STORRS, Conn.-The American International College men's ice hockey team (4-9-3, 1-7-3 AHA) dropped a 7-2 Atlantic Hockey contest against the host University of Connecticut Huskies (5-7-2, 4-6-1 AHA) in the semifinal of the UConn Hockey Classic.

UConn got on the board just 1:38 into regulation when sophomore defenseman Jacob Poe (Arlington, Tex.) hit classmate and right wing Trevor Gerling (Seattle, Wash.) in the middle of the slot for a one timer that beat senior goalkeeper Ben Meisner (Halifax, N.S.) high on the blocker side to make it 1-0 in favor of the Huskies for his third of the year.

The Huskies then added a second goal in the opening frame, as junior right wing Brant Harris (Estevan, Sask.) scored at 10:51 on a great individual effort, taking on two defensemen before burying his second of the season.

AIC got an early second period marker to pull within one as junior center Blake Peake (Lethbridge, Alb.) found senior left wing Adam Pleskach (Beausejour, Man.) for a shot in the slot; while senior goalkeeper Matt Grogan (Gilbert, Ariz.) stopped the initial chance, senior right wing Richard Leitner (Los Alamitos, Calif.) was there to stuff the rebound home for his third of the year at 0:21.

However, the Huskies would get it back and roll in the second half of the frame, as Gerling scored his second of the game and fourth of the year at 11:04 from senior left wing Evan Carriere (Ottawa, Ont.) and freshman center Shawn Pauly (Bellingham, Wash.), senior defenseman Alex Gerke (Tomah, Wisc.) scored his second from freshman defenseman Tyler Cooke (Warwick, R.I.) at 15:48, and sophomore left wing Cody Sharib (Needham, Mass.) put home an unassisted goal on a breakaway for his fourth of the year at 17:56.

They continued that roll in the third, as Harris tallied his second of the game and third of the year on a five-on-three power play at 3:35 of the frame from senior center Sean Ambrosie (Moorhead, Minn.) and junior center Jordan Sims (Fort Wayne, Ind.), followed by a tally on a one-timer by sophomore right wing Brad Smith (Trenton, Mich.) from freshman left wing Joe Birmingham (Medford, N.J.) at 5:14 for his first of the year, sending Meisner to the bench in favor of junior netminder Ryan Kerpan (Saskatoon, Sask.).

Leitner tallied again for AIC at 8:02 of the frame, firing a slapshot that rang the left post, bounced into the back of Grogan, and fell into the net for his fourth of the campaign to close out the scoring. Pleskach was credited with his second assist of the game on the play, giving him 97 points (48 G, 49 A) in his collegiate career.

In goal for the Yellow Jackets, Meisner stopped 21 of 28 shots in 45:14 of playing time in the loss, falling to 3-8-3 for the year, while Grogan denied 29 of 31 shots in the win, improving to 1-0-1 for the year. Kerpan, who played the final 14:46, stopped all 11 shots he faced, remaining without any decisions on the year.

UConn will face the 18th-ranked Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks (11-6-2, 8-6-0 WCHA), who downed the Brown Bears (3-6-4, 0-3-4 ECAC) by a score of 3-1, in the final tomorrow at 7:15 PM; AIC and Brown will play in the consolation game at 4:05 PM prior to the UConn-Mankato contest.