AIC YELLOW JACKETS (3-22-7, 3-16-7 AHC)
vs.
ARMY BLACK KNIGHTS (7-19-4, 7-15-4 AHC)



Friday, February 27, 7:05 p.m. | Olympia Ice Center, 125 Capital Drive, West Springfield, Mass.
Saturday, February 28, 7:05 p.m. | Tate Rink, 1 Fenton Place, West Point, N.Y.

Live Stats: Friday | Saturday|Video|AIC Roster| Army Roster

LEADERS:

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL:
Goals:Austin Orszulak21,Alexander MacMillan14, Jason Popek/David Gandara 6
Assists: Johno May19, Alexander MacMillan 18,Chris Porter/Andrew DeBrincat13
Points:Alexander MacMillan32,Austin Orszulak31,Johno May24
Goalkeepers:Alex Murray: 2-14-5, 3.83 GAA, .902 SV%, 0 SO
Hunter Leisner: 1-7-2, 4.19 GAA, .894 SV%, 0 SO
Special Teams: PP 17/96 (17.7%) | PK 76/103 (73.8%)

ARMY:
Goals:Tyler Pham 8, C.J. Reuschlein 8, Maurice Alvarez/Joe Kozlak 6
Assists:Tyler Pham 18, Conor Andrle 12, Clint Carlisle 11
Points:Tyler Pham 26, Conor Andrle 16, Clint Carlisle/Joe Kozlak 14
Goalkeepers: Parker Gahagen: 5-12-3, 2.89 GAA, .911 SV%, 1 SO
Cole Bruns: 2-7-1, 3.44 GAA, .891 SV%, 1 SO
Special Teams: PP 14/115 (12.2%) | PK 88/113 (77.9%)

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass.-It is senior weekend for the American International College hockey team, as they host a home-and-home series with Army to close out the 2014-15 regular season.

LAST TIME OUT: Two weekends ago, AIC was swept by Air Force, dropping the Friday night contest 9-3 before battling to a 3-1 loss Saturday. Austin Orszulak scored twice in the series opener, while Jason Popek had the lone goal in Saturday's loss.

Army is coming off of a pair of ties with Bentley, drawing 1-1 and 2-2 at Tate Rink. Joe Kozlak had one assist in each game for Army, which saw sophomore Parker Gahagen make 54 saves against Bentley rookie Jayson Argue's 68 in the weekend series.

LAST TIME THEY MET: AIC split a weekend set with Army on January 2-3, winning 3-2 in overtime at Tate Rink before falling 4-3 at the Olympia Ice Center. In the game Friday at West Point, the Yellow Jackets overcame 1-0 and 2-1 deficits thanks to goals by Orszulak and Johno May, setting up overtime, and it only took eighteen seconds for the Yellow Jackets to give everyone at Tate Rink déjà vu, as Orszulak scored his second of the night in the extra session on a rebound, giving the Jackets a second straight win in the first twenty seconds of overtime at the Academy. However, Army repaid AIC on Saturday with a four-goal burst in a ten minute stretch, taking a 4-0 lead, and though the Jackets were able to cut it down to one goal as May scored in the first, Nathan Sliwinski tallied in the second, and David Gandara put one home in the third, the Black Knights held on for a 4-3 victory to get their first win over AIC in the last four meetings.

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: Five Yellow Jackets seniors will be playing their final home games at the Olympia Ice Center Friday night: Matt Cassidy, Alexander MacMillan, Jason Popek, Nathan Sliwinski, and Steven Hoshaw.

Cassidy has skated in 109 games for the Yellow Jackets and recorded a career-high five goals and six assists this season while playing significant minutes for the team on the penalty kill. In his sophomore season, Cassidy scored the game-winning goal for AIC against Quinnipiac, who would go on to the National Championship game that season. Cassidy is a three-time Atlantic Hockey All-Academic selection, and was named Atlantic Hockey Student-Athlete of the Year in 2011-12 as well as 2013-14.

MacMillan has skated in 113 games for the Yellow Jackets, and leads the team this season in points with 14 goals and 18 assists to his credit after finishing third on the team in scoring last year with 28 points. A gifted offensive player, MacMillan is one of two players on the roster this year to be nominated for the Hobey Baker Award, and is a two-time Atlantic Hockey All-Academic selection.

Popek has skated in 124 contests for the Yellow Jackets, and despite missing a month with a shoulder injury has posted a career-high six goals and nine assists for fifteen points this season. He has been a key member of the team's offense for all four seasons, and is a two-time Atlantic Hockey All-Academic selection.

Sliwinski has dressed for 135 games with the Yellow Jackets, and has contributed three goals and seven assists this season in addition to serving a key role on the team's penalty kill. His character and leadership on the ice have earned him the role of assistant captain in his senior season, and he is a two-time Atlantic Hockey All-Academic selection.

Hoshaw has played in 130 contests with the Yellow Jackets, and has two assists to his credit this season. Hoshaw has been a key cog on the blue line for four years, notably contributing on the team's penalty kill for all four seasons with the team. This year, he has served as the team's captain, a role he has served in every level of his hockey career, and he is also an Atlantic Hockey All-Academic selection.

PLAYOFF PICTURE: The Atlantic Hockey playoff picture is coming into focus, though for some teams more than others. Army is locked into the nine seed and will play at the eighth-seeded Sacred Heart Pioneers. The only other known is that Robert Morris is the top seed. AIC has four possible first-round opponents: Holy Cross, Air Force, and RIT are all closely bunched and all could finish between fifth and seventh, while Mercyhurst could in one specific scenario drop to sixth; AIC's magic number to clinch the tenth seed is three, meaning one win coupled with a Niagara tie in either of their games with Robert Morris, or one tie coupled with a single Niagara loss would mean AIC plays the seventh seed in the first round; if Niagara does pass AIC then the Yellow Jackets would play the sixth seed. Holy Cross plays one game at Bentley this weekend, Air Force hosts Canisius for a pair, RIT hosts Mercyhurst for two, and Niagara and Robert Morris also have a home-and-home series; Sacred Heart defeated Bentley yesterday 4-1 in their final game of the regular season.

FIVE TO ONE: Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Yellow Jackets and the Black Knights have met five times. In all five games, the outcome has been decided by one goal, and three of the five contests have gone to overtime, with AIC posting a 3-2 record in the five games and a 2-1 overtime mark. No player has enjoyed more success in the series than MacMillan, who boasts two goals and seven assists for nine points in those five contests, and he has assisted the winning goal in all three of AIC's victories.

CLOSING IN ON THE RECORD: If MacMillan keeps his pace up against the Black Knights, and indeed for the season, another single-season record might fall. Jon Puskar's 35 point season last year was the high-water mark in the Division I era of the program, which began in 1997-98, and while his 18 goals have been surpassed by Orszulak, the 35 still stands for now. However, with 14 goals and 18 assists, MacMillan needs just three points to tie and four to break the record; AIC is guaranteed at least two playoff games so MacMillan, who has his 32 points in 32 games, just needs to keep going to get to 36.

LEAGUE LEADER: With two regular season games left, Orszulak is in a spot no Yellow Jacket has been in before, tied with RIT's Matt Garbowsky and Canisius's Ralph Cuddemi for the league lead in goals with 21. Orszulak has lit the lamp against the Black Knights three times in his career, with his first collegiate goal coming at Tate Rink on February 8, 2014, and he tallied twice at Tate earlier this season.

UP NEXT: The Yellow Jackets will be on the road for the Atlantic Hockey Championship Tournament's First Round. Opponent, location, and start times will be announced following the conclusion of Saturday's contests.