018-19 season.
* AF improved to 5-1-0 in league play. Air Force's 5-1 start in conference play is the best six-game record since the 2008-09 team was 6-0 and improved to 11-0 before suffering their first league loss.
* AF is averaging just 2.14 penalties per game, the fewest in the league. In penalty minutes per game, AF is the fifth-least penalized team in the nation with 5.9 PIM/Game
* AF has killed 16 of 20 (80 percent) opponent power plays over the last 10 games.
* AF is 6-1 in one-goal games this season
* The Falcons have scored two goals or less in eight of the last nine games and are 6-3 in those games
* Air Force has only allowed two goals in the last four games
* Senior Guy Blessing earned his second shutout in the last four games and fifth of his career.
* Over the last four games, he has a 0.50 GAA and a .981 saves percentage. In six conference games this season, he has a 1.01 GAA and a .962 saves percentage.
* Junior Chris Hedden's five goals are tied for the national lead among all defensemen. He scored the game-winner to beat Mercyhurst. It was his first GWG of the season and fifth of his career
* Senior Clayton Cosentino won 29 faceoffs against Mercyhurst and leads the nation with 197
* Senior Austin Schwartz has a point in four straight games (3-1-4). He scored the game-winner to beat Canisius (Nov. 10) and had ENG to seal wins over Canisius (Nov. 8) and Mercyhurst (Nov. 16)
* Cosentino leads the team with 13 points (5-8-13). He scored the game-winning goal vs. Mercyhurst (Nov. 16), his second GWG of the season and seventh of his career. He tied his career high three points twice this season
* Sophomore Brendan Gibbons leads the team with six goals, tied for fourth in AHA and 20th in the nation
* Both Bentley (5) and Air Force (1) are receiving votes in the latest USCHO.com poll.

Scouting Bentley
Bentley has won five of the last six games and is 7-4-1 overall this season. Bentley is in second place in the AHA with 18 points after sweeping AIC last weekend. Bentley swept Sacred Heart (Nov. 1-2) and split with RIT (Nov. 8-9) and Army (Oct. 25-26). Bentley leads the AHA in scoring defense at just 2.50 goals per game and is second in scoring offense at 3.42 goals per game. Bentley's power play (22.7) leads the league. Bentley (.557) and Air Force (.539) ranks first and second in the AHA in faceoff winning percentage. Four players have 10 or more points in 12 games, led by Ethan Leyh with 13. Connor Hasley has started nine of the 12 games in goal and has a 2.51 GAA and a .895 saves percentage.

Series vs. Bentley
The teams have played 67 times and Air Force holds a 40-20-7 advantage in the series that began in 1998. As Atlantic Hockey foes, the teams played 58 times since the beginning of the 2006-07 season (18 years) and Air Force holds a 34-18-6 lead. The teams played four times last season and Air Force took eight of the 12 points. The teams split at the Academy as Air Force won 3-2 in overtime and Bentley won 3-0 in game two. Air Force swept at Bentley (3-1 and 7-3). Air Force is 4-1-1 in games played at the Bentley Ice Arena. In all games in Waltham, AF is 17-9-2 against Bentley. Air Force has won four of the last five in the series.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Guy Blessing

Clayton Cosentino

Brendan Gibbons

Chris Hedden

Austin Schwartz

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