Air Force will host Bentley University in a two-game Atlantic Hockey Association series on January 9 and 10 at the Cadet Ice Arena. The first game is scheduled for Friday at 7:05 pm MT, followed by the second game on Saturday at 5:05 pm MT. Both games will be streamed on FloHockey, with radio coverage available on XtraSports 1300 AM and online at xtrasports1300.com.
Air Force enters the series with a record of 10-8-2 overall and 6-5-1 in conference play. Bentley holds a 10-6-2 overall record and leads the conference with a 9-1-2 mark. Air Force is coming off a split at the Desert Classic, while Bentley recently earned five points from Holy Cross in their last series.
The head coach for Air Force is Frank Serratore, who has led the team for 29 years with a school record of 482-465-104. Andy Jones coaches Bentley, now in his third year with a record of 49-38-4.
In their all-time meetings, Air Force leads the series against Bentley with a record of 41 wins, 23 losses, and seven ties. The teams have played each other since 1998 and have split their last ten games evenly.
Recent performance trends show that Air Force has won nine of its last fourteen games after starting the season slowly. The team’s top line—composed entirely of sophomores Will Dawson, Nick Sajevic, and Sam Stitz—has contributed to nearly half of Air Force’s even-strength goals this season. Defensemen have also played an important role offensively, scoring seventeen out of forty-three goals over the past eleven games.
Nick Sajevic has been notable for his recent point streaks and currently leads the Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) in assists (19) and points (23). He is also among national leaders in assists and faceoff statistics. Goaltender Dominik Wasik has started fifteen consecutive games and ranks sixth in AHA for both goals-against average (2.49) and save percentage (.912).
Bentley comes into the weekend leading Atlantic Hockey with thirty points in conference play. Last week, they faced Holy Cross—currently second place—and took five out of six possible points across two games. Stephen Castagna leads Bentley’s offense with eight goals and sixteen points this season. In goal, freshman Lukas Swedin has made nine starts so far this year.
“Air Force is … 9-2-1 when scoring three or more goals; 7-2-2 when scoring first; 7-1-1 when tied or leading after the first period; 9-3-2 when tied or win special teams,” according to team statistics provided by Air Force Athletics.
The upcoming matchups are part of four straight games for Air Force against opponents receiving votes in national polls.
