WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass.-The American International College ice hockey team is abuzz with anticipation of their home opener as they prepare to host the Canisius Golden Griffins in a pair of weekend contests at the Olympia Ice Center.

LAST TIME THEY MET: The Yellow Jackets overcame two early one-goal deficits to take a 5-3 victory and a split of the season series at the Olympia Ice Center. Sophomore right wing David Norris (Calgary, Alb.) had a pair of assists and classmate goalkeeper Hunter Leisner (Garland, Texas) had 31 saves in the win, which snapped a 15-game unbeaten streak for the Griffs against AIC.

LAST TIME OUT: AIC went 0-1-1 against the Holy Cross Crusaders at the Hart Center as they opened AHA play. On Friday night, rookie goalkeeper Alex Murray (Burlington, Ont.) stole the show with 53 saves as the Jackets earned a 2-2 draw. Junior left wing David Gandara (Canyon Lake, Calif.) opened the scoring in the second, and after two Holy Cross goals, senior center Alexander MacMillan (Calgary, Alb.) had the equalizer in the third period. Holy Cross had 10 shots in the extra session but Murray stopped them all to earn a point in his first career start.

On Saturday, Gandara again opened the scoring with a rocket from the blue line in the first period, but Holy Cross was able to score twice in the second to take a 2-1 lead. Though an early period PP allowed AIC to tie the game on a goal by Chris Porter, Holy Cross scored soon after and then held on despite a furtive rally by the Jackets. Leisner had 31 stops in the loss.

Canisius is coming off of a weekend split, coming from down 4-1 to win 6-4 at Army before falling in the weekend finale 3-0. Junior forward Ralph Cuddemi (Concord, Ont.) had a hat trick in the win for the Griffins, earning him AHA Player of the Week honors.

BUFFALO SOLDIERS: The Yellow Jackets will play four consecutive games against Buffalo, N.Y.-area opponents in the next two weeks; after this weekend's series against the Golden Griffins, AIC travels to Niagara University for a weekend set.

FAMILY TIES: Canisius sophomore forward Shane Conacher (Burlington, Ont.) is the younger brother of former Griffins star Cory Conacher, who is Canisius's all-time leading scorer and now is in the National Hockey League with the New York Islanders.

ROOKIE KEEPERS SHINE: Canisius freshman Reilly Turner (Teimscaming, Que.) had 15 saves in his collegiate debut to earn the win in relief for the Griffs last week, while Murray netted AHA Rookie of the Week Honors for his stellar 53-save performance against the Crusaders.

FAMILIAR FACES: Two former Yellow Jackets will be on the bench for Canisius. Trevor Large, who was the graduate assistant at AIC from 2006-2008, is an assistant coach for the Griffins, while Mike Murphy, the Yellow Jackets' equipment manager last season, is in the same position with Canisius this year.

NEXT UP: The Jackets hop back on the bus as they head to western New York to battle the Niagara Purple Eagles in a Halloween weekend series.