WALTHAM, Mass. – For the first time ever this weekend, Bentley and North Dakota will square off with a two game series on Friday and Saturday nights at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks.
Game Notes
Friday's game gets underway at 8:07 pm eastern time and Saturday is a 7:07 pm start. Both games will be streamed on
NCHC.tv
The Falcons are coming off an opening weekend split at home against Hockey East opposition. They blanked Vermont 3-0 on Friday night before falling to Northeastern 5-1 on Saturday.
North Dakota, ranked #4 this week, swept Bemidji State on the road by scores of 3-2 and 4-3. The Fighting Hawks reached the Frozen Four last season before falling to Wisconsin in the national semifinals. They posted a record of 29-10-1.
Friday's shutout of the Catamounts was the third career shutout for sophomore
Lukas Swedin, who was named the Atlantic Hockey Goalie of the Week on Tuesday. Entering this weekend, Swedin has a 15-7-4 career record in 26 games, with a .920 save percentage and 2.05 goals against average.
Three different players lit the lamp against UVM;
James Duerr,
Jimmy Doyle and
Owen Goodbrand. Duerr was playing in his first game as a Falcon, and Doyle was returning after missing most of last season.
Bentley has limited history playing other NCHC teams, though they did open last season by playing the University of Denver and Colorado College. The other NCHC teams they have played are Arizona State (2019-20) and Omaha (2013-14).
North Dakota is one of the historic powers of college hockey, with their eight national championships third most all-time. The most recent came in 2016.
Former Bentley assistant captain and 2025 graduate Tucker Hodgson is a native of Grand Forks. Hodgson played in 144 games as a defenseman and was a key member of the 2025 AHA championship team.
Following this weekend's contests, Bentley is back at home next weekend for a series against Robert Morris. That will mark the first two AHA games of the season.
