# 2023–24 Bentley Falcons men's ice hockey season

The 2023–24 Bentley Falcons men's ice hockey season was the 47th season of play for the program, the 25th at the Division I level and the 21st in Atlantic Hockey. The Falcons represented Bentley University, played their home games at the Bentley Arena and were coached by Andy Jones in his 1st season.

## Season

After More than 25 years with the program, Ryan Soderquist announced that he was stepping down as coach after the 2023 season. A few months later, the school hired Andy Jones as the program's 7th head coach.
Under their new coach, the Falcons had a solid season. The team lost most of their non-conference matches but several came against ranked teams, including an overtime contest with Boston University to kick off the season. The Falcons hovered around .500 for the entire season, and entered the postseason at exactly even. Bentley's 6th-place finish forced them to play in the conference First Round but game the team the best possible matchup.
The Falcons were set against Robert Morris, who were playing their first season after a two-year hiatus, and were expected to win the match. Unfortunately, the Falcons got into power play trouble and allowed RMU to take the lead on the strength of two man-advantage goals. Garrett Horsager came to the rescue in the third, scoring and then assisting on the game-tying goal to force sending the match into overtime. Neither team had much of an advantage in the extra session and, as the period progressed, the match seemed destined for a second overtime. With just 10 seconds left, Conner Hasley grabbed the puck behind his cage and tried to made a reverse-pass to Tucker Hodgson. The Colonial skater who was forechecking predicted the play, intercepted the pass, and wrapped the puck around the front before Hasley could get back into the net. The costly mistake ended the game and the season for the Falcons.

## Departures

| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
| Matt Gosiewski | Forward | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Cole Kodsi | Forward | United States | Transferred to Union |
| Nicholas Niemo | Forward | Canada | Transferred to Maine |
| Dylan Pitera | Forward | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Jordan Schulting | Defenseman | Canada | Graduation (retired) |
| Harrison Scott | Forward | United States | Transferred to Maine |
| Hunter Toale | Defenseman | United States | Graduation (retired) |
| Lucas Vanroboys | Forward | Canada | Graduate transfer to Massachusetts |
| Marcus Walter | Defenseman | Canada | Graduation (retired) |
| Joe Winkelmann | Forward | United States | Graduation (signed with Corsaires de Dunkerque) |

## Recruiting

| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
| Kolby Amici | Forward | United States | 20 | Orchard Park, NY |
| Nik Armstrong-Kingcade | Forward | United States | 24 | Rostock, GER; transfer from Massachusetts Lowell |
| Jonathan Bendorf | Forward | United States | 24 | Yardville, NJ; graduate transfer from Mercyhurst |
| Colton Cameron | Defenseman | Canada | 21 | Surrey, BC |
| Chase Davis | Forward | United States | 21 | Alpharetta, GA |
| Jimmy Doyle | Forward | United States | 21 | Plainfield, IL |
| Sam Duerr | Defenseman | United States | 21 | Chicago, IL; transfer from Maine |
| Kellan Hjartarson | Forward | Canada | 20 | Calgary, AB |
| A. J. Hodges | Forward | United States | 22 | Littleton, CO; transfer from Michigan State |
| Garrett Horsager | Defenseman | United States | 21 | Rosemount, MN |
| Peter Kramer | Forward | United States | 21 | Bridgewater, MA |
| Ryan Mansfield | Forward | Canada | 20 | Burlington, ON |

## Roster

As of September 14, 2023.

