WORCESTER, Mass.-The American International College ice hockey team will head east to the Hart Center to take on the Crusaders in a weekend series this Friday and Saturday. Both games are slated for 7:05 p.m. starts.

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LAST TIME OUT: AIC dropped a 7-3 decision to the defending national champion Union Dutchmen in their lone game of the opening weekend of play. The Yellow Jackets got on the board early in the game when freshman center Johno May (Mahtomedi, Minn.) scored his first collegiate goal just 3:30 in after a steal by sophomore right wing David Norris (Calgary, Alb.). Union tied the game less than a minute later, and the teams were even until early in the second when the top line of Norris, junior left wing Chris Porter (Stoufville, Ont.) and senior center Alexander MacMillan (Calgary, Alb.) scored on a 4-on-2, with Norris setting up MacMillan in front. Union would score the next four goals, however, before May set up sophomore left wing Austin Orszulak (Springfield, Mass.) early in the third for a power play goal, but the Dutchmen extended their lead and ultimately held on for the win.

LAST TIME THEY MET: Though captain Blake Peake '14 scored the opening goal, the Yellow Jackets fell 4-3 to the Crusaders at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield on February 22. AIC also saw goals from senior right wing Nathan Sliwinski (Castle Rock, Colo.) and junior left wing Chris Porter (Stoufville, Ont.). Sophomore goalkeeper Hunter Leisner (Garland, Texas) had 28 saves in the loss.

SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS: Holy Cross dropped a pair of contests to Hockey East opponent Merrimack last weekend, falling by counts of 2-1 and 3-2. The Crusader power play came up empty on seven opportunities, but the penalty kill was seven-for-eight. Defensemen lead the team in points as both junior Jake Bolton (Ellington, Conn.) and sophomore Logan Smith (Littleton, Colo.) had a pair of assists on the weekend, while each of the Crusader goals were scored by a different player. Senior goalkeeper Matt Ginn (Lindsay, Ont.) stopped 64 of 69 shots on the weekend. The team will be playing under new head coach David Berard, who took over after leaving Connecticut for longtime head coach Paul Pearl, now at Harvard.

BAY STATE BATTLE: Friday and Saturday will be the first of five matches in the regular season for the Yellow Jackets against fellow Massachusetts schools, all of which come in the 2014 calendar year. The team will also visit the University of Massachusetts for one contest and hosts the Bentley Falcons for a pair of AHA matchups. Last season, AIC went 3-4-0 against in-state opponents, including 1-2-0 marks against both Holy Cross and Bentley and winning the lone match against the Minutemen, with all wins on the road.

BULLS ON PARADE: Holy Cross junior Karl Beckman (Okemos, Mich.) and AIC junior Brandon Lubin (Commerce Township, Mich.) are quite familiar with one another, as both defensemen played together on the Amarillo Bulls of the NAHL in their junior careers prior to moving to the NCAA level.

WORCESTER'S FIRST FAMILY: Holy Cross junior forward Caston Sommer (Shrewsbury, Mass.) has been in the "Heart of the Commonwealth" for longer than his time at Holy Cross and certainly has a hockey pedigree. His father, Roy Sommer, is the head coach of the American Hockey League's Worcester Sharks, and has coached more games than anyone else in the history of the AHL.

NEXT UP: The Yellow Jackets open the Olympia on Friday, October 24, and Saturday, October 25, as they host two-time AHA finalist Canisius in the second weekend of AHA play.