WEST POINT, New York—The American International College men's hockey team (3-7-3, 0-5-3 AHA) dropped a 3-2 decision against their conference rival, the Army Black Knights (5-6-4, 5-2-1 AHA) at Tate Rink on the campus of the United States Military Academy.

After a scoreless first period, the Jackets struck first, netting a power play goal just :40 into the period. Junior left wing Blake Peake (Grosse Ile, Mich.) passed to senior left wing Adam Pleskach (Beausejour, Man.) for a shot that was stopped by senior goalkeeper Ryan Leets (Kentwood, Mich.); however, the rebound was pounced on by junior center Blake Peake (Lethbridge, Alb.) and buried to give AIC the 1-0 lead with his third of the campaign.

The Black Knights would draw even late in the frame, as sophomore defenseman Mac Lalor (Needham, Mass.) stole the puck at neutral ice and sent senior right wing Andy Starczewski (Whitesboro, N.Y.) on a two-on-one; Starczewski sent the puck to freshman center Thane Heller (Elizabethtown, Penn.), who wired a shot off of the blocker of senior goalkeeper Ben Meisner (Halifax, N.S.) and into the net at 17:43 for his fifth of the year.

Lalor also factored in on a go-ahead goal for Army, firing a shot that was stopped by Meisner as part of an early-third period goal mouth scramble. The rebound of that shot was put home by freshman defenseman Christian Pomarico (Simsbury, Conn.) for his first career goal at 2:45 of the third frame.

Army extended the lead to 3-1 as sophomore left wing Josh Richards (Lee, N.H.) stole the puck in the offensive zone and fed freshman center Shane Hearn (Auburn, Maine) for a one timer at 14:48 that was his third of the year and what turned out to be the game winning goal.

The Jackets pulled within one just 2:01 later, as senior center Steve Mele (Bronx, N.Y.) fed senior right wing Nick Grasso (Smithtown, N.Y.), whose shot was stopped by Leets; however, freshman left wing Chris Porter (Stoufville, Ont.) was there in the crease to bang home the rebound for his third of the year. However, AIC could not tally another goal to tie the game.

In goal, Meisner stopped 25 of 28 shots in the loss to fall to 2-5-2 on the season, while Leets stopped 31 of 33 shots in the win, improving to 4-3-0 on the year. Meisner now needs just 49 saves to set the all-time AIC record for career saves.

The Jackets next hit the ice in Erie, Pennsylvania, when they take on the Mercyhurst Lakers in a pair of Atlantic Hockey matchups Friday December 7 at 7:05 PM and Saturday December 8 at 4:05 PM.