WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass.-Freshman goalkeeper Alex Murray (Burlington, Ont.) stopped 40 shots as the American International College hockey team overcame two one-goal deficits to tie the Sacred Heart Pioneers, 2-2, at the Olympia Ice Center.
AIC is now 3-18-7, with a 3-12-7 record in Atlantic Hockey Conference play, while Sacred Heart sits at 7-15-6 and 6-10-6 in the AHC.
A pair of mid-first period penalties cost AIC early as on a 5-on-3, Sacred Heart sophomore right wing Jordan Minello (Sweaburg, Ont.) potted his team-high eleventh goal of the season, his third on the weekend, at 12:21.
However, the Jackets got it back late in the frame, as senior right wing Jason Popek (Hamilton, Ont.) and classmate and center Matt Cassidy (London, Ont.) won a puck battle along the wall and Cassidy dished it to the middle of the blue line, where junior left wing David Gandara (Canyon Lake, Calif.) blew by a pair of defenders and deked out senior goalkeeper Alex Vazzano (Trumbull, Conn.) for his fifth of the year at 17:38.
The game remained deadlocked at one goal each until late in the second, when the Pioneers came over the blue line on a rush and threw the puck toward the net; it deflected off of freshman left wing Kory Kennedy (Midhurst, Ont.) for his third of the year at 18:43.
AIC continued to battle, and the top line came through in the third as senior center Alexander MacMillan (Calgary, Alb.) moved the puck in behind to freshman right wing Johno May (Mahtomedi, Minn.), who in turn dished it into the slot for sophomore left wing Austin Orszulak (Springfield, Mass.). Orszulak one-timed it into the cage for his eighteenth of the season at 13:08.
The goal was a milestone for both Orszulak and MacMillan; for the former, it set a new standard in the Division I-era of the program for goals in a season, while MacMillan's assist gave him 30 points on the year.
From there, as he had all game long, Murray held the fort. He had previously stopped sophomore defenseman Mitch Nylen (Lawrenceville, Ga.) on a shorthanded breakaway, and with just under four minutes left made a pair of reflex saves on freshman right wing Zach Sabatini (Johns Creek, Ga.); he had three of his saves in the extra session, helping the team to kill a penalty that carried over into the fourth frame.
In all, his forty saves were good enough to move him to 2-12-5 on the year, while Vazzano, who had 26 stops, is now 3-8-3 on the campaign.
The Yellow Jackets wrap up their long homestand with a visit from the Mercyhurst Lakers starting with a 7:05 p.m. Friday night contest and concluding with a 3:05 p.m. Saturday matinee, both at the Olympia Ice Center.