## Standings

2023–24 Atlantic Hockey Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record |
| | GP | W | L | T | OW | OL | SW | PTS | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA |
| #17 RIT †* | 26 | 18 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 54 | 102 | 64 | 40 | 27 | 11 | 2 | 156 | 96 |
| Holy Cross | 26 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 46 | 78 | 62 | 39 | 21 | 14 | 4 | 116 | 93 |
| Sacred Heart | 26 | 14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 45 | 75 | 70 | 36 | 14 | 19 | 3 | 91 | 113 |
| Air Force | 26 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 44 | 88 | 75 | 38 | 18 | 19 | 1 | 115 | 119 |
| American International | 26 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 42 | 79 | 68 | 40 | 20 | 16 | 4 | 119 | 111 |
| Bentley | 26 | 12 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 41 | 69 | 58 | 35 | 16 | 17 | 2 | 95 | 82 |
| Niagara | 26 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 78 | 79 | 39 | 18 | 18 | 3 | 111 | 122 |
| Canisius | 26 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 73 | 87 | 37 | 12 | 21 | 4 | 103 | 126 |
| Mercyhurst | 26 | 7 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 30 | 77 | 91 | 35 | 9 | 22 | 4 | 98 | 126 |
| Army | 26 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 66 | 96 | 35 | 10 | 23 | 2 | 93 | 139 |
| Robert Morris | 26 | 7 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 60 | 95 | 39 | 11 | 25 | 3 | 94 | 142 |
| Championship: March 23, 2024 † indicates conference regular season champion (DeGregorio Trophy) * indicates conference tournament champion (Riley Trophy) Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll |||||||||||||||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record |
| Regular Season ||||||||||
| October 7 | 7:05 pm | #1 Boston University* | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Hasley | L 2–3 $^{OT}$ | 2,200 | 0–1–0 |
| October 14 | 7:00 pm | at #19 Northeastern* | Matthews Arena • Boston, Massachusetts | ESPN+ | Grabko | L 2–5 | 4,287 | 0–2–0 |
| October 20 | 7:00 pm | Stonehill* | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Hasley | W 2–0 | 1,350 | 1–2–0 |
| October 21 | 6:00 pm | Stonehill* | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Grabko | W 4–1 | 1,243 | 2–2–0 |
| October 27 | 7:00 pm | at Robert Morris | Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | FloHockey | Hasley | L 3–4 | 643 | 2–3–0 (0–1–0) |
| October 28 | 4:00 pm | at Robert Morris | Clearview Arena • Neville Township, Pennsylvania | FloHockey | Grabko | W 3–0 | 619 | 3–3–0 (1–1–0) |
| November 2 | 7:05 pm | at American International | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Hasley | L 0–3 | 201 | 3–4–0 (1–2–0) |
| November 3 | 7:05 pm | American International | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Grabko | W 3–1 | 1,423 | 4–4–0 (2–2–0) |
| November 10 | 7:05 pm | Niagara | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Hasley | W 6–2 | 1,346 | 5–4–0 (3–2–0) |
| November 11 | 7:05 pm | Niagara | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Grabko | W 2–1 | 890 | 6–4–0 (4–2–0) |
| November 16 | 7:00 pm | Holy Cross | Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Grabko | L 0–2 | 817 | 6–5–0 (4–3–0) |
| November 17 | 4:05 pm | at Holy Cross | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Hasley | L 0–2 | 775 | 6–6–0 (4–4–0) |
| November 21 | 7:05 pm | at American International | MassMutual Center • Springfield, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Grabko | L 2–4 | 389 | 6–7–0 (4–5–0) |
| Turkey Leg Classic ||||||||||
| November 24 | 4:00 pm | at Massachusetts Lowell* | Tsongas Center • Lowell, Massachusetts (Turkey Leg Game 1) | ESPN+ | Hasley | W 4–1 | 3,568 | 7–7–0 |
| November 25 | 4:00 pm | at Merrimack* | J. Thom Lawler Rink • North Andover, Massachusetts (Turkey Leg Game 2) | ESPN+ | Grabko | L 3–4 | 1,547 | 7–8–0 |
| December 1 | 9:05 pm | at Air Force | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | FloHockey | Hasley | L 2–3 $^{OT}$ | 2,213 | 7–9–0 (4–6–0) |
| December 2 | 7:05 pm | at Air Force | Cadet Ice Arena • Colorado Springs, Colorado | FloHockey | Grabko | W 3–0 | 2,190 | 8–9–0 (5–6–0) |
| December 9 | 7:00 pm | vs. #8 Maine* | Cross Insurance Arena • Portland, Maine | | Hasley | L 2–3 | 6,291 | 8–10–0 |
| December 30 | 5:30 pm | Union* | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Grabko | W 4–3 | 1,275 | 9–10–0 |
| January 2 | 7:00 pm | at Army | Tate Rink • West Point, New York | FloHockey | Hasley | W 5–2 | 1,533 | 10–10–0 (6–6–0) |
| January 5 | 7:05 pm | Air Force | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Grabko | L 1–3 | 1,389 | 10–11–0 (6–7–0) |
| January 6 | 5:05 pm | Air Force | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Hasley | L 3–7 | 1,555 | 10–12–0 (6–8–0) |
| January 12 | 7:05 pm | Sacred Heart | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Grabko | L 3–4 | 1,800 | 10–13–0 (6–9–0) |
| January 13 | 7:00 pm | at Sacred Heart | Martire Family Arena • Fairfield, Connecticut | FloHockey | Hasley | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 3,242 | 11–13–0 (7–9–0) |
| January 19 | 7:05 pm | Mercyhurst | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Hasley | W 4–0 | 879 | 12–13–0 (8–9–0) |
| January 20 | 7:05 pm | Mercyhurst | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Hasley | W 8–4 | 945 | 13–13–0 (9–9–0) |
| January 26 | 7:05 pm | at #19 RIT | Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York | FloHockey | Hasley | L 0–3 | 3,494 | 13–14–0 (9–10–0) |
| January 27 | 5:05 pm | at #19 RIT | Gene Polisseni Center • Henrietta, New York | FloHockey | Grabko | L 1–2 $^{OT}$ | 3,820 | 13–15–0 (9–11–0) |
| February 2 | 7:05 pm | Army | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Hasley | W 4–2 | 1,630 | 14–15–0 (10–11–0) |
| February 3 | 4:05 pm | Army | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Grabko | L 1–2 | 1,515 | 14–16–0 (10–12–0) |
| February 9 | 7:00 pm | at Canisius | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | FloHockey | Hasley | W 3–0 | 898 | 15–16–0 (11–12–0) |
| February 10 | 6:00 pm | at Canisius | LECOM Harborcenter • Buffalo, New York | FloHockey | Grabko | T 2–2 $^{SOW}$ | 890 | 15–16–1 (11–12–1) |
| February 22 | 7:00 pm | at Holy Cross | Hart Center • Worcester, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Hasley | W 5–1 | 1,167 | 16–16–1 (12–12–1) |
| February 24 | 5:30 pm | Sacred Heart | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts | FloHockey | Hasley | T 2–2 $^{SOW}$ | 2,043 | 16–16–2 (12–12–2) |
| Atlantic Hockey Tournament ||||||||||
| March 2 | 7:00 pm | Robert Morris* | Bentley Arena • Waltham, Massachusetts (First Round) | FloHockey | Hasley | L 3–4 $^{OT}$ | 1,678 | 16–17–2 |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. Source: ||||||||||

