Hockey Opens Road Swing at Bentley

Games 28-29
Canisius (9-15-3, 6-13-2 AHA) at Bentley (12-11-3, 11-7-2 AHA)
Date: Friday, Feb. 8, | Saturday, Feb. 9
Times: 7 p.m. | 4 p.m.
Location: Bentley Arena | Waltham, Mass.
Live Stats: Friday | Saturday
TV/Webcast: Atlantichockey.tv
Tickets: Bentley Tickets
Game Notes: Canisius (PDF) | Bentley

The Canisius hockey team opens a four-game road swing this weekend as it makes its first visit to the brand-new Bentley Arena for a series against Atlantic Hockey foe Bentley.

The Golden Griffins and Falcons open their two-game set Friday with a 7 p.m. contest before the teams meet for the finale Saturday in a 4 p.m. puck drop.

Scouting Canisius
• The Griffs (9-15-3, 6-13-2 AHA) begin their road swing looking to make up ground in the Atlantic Hockey standings as they find themselves in 11th place with seven games to play.
• Senior Dylan McLaughlin paces the Canisius attack, leading the team all three major offensive categories with 16 goals, 15 assists and 31 points. McLaughlin enters play this weekend needing just nine points to match Cory Conacher for first place on the program's Division I era chart for career points (147).
• Junior Nick Hutchison is second on the squad in both goals (11) and points (22). Hutchison begins the Bentley series having recorded five points over the past four contests (2g, 3a).
• Sophomore Austin Alger has been a tear of late, racking up seven points (1g, 6a) over the Griffs last five contests. For the season, Alger ranks third on the team in points (21) and fourth in assists (12).
• Canisius will look to continue its trend towards more shot generation as the Griffs recorded 80 shots on goal during its series against Mercyhurst last weekend, a significant increase from its season average of 27.2 shots per game.
• The Griffs have struggled to keep the puck out of their own net this season as they rank 59th in the nation in scoring defense (3.89). Canisius has allowed four or more goals in a game on 15 occasions in 2018-19, posting a 2-13-0 record in those contests.

Canisius Suffers Loss, Earns Tie in Home-and-Home Series with Lakers
• Canisius opened February with the second of two home-and-home series versus its long-time rival Mercyhurst.
• The Lakers took the series opener on home ice, scoring three times in a 4:29 span in the first period on its way to a 5-3 victory.
• Senior Dylan McLaughlin (2g, 1a) and sophomore Austin Alger (1g, 2a) tallied three points each for the Griffs while junior defenseman Matt Stief chipped in two assists.
• In the finale at Harborcenter, junior Casey Jerry notched his second goal of the campaign while junior netminder Blake Weyrick stopped 22-of-21 shots faced to pace Canisius in a 1-1 tie.
• The Griffs out-shot the Lakers in both contests, finishing the weekend with a combined shot advantage of plus-34 (80-46).
• Canisius was a combined 2-for-14 on the power play for the series, including a 2-for-10 effort with the man advantage in the series opener.

Scouting Bentley
• Owners of a nine-game unbeaten streak, the Falcons (12-11-3, 11-7-2 AHA) enter the weekend tied with Mercyhurst for third place in the Atlantic Hockey standings with 24 points.
• Sophomore Luke Santerno continues to pace the Bentley attack, leading the squad in both assists (20) and points (29). Santerno recorded four points (1g, 3a) in helping to lead the Falcons to their weekend sweep of the Griffs two weeks ago in Buffalo.
• Senior Drew Callin ranks second on the squad in both assists (15) and points (24) while Jonathan Desbiens is third on the team in points (22) thanks to a team-best 11 goals.
• In goal, senior Aidan Pelino has started all 26 games, boasting a .901 save percentage and a 2.63 goals against average in 1525 minutes played. Pelino turned aside 53-of-56 shots faced during the Falcons' sweep of the Griffs.

Canisius-Bentley Series Notes
• In a series that dates back to 1981, Canisius holds a 33-27-6 advantage over Bentley in 64 previous meetings, including a 32-26-6 mark in Division I contests.
• The Griffs have dominated play in recent matchups with the Falcons, boasting a 9-3-2 mark in the last 14 meetings dating back to the 2013-14 season.
• Canisius makes its first visit to the brand-new Bentley Arena this weekend. The Griffs enter the weekend with a 15-15-1 record against Bentley in true road contests.
• The Falcons swept the first half of the season series between the two schools two weeks ago at Harborcenter, posting a 4-2 victory in the opener on Jan. 25 before recording a 3-1 triumph in the finale the following day.

Up Next
• Canisius finishes its four-game road swing next weekend with a visit to two-time defending league tournament champion Air Force.
• The Griffs and Falcons open their two-game set Feb. 15 with a 9 p.m. (EST) contest before wrapping up the slate the following day with a 7 p.m. (EST) puck drop.

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Players Mentioned

#91 Nick Hutchison: F; 6' 3"; Junior

#23 Casey Jerry: F; 6' 1"; Junior

#13 Dylan McLaughlin: F; 5' 11"; Senior

#24 Matt Stief: D; 5' 9"; Junior

#85 Blake Weyrick: G; 6' 3"; Junior

#83 Austin Alger: F; 6' 0"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#91 Nick Hutchison
: 6' 3"; Junior
: F

#23 Casey Jerry
: 6' 1"; Junior
: F

#13 Dylan McLaughlin
: 5' 11"; Senior
: F

#24 Matt Stief
: 5' 9"; Junior
: D

#85 Blake Weyrick
: 6' 3"; Junior
: G

#83 Austin Alger
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: F