ROCHESTER, New York Junior goalkeeper Zackarias Skog stopped 33 shots in relief, but the American International College ice hockey team could not overcome a 3-0 first-period hole in a 5-2 loss to the RIT Tigers in Atlantic Hockey Conference play on Saturday, November 10.

FAST FACTS:
SCORE: RIT 5, AIC 2
RECORDS: AIC falls to 3-7-1 overall and 3-4-1 in the AHC; RIT rises to 5-3-1 overall, with a 3-2-1 AHC mark.
LOCATION: Gene Polisseni Center, Rochester, New York

STATS:
AIC:
Blake Christensen: One goal
Chris Dodero: One goal
Kyle Stephan: One assist, +1
Stefano Durante: No decision (3-3-1), five saves on seven shots in 10:30
Zackarias Skog: Loss (0-4-0), 33 saves on 36 shots in 49:14

RIT:
Erik Brown: Two goals, one assist, +2
Jake Hamacher: Two goals, +2
Dan Willett: Two assists, two blocked shots, +2
Abbott Girduckis: One goal, one assist, +2
Logan Drackett: Win (5-3-1), 21 saves on 23 shots

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• RIT jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on goals 39 seconds apart; Erik Brown and Jake Hamacher tallied at 4:53 and 5:32 of the first to put the hosts on top early.
• At the media timeout, sophomore goalkeeper Stefano Durante was replaced in net by Skog.
• Hamacher netted his second of the period at 14:24 to give RIT a 3-0 edge after one.
• The Tigers kept going into the second, with Abbott Girduckis scoring at 2:16 of the middle stanza to push the lead to 4-0.
• AIC drew a penalty midway through the frame, and then another; with the goalie out to make it a 6-on-4 on the delayed call, junior left wing Blake Christensen snapped home his fifth of the year at 7:49, with assists to sophomore defenseman Brennan Kapcheck and junior center Hugo Reinhardt.
• AIC was assessed a penalty near the end of the second power play, and once RIT got to its own man-advantage, the Tigers reestablished the four-goal edge, as Brown shot home his second of the game at 11:02.
• Skog was able to keep the Tigers at bay after that in a brilliant relief performance, ending up with 33 saves, including five on a third-period power play.
• AIC netted a goal with four seconds left, as sophomore left wing Chris Dodero popped in his first collegiate goal on a play from junior center Joel Kocur and redshirt freshman center Justin Cole for the 5-2 final.

NEXT UP:

• AIC returns to the MassMutual Center to face the Air Force Academy in a two-game set starting Friday, November 16 at 2:05 p.m.
• The weekend will be AIC Hockey Alumni Weekend.

STAY CONNECTED:

• For more updates about the AIC ice hockey team, follow@AIC_Hockey onTwitterand Instagram, and likeAmerican International College Ice HockeyonFacebook. For updates on all AIC Yellow Jackets teams, follow@AICAthleticsonTwitterandInstagram, and likeAIC Yellow JacketsonFacebook.