## Scoring statistics

| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
| Ethan Leyh | F | 35 | 13 | 16 | 29 | 34 |
| Stephen Castagna | F | 35 | 6 | 21 | 27 | 37 |
| Nick Bochen | D | 35 | 6 | 18 | 24 | 20 |
| Ryan Mansfield | LW | 31 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 2 |
| Kellan Hjartarson | F | 34 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 16 |
| Chase Davis | F | 35 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 18 |
| A. J. Hodges | LW | 29 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 2 |
| Samuel Duerr | D | 35 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 12 |
| Nik Armstrong-Kingkade | F | 24 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 25 |
| Ryan Upson | F | 27 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 8 |
| Arlo Merritt | C | 30 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 4 |
| Garrett Horsager | D | 35 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 12 |
| Josh Latta | F | 28 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 25 |
| Ryan Nause | D | 23 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 12 |
| Seth Bernard-Docker | D | 16 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| Jonathan Bendorf | LW | 26 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 14 |
| Jimmy Doyle | RW | 25 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 16 |
| Colton Cameron | D | 24 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 |
| Tucker Hodgson | D | 35 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 22 |
| Matt Thomson | LW | 12 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Pat Lawn | D | 28 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 29 |
| Peter Kramer | F | 16 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
| Kolby Amici | F | 14 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Ethan Harrison | F | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Tanner Main | D | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Connor Hasley | G | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Nicholas Grabko | G | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Cooper Connell | F | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Danny Pearson | F | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Total | | | 95 | 170 | 265 | 371 |

## Goaltending statistics

| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
| Connor Hasley | 21 | 1269:02 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 47 | 448 | 3 | .905 | 2.22 |
| Nicholas Grabko | 15 | 850:19 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 34 | 335 | 2 | .908 | 2.40 |
| Empty Net | - | 20:45 | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 35 | 2140:06 | 16 | 17 | 2 | 82 | 783 | 5 | .905 | 2.30 |

## Rankings

| Poll | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 (Final) |
| USCHO.com | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | – | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | – | NR |
| USA Hockey | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | – | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 and 25. Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award | Ref |
| Nick Bochen | Atlantic Hockey Third Team | |
| Ethan Leyh | Atlantic Hockey Third Team | |