IN THE THICK OF IT
The college hockey season can be paradoxical at points. On the one hand, for the Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team, the second half of the season is just two weeks old. On the other hand, there are only seven weekends remaining. On the other other hand, there are still 12 of the team's 26 Atlantic Hockey games left to play. On the other other other hand (there are a lot of hands in this scenario, okay?), there are only 14 total games to go in the regular season. Point being, the remaining season is both long and short, depending on your viewpoint. Regardless of how you look at it, SHU will head into a weekend home-and-home with Bentley with at least a share of first place in Atlantic Hockey. The Pios will visit the Falcons at 7:05 p.m. on Friday, before returning home to the Martire Family Arena for a 7 p.m. puck drop on Saturday. Both games will be streamed live via FloSports, and tickets for Saturday are available through Ticketmaster.

LAST TIME OUT
SHU surrendered a tying goal at home against Army with just 23 seconds remaining on Tuesday night, as the Black Knights forced a 3-3 (OT) tie after trailing 3-1 in the third. The Pios bounced back and claimed the second point via a 1-0 shootout win, however. Kevin Lombardi had the lone shootout goal, while Chase Clark stopped all three shots after a 28-save performance during the game. 

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Bentley opened the second half with wins over Union (4-3) and Army (5-2), but was swept off its home ice by Air Force last weekend, suffering 3-1 and 7-3 losses in the Falcons vs. Falcons battle. Air Force used three first-period goals to open up a lead on Friday. Saturday's game was tied, 3-3, through two periods, before Air Force poured in four goals in the third to win going away. A goaltending contingent of Nicholas Grabko and Connor Hasley heads up a Bentley defensive unit which is one of the stingiest in both Atlantic Hockey (3rd) and the nation (14th), averaging just 2.45 goals against per game.

PREVIOUSLY AGAINST BENTLEY
The two teams have not met since Thanksgiving weekend of 2022, when they split a pair of games at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport. On Friday, Josh Latta had a goal and an assist in a 3-1 Bentley victory. SHU responded with the first four goals of Saturday's game, en route to a 6-3 win. Kevin Lombardi had two goals and an assist.

ALL-TIME SERIES
The two teams have met 84 times in a series which dates to February of 1994, when both were playing at the Division II level. SHU holds an all-time advantage of 42-36-6 against the Falcons, which includes a 28-21-6 edge in Atlantic Hockey play. The Pios have winning records both home (20-14-2) and away (22-21-4) against Bentley and are 3-2-0 in five games at Bentley Arena. Saturday will mark Bentley's first trip to Martire Family Arena.

UP NEXT
SHU has its final midweek tilt of the season on Tuesday, Jan. 16, when it travels to Army. Puck drop is 7 p.m. at Tate Rink in West Point, N.Y.