ROCHESTER, N.Y. The American International College ice hockey team looks to snap a 12-game winless streak as they travel to Rochester Institute of Technology to battle one of the top teams in Atlantic Hockey during a weekend set.
The Tigers (12-11-5, 12-6-4 AHC) come into the weekend third in the standings with 28 points, just one behind Air Force for second and four back of RMU for the top spot. AIC (5-23-2, 5-16-2 AHC) is in a tie for 10th place with Niagara at 12 points.
This weekend marks the third and fourth meetings of the season between the two teams and both games will be aired on EVERSPORT.TV or you can follow along with LIVE STATS!
LAST TIME OUT: AIC dropped a tough non-conference game in overtime to UMass-Amherst, 4-3, at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield.
ALL-TIME SERIES: RIT holds a commanding 27-3-3 record in the all-time series which dates back to the 1985-86 season including a sweep of the Jackets earlier this year at the Olympia Ice Center over Halloweekend in October. The Yellow Jackets haven't defeated RIT since December 4, 2010 a 6-2 victory in West Springfield. Over the last 14 meetings, RIT is 12-0-2 versus AIC.
LAST TIME THEY MET: The Tigers outscored AIC 10-4 in a weekend sweep earlier this season winning 4-2 and 6-2.
MUELLER SQUARED: Freshman Mitch Mueller scored the first two goals of his collegiate career and added an assist against Mercyhurst two weekends ago to earn himself the Atlantic Hockey Defenseman of the Week honor last week. This marks the second time this season an AIC defender has earned this distinction (Ryan Polin 11/24) and the sixth major weekly award for AIC this season. Classmate Johnny Mueller (no relation) has also been playing well with four points (2G, 2A) over his last four games including the tying goal in the third period against UMass on Tuesday.
ABOUT RIT: The Tigers won the Atlantic Hockey Conference and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament one season ago and are back at the top of the league this season. They currently stand in third place, but are just three points behind Robert Morris for the top spot. Josh Mitchell paces the offense with 24 points and is fourth in Atlantic Hockey with 20 assists. Myles Powell leads the Tigers in goals with 11 and has added 10 helpers for 21 points. Christian Short and Mike Rotolo have split time between the pipes and have similar goals against averages and save percentages.
UP NEXT: AIC hosts Hockey East power UMass-Lowell at the Olympia Ice Center on Tuesday for a 7:05 p.m. tilt.
