SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts-In spite ofa strong push by the offense over the last half of the game, the American International College ice hockey team fell by a 3-1 score to in-state rival Holy Cross in Atlantic Hockey Conference play at the MassMutual Center.

AIC's record drops to 7-16-6 overall, with a 6-12-5 AHC mark, while the Crusaders improve to 11-10-6 overall and 8-7-6 in league play.

Despite a bevy of chances for AIC, it was Holy Cross striking first, as a shot from right wing Scott Pooley missed to the right of the Yellow Jackets net, but it took a potent bounce off of the end boards to left wing Peter Crinella, who deflected the puck to his center, Michael Laffin. Laffin fired home his sixth of the season at 11:48 to make it 1-0 for the visitors.

They would double the lead moments later, as on the next shift, a puck came loose on the left side of the ice just beyond the crease, and left wing Neil Robinson beat the AIC defense to it and stuffed it under the blocker arm of freshman goalkeeper Zackarias Skog at 12:17 for his third of the year.

The Crusaders would increase the edge to three early in the second on a two-man power play, as Laffin dished a pass from the left corner to right wing Danny Lopez, and Lopez in turn crossed the slot for a one-timer by defenseman Spencer Trapp, who tucked the shot inside the right post at 2:31 for his second of the season.

AIC ramped up the pressure after the goal, pouring chances at the net for the remainder of the game. Holy Cross's defense often bent, but rarely broke enough to allow pucks through to their netminder, Paul Berrafato; of the Yellow Jackets' 53 shot attempts in the game, 15 were snuffed out by Crusaders skaters before reaching the keeper.

The pressure only increased in the third with head coach Eric Lang deciding to pull Skog for a sixth attacker with nearly six minutes to go in regulation. AIC kept pressure in the zone, piling up chances, and finally managed to break Berrafato's shutout with 1:21 left in regulation as junior left wing Jackson Dudley swung the puck to freshman left wing Blake Christensen at the right face-off dot, and Christensen fired a cross-crease pass to an oncoming freshman defenseman Patrik Demel for a one-timer that became his third of the year and seventh point in seven games.

However, the Crusaders held off AIC after that for the win; Skog made 24 saves in the defeat to fall to 4-9-4, while Berrafato's 23 stops improved his record to 11-10-6 on the season.

The two teams conclude the four-game season series on February 3 at the Hart Center on Holy Cross's campus in Worcester, where a 7:05 p.m. puck drop is scheduled.