BC’s First Foe Has Gone Toe-to-Toe With Other Hockey East Tourney Teams
by Anthony Travalgia/CHN Reporter (@atravalgia)
When the puck drops Friday afternoon between Boston College and Bentley in the first round of the Manchester Regional, many will be seeing Bentley hockey for the first time this year, or ever.
Bentley earned Atlantic Hockey America’s auto bid by defeating Holy Cross in the final, 6-3. The championship and berth in the NCAA Tournament are both firsts.
Bentley’s progression to its Atlantic Hockey championship started when it hired Andy Jones two months after former head coach Ryan Soderquist stepped down in April of 2023 after 21 years at the helm.
Jones had spent the previous eight seasons on Norm Bazin’s staff at Massachusetts-Lowell.
During his time in Lowell, the program received three NCAA Tournament bids, went to three Hockey East championship games and won the 2017 Hockey East championship. Jones also had tenures as an assistant coach at Clarkson, Sioux Falls of the USHL and his alma mater Amherst College.
In his first season at Bentley, the Falcons won 16 games, the most since the 2019-20 season. In year two, Bentley increased that total to 23, finishing third in Atlantic Hockey.
“I think they believe, and they play really hard for each other because of a lot of that belief,” Jones said. “I think our compete level is really high. I think we play with pretty good habits and details. I think you’ll notice a united group that cares for each other and tends to not beat themselves.”
By average age, Bentley is the seventh-oldest team in college hockey, carrying five graduate students. It’s rare to see graduate students spend multiple seasons with their respective programs, four of the five have done that.
“I think they do a lot of stuff that sometimes, I don’t even see behind the scenes,” Jones said of the veteran leadership’s presence. “I think their effort on the ice is hard, I think they’re good players, our leadership, I think it’s a good mix of guys, to be honest with you.”
Often a one-bid conference, Atlantic Hockey members rely on their non-conference schedule to sharpen their iron against opponents that are contenders for the NCAA Tournament year-after-year.
Bentley opened its season on the road against Massachusetts, the three seed in…
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