FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University men's ice hockey team pulled off a thrilling third-period comeback to claim three Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) points on Friday evening with a 3-2 home victory over receiving votes Bentley at the Martire Family Arena. 

Records:
SHU: 12-7-2, 9-4-2 AHA
Bentley: 12-7-2, 11-2-2 AHA

How It Happened
The Pioneers and Falcons started off tonight's game evenly matched, as there were very few whistles to start the contest. SHU had the best chance early, with Felix Trudeau putting two shots on net after stealing the puck on the penalty kill. Unfortunately for SHU, both attempts were turned away. 

However, the Pioneers kept fighting, breaking onto the scoreboard first at 18:51 in the first period. Noah Ellis scored the opening goal with a one-timer from the high slot off assists from Stephane Huard and Aiden VanRooyan.

The league-leading Falcons were ready with an answer, scoring 37 seconds later to send the game into the second tied at 1-1. 

Bentley took the lead, 2-1, 3:30 into the second frame on a goal by Michael Mesic.

The Pioneers kept fighting in the third but could not break through until late in the frame. Trudeau tied the game 13:56 into the frame to tie the score at 2-2, taking advantage of a beautiful Mikey Adamson pass to sneak a shot by the Bentley goaltender on his blocker side. Trudeau is up to 18 goals on the season, which is tied for second in the country.

With new life, the Pioneers looked to steal the game late with another third-period goal. With 2:01 remaining, senior assistant captain John Driscoll took things into his own hands, curling from the right circle before firing a powerful wrister into the bottom-left corner. 

The Falcons were desperate to find the equalizer, firing six shots after the Driscoll tally. Teagan Kendrick was ready for the barrage, making all the stops he needed to earn the victory.  

Kendrick finished the game with 31 saves, outplaying the fellow first year goaltender on the other side of the ice. Kendrick has won five straight starts, improving to 6-2-1 this season. 

Notes

• The Pioneers extend their win streak to five games. 
• With the win, SHU climbed into a tie for second in the AHA with 29 points (9-4-2).
• Sacred Heart pulled off its third third-period comeback of the year. 
• Trudeau scored his 18th goal of the season, which is tied for second in the country. 
• Ray Fust played in his 100th career game tonight. 
• Kendrick has started in all five games during SHU's win streak. 
• Ellis' goal is his fifth goal of the season, extending his point streak to four games and goal streak to three games. 
• Driscoll is up to three goals this season and has a point in back-to-back games. 
• With two assists, VanRooyan tied a game-high for points. 

Up Next
The Pioneers and Falcons will wrap up this weekend's series tomorrow evening at 6 p.m.