AIC YELLOW JACKETS (2-3-2, 2-2-1 AHC)
vs.
BENTLEY FALCONS (2-4-1, 1-3-0 AHC)



Tuesday, November 8, 7:05 p.m.
Thursday, November 10, 7:05 p.m.
MassMutual Center, 1277 Main Street, Springfield, Mass.

Live Stats| Video| AIC Roster | BEN Roster
AHC Standings

LEADERS:

AIC:
Goals:Dominik Florian 4, Martin Mellberg 4, Austin Orszulak 4
Assists: Four tied with 5
Points: Dominik Florian 8, Blake Christensen 7, Shawn McBride 7
Blocked Shots: Ryan Polin 10,Nicolas Luka 9, Dominic Racobaldo 7
Goalkeepers:
Alex Murray: 4GP, 3 GS, 1-1-1, 4.10 GAA, .854 SV% (76/89), 0 ShO
Zackarias Skog: 4 GP, 4 GS, 1-2-1, 3.59GAA, .896 SV% (120/134), 0 ShO
PP: 31.4% (11/35) PK: 76.2% (32/42)

BENTLEY:
Goals: Alexei Solovyev 4, Jonathan Desbiens 3, Six tied with 2
Assists: Max French 6, Jake Kauppila 4, Eight tied with 2
Points: Max French 8, Jonathan Desbiens 5, Jake Kauppila 5
Blocked Shots: Chris Buchanan 15, Mike Berry 14, Connor Brassard 10
Goalkeepers:
Jayson Argue: 7 GP, 7 GS, 2-4-1, 3.37 GAA, .902 SV% (193/214), 0 ShO
Aidan Pelino: 2 GP, 0 GS, 0-0-0, 1.23 GAA, .963 SV% (26/27), 0 ShO
PP: 6.9% (2/29) PK: 82.2% (37/45)

The American International College ice hockey team continues its Atlantic Hockey campaign with a two-game homestand against the Bentley Falcons.

LAST TIME OUT: AIC earned a win and a draw to take three points against Holy Cross, emerging as 4-2 victors in Thursday's tilt at the MassMutual Center before overcoming a two-goal deficit to draw 4-4 at the Hart Center in Worcester. In the Thursday night victory, Dominik Florian and Austin Orszulak netted goals in the middle frame before the Crusaders drew even late in the third. Defenseman Janis Jaks potted the winning tally on a 4-on-4 and winger Johno May added an insurance goal. Florian added two assists, while Shawn McBride had three helpers on the evening. Zackarias Skog turned aside 24 shots in the win. In Friday's tie, the teams traded power-play tallies in the first and again in the second, with Blake Christensen and Martin Mellberg scoring for AIC; Holy Cross turned a 3-2 lead after 40 into a 4-2 lead early in the third before Orszulak snapped home a goal to cut the edge to 4-3 at 9:32. Mellberg netted a late-game power-play marker to draw the score. Alex Murray made 22 saves in the tie.

Bentley last played on October 28 and 29 at RIT, falling to the two-time defending conference champions, 4-1 and 6-3. In the series opener, the Tigers scored twice in the first and twice in the third, with Dino Balsamo's mid-second period tally the only marker for Bentley. The Falcons were outshot 33-22 in the defeat. Special teams doomed Bentley in the series finale, as it surrendered a power-play goal and two shorthanded markers in the first period to fall behind 3-0. The hole was 5-1 after two, as a Drew Callin goal in the first minute of the frame did not make up for two allowed in twenty-eight seconds late in the period. Bentley potted a shorthanded goal of its own to open the third courtesy of Andrew McDonald, and Tyler Deresky added a goal to his two assists to bring Bentley within two shortly after, but the last goal of the game was an RIT empty-netter. Bentley was again outshot, this time 39-26.

LAST TIME THEY MET: The Yellow Jackets finished off the 2015-16 regular season with a 2-2 Senior Day tie against the Falcons in West Springfield on February 24, 2016. The teams twice traded goals, with Marc Dubeau opening the scoring on the man-advantage before Matt Blomquist replied with a man-up tally for Bentley. Bryant Christian put his squad back on top late in the second on another power play, but the game's final goal was by Bentley's Jake Ahlgren, leaving the score 2-2. Murray made 46 saves, while Falcons keeper Gabe Antoni stopped 31 chances on net.

POWERED-UP POWER PLAY: The Yellow Jackets have the third-ranked power play unit in the nation, clocking in at an impressive 31.4 percent and scoring on 11 out of 35 chances. AIC scored at least one power play goal in five of the seven games so far this year, with multiple man-up lamp lighting shots in three games. By contrast, the team managed just seventeen power play goals in 39 games during the 2015-16 campaign. Rookie Martin Mellberg's three PPGs match the season high for last year, shared by Austin Orszulak and Johno May.

DEBRINCAT PICKS UP HONORS: Junior defenseman Andrew DeBrincat earned the selection forAtlantic Hockey Defensive Player of the Week, the first weekly award an AIC player has receivedthis season. The Michigan native had four assists in the two games last week, including three in the 4-4 tie in Worcester, jumping him into a four-way tie for the team lead in assists with five.

SC-ORSZULAK: AIC's captain is riding a four-game goal streak, having tickled the twine once in each of the last four contests for the Yellow Jackets. He is tied for the team lead in goals with Mellberg and Florian with four through seven games,

FRESHMEN LEAD THE OFFENSE: Rookies account for the largest portion of scoring for AIC. The freshman class has 14 goals and 21 assists for 35 points in a combined 57 games played, more than half of the Yellow Jackets' team line of 25-43-68. Seniors account for 4-3-7 in 11 games, most of which is from Orszulak; juniors have chipped in 4-12-16 in 27 combined games; and sophomores have tallied 3-7-10 in 28 games.

PAIRWISE WISING UP: The current Pairwise rankings place AIC at forty-third in the nation, ahead of fellow Atlantic Hockey teams RIT (44), Mercyhurst (49), Bentley (51), and Niagara (56). Army, Holy Cross, and Canisius occupy the top for the AHC in spots 26, 27, and 28 respectively, with Air Force tied for thirtieth, Robert Morris sitting thirty-third, and Sacred Heart tied for thirty-seventh to round out the list of AHC teams.

ELECTION DAY SUCCESS: This game marks the second time that AIC will play on the same day as a Presidential election in the United States. The first time was during the last election, as the Yellow Jackets emerged victorious 2-1 over Quinnipiac on November 6, 2012. Notably, the Bobcats ultimately advanced to the National Championship game that season.

NEXT UP: AIC hits the road again to visit Canisius for a weekend set at the HarborCenter opening on November 18.