November 21, 2023
by Anthony Travalgia/CHN Reporter (@A_Travalgia)
When A.J. Hodges decided to enter the transfer portal after three years at Michigan State, he was looking for a new beginning. Eventually Hodges would commit to Bentley under then coach Ryan Soderquist.
Shortly thereafter, Soderquist announced his resignation from the program, opening the door for Bentley to hire Andy Jones, who previously spent eight years on Norm Bazin’s staff at Massachusetts-Lowell.
The change in coaching didn’t cause much trouble for Hodges, who just went through a coaching change in his final season with the Spartans.
“I think for me, it actually helped me a little bit, knowing what to expect when that happens and the expectations that whenever there’s a new staff, it’s kind of a fresh slate for everyone,” Hodges said. “I kind of kept that in the back of my mind, this is a fresh slate for everyone and that’s what I was looking for.”
Hodges appeared in 43 games for Michigan State, nine of those coming last season. In those 43 games Hodges failed to score a goal, assisting on six.
In his first game with Bentley, against a Boston University team fresh off a Frozen Four appearance, Hodges finally notched his first college hockey goal. The first of his team-leading five goals to date.
“That was definitely a big weight off the shoulders for sure. I had a couple too many posts and too many close calls in years prior,” Hodges said. “It was great to get that first one off my back and just keep going from there.
Fellow senior Nik Armstrong-Kingkade’s story is similar.
After three seasons at Lowell, Armstrong-Kingkade was searching for a change of scenery. When Jones was hired at Bentley, Armstrong-Kingkade’s decision became an easy one.
“I played under Coach Jones for the last three years and we had a pretty good relationship, obviously that helped,” Armstrong-Kingkade said. “Coach had faith in me and offered me with an opportunity that a lot of other coaches didn’t.”
Like Hodges, Armstrong-Kingkade has seen the benefit of a transfer to Bentley with four goals on the year. Armstrong-Kingkade tallied five goals in total in his three seasons at Lowell.
He appeared in 10 games last season.
“I’m playing a lot more than I have in the past three years. I’m playing in a lot of situations that I hadn’t before,” Armstrong-Kingkade said. “It’s really just the trust that I’ve…
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