SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - The American International College ice hockey team fell to Mercyhurst University, 4-2, on Saturday, December 9, for a series split in the Yellow Jackets' final weekend of games prior to the holiday break.

FAST FACTS:
Final score: AIC 2, Mercyhurst 4
Records: AIC moves to 6-11-2 and 5-8-2 in the Atlantic Hockey Conference; Mercyhurst is now 7-7-2 and 4-4-2 in Atlantic Hockey.
Location: MassMutual Center

STATS LEADERS:
AIC:
Janis Jaks (one goal, one assist)
Blake Christensen (one goal, eight shots on goal)
Martin Mellberg (two assists)

Mercyhurst:
Colin DeAugustine (31 saves)
Joseph Duszak (three assists)
Jack Riley (one goal, one assist)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Mercyhurst got on the board first off a goal from Derek Barach just 1:56 into the first period.
• However, three and a half minutes later, AIC tied the game up on a power-play goal from sophomore forward Blake Christensen.
• That tie would hold until the Lakers jumped out to a 2-1 lead at 16:22 of the first when Jack Riley had a power-play tally, and Wes Baker recorded a shorthanded attempt at 11:08 of the second to put his team up 3-1.
• With the goalie pulled, sophomore defenseman Janis Jaks brought AIC within 3-2 at 17:12 of the third, but that would be as close as AIC could get as Kane Elliot chipped in an empty netter with 52 seconds remaining to give the Lakers a 4-2 win.

BUZZWORTHY:

• Christensen has now scored eight points in the last eight games, including a goal in each of the past two games.
• Jaks and Christensen now share the team lead in goals this season, with six on the year.
• With eight shots on goal, Christensen recorded a team-high for individual shots in a game this year. He has recorded seven or more shots on goal four times this season, and is tied for third in Atlantic Hockey with 58 shots on goal this year.
• AIC enters the holiday break with six wins so far, which is the most entering winter break since the 1998-99 season, when the Yellow Jackets had seven wins prior to the holiday.

COACH'S CORNER:

• "I actually thought the game was fairly even," said AIC ice hockey head coach Eric Lang. "It was a hard game to read because there were a lot of special teams. We had a 5-on-3, we had to kill a five-minute, then we had a five-minute power play there wasn't a whole lot of 5-on-5 play. I thought our intent was good, I thought our compete was really good. Some nights the pucks go in, sometimes they don't, and tonight was one of those nights. I thought we had some really good chances."

NEXT UP:

• AIC returns from the holiday break with a non-conference matchup against No. 10 Northeastern University on December 30.

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.