North-eastern Huskies made light work of Bentley Falcons, cruising to a 5:1 victory in their NCAA meeting on Saturday evening. The result extended the visitors' winning momentum while handing the hosts only their first defeat of the season. By then it was already clear the Huskies had come to dominate, and they didn't disappoint.
Bentley had looked sharp in their previous outing, thrashing Vermont Catamounts 3:0, but this was a different sort of challenge entirely. The Falcons never found their rhythm against a North-eastern side that switched to a back three and had nothing to do all evening until the fourth period. The visitors took control early and never let go.
The scoreboard tells one story, but the game told another. Bentley's lone goal came late, when the result was already decided, and the hosts were left flat-footed for most of the contest. North-eastern's attack moved with purpose, and their captain dragged the performance through when momentum threatened to stall.
On the table, the gap between these sides is now wider than ever. North-eastern sit fourth with 13 wins from 29 games, while Bentley's solitary loss leaves them ninth despite 19 draws. The hosts have not won since their opening day, and this result adds weight to those concerns.
We had backed Bentley to edge this one, offering a 57 per cent confidence rating for the home side. The prediction didn't hold up, and the reason was simple: North-eastern's depth made the difference from the opening whistle. Money has come for the hosts, but tonight it went the other way.
