A.J. Hodges has been named the Atlantic Hockey America Forward of the Week after his natural hat trick helped Bentley to a Game 1 win over Sacred Heart on Friday in the conference playoffs.

With Game 1 of the semifinals knotted at 2-2 in the third period, the Littleton native went on an epic scoring run to push the Falcons to a 5-2 victory.

He first scored at 8:51 of the third frame to put the Falcons in front. He scored again less than two minutes later to make it a 4-2 game, and he iced the victory with an empty-net goal with 14 seconds remaining to make it a natural hat trick.

Hodges also had an assist on Nik Armstrong-Kingkade’s power-play goal in the second period which tied the score 2-2.

The Falcons went on to clinch the series in Game 2 with a 3-0 win to book their place in the AHA finals for the first time since 2006.

Hodges has eight goals and nine assists in 28 games this season.

This is his second career AHA Forward of the Week award.

The Falcons will meet Holy Cross in the AHA championship game on Saturday at 7 p.m.

In Colorado, Hodges played for the Littleton Hockey Association and Colorado Thunderbirds.

Photo/Bentley Athletics

(March 18, 2025)