AMHERST, Mass.-The American International College ice hockey team will make their shortest trip of the year when they travel 23 miles to the Mullins Center to battle their Pioneer Valley and Hockey East rivals, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

LAST TIME THEY MET: AIC shocked the Minutemen, taking advantage of quality scoring chances and a 57 save performance by sophomore goalkeeper Hunter Leisner (Garland, Texas) to earn a 3-2 victory at the Mullins Center on Tuesday, January 14. Senior center Alexander MacMillan (Calgary, Alb.) tallied the game winning goal at 14:40 of the third period. The victory was AIC's first ever over an opponent from Hockey East.

LAST TIME OUT: AIC swept Niagara in western New York, winning 3-1 and 4-2 behind a three-goal weekend from MacMillan and freshman goalkeeper Alex Murray (Burlington, Ont.) making 82 saves on 85 shots. Those performances earned MacMillan and Murray Atlantic Hockey Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively. Sophomore left wing Austin Orszulak (Springfield, Mass.) also figured prominently, with an assist in Friday's win and two scores on Saturday, earning a spot on the AHA Honor Roll for his performance.

The Minutemen overcame 3-0 and 5-3 deficits but fell 6-5 in overtime, and then coughed up a 2-0 third period lead to fall 3-2 against the University of Maine last weekend. Freshman Dennis Kravchenko (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) had three goals and an assist on the weekend to lead all UMass scorers.

SCOUTING THE MINUTEMEN: While Kravchenko's big weekend propelled him into the goal and point lead at UMass, the Minutemen have a balanced attack, with six other players with two goals and six others with three or more assists on the young season. In goal, freshman Henry Dill (Columbus, Ohio) has played a bit more than senior Steve Mastalerz (North Andover, Mass.); in four starts Dill has a 2-2-0 record and .890 SV%, while Mastalerz is 0-3-0 with a .860 SV%. The Minutemen power play is 4/24 (16.7%), while their penalty kill is 23/27 (85.2%).

CALIFORNIA LOVE: Minutemen senior Troy Power (Camarillo, Calif.) and AIC senior Steven Hoshaw (Vista, Calif.) are the captains of their respective teams, and share more than a state of birth. In 2006, they were teammates on the California Wave, a Bantam AAA team that won a national title. Now, Power will take the ice for his ninety-ninth collegiate game, while Hoshaw will have to battle his former teammate in his hundred and first game.

A FAMILIAR NAME: UMass sophomore Frank Vatrano (East Longmeadow, Mass.) is the younger brother of Greg Vatrano '11, who spent four years at AIC and was one of the team's key shutdown forwards in his time as a Yellow Jacket. The younger Vatrano did not play in last season's game.

GOING FOR TWO: AIC is 1-1-0 against the Minutemen since elevating to the Division I level in 1997; UMass won 4-0 on December 12, 2008 at the Mullins Center in the first meeting between the teams as Division I opponents, before AIC earned their 3-2 win last season. The teams have never met at the Olympia Ice Center.

NEXT UP: AIC finishes their five-game road swing with their only games against a Big Ten foe this season when they battle the University of Michigan at historic Yost Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich. next Friday and Saturday evening.