Friday October 23, 2015 7:00 p.m.
Live Stats | Audio | Video
Saturday October 24, 2015 3:00 p.m.
Live Stats | Audio | Video
LEADERS:
AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL:
Goals: Austin Orszulak 3
Assists: Jackson Dudley 2, Brandon Lubin 2
Points: Austin Orszulak 4, Johno May 2, Johnny Mueller 2
Goaltenders: Alex Murray: 0-2-0, 6.00 GAA, .838 SV %
Hunter Leisner: 0-1-0, 7.00 GAA, .848 SV %
Special Teams: PP 0-for-7 (0%), PK 4-for-8 (50%)
PENN STATE:
Goals: Alec Marsh 3, 5 tied with 2
Assists: Kenny Brooks 5, Curtis Loik 4, David Goodwin 4
Points: Curtis Loik 6, David Glen 5, David Goodwin 5, Kenny Brooks 5
Goaltenders: Eamon McAdam: 2-0-0, 2.00 GAA, .934 SV %
Matthew Skoff: 0-1-0, 9.56 GAA, .667 SV %
Special Teams: PP 6-for-9 (67%), PK 4-for-7 (57%)
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. The American International College men's ice hockey team looks to get on the winning side of things this weekend as they travel to Big Ten power Penn State University for a pair of contests.
BACK WHERE IT ALL BEGAN: The senior class this year has fond memories against the Nittany Lions as this is where their career's started back in 2012 as the Yellow Jackets split a weekend set with PSU on October 12-13 of 2012. AIC defeated Penn State 3-2 in overtime of their first-ever game as a NCAA Division I member thanks in large part to a 61 save performance by Ben Meisner '13. The hosts got revenge the next night, however, escaping with a 4-3 overtime victory themselves. So, AIC is in the record books at Penn State as being their first victory and first defeat.
"I'm really excited to be headed back to Penn State this weekend. For us seniors this is where our college careers started" commented senior captain Chris Porter.
Porter had success in his rookie season against PSU as he netted a goal and added an assist for a two-point weekend three years ago.
PICTURE PERFECT PEGULA: This will, however, be AIC's first trip to the $102 million state-of-the-art Pegula Ice Arena which opened its doors on October 11, 2013. The facility features two ice surfaces and seats just over 6,000 fans. It has become one of the most intimidating places to play at in all of college hockey and features a steep student section behind the visiting net where the fans are nearly on top of the opposing goalie. Last season PSU was 13-2-3 at Pegula for a .806 winning percentage which ranked second in Division I. They averaged 4.11 goals per contest and 44.3 shots per game at home in 2014-15 marks that ranked third and first in the Nation, respectively.
NOT SO SPECIAL TEAMS: AIC is struggling early on with the man-advantage as they are 0-for-7 and have also struggled to stop their opposition allowing 4-of-8 power-play chances to be converted by their opponents. This doesn't bode well for this weekend as Penn State has one of the most potent power-plays in the nation already converting 6-of-9 opportunities early on.
MAMA, THERE GOES THAT MAN: Junior Austin Orszulak (Springfield, Mass.) continues to put the puck in the net as he has recorded a goal in all three contests so far this season for AIC and has added one assist for four points. Both marks rank him second in Atlantic Hockey. Orszulak earned a spot on the 2015 Brice Alaska Goal Rush All-Tournament team for his play last weekend in The Last Frontier.
FAST START, SLOW FINISH: For the second consecutive weekend AIC jumped out to score the first goal of the game and even held the lead midway through the contest on Friday evening, but were unable to sustain the momentum. The team looks to put together their first complete game of the season this weekend in Hockey Valley.
"We are looking to get in the win column. We have stressed 60-minute efforts and that's what we're expecting out of our team this weekend" commented Orszulak.
SHOTS FIRED: The Nittany Lions are outshooting their opponents 120-85 averaging 40 shots on goal per game while the Yellow Jackets are giving up 40.3 shots per contest this season. Penn State led all of Division I last season firing pucks on net at a 39.2 per game clip and they currently sit fourth in the country for 2015-16.
SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS: PSU was picked to finish fourth in the preseason Big Ten Poll and have started fast this season with a 2-1 record after the first two weekends of play. They dropped Canisius 6-1 to open the season and split with Notre Dame this past weekend. Their power-play ranks first in the entire nation at 66.7 percent and they have six players who have recorded multiple goals to start the season. The second period could be a key factor in this series as it is the frame where Penn State scores the most with seven of their 15 goals coming in the middle stanza while AIC has allowed 10 of their 20 goals in the second.
