AIC YELLOW JACKETS (4-23-7, 4-17-7 AHC)
vs.
AIR FORCE FALCONS (14-19-3, 13-12-3 AHC)



Friday, March 6, 9:05 p.m. | Saturday, March 7, 9:05 p.m. | Sunday, March 8, 9:05 p.m.*
Cadet Ice Arena, 2169 Field House Drive, US Air Force Academy, Colo.
*if necessary

Live Stats|Audio|Video|AIC Roster|Air ForceRoster

LEADERS:

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL:
Goals:Austin Orszulak21,Alexander MacMillan15, Jason Popek / Matt Cassidy 7
Assists: Johno May 21, Alexander MacMillan 19,Chris Porter/Andrew DeBrincat13
Points:Alexander MacMillan34,Austin Orszulak33,Johno May26
Goalkeepers:Alex Murray: 3-15-5, 3.75 GAA, .902 SV%, 1 SO
Hunter Leisner: 1-8-2, 4.11 GAA, .896 SV%, 0 SO
Special Teams: PP 20/104 (19.2%) | PK 84/111 (75.7%)

AIR FORCE:
Goals:Cole Gunner 16, Scott Holm 14, Chad Demers 13
Assists:Cole Gunner 22, Chad Demers 20, Scott Holm/A.J. Reid 17
Points:Cole Gunner 38, Chad Demers 33, Scott Holm 31
Goalkeepers:Chris Truehl: 11-15-4, 3.02 GAA, .890 SV%, 0 SO
Connor Girard: 3-3-0, 2.78 GAA, .890 SV%, 0 SO
Special Teams: PP 27/154 (17.5%) | PK 111/132 (84.8%)

USAFA, Colo.-The American International College hockey team will look for the upset as they visit the Air Force Falcons in the 7-10 matchup in the first round of the Atlantic Hockey Championship Tournament.

LAST TIME OUT: AIC closed out the regular season by splitting senior weekend against Army, earning a 4-0 victory on Friday at home before falling 5-1 at West Point the following night. In Friday's win, senior center Alexander MacMillan (Calgary, Alb.) opened the scoring at 3:11 from junior defenseman Brandon Lubin (Commerce Township, Mich.) and sophomore left wing Austin Orszulak (Springfield, Mass.). Then, in the third, senior right wing Jason Popek (Hamilton, Ont.) added to the tally with a power play marker at 4:02, assisted by MacMillan and Orszulak; senior center Matt Cassidy (London, Ont.) hit the empty net at 18:29, with helpers from senior defenseman Steven Hoshaw (Vista, Calif.) and junior defenseman Derek Henderson (Smithfield, R.I.). AIC finished with a power play goal from Hoshaw at 19:58, assisted by Cassidy and freshman right wing Johno May (Mahtomedi, Minn.). Freshman goalie Alex Murray had 21 saves in his first career shutout win. However, Army turned the tables on Saturday, scoring five times in the second period; AIC's lone goal on the weekend was from Cassidy, who tipped a shot in the third period home that Lubin had fired; May picked up the other assist.

Air Force earned a senior weekend split as well, as they hosted Canisius and fell 4-1 Friday before winning on Saturday by the same score. After scoring just once on 22 shots in Friday's loss-a goal by the top line with left wing Scott Holm scoring and assisted by center Chad Demers and right wing Cole Gunner-the Falcons put together an incredible all-around effort on Saturday, as Gunner netted a hat trick, opening the scoring just :18 into the game, and the Griffins were held to just nine shots on goal, tallying their only marker of the game shorthanded at 19:16 to break the shutout. Demers assisted on the two goals Gunner put home in the first frame.

LAST TIME THEY MET: Air Force finished the season series sweep, potting a season best nine goals in a 9-3 win on February 13 before holding on for a 3-1 win the following night. Orszulak had two tallies for AIC in the Friday loss, while left wing Max Hartner had a hat trick and right wing Erik Baskin added two goals and an assist. On Saturday, Popek tied the game for AIC with under a minute to go in the second frame, knotting the score at 1-1, but Baskin scored what proved to be the winning goal to finish a five point weekend for his squad and Gunner sealed the deal with an empty net goal at 18:36.

MILITARY PRECISION: This weekend's series marks the third consecutive time that the Yellow Jackets will play a military academy; the Jackets were at the Air Force Academy on February 13-14 and then played a home-and-home with Army last weekend. Potentially, therefore, the team could be playing seven straight games against service academies, and seven games in a season against the Air Force as well, which would be a record for most games against a single opponent in a single season in the college's history either in Division I or II.

I LIKE TO MOVE IT: Few players in Atlantic Hockey have more assists than the 21 that Johno May has picked up; he stands tied for fifth in the AHC in helpers and leads all rookies in assists. Army's Tyler Pham, at 19, is two back among freshmen, while RIT's Josh Mitchell, with 30, is the overall conference leader.

FREQUENT FLYER MILES: Counting the trip back home that will happen at the end of the weekend, AIC has racked up over twelve thousand miles of travel this season. Included in that are a staggering 7,852 miles in the air between the team's trip to play the University of Michigan and the two trips in the past three weeks to Air Force.

AROUND THE LEAGUE: The two other first round matchups pit the sixth-seeded Holy Cross Crusaders against the eleventh-seeded Niagara Purple Eagles while the eighth-seeded Sacred Heart Pioneers host the ninth-seeded Army Black Knights. The second round will feature the fourth-seeded Bentley Falcons playing the fifth-seeded Mercyhurst Lakers, while top-seeded Robert Morris, second-seeded Canisius, and third-seeded RIT will host the lowest, middle, and highest seeds to advance from the first round, respectively. AIC can therefore play either Robert Morris or Canisius in the second round if they advance.

UP NEXT: The winner of this series will play next weekend, at a site to be determined, in the Atlantic Hockey Championship Tournament Quarterfinals, which is a best-of-three series.