AMHERST, Massachusetts - The American International College ice hockey team dropped a 3-1decision in the Battle of the Pioneer Valley against the University of Massachusetts-Amherst Minutemen at the Mullins Center on Saturday, October 14.

FAST FACTS:
Final score:AIC 1, UMass 3
Records:AIC falls to 0-4-1 on the year but remains 0-2-1 in Atlantic Hockey; the Minutemen improve to 3-1-0, with no games played in Hockey East.
Location:Mullins Center (Amherst, Mass.)

STATS LEADERS:
AIC:
Alex Murray (31 saves)
Dominik Florian (one goal)
Brennan Kapcheck (one assist)

UMass:
Matt Murray (21 saves)
John Leonard (two goals, one assist)
Oliver Chau (one goal, one assist)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Minutemen got on the board first in the opening frame, as Oliver Chau ripped home a power play tally at 9:18. The hosts then doubled the lead at 13:27, as Amherst native John Leonard scored another man-up marker. The Minutemen outshot the Yellow Jackets 8-7 in the first.
• AIC spent significant time in its own end in the second frame, as the Minutemen fired 16 volleys on net, but Alex Murray stopped everything he faced, and that continued into the third when he opened the period with a sliding split save on Leonard just after the end of a carry-over power play.
• In the third, the Yellow Jackets broke the shutout as Dominik Florian tipped home a shot by Brennan Kapcheck for his first of the year at 9:41.
• The last goal of the game would belong to the Minutemen, however, as Leonard skated in on a breakaway and ripped a shot past the right pad of Murray for the 3-1 final.

NOTEWORTHY:

• Defensemen continue to lead the offense for AIC; six of AIC's ten goals this season are by defensemen, and the remaining four have defensemen recording the primary assist. Patrik Demel leads the team with five points (3-2-5), while Janis Jaks (2-2-4) and Kapcheck (1-3-4) are tied for second in scoring on the squad.
• Kapcheck's third-period helper gives him a three-game assist/point streak.

COACH'S CORNER:

• "We didn't do ourselves any favors tonight, taking five penalties that if you add up the distance were probably 950 feet away from our net," Lang said of the team's penalties.
• Asked about the tough schedule, Lang responded, "This was our fifth game in eight days, but it's no excuse. We didn't get to pucks. But to our guys' credit, we played a good third period. We made a good push."
• "We're pretty dinged up for this early in the year, but it's next guy up. I've liked our effort, but we've had three winnable hockey games we've come up short in," he said of the team's injuries playing a role in the early season defeats.

NEXT UP:

• AIC will head to Pegula Ice Arena for a pair of contests against the defending Big Ten Champion Penn State Nittany Lions. The first of the two matchups will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 19, with the second coming on Friday, October 20 at 7 p.m.

STAY CONNECTED:

• For more updates about the AIC ice hockey team, follow@AIC_HockeyonTwitterandInstagram, and like AIC Hockey on Facebook. For updates on all AIC Yellow Jackets teams, follow@AICAthleticsonTwitterandInstagram, and likeAIC Yellow JacketsonFacebook.