Bentley 4, Army 3

WATERTOWN, N.Y.  – Army scored two third-period goals but was unable to overcome a three-goal third period deficit and fell to Bentley, 4-3, Saturday in an Atlantic Hockey Association contest at the John A. Ryan Skating Arena.

Army scored three power play goals, two by Marcel Alvarez, but could not get the tying tally and fell to 3-8-2 overall and 2-5-1 in conference action.

Bentley responded from a 5-1 loss on Friday with a three-goal second period and then withstood a barrage of Army shots to improve to 4-5-2 overall and 3-3-2 in league games.

Alvarez, a sophomore, netted two goals for the first time in his career and also had an assist but an early third-period score by Herbie Kent proved to be the game-winning goal.

Owen Meyer had a goal and assist for the Black Knights while Cody Omilusik, John Clark and Mike Hull collected assists.

Army goalie Jay Clark made 22 saves while Bentley’s Kyle Rank turned 27 shots.

The Black Knights, seeking their first weekend sweep of the season, posted a 1-0 lead but trailed 4-1 with 18 minutes left in the game.

Alvarez scored his goals less than three minutes apart and Army racked up 17 shots in the final period but could not secure the tying goal.

For the second night in a row, Army jumped out to an early lead, taking advantage of a 5-on-3 situation. With Bentley players serving penalties for slashing and too many men on the ice, Meyer netted his third goal of the season off of assists from Alvarez and Hull. Hull moved the puck to Alvarez near the blue line and Meyer redirected Alvarez’s blast for a 1-0 lead six minutes into the contest.

Bentley tied the game early in the second period, netting its first goal during a 4-on-4 situation. Brett Hartung was credited with the goal, his third of his season.

The Falcons took their first lead of the weekend with a power play tally with 13:18 left in the second period when Marc Menzione appeared to tip in a shot past Clark.

Bentley capped its three-goal third period when Hartung scored his second of the game for a 3-1 Falcons advantage with 85 seconds remaining in the quarter.

The Falcons added to their advantage two minutes into the third period when Kent scored an unassisted tally, his first of the season, for a 4-1 lead.

The Black Knights made it a two-goal game with their second power play goal of the game. Alvarez, off of a pass from Clark, blasted in a shot from inside the blue line with 12:33 left in the game. The assist was the first point for Clark and Alvarez’s third goal.

Alvarez scored multiple goals for the first time in his career with 9:23 remaining. Omilusik hustled to keep the puck in the offensive zone and fed Alvarez for the score.

Bentley had a goal waved off with the 3:29 remaining and held its one-goal lead.

Army pulled Clark with 1:05 left and had a power play chance with nine seconds remaining but Rank was equal to the task.

Army will return to Tate Rink next weekend for the start of a five-game homestand. A day after Thanksgiving, the Black Knights will open a two-game series with Canisius at Tate Rink. Games on both Friday and Saturday begin at 7:05 p.m. Following the Canisius series, Army will host Sacred Heart the next weekend.

GAME NOTES: Former Army hockey coach Rob Riley, the older brother of Brian Riley, was among the crowd ... Hall of Fame coach Jack Riley was at Friday’s game ... Cody Omilusik, who scored his first career hat trick on Friday, needed four stitches after the game to close a cut caused by an opponents’ high stick that was not whistled for a penalty ... Army’s starting lineup consisted of Andy Starczewski, Eric Sefchik, Cody Omilusik, John Clark and Marcel Alvarez with Jay Clark in net.

BENTLEY 4, ARMY 3
ARMY        1-0-2—3
BENTLEY    0-3-1—4

First Period:
ARMY – Meyer (Alvarez, Hull), PP, 6:35

Second Period:
BENTLEY – Hartung (Menzione, Olson), 2:37
BENTLEY – Menzione (Kent, Cloutier), PP, 6:42
BENTLEY – Hartung (Pearce), 18:35

Third Period:
BENTLEY – Kent (unassisted), 1:56
ARMY – Alvarez (Clark, Meyer), PP, 7:27
ARMY – Alvarez (Omilusik), PP, 9:23

Shots: Army 30 (9-4-17); Bentley 26 (5-15-6)
Saves: Army 22 (Clark, 58:53, 5-12-5; empty net, 1:07); Bentley 27 (Rank, 60:00, 8-4-15)
Power Plays: Army 3-6; Bentley 11-22
Penalties: Army 7-14; Bentley 11-22
Attendance: 543