WEST POINT, N.Y. — Army’s home opener at Tate rink was anything but boring. Big hits, a lot of scoring, and some beautiful saves from both goaltenders, this was college hockey at its most entertaining. Bentley junior center Alex Grieve, from Calgary, Alb., notched three points in Bentley’s 5-2 win.
At the 15:48 mark of the first period, Bentley struck first. Steve Weinstein made a perfect pass to Grieve for a breakaway. Grieve made a quick deke and beat Army goaltender Rob Tadazak in the top right corner.
Things got worse for the Black Knights when Army captain Brian Shultz took a penalty at 18:51 in the first period. Despite the Black Knights boasting the conference leading penalty kill unit, it did not take long for the Falcons to strike again. Defensemen Matt Blomquist made an excellent pass to Grieve, who made a quick move to the net and at the last second fired a pass near the far post to Andrew Gladiuk, who fired it in.
Bentley’s third goal was scored off a rebound by freshman Max French, his third of the year.
Army did not give up, and Shane Hearn received a pass from Garret Peterson on a two-on-one and beat Falcons goalie Brandon Komm on the stick side at 5:48 in the second period for his first goal of the season.
When asked about his team’s play Hearn stated, “We played well in the second and third period, but we need to focus on not coming out flat.”
Bentley’s Brett Gensler scored a rebound goal at 8:09 in the second period to get the Falcons the three-goal lead again, catching Army’s goaltender out of the net.
However, Shultz fired a shot from the blue line that was immediately rebounded in by sophomore Willie Faust to trim the Falcons’ lead to two.
At 17:04, Gladiuk, in the right place at the right time, scored his second goal of the game to put the game away.
Bentley heads home for their home opener next Friday against American International, while Army will play Holy Cross next Friday at Tate Rink.
