BOSTON - The American International College ice hockey team fell in a tough battle to No. 8 Northeastern University, 3-1, in a nonconference contest on Saturday, December 30.

FAST FACTS:
Final score: AIC 1, Northeastern 3
Records: AIC moves to 6-12-2 on the year, while Northeastern improves to 11-5-2.
Location: Matthews Arena (Boston)

STATS LEADERS:
AIC:
Brennan Kapcheck (one goal)
Joel Kocur (one assist)
Andrew DeBrincat (one assist)
Stefano Durante (29 saves)

Northeastern:
Nolan Stevens (one goal)
Zach Solow (one goal)
Matt Filipe (empty-net goal)
Cayden Primeau (28 saves)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The first period was a scoreless affair, behind 12 saves from AIC freshman goaltender Stefano Durante.
• Northeastern got on the board first with a power-play goal from left wing Nolan Stevens 1:06 into the second period.
• Freshman defenseman Brennan Kapcheck tied things up with a deflection of a shot by sophomore center Joel Kocur.
• Northeastern took a 2-1 lead 7:17 into the third off a goal from center Zach Solow.
• AIC pulled Durante out of net in favor of an extra skater with 1:06 to play; however, Matt Filipe notched an empty-netter with 14.8 seconds remaining to give them a 3-1 lead.

BUZZWORTHY:

• This was the first meeting between AIC and Northeastern since 1973.
• With his game-tying goal in the second, Kapcheck boosted his team-leading point total to 16.
• Though AIC allowed a power-play goal early in the second period, that was the only goal the Yellow Jackets let up on the power play, holding the Huskies to 1-for-6. Northeastern had the second-best power-play percentage in the nation entering the game, at 28.8 percent.

COACH'S CORNER:

• "I'm actually proud of our effort," said AIC ice hockey head coach Eric Lang. "That team can score a lot of goals, and for us, to hold them to two goals for 59 minutes, I'm certainly proud."
• "Our guys will never quit," he added. "We told our guys there's no moral victories here. The standard is different for AIC hockey right now than it's ever been and I think our guys are disappointed, and I like that we're disappointed."

NEXT UP:

• AIC plays its first matchups of 2018 with a home-and-home series against the College of the Holy Cross.
• The first game will be played at home at the MassMutual Center on Friday, January 5, with puck drop set for 7 p.m.
• The next game will be played in Worcester, Massachusetts on Saturday, January 6 at 7 p.m.

STAY CONNECTED:

• For more updates about the AIC ice hockey team, follow @AIC_Hockey on Twitter and Instagram, and like AIC Hockey on Facebook. For updates on all AIC Yellow Jackets teams, follow @AICAthletics on Twitter and Instagram, and like AIC Yellow Jackets on Facebook.