WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass.-In a penalty-filled contest that saw four power play goals, the American International ice hockey team found themselves on the wrong end of a 3-2 decision against Atlantic Hockey foe Connecticut.

In the first frame alone, AIC had two power play situations, bookending three Huskies man-up opportunities, but freshmen goalkeepers Hunter Leisner (Garland, Texas) and Robby Nichols kept the red lights off despite facing quality chances.

In the middle period, however, AIC was able to connect. Enjoying the first two man advantage of the game, junior defenseman Jake Williams (Duluth, Minn.) fired a shot that was tipped in front by senior left wing Jon Puskar (Canton, Mich.) to senior center Blake Peake (Lethbridge, Alb.), who snapped home a sharp-angle wrister for his sixth of the year at 8:26.

However, Connecticut would respond with a PPG of their own, with senior center Jordan Sims blasting home his fifth of the season at 15:13 to knot the score at 1-1, getting assists from junior defensemen Jacob Poe and sophomore center Shaun Pauly.

In the third frame, Connecticut took a lead, with Pauly winning a faceoff in the zone on a power play to senior right wing Billy Latta, who dished across to Poe for a one-timer that found the net at 5:40 for his second of the year; the Huskies then added a goal just after a power play expired when freshmen defensemen Joona Kunnas and Ryan Segalla moved the puck into and then across the slot to freshman right wing Brent Norris for a backdoor shot that became his fourth of the year at 8:25.

Late in regulation, the Huskies took back-to-back penalties and the Yellow Jackets took advantage, as freshman right wing David Norris (Calgary, Alb.) sent a pass to Peake, who then found Puskar in the slot for a one-timer through the legs of Nichols at 17:32 for his tenth of the year; Norris and Puskar each picked up their team-best twenty-first point of the year on the tally.

However, despite pulling Leisner, the Yellow Jackets could not manage to equalize the game at the end.

Leisner took the loss to fall to 4-8-1 on the year, stopping 38 out of 41 shots; Nichols improved to 3-0-2 on the campaign with a 33 save effort on 35 shots. Each team blocked nine shots, and AIC won 37 faceoffs to Connecticut's 34, and AIC went 2-for-6 on the man advantage against Connecticut's 2-for-8.

The teams finish out the regular season series tomorrow in their only meeting of the year at the Frietas Ice Forum in Storrs, Conn. at 7:05 p.m.