AIC YELLOW JACKETS (2-5-5, 2-4-4 AHC)
vs.
NIAGARA PURPLE EAGLES (2-8-2, 2-3-1 AHC)



Friday, November 25, 2:05 p.m.
Saturday, November 26, 5:05 p.m.
MassMutual Center, 1277 Main Street, Springfield, Mass.

Live Stats | Video| AIC Roster | NIA Roster

LEADERS:

AIC:
Goals:Dominik Florian 7, Three tied with 4
Assists: Shawn McBride 8, Three tied with 5
Points: Dominik Florian 11, Shawn McBride 10, Blake Christensen 9
Blocked Shots: Dominic Racobaldo 24, Ryan Polin 16, Nicolas Luka 15
Goalkeepers:
Justin Ketola: 2 GP, 0 GS, 0-0-0, 3.93 GAA, .889 SV% (8/9), 0 ShO
Alex Murray: 4 GP, 3 GS, 1-1-1, 4.10 GAA, .854SV% (76/89), 0 ShO
Zackarias Skog: 9 GP, 9 GS, 1-4-4, 3.15 GAA, .904 SV% (265/293), 0 ShO
PP: 28.8% (15/52) PK: 79.0% (49/62)

NIAGARA:
Goals: Johnny Curran 6, Derian Plouffe 4, Two tied with 3
Assists: Noah Delmas 7, Derek Brown 6, Five tied with 4
Points: Derek Brown 9, Derian Plouffe 8, Two tied with 7
Blocked Shots: Tyler Hayes 24, Vinny Muto 23, Noah Delmas 16
Goalkeepers:
Joe O'Brien: 4 GP, 2 GS, 0-2-1, 4.56 GAA, .891 SV% (106/119), 0 ShO
Jackson Teichroeb: 6 GP, 6 GS, 1-3-1, 4.76 GAA, .865 SV% (135/156), 1 ShO
Guillaume Therrien: 6 GP, 4 GS, 1-3-0, 4.75 GAA, .884 SV% (175/198), 0 ShO
PP: 15.2% (10/66) PK: 78.1% (57/73)

The American International College ice hockey team will continue a Thanksgiving homestand when it faces Niagara University on Friday afternoon at the MassMutual Center.

LAST TIME OUT: Freshman Dominik Florian scored twice, and his classmate Blake Christensen added another, but the Yellow Jackets gave up the last five goals of the game in a 7-3 loss to the Pioneers on Tuesday. AIC enjoyed a 1-0 lead after one on Florian's sixth of the year, but Sacred Heart tied the game early in the second on a shorthanded goal by Jordan Minello. However, Florian potted his second of the game eleven seconds later to re-establish the home team's lead. SHU tied the game again at 4:55 on their own power play on a goal by Evan Jasper. Christensen put AIC back in the lead a third time with his fourth of the year midway through the frame, but the Pioneers drew even in the final minute of the second thanks to Minello's second of the game, and the third was all SHU as Stephen Hladin, Jasper, Elrich Doerksen, and Ruslan Rahkmatov each scored. Freshman Zackarias Skog took the loss, making 21 saves in 48:50, while his classmate Justin Ketola turned away five out of six in the remaining 11:10. SHU's Nathan Perry earned his first career win, making only a dozen saves in the game.

Niagara also faced Sacred Heart in a weekend series in Bridgeport, Connecticut, with the Pioneers taking the opener 4-3 and the Purple Eagles bouncing back for a 4-0 win in the back end of the pair of games. In the opener, Niagara jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a shorthanded goal by Derian Plouffe, but the Pioneers would dominate on the man-advantage in the second frame, netting three power play goals. They tied the game at 2:20 of the second on a Hladin goal and took a 2-1 advantage just a second before the halfway point on a Zach Tsekos goal. Plouffe netted his second of the contest at 15:24 to tie the game, but Justin Danforth returned his team to the lead at 17:55. In the third, Niagara again drew level, as Stanislav Dzhakov scored an unassisted goal at 4:28, and the game seemed destined for overtime until Austin McIlmurray tallied the difference-maker at 18:48 for the 4-3 Pioneers win. Brett Magnus made 22 saves in the win, while Guillaume Therrien stopped 20 in the loss. Saturday was a different story; Johnny Curran scored just 0:40 into the game and it was enough, but the Purple Eagles added three in the second with Nicolas Carrier, Stephen Pietrobon, and Curran again, this time on a power play, for the 4-0 win. Jackson Teichroeb stopped 37 shots in the shutout win, while Magnus made 23 saves in forty minutes of play in the loss.

LAST TIME THEY MET: The Purple Eagles swept a weekend set in West Springfield on February 5 and 6, 2016, to take a 3-1 season series win with 2-0 and 4-3 victories. After shutting out AIC on in the Friday game, Niagara scored the first three goals of the Saturday contest, with Plouffe, Dzhakov, and Curran tallying for the Purple Eagles. David Gandara '16 broke the shutout with a goal at 5:16 of the second, but Matt Dineen answered for Niagara just 34 seconds later. In the third, AIC started the comeback trail, with senior Austin Orszulak scoring inside of the first minute from sophomore Johnny Mueller and junior Jackson Dudley, and the trio would combine again at 15:44 to make it 4-3, but the Jackets could not find a tying goal. Murray combined for 54 saves in the two setbacks.

SHOOT THE PUCK: Niagara allows 39.5 shots on goal per game, the most in the entire NCAA. They have given up 474 shots through 12 contests. AIC gives up 32.7 shots per game by comparison.

ROOKIE SHOWCASE: An entire hockey team could be built just from the Yellow Jackets and Purple Eagles who are in their first seasons with their teams. Twenty-two members of the rosters between Niagara and AIC are members of the Class of 2020; the Yellow Jackets have 13 rookies, while Niagara has nine. The Yellow Jackets have eight rookie forwards to Niagara's six, both have three freshmen blueliners, and AIC also has two freshmen goalkeepers. Additionally, Niagara assistant coaches Ethan Moreau and Michael Findorff as well as AIC head coach Eric Lang and director of hockey operations Alec Rippetoe are in their introductory seasons in their respective positions.

THANKSGIVING WEEKEND: This weekend marks the first time that the team has played at home the two days immediately after Thanksgiving in four seasons; the last was when AIC hosted Mercyhurst on November 29 and 30, 2013. AIC had a single game at Dartmouth two seasons ago and last year was off the weekend after Turkey Day.

BUSY STRETCH: The Yellow Jackets will play their fourth and fifth games in a span of nine days when they take the ice against the Purple Eagles, while Niagara is playing games three and four in that time. However, Niagara has to make two separate trips to New England from Buffalo as well.

NEXT UP: The Yellow Jackets head to West Point on December 2 to play the first game of a four-game season series with the Black Knights at Tate Rink. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